SME bookkeeping in the Klang Valley: from KL offices to Port Klang warehouses
The Klang Valley (Lembah Klang) has the widest mix of businesses. Send your documents online and your books are matched every month, with foreign currency and disbursements for port logistics kept clearly apart.
BookKeeper offers online monthly bookkeeping for SMEs in the Klang Valley (Lembah Klang in Malay), covering Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the districts of Selangor. The Starter plan starts from RM280/month, with the final price based on your quote. Klang and Port Klang, on the western side of the Klang Valley, form the country's largest port logistics belt, so this page sets out the bookkeeping points for these companies: foreign currency is recorded at the transaction-date rate, disbursements are kept apart from service income, and the service tax rate for logistics is 6%.
- The Klang Valley covers Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and several Selangor districts, and documents can be sent online from anywhere in the area.
- The service tax rate for logistics services is 6%. For general services it is 8%.
- SST-02 is filed every two months, with filing and payment due by the last day of the following month.
- Foreign currency transactions are recorded at the transaction-date rate, and differences go to foreign exchange gain or loss.
- Record disbursements separately from service income so your turnover is not overstated.
Why are the books hard for Port Klang logistics companies?
Because one shipment involves many documents, and part of the money does not belong to the company at all.
At three in the afternoon, a line of container trucks waits outside the Westport gate. The freight forwarder's clerk has three WhatsApp groups open, chasing customs clearance while replying to customers asking "When will the goods arrive?"
On the desk are port charge bills, haulier invoices and US dollar bills from overseas suppliers. Some are the company's own costs. Others were paid on behalf of customers and must be recovered from them. Without sorting by shipment, at month end you cannot tell which shipments made money.
Which areas does the Klang Valley cover?
The Klang Valley (Lembah Klang in Malay) is the urban area centred on Kuala Lumpur and stretching along the Klang River. It generally includes Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the Selangor districts of Petaling (PJ, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam), Klang, Gombak, Hulu Langat (Kajang, Ampang) and Sepang.
The area brings together office-based services, e-commerce, factories and port logistics. It has the widest mix of businesses, and each has different bookkeeping needs. For Kuala Lumpur and the Selangor districts, see bookkeeping services in Kuala Lumpur and bookkeeping services in Selangor. Below, we cover logistics and trading companies in Klang and Port Klang.
Which items are disbursements, and which are your own income?
Disbursements are amounts the company pays first on a customer's behalf and later recovers from the customer at cost, such as port charges and customs clearance fees. The table below shows the usual split, but confirm it against your contracts with customers.
| Item | Usual classification | Documents to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Port and customs clearance charges paid for customers | Disbursement (receivable from customer) | Port or customs receipts, the recharge invoice |
| Freight forwarding service fees and handling charges | Company service income | Invoices issued to customers |
| Fuel, tolls and repairs for your own lorries | Company operating costs | Receipts, Touch 'n Go records |
| US dollar bills from overseas suppliers | Recorded at the transaction-date rate | Invoices, foreign currency account statements |
In what order should you sort the documents for each shipment?
Follow four steps: assign a reference, collect documents, match the bank, close the shipment. Every shipment gets its own number.
Give every shipment a reference number
Use the bill of lading number or your own job number, and mark it on every document.
Photograph and upload documents by reference
Put port charge bills, haulier invoices and customs documents in the same Google Drive folder.
Match the bank and foreign currency accounts monthly
The bookkeeping team matches payments and receipts to reference numbers and records exchange differences separately.
See the gross profit on each shipment
From the Growth plan upwards, the management report includes receivables ageing, so you can see which customers still owe you disbursements.
Say you run an 8-person freight forwarding company in Port Klang, handling about 120 shipments a month, with half your customers paying in ringgit and half in US dollars. In the past, you only found out at month end that port charges for several shipments had been outstanding for three months without being billed to customers. After switching to one number per shipment, the monthly report lists unrecovered disbursements, so your collection list is clear at a glance.
Which deadline matters most for Klang Valley logistics companies?
For SST-registered logistics companies, the most important is the two-monthly SST-02. Statutory payroll contributions are due by the 15th of the following month.
| Item | Deadline |
|---|---|
| SST-02 | Every two months, filed and paid by the last day of the following month |
| EPF, SOCSO, EIS, PCB | By the 15th of the following month |
Trading companies often have turnover far larger than their profit. Even an importer with thin margins may have turnover above the RM3 million e-Invoice exemption threshold. Always follow LHDN's latest guidelines. For the full yearly deadlines, see the Sdn Bhd month-end checklist. For filing support, see SST filing services and e-Invoice services.
Sources: MySST, LHDN e-Invoice, KWSP, PERKESO
You send documents online, and your accounts are delivered on the dates set in the service agreement. If your company is elsewhere, see the Kuala Lumpur or Selangor page. For fees, see the pricing page.
Start by telling us roughly how many shipments you handle each month.
Ask About Klang Bookkeeping on WhatsAppQuestions you may still have
Tap a question to see the answer. Can't find yours? Just ask us.
Ask on WhatsAppMy import and export company pays in US dollars. How are exchange rates handled in the books?
Foreign currency transactions are converted to ringgit at the exchange rate on the transaction date. Any difference when you actually pay or get paid is recorded separately as a foreign exchange gain or loss. Each month, just send the foreign currency account statement, supplier invoices and customs documents together. Please have the accountant confirm the treatment based on your company's records.
For a freight forwarder, do disbursements count as turnover?
Customs clearance and port charges you pay on behalf of a customer and later recover at cost are generally recorded separately from your own service income. Mixing them in overstates turnover, which affects your tax filing and your e-Invoice and SST threshold checks. Please have the accountant confirm against your contracts.
What is the service tax rate for logistics services?
Logistics falls under the 6% service tax category. The general rate is 8%. Whether you need to register, and which income is taxable, depends on the services you provide. Always follow the latest MySST announcements.
Which areas does the Klang Valley cover?
The Klang Valley (Lembah Klang in Malay) generally means Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the urban areas of Selangor's Petaling, Klang, Gombak, Hulu Langat and Sepang districts. Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have their own pages, so this page focuses on bookkeeping for logistics and trading companies around Klang and Port Klang. We serve all of Malaysia online.
My long-running shop in Klang has lots of paper documents. How can I send them?
You can photograph them on WhatsApp each week, or scan them into Google Drive. If you need to hand over physical documents, you can arrange this separately with the partner team.
