Bookkeeping software for the UAE: bank feeds, receipts and a dirham ledger
Finn keeps your books in UAE dirhams, with dates in day, month, year order, and handles the dollar and other currency activity that many UAE businesses have. Bring in bank activity by uploading a CSV or PDF statement, or by connecting Mercury, Wise, Stripe or Revolut where you use them. Finn categorises each line using your business context and flags anything unclear for review.
Receipts and invoices do not need filing by hand. Email one in, or send a photo by WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack, and Finn reads it, matches it to the bank line and records the VAT. At month end Finn reviews the ledger and raises exceptions, you clear them, and the period is locked.
- Categorises transactions using your own business context
- Handles AED and foreign currency activity in one ledger
- Matches receipts and invoices to payments
- Raises exceptions for you to clear at month end
28 OctThe VAT return lands on 28 Oct. Finn puts it on your calendar and reminds you ahead of it.
UAE VAT return software: 5% VAT, the TRN and the 28th-day deadline
UAE VAT is a flat 5% on standard-rated supplies, with zero-rated supplies such as exports outside the GCC and international transport, and exempt supplies such as certain financial services. You must register when taxable supplies and imports in the previous 12 months exceed AED 375,000, or you expect them to in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration is possible from AED 187,500.
Returns and payment are due by the 28th day of the month after the tax period ends. The standard period is quarterly. Finn tracks your VAT by period, prepares the figures for your return and tells you what is due. You file through EmaraTax with your Tax Registration Number (TRN), and Finn does not submit the return itself.
- Prepares the VAT figures for each return period
- Watches your turnover against the registration thresholds
- Separates standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies
- Reminds you of the 28th-day deadline
UAE corporate tax software: the 9% rate, AED 375,000 band and filing deadline
Corporate Tax is 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable profit and 9% above that. The return is due within nine months of the end of the tax period, with any tax payable on the same date, so a year ending 31 December 2026 gives a due date of 30 September 2027. Every taxable person, including free zone companies, must register with the FTA.
Small Business Relief lets a resident person with revenue of AED 3 million or less elect to have no taxable income, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. A large multinational group with global revenue of EUR 750 million or more also faces a 15% minimum top-up tax from 2025. Finn keeps your profit figures ready and tells you which regime applies.
Payroll, gratuity and social contributions in the UAE
The UAE has no personal income tax and no payroll tax on salaries. UAE nationals and GCC nationals contribute to the General Pension and Social Security Authority (GPSSA), typically 5% from the employee, 12.5% from the employer and 2.5% from the government. Expatriate employees have no statutory pension contribution but are entitled to an end of service gratuity on leaving.
Gratuity is 21 days of basic salary for each of the first five years and 30 days for each year after that. In the DIFC, the mandatory DEWS savings scheme replaces gratuity, with employers contributing at least 5.83% of basic salary for up to five years of service and 8.33% after that. Finn accrues these costs in your ledger so they do not arrive as a surprise.
Licences and UBO filings for UAE companies
The UAE has no single company registry. Each emirate's Department of Economic Development registers mainland companies, and each free zone authority registers its own. Finn tracks your trade licence renewal, which varies by authority and often carries fines for late renewal, and keeps the records the authority asks for, including audited accounts where your zone requires them.
One filing catches people out: every company must keep a Real Beneficial Owner register and declare changes within 15 days. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports are no longer required for financial years ending after 31 December 2022. Finn reminds you of the dates, and you or your agent make the filings.
Free zone accounting software and small business regimes: QFZP, Small Business Relief and freelancers
A Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) pays 0% on Qualifying Income and 9% on anything else. To qualify, the company needs adequate substance in the UAE, income from defined qualifying activities, compliant transfer pricing, and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit of 5% of revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower. Failing the test loses QFZP status for five tax periods.
That makes the split of your revenue matter from the first invoice, and Finn keeps income by type in the ledger so you can see it before the year ends. Sole establishments and freelancers are treated more lightly: a natural person is only within Corporate Tax if business turnover exceeds AED 1 million in a year, and salary and personal investment income are outside it.
- Income tracked by type for the de minimis test
- Free zone and mainland treated differently
- Corporate Tax return still due even at 0%
- Small Business Relief tracked against the AED 3 million limit
Switching from Zoho Books, TallyPrime or QuickBooks
Many UAE businesses are on Zoho Books, TallyPrime or QuickBooks, often with a bookkeeper or a VAT agent alongside. Switching is a CSV export and an upload. Export your transactions, contacts and chart of accounts from the old package, and Finn maps the columns itself, so there is no template to fill in.
There is no lock-in, and your accountant or tax agent can keep access to review the books. A clean switch date is the start of a VAT period, which keeps the quarter's figures in one system. Finn carries across open invoices and bills, so customers and suppliers keep their balances.