Start with one job. Pick the job in one team that takes the most hours every week and touches more than one system. Count those hours. Check which Singapore grant fits, and apply before you sign anything. Then build that one job first, and have it working in the first week.
Step one: pick the job
A good first job has four signs. It happens every week or every month. It takes hours. It touches more than one system, such as WhatsApp, a spreadsheet and Xero. And most of it is checking and drafting, with a person deciding at the end.
Some jobs that fit:
- An accounting firm chasing client documents before the GST deadline. Read how.
- A clinic answering booking requests after closing. Read how.
- A restaurant checking delivery payouts against the POS every Monday. Read how.
- A finance team chasing overdue invoices. Read how.
- An HR team screening a pile of applications. Read how.
Our solutions pages show 46 jobs across 10 industries and 5 teams, each as a chat. Find your industry.
If you are not sure which problem you have, our five problems article is a short self-check.
Step two: count the hours
Before any build, count the hours the job takes today. Ask the person who does it, and time it for one week. You need the number to judge the quote, and to know afterwards whether it worked.
Every solutions page shows one job as a before and after, with the hours under each. We count your own hours with you on the first call, in your own numbers.
Step three: try AI yourself before you build
If nobody in the company has used AI for real work, one afternoon fixes that. Our hands-on workshop puts each leader in front of an AI agent with a real task from their own business. Seats are from S$779, and your company gets S$500 off a first build within six months.
Two free tools help on the same day. The Safe AI check shows what the AI your staff already use does with company data. The staff AI policy tool gives you a one-page policy to copy.
Step four: check the grant, then apply before you sign
EDGE is Enterprise Singapore's grant for business projects. It supports up to 50% of eligible costs for an SME, within S$100,000 per company each year. More details. Support for a bigger build under Large-scale Digital Transformation is set case by case and does not count towards that yearly cap. More details.
Two rules decide whether you get EDGE. You must apply before you sign a contract or pay any vendor. And you apply yourself, through your own Corppass on the Business Grants Portal. More details. For a first AI project, IMDA's AI x Digital Leaders also matches companies outside the tech industry with partner vendors. More details. Our 60-second grant check shows which grant fits your project.
The share you pay yourself can qualify for the Enterprise Innovation Scheme. It gives a 400% tax deduction on the first S$50,000 of qualifying AI spending a year, for the Years of Assessment 2027 and 2028. It is a tax deduction from IRAS, with no cash payout. It excludes any spending a grant subsidised. More details.
Step five: build the first job, then the next team
When we build, the first job is working in the first week, counted from the day work starts. We set up your own copy of Glimmer in your company's cloud account. We connect the first systems, and put it in the chat your team already uses. Then we work closely with that team for about three months, counting the hours with you.
Your team leads learn to change the agent, add documents and make new ones. Everything we build belongs to you. When the first team is running, we move to the next team. See how we start.
What to avoid
- Signing the vendor first. Apply for the grant first, then sign. Read why.
- Buying every person a seat and stopping there. ChatGPT or Copilot helps each person with their own work. The shared job that eats the team's week stays untouched. Glimmer vs ChatGPT says where each fits.
- Starting with the hardest job. The first job should save hours and be easy to check. That way your team learns to trust the agent.
Questions people also ask
How soon does something work?
The first job is working in the first week, counted from the day work starts. We then work closely with that team for about three months.
Do we have to change our software?
No. Glimmer works inside the systems you already run, such as Xero, Outlook or a stock system built years ago. For your own custom systems, we build the link with you.
What happens to my staff?
They stay, and their jobs change. The AI takes the repeat work, and each person moves to work that needs a person. Where a job changes, we redesign it with you and train the people in it. See how we change the jobs.
What does it cost?
We quote after a 20-minute call, because the price depends on the job. Read what decides the price.
Where to start
This week, ask one team lead which job they would hand over first if they could. Count how many hours it takes. Then book a call and bring the job and the hours.