UAE accounting — accurate, compliant, on time
Disorganised books produce FTA penalties, failed audits, and a Corporate Tax return that cannot be accurately prepared. I handle monthly bookkeeping, management accounts, VAT filing, and payroll for 500+ UAE businesses — so your records are always correct, compliant, and ready for inspection.
“Clean books are not a compliance box to tick — they are the foundation that every correct tax position, every audit response, and every growth decision is built on.”Book a Free Consultation
AED 10K–50K
FTA record-keeping penalty range
7 years
CT records retention, Art. 55 FDL 47/2022
28 days
VAT return filing deadline after period end
500+
UAE businesses supported by Avyanco Group
Statutory obligation
Why UAE businesses must maintain accounts
Three separate pieces of legislation impose accounting and record-keeping obligations on UAE businesses — each with its own retention period and penalty regime.
Commercial Companies Law — Art. 26
Maintain proper books of account giving a true and fair view from the date of incorporation.
Ongoing obligation — no time limit.
Corporate Tax Law — Art. 55
Retain all records and documents supporting the CT return — invoices, contracts, bank statements, financial statements.
7 years from end of relevant tax period.
VAT Law — Art. 78
Retain tax invoices, VAT returns, credit/debit notes, import/export documents, and accounting records.
5 years (10 years for real estate transactions).
Failure to maintain adequate records: administrative penalties of AED 10,000 (first failure) to AED 50,000 (repeat violations) under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2021. The FTA may also issue a best-judgement CT assessment where records cannot be produced.
Service scope
What’s included
Every engagement covers six core areas. The monthly fee is determined by your transaction volume, payroll size, and reporting requirements — not by how many of these areas you need.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Every transaction recorded, categorised, and reconciled against bank statements monthly. Ledger maintained on an accruals basis in accordance with IFRS or IFRS for SMEs. Output: a reconciled trial balance, EmaraTax-ready, nothing carried forward unresolved.
Management Accounts
P&L, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and KPI summary delivered by the 10th of each following month. Includes top-5-customer revenue analysis, aged receivables, and budget vs actual variance commentary.
VAT Filing
Quarterly VAT return prepared from the reconciled ledger, not raw software output. Input tax recovery reviewed and maximised. Submitted via FTA EmaraTax within the 28-day deadline. Filing confirmation and audit trail retained.
Payroll Processing
WPS-compliant payroll calculations, SIF file generation for bank submission, leave deductions, and end-of-service gratuity accruals under UAE Labour Law. Payroll journals posted to the ledger monthly.
Accounts Receivable / Payable
Monthly aged receivables by customer, supplier reconciliation, and a 4–8 week cash flow forecast updated every month. The financial information that drives daily decisions, not the annual audit.
Audit-Ready Year-End
Full year-end close: all ledgers reconciled, depreciation runs, lease adjustments, accruals, prepayments, and provision reviews processed. IFRS or IFRS for SMEs financial statements and CT schedule prepared. Auditor liaison included for free zone clients.
Standard turnaround
By the 10th of each month
Management accounts delivered monthly, 10 days after period close.
Who it’s for
4 types of UAE business that need outsourced accounting
The obligation to maintain proper books of account applies from the date of incorporation — not from the date you first expect an audit.
UAE Mainland SMEs
1–50 employees in trading or services, typically VAT-registered, 50–500 transactions per month. The obligation to maintain proper books of account applies from the date of incorporation under FDL No. 32 of 2021 — not from the date of the first audit.
Free Zone Companies
DMCC, IFZA, JAFZA, Meydan, RAKEZ — most require audited financials annually for licence renewal. A free zone company without 12 months of clean bookkeeping records cannot pass that audit without significant cost and delay.
Newly Incorporated Businesses
The chart of accounts must be structured correctly from the first transaction. VAT categories, CT cost mapping, and IFRS compliance configured at the start cost a fraction of what correction work costs after 12 months of misclassified entries.
Growth-Stage Businesses
Preparing for external funding, banking facilities, or acquisition requires investor-grade monthly management accounts and a rolling cash flow model — not just compliant year-end accounts produced 6 months after the year closes.
Why it matters
Key benefits
Never miss an FTA deadline
VAT returns filed within 28 days. CT return on time. Late filing penalties under Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017 — AED 1,000 (first offence) to AED 2,000 (repeat within 24 months) — are preventable.
Complete, 7-year-inspectable audit trail
Every transaction matched to a source document, reconciled to the bank, coded in the ledger. The Art. 55 FDL 47/2022 retention requirement is met as a matter of course.
Monthly financial visibility by the 10th
Revenue, gross margin, cash position, top customers, and aged debt every month — not at year-end.
WPS compliance with no MOHRE sanctions
Payroll processed and SIF submitted on time each month. WPS failure blocks trade licence renewal and new visa processing.
