How we rank vendors
Two things, both shown on the page: the price after the EDGE grant, and each vendor's public record, a score built only from public sources. You choose how much each matters with the slider; the default is half and half. Nobody can pay to change the order.
Applied to every vendor we compare: 128 companies behind 161 pre-approved packages, from HR software to POS, accounting, ERP, logistics and fleet systems. Records are rebuilt from the public sources below and checked for changes every month.
1. Public record score (0–100)
| Check | Source | How it is scored | Weight: HR, payroll, accounting, ERP | Weight: POS, inventory, logistics, fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years in business | ACRA (data.gov.sg) | ln(1 + years) ÷ ln(1 + 10); full marks at 10 years | 25% | 25% |
| Official rating | IMDA SMEs Go Digital reviews | Bayesian average (n·r + 10·C) ÷ (n + 10), where n is the number of reviews, r the rating and C the category average; then (score − 1) ÷ 4. A rating from 3 reviews counts less than one from 300. | 25% | 30% |
| Number of reviews | IMDA SMEs Go Digital | ln(1 + n) ÷ ln(1 + 200); full marks at 200 reviews | 20% | 25% |
| Data Protection Trustmark | IMDA DPTM certified list | 1 if currently certified, otherwise 0 | 20% | 10% |
| Government contract | GeBIZ awards (data.gov.sg) | 1 if awarded a government tender in the last 5 years, otherwise 0 | 10% | 10% |
Software that holds employee, payroll or financial records gives the Data Protection Trustmark more weight. POS, inventory, logistics and fleet systems hold less sensitive personal data, so customer reviews count for more there.
- Missing is not bad. If a check cannot be made (for example a new listing with no reviews yet), it is left out and the other weights are scaled up. We show how many checks were made.
- PDPC decisions in the last 3 years reduce the score by 15 points. Older decisions are shown, not scored.
- ACRA status other than live sets the score to 0. The last annual return date is shown for information only, because the open data can lag behind filings.
- Labels: Well established (75 and above), Established (55–74), Less public evidence (below 55). They describe how much public evidence there is, not the quality of the software.
2. Best balance and our shortlist
Price score = 1 − (ln price − ln lowest) ÷ (ln highest − ln lowest), using the price after grant, so the cheapest package scores 1. Best balance = w × public record + (1 − w) × price score, where w is the slider under "Adjust ranking" (default 0.5). Our shortlist shows the top three at the default setting, with the facts that put them there.
3. What we do not use
- Personal data: no director, shareholder or staff names.
- Payments or referral agreements.
- Our own opinion of the software. We have not tested every product.
Sources and dates
- ACRA Information on Corporate Entities, data.gov.sg (Open Data Licence), dataset updated 2026-10-14
- IMDA SMEs Go Digital directory ratings, read by hand (see data/trust/imda-ratings.csv)
- IMDA list of Data Protection Trustmark certified organisations
- Government Procurement via GeBIZ, data.gov.sg (MOF)
- PDPC enforcement decisions (395 published), read 2026-11-12; name matches confirmed by hand
ACRA and GeBIZ data from data.gov.sg under the Singapore Open Data Licence. IMDA and PDPC information checked by hand. Facts are rechecked at least every quarter.
Questions
Can a vendor pay to rank higher?
No. The order is never paid for, including by vendors who may later have a referral agreement with us. The score uses public records only.
Is "Less public evidence" a bad vendor?
No. It means we found less public evidence, for example no Data Protection Trustmark, few official reviews or a newer company. Ask the vendor for references, certifications and security documents.
Why is there no Cyber Trust or ISO 27001 check?
There is no complete public list we can check against. Vendors can send us their certificate and we will add it as a vendor-supplied fact, clearly labelled.
A fact about my company is wrong or out of date. What do I do?
Email hello@shortlistsg.com with the correction and a public source. We recheck and update the page, usually within a week.