The One Thing I Forgot Before Opening My First Office
I thought I had everything ready.
The office was painted. The desks had arrived. The laptops were set up, and I had even ordered coffee for the first week.
Then, on our first morning, someone handed me a document and asked:
“Do we have a company stamp?”
I froze.
The Small Detail I Completely Missed
I had spent weeks thinking about the big things, but somehow forgot about the little items that make an office actually work.
So I started looking for a company stamp Singapore businesses could use for everyday paperwork.
That was when I realised there were more options than I expected.
One Stamp Wasn’t Enough
We eventually ordered a few custom stamps for different purposes.
Our finance team wanted a stamp for routine documents, while another colleague preferred self inking stamps because she was stamping paperwork repeatedly throughout the day.
I also ordered a name stamp for my desk. It sounds unnecessary until you realise how often you have to write your name on forms, documents and internal paperwork.
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According to Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), a company’s name must appear on certain business documents, including its company seal, business letters and invoices.
Then Someone Asked About the Common Seal
Our company secretary later mentioned that we might also want a common seal.
I initially thought it was simply another type of rubber stamp.
It isn’t.
A common seal is a formal company seal, while an everyday rubber stamp is generally used for routine business tasks. In Singapore, companies are no longer required to have a common seal, but some businesses may still choose to use one for particular documents.
That little conversation probably saved me from ordering the wrong thing.
And Then Came the Name Cards
A few weeks later, we were preparing for our first networking event.
Someone asked, “Do we have business cards?”
I looked at my colleague.
She looked at me.
We both laughed.
Back to the printer.
This time, we ordered name card printing together with the other office essentials, which made the whole process much easier.
Looking back, setting up an office taught me something unexpected. The things you forget are often the things you end up using every single day.
If you’re setting up a new business or refreshing your office supplies, Kiasu Print offers custom stamps, company stamps, common seals, name stamps and namecard printing for businesses in Singapore.