CT-ready records from day one
Income and expenditure coded to support the annual CT return under FDL No. 47/2022 from the first transaction. CT return preparation is a completion exercise, not a reconstruction.
One team — bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, year-end
No handoff errors between a bookkeeper who cannot see the VAT position and a VAT accountant who cannot see the ledger.
VAT return
Deadline: 28 days after tax period end
Late: AED 1,000 first offence
Corporate Tax return
Deadline: 9 months after financial year end
Late: AED 500/mo (first 12 months)
WPS payroll
Deadline: Within 10 working days of pay date
Late: MOHRE trade licence block
Standard used
IFRS or IFRS for SMEs
Required for all UAE mainland companies under FDL No. 32 of 2021. Full IFRS entities apply IFRS 16 for leases. IFRS for SMEs entities apply Section 20.
Your books, compliant and on time — every month.
Book a Free ConsultationWhat we need from you
Documents required
Organised monthly. For a standard monthly engagement, the following documents are required by category to complete bookkeeping, VAT filing, and payroll.
Bank & Transactions
- ›Monthly bank statements for all business accounts
- ›Credit card statements for business cards
- ›Foreign currency account statements if applicable
Sales & Revenue
- ›FTA-compliant tax invoices with TRN, date, description, amounts, and VAT
- ›POS daily/weekly reports where individual invoices are not issued
Purchases & Expenses
- ›Supplier invoices showing supplier TRN for input VAT recovery
- ›Employee expense claims with supporting receipts
Payroll
- ›Employee list: name, salary, joining date, visa category, leave balance
- ›WPS SIF approval confirmation from your bank each month
For New Engagements
- ›Trade licence, VAT registration certificate, CT registration confirmation from EmaraTax
- ›Prior-year reconciled trial balance and signed financial statements if migrating
How it works
Our 6-step onboarding process
From discovery call to first management accounts in 4 weeks for most businesses. Backlogs and migration projects are scoped separately in the engagement proposal.
Discovery Call
Review your current books, software, backlog, and upcoming FTA deadlines. Output: a written engagement proposal covering scope, software, and monthly fee.
Chart of Accounts Set-Up
Configured for your business type, VAT supply categories, and CT cost mapping. Non-deductible CT items flagged in the expenditure structure from the start.
Opening Balance Migration
Historical data imported and reconciled against prior-year financials and bank statements. All discrepancies resolved before monthly processing begins.
Monthly Close Cycle
All transactions recorded, bank accounts reconciled to zero unreconciled items, VAT coded. Management pack delivered by the 10th of each following month.
VAT Return Preparation
Return prepared from the reconciled ledger, input tax recovery maximised, submitted via FTA EmaraTax within the 28-day deadline. Filing confirmation retained.
Year-End and Management Pack
Full year-end close 4–6 weeks before financial year-end. IFRS financial statements, CT schedule, and auditor-ready file prepared and submitted to your appointed auditor.
Annual cycle
Accounting calendar
Key deadlines for a UAE business with a 31 December financial year end, registered for VAT, and subject to Corporate Tax.
| Period | Obligation |
|---|---|
| Monthly | Bookkeeping close, bank reconciliation, payroll & WPS |
| Quarterly | VAT return filed within 28 days of tax period end |
| Within 9 months | Corporate Tax return filed after financial year end |
| Annually | Audited financial statements (free zone licence renewal) |
| 7 years | CT records retention from end of relevant tax period |
| 5 years | VAT records retention (10 years for real estate) |
Deadlines are based on a 31 December financial year end. Businesses with different year-end dates should adjust accordingly. CT return deadline of 9 months applies from the end of the relevant Tax Period under FDL No. 47 of 2022.
Ongoing obligations
What you must maintain throughout the year
Compliance is not an annual event. These obligations apply continuously from the date of incorporation.
Accruals-basis accounting — always on
IFRS and IFRS for SMEs both require accruals-basis accounting from the first day of trading. Income and expenses must be recorded in the period they are earned or incurred, not when cash moves.
Continuous VAT record maintenance
Every tax invoice issued and received must be retained as it is created. VAT coding on each transaction must be correct at the point of entry — not corrected in bulk at quarter end.
WPS salary submission every month
The Wage Protection System requires SIF file submission and salary payment within 10 working days of the wage payment date each month. A single WPS default triggers a MOHRE licence block affecting all new visa applications.
Trade licence renewal before expiry
An expired trade licence suspends the company's ability to apply for new visas, renew existing visas, or open new bank accounts. The bookkeeping engagement should flag the licence expiry date as part of the annual calendar.
CT registration kept current
Any changes to the business — new shareholders, new activities, change of financial year — must be reflected in the EmaraTax CT registration record. Failure to update the registration is a separate administrative violation.
Platforms
Accounting software we work with
We work with all four major platforms used by UAE businesses. If you do not yet have software, we recommend the platform that fits your business size, transaction volume, and reporting requirements before you begin.
