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Books, reconciled every week

Bookkeeping

Short answer

Finbryn keeps monthly books for UAE companies, from Dubai free zone entities to mainland trading firms, in QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books. Every transaction is coded and reconciled against a chart of accounts built for FTA corporate tax and VAT, so the same trial balance supports management reporting, the corporate tax return and the annual audit your licence requires.

Bank reconciliation summary

Illustrative client · August 2026

AED

Reconciled weekly
Reconciliation summary
AccountDifferenceStatus
Operating account··48210.00Reconciled
Reserve account··09370.00Reconciled
Company card··10060.00Reconciled
Card processor clearing0.00Reconciled
Payroll clearing0.00Reconciled

Last weekly runFri 28 Aug, every account agreed to its statement.

Two open itemsTwo card receipts requested from you, marked on the card account until they arrive.

Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.

Monthly books for free zone and mainland companies

A UAE company's books have to satisfy more than one audience: the Federal Tax Authority for corporate tax and VAT, the free zone authority or Department of Economic Development at licence renewal, and often an independent auditor. We run the monthly cycle inside QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books so all three draw from the same reconciled trial balance rather than a separate reconstruction each time.

Corporate tax, Small Business Relief and free zone status

Corporate Tax applies at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that threshold. Small Business Relief lets an eligible company with revenue of AED 3,000,000 or less, in the current and every prior tax period, elect to be treated as having no taxable income, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2026, though a Qualifying Free Zone Person cannot use it. A Qualifying Free Zone Person that meets the law's conditions instead pays 0% on its Qualifying Income, so keeping free zone and mainland revenue coded separately from month one matters more than it does once the return is due. Registration deadlines run under FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024, and missing one carries a AED 10,000 penalty, waived only if the first return is filed within 7 months of the first tax period's end.

VAT, excise and UBO

VAT is charged at 5%, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 in the trailing 12 months. Businesses selling tobacco, energy drinks or sweetened beverages also carry excise tax, tracked separately in the ledger from ordinary sales. Ultimate Beneficial Owner filings and Economic Substance Regulations notifications, where a Relevant Activity applies, sit outside the bookkeeping engagement itself; we flag the deadline and hand it to your registered agent rather than assume the requirement has lapsed.

Payroll and audit-ready books

Where a company runs staff through the Wage Protection System via MOHRE, or contributes to GPSSA for UAE national employees, the payroll journal is posted into the ledger each period so it agrees with what was actually paid. Statutory accounts follow IFRS as required under the Commercial Companies Law, and whether an independent audit applies depends on your licence type and free zone; either way, we prepare the audit-ready trial balance, and an independent licensed auditor signs the opinion.

Start with monthly bookkeeping if your records are current, or catch-up bookkeeping if a backlog needs clearing first. The same setup also serves companies operating from Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain or Oman, where Oman and Bahrain now run their own VAT regimes at 5% and 10% respectively, while Qatar and Kuwait have not yet introduced VAT.

Questions

Frequently asked questions: Bookkeeping

Does Finbryn file our corporate tax return?

We prepare the reconciled figures and the supporting schedule. The return itself is filed by the taxpayer or by a licensed tax agent, since representation before the Federal Tax Authority requires one.

Can you keep books for a free zone company and a mainland subsidiary at the same time?

Yes. Each entity's books are kept separately for its own licence, coded to its own tax treatment, and can be consolidated into one management view.

Which accounting software do you use for UAE clients?

QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books, whichever the company already runs. If there is no file yet, we set one up under your own subscription.

Do you complete our annual audit?

No. We prepare an audit-ready trial balance and financial statements. An independent licensed auditor completes and signs the audit itself, where your licence type requires one.

What if our company is behind on Economic Substance Regulations filings?

We flag the notification and report deadlines that apply to your Relevant Activity and confirm the current requirement with your registered agent rather than assume it no longer applies.

Do you serve companies based elsewhere in the Gulf?

Yes, we also work with companies in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, adjusting VAT treatment to each country's own regime.

Next step

Talk to the team that would run your books

A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.