The True Cost of Keeping a Company Alive When Revenue Has Stopped

Keeping a company alive after revenue stops means paying to preserve a structure that either has future use or has become an avoidable expense. The cost of keeping a company open with no revenue is not limited to one annual filing

It includes registry work, tax handling, accounting records, bank monitoring, asset renewals, document correction, exit preparation, and professional support before a clean restart or closure.

To help you navigate this, we break down each cost layer by jurisdiction—Hong Kong, Singapore, BVI, and the Cayman Islands, helping you decide whether to maintain, close, or cost-effectively freeze your company.

What are the mandatory costs of keeping a company open with no revenue?

Depending on the jurisdiction, a company may still need to maintain statutory filings, officers, registered office arrangements, tax handling, or economic substance reporting. The table below gives a quick comparison of the main cost categories across Hong Kong, Singapore, BVI, and Cayman Islands.

Government and registrar fees (non-negotiable)

The first cost layer is government and registrar fees. These are not linked to revenue. They apply because the company still exists on the official register and must continue meeting basic statutory deadlines.

For founders, these charges form the minimum cost of keeping the company legally alive. Dormancy may reduce operating work, but it does not remove the company from the filing system.

Registered agent and registered office fees

Once government fees are accounted for, offshore companies have another cost layer: legal presence. In jurisdictions such as BVI and Cayman Islands, the company must maintain a registered agent or registered office so that it remains contactable and in good standing.

This is where offshore companies differ from Hong Kong or Singapore companies:

• BVI: A company must maintain a registered office and registered agent in the Virgin Islands at all times. Failure to maintain a registered agent can lead to a fine of US$10,000⁽⁴⁾.
• BVI annual renewal: The annual renewal fee is US$550 for companies authorised to issue up to 50,000 shares and US$1,350 for companies authorised to issue more than 50,000 shares⁽⁵⁾.
• Cayman Islands exempted company registration fees start from CI$700 (US$854 based on the General Registry fee schedule) for companies with share capital up to CI$42,000, and can rise to CI$2,568 (US$3,132 based on the General Registry fee schedule) for higher capital tiers⁽⁶⁾.
• Cayman registered office: Cayman companies must also maintain a registered office in the Islands⁽⁷⁾.

This means offshore maintenance costs do not disappear when operations pause. They simply shift from business activity costs to legal-presence costs.

Corporate secretary requirements and fees

For Hong Kong and Singapore, the recurring compliance framework is usually built around the company secretary rather than a registered agent. The company secretary helps maintain statutory records, prepare resolutions, monitor filing deadlines, and update company particulars when there are changes.

Key legal requirements include:

• A Hong Kong private local limited company must have at least one company secretary, and the sole director cannot also act as the company secretary⁽⁸⁾.
• In Singapore, every company must appoint a company secretary within six months of registration. If the position is vacant for more than six months, the director may face a fine of up to S$1,000 (approx. US$776)⁽⁹⁾.

In practice, maintaining a company secretary is not optional. Even if the business has stopped trading, the company must continue meeting this statutory requirement for as long as it remains incorporated.

Beyond the legal requirement to appoint a company secretary, companies should also budget for the annual cost of maintaining the role.

Typical market fees include:

• Typical Hong Kong company secretary fees may range from HK$1,500-HK$4,000 per year (approx. US$191-US$510), depending on service scope and provider.
• Typical Singapore company secretary fees may range from S$300–S$900 per year (approx. US$233–US$698) for basic annual compliance packages, and up to S$1,200–S$1,500 for full-service SMEs, depending on service scope and provider.

Although dormant companies generally require less administrative support, the annual secretary fee often remains a recurring expense because statutory records, filings, and compliance obligations still need to be maintained.

Accounting and audit obligations

After statutory maintenance, the next cost question is accounting and audit. This depends on whether the company is truly dormant under the relevant law, not simply whether it has stopped earning revenue.

The distinction matters because a company can have no sales but still create accounting transactions through payments, assets, contracts, or other records.

• Hong Kong: A dormant company ceases to be dormant if it enters into an accounting transaction, except for payments of statutory fees required by law. Once that happens, the exemption from annual return delivery also ceases⁽¹⁰⁾.
• Singapore: Section 205B of the Companies Act exempts dormant companies from audit requirements, subject to the relevant conditions⁽¹¹⁾.
• Singapore small company exemption: Small private companies may also qualify for audit exemption if they meet at least two of three thresholds: annual revenue of S$10 million or less (approx. US$7.76 million), total assets of S$10 million or less (approx. US$7.76 million), and 50 employees or fewer⁽¹¹⁾.

This is why “no revenue” should not be treated as an automatic accounting shortcut. Founders should confirm whether the company legally qualifies as dormant before reducing accounting or audit work.

Bank account and director costs

The final layer is made up of practical costs that are often missed in early estimates. These are not always government fees, but they can still affect the annual cost of keeping a company open. Two costs are especially important:

Bank account fees: Some business accounts charge fall-below or monthly maintenance fees when the balance drops below the required threshold. For example:

• UOB Singapore: the eBusiness Account requires a minimum average daily balance of S$5,000 (approx. US$3,880) and charges a S$15 monthly fall-below fee (approx. US$12) when the balance drops below that threshold⁽¹²⁾.
• Hang Seng Bank (Hong Kong): certain business accounts charge a HK$50 monthly fee (approx. US$6) when the average monthly balance falls below HK$25,000 (approx. US$3,190)⁽¹³⁾.