QuickBooks Online
Best for: SMEs under AED 10M revenue
UAE VAT module available. Fully cloud-based with real-time access. Limited multi-entity consolidation at standard tier.
Xero
Best for: Free zone & multi-currency businesses
Strong bank feed automation. Clean AED and foreign currency handling. Popular with DMCC and IFZA companies.
Zoho Books
Best for: Early-stage & bilingual reporting
FTA-approved platform with direct EmaraTax filing integration. Strong Arabic language support.
Tally ERP
Best for: Trading & manufacturing companies
Best-in-class inventory module. Handles landed cost calculations and stock valuation. Widely used in mainland trading businesses.
Indicative fees
Service tiers
Exact pricing depends on transaction volume, software, employee count, and business complexity. Contact us for a tailored quote.
Fees are indicative as of 2025. Subject to change without notice. Verify at the time of engagement.
Starter
Sole traders, single-entity SMEs, under 100 transactions per month
- Monthly bookkeeping & bank reconciliation
- Quarterly VAT return & EmaraTax filing
- Monthly trial balance output
From AED 800 / mo
Growth
VAT-registered SMEs, 100–500 transactions/mo, up to 15 employees
- Everything in Starter
- Monthly management accounts (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, KPIs)
- Monthly payroll & WPS SIF generation
- Quarterly cash flow forecasting
From AED 2,000 / mo
Enterprise
Multi-entity, high-volume, or free zone with annual audit requirement
- Everything in Growth
- Year-end financial close
- IFRS or IFRS for SMEs financial statements
- Auditor liaison to signed financials
- Corporate Tax schedule
From AED 4,500 / mo
Case study
18 months of unreconciled books — resolved in 6 weeks
A Dubai mainland trading company came to me in early 2023 with 18 months of unreconciled books. The FTA had issued an audit request, and the business had no clean financial records to present. The books had been partially maintained in a spreadsheet with no bank reconciliation performed since June 2021.
Over 6 weeks, my team processed all 18 months of transactions, reconciled 3 bank accounts, and identified AED 47,000 in previously unclaimed input VAT across 6 quarterly periods. We submitted amended VAT returns through EmaraTax for the periods within the voluntary disclosure window, recovering the input tax that had been missed. The corrected books also identified AED 12,000 in duplicate supplier payments that the business pursued for recovery.
The audit-ready file was delivered to the FTA within the requested timeframe. The FTA audit concluded with no assessment. The business is now on our Growth tier — monthly management accounts delivered by the 10th, VAT returns filed on time every quarter.
18 months
Backlog reconstructed
AED 47K
Input VAT recovered
6 weeks
To audit-ready file
Behind on your books? We fix backlogs fast.
Get in Touch TodayWhat goes wrong
5 common bookkeeping mistakes UAE businesses make
Using a personal bank account for business transactions
Commingled records prevent correct input VAT claims. An FTA audit that reveals personal and business transactions mixed will result in input tax disallowances and a potential VAT assessment on overclaimed or underclaimed amounts.
Missing the VAT return deadline
First offence: AED 1,000. Repeat offence within 24 months: AED 2,000. These penalties apply under Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2021 — even when the business has zero net VAT due in that period.
Failing to retain records for 7 years
Article 55 of FDL No. 47/2022 requires every taxable person to retain records and documents relevant to their CT position for 7 years from the end of the relevant tax period. Disposing of records before that window expires removes your evidence in an FTA inquiry.
Incorrect VAT treatment on exempt versus zero-rated supplies
Zero-rated supplies allow full input tax recovery. Exempt supplies do not. Treating exempt supplies as zero-rated overclaims input VAT — adjusted by the FTA in audit. This is most common in mixed-supply businesses providing both standard-rated and exempt services.
No year-end cut-off for accruals and prepayments
IFRS requires accruals-basis accounting. Missing year-end accruals and prepayments misstates profit and the Corporate Tax base. For businesses with significant accrued expenses or advance payments, the misstatement is material and will require a corrected CT return.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Are UAE companies legally required to maintain accounting records?
What is the penalty for not maintaining proper records under UAE Corporate Tax Law?
How does UAE VAT affect my bookkeeping requirements?
Do free zone companies need audited financial statements?
What accounting standard must UAE mainland companies follow?
Can I switch accounting providers mid-year without disrupting my VAT filing?
Information on this page reflects laws and regulations published as of May 2026. UAE tax and corporate law is subject to amendment. Verify current requirements at tax.gov.ae and mof.gov.ae before making compliance decisions.
Written & reviewed by
Jashvantkumar Prajapati
Founder & CEO, Avyanco Group
21+ years advising founders and investors on UAE company formation, tax structuring, and cross-border expansion. CSP Licensed by the Dubai Economic Department. Direct experience helping 11,000+ businesses across mainland, free zone, and offshore structures.