Director-related costs: For Singapore companies owned by foreign founders, nominee director fees may apply if there is no local resident director. Market estimates commonly range from S$1,500-S$5,000 per year (approx. US$1,164-US$3,880).

These overlooked items explain why statutory filing fees are only the starting point. The full annual cost may also include banking conditions, local director support, and other practical requirements needed to keep the company usable.

When is keeping the company alive still worth it?

Keeping a company alive is worth considering when the entity still preserves optionality. In other words, the founder is not paying merely to keep a registration number; they are paying to keep a future strategic path open.

That path usually derives from critical infrastructure or intangible assets that would be costly or time-consuming to rebuild from scratch, such as:

• A corporate bank account that is increasingly difficult to reopen under current compliance climates.
• A payment gateway setup (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) that took months to secure approval.
• An active commercial contract or a specialized business license supporting future operations.
• Valuable intellectual property, including domains, trademarks, or patents linked to the brand.
• A vetted platform merchant approval (e.g., Amazon, App Store) that is hard to re-obtain.

This is why the decision should not be based solely on whether the company has current revenue. A company with no revenue can still carry substantial commercial value if it protects access, credibility, infrastructure, or continuity.

In these scenarios, annual maintenance functions essentially as a holding cost for a future restart, restructuring, relocation, or strategic sale.

Conversely, the case for survival becomes weak when the company no longer protects anything meaningful. If there is no bank account, no asset, no active contract, no license, and no realistic plan to pivot, the company is no longer preserving optionality. It has simply transitioned from a strategic asset into a recurring financial drain.

When should you stop paying to maintain the company?

Closure becomes the logical next step once the entity’s maintenance bill officially outweighs the value of its remaining optionality. However, closing a company is not as simple as walking away; a clean exit requires rigorous administrative preparation and financial settlement.

• Singapore’s Exit Process: Under ACRA guidance, Singapore’s striking-off process takes at least three months after approval⁽¹⁴⁾, depending on whether an objection is lodged. For tax matters, IRAS requires companies applying for strike-off to settle all outstanding Corporate Income Tax Return obligations through the waiver or final tax return process where relevant⁽¹⁵⁾.
• Hong Kong’s Exit Process: Hong Kong provides a clear example of the formal costs involved. For deregistration, the Companies Registry requires Form NDR1 to be delivered within three months from the Notice of No Objection date, together with a non-refundable HK$420 fee⁽¹⁶⁾. Separately, the Inland Revenue Department charges a non-refundable HK$270 fee for the Notice of No Objection request, which is issued only when the company has cleared all outstanding tax liabilities⁽¹⁷⁾.

These examples do not create a universal price list. Each jurisdiction has its own exit route, fee schedule, tax clearance process, eligibility test, and processing time.

The rule of thumb is to compare another year of maintenance with the price of a proper exit. If closure is already inevitable, delaying the process often increases eventual cleanup work without preserving any meaningful value.

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Is there a way to keep your company alive at minimal cost?

Yes, but “minimal cost” means controlled maintenance, not passive neglect. The goal here is to freeze the operational machinery while keeping the legal skeleton intact and compliant for the next strategic decision.

A practical cost-reduction strategy covers:

• Formally applying for dormant status: In jurisdictions like Hong Kong or Singapore, officially filing for dormant status with the registry or tax authorities (IRAS/IRD) can waive or significantly reduce your annual return delivery and audit obligations.
• Downgrading corporate banking: Close secondary business accounts that incur heavy fall-below fees. Consolidate your remaining funds into a single, low-maintenance account to keep your banking history alive without the monthly drain.
• Negotiating with service providers: Ask your corporate secretary or registered agent for a Dormant Company Package. Many service providers offer special package deals that bundle required compliance services at a reduced rate for inactive companies.
• Trimming operational subscriptions: Strip away all non-essential SaaS, software, and marketing subscriptions, keeping only those strictly tied to preserving core digital assets like domains or trademarks.

This strategic approach avoids two dangerous extremes: paying for a full active-company setup during a temporary pause, or ignoring the entity entirely until penalties, court notices, tax audits, or frozen bank accounts force a much more expensive emergency cleanup.

How BBCIncorp can help you keep the right structure alive

If your company has no revenue but is still worth keeping, BBCIncorp’s dormant company package helps reduce the cost and workload of staying compliant. Our transparent pricing starts at US$399/year for Singapore and US$699/year for Hong Kong.

For other jurisdictions, detailed fee structures are available on our service fee page or by contacting our team directly.

If dormancy is no longer the right option, BBCIncorp can also review your company’s position and help prepare the next step, whether that means strike-off, deregistration, or restructuring.

Conclusion

Dormancy does not mean free maintenance. Understanding the cost of keeping a company open with no revenue helps founders assess whether the value preserved by the entity outweighs the ongoing fees and compliance obligations, or whether a clean strike-off is the better option.

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