Close & reporting
Month-end close
A monthly close for your UAE mainland or free zone company that reconciles every account to source records, books accruals and prepayments under IFRS, and hands you finished numbers on a set date each month, so a Corporate Tax deadline or a licence renewal never lands on top of an unfinished file.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
AED
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Two clocks running at once in the UAE
A UAE company juggles the Corporate Tax filing clock, 9 months from tax period end, alongside a free zone licence renewal that its own authority sets on a separate date. Leaving the close loose until one of those dates gets close means both compete for attention in the same rushed week. We fix a close date early in the calendar year and build the whole month around hitting it.
The mechanics behind a clean close
Every bank, card and loan account is matched line for line against its statement. Accruals and prepayments for the period go in under IFRS. Depreciation runs on schedule, and where a group holds a mainland trading company next to a free zone entity, the balance each owes the other is agreed rather than left as a plug figure. Only once that is done does anyone mark the trial balance final, and it gets read through first, not just summed.
What lands on your desk
- Bank, card and loan accounts matched to statement balances
- Accruals, prepayments and depreciation posted for the period
- Balances between a mainland entity and a free zone entity agreed
- A line-by-line read of the trial balance before anything is marked final
- A running checklist so you can see what has and hasn't run
Fits the system you already run
Zoho Books, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Odoo, or whatever ERP already holds your ledger, one of our team checks the work before it lands with you.
Tightening the calendar over time
Once bank feeds, supplier invoices and WPS salary files start arriving on a fixed cadence, the close date moves forward from wherever it started toward business day five, a step at a time rather than all at once.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Month-end close
What does 'closed' actually mean for our books?
Every account is reconciled, every accrual and prepayment is booked under IFRS, and the trial balance has been reviewed line by line before the period is marked final.
Does a faster close change our Corporate Tax deadline?
No. The statutory deadline stays fixed at 9 months after your tax period end for both filing and payment, but a faster close gives your tax agent more time before it lands.
Can the close cover more than one UAE entity?
Yes. Where entities are related we agree intercompany balances as part of the monthly close, whether that is a mainland company and a free zone entity or several free zone entities under one group.
What triggers a delay in an otherwise on-time close?
The most common causes are a missing bank statement, an unreconciled payment gateway, or a supplier invoice that has not arrived yet. We flag any open item as soon as it is identified during the month.
What counts as the books being closed?
Every account is reconciled, every accrual and prepaid entry is booked, and the trial balance has been reviewed line by line before the period is marked final.
Can the close date move earlier as the business grows?
Yes. The close calendar is set with you and can be tightened once source documents such as bank feeds, bills and payroll runs arrive on a consistent schedule.
What is included in month-end close?
Month-end close covers bank, card and loan accounts reconciled to statement balances and accrual and prepaid entries recorded for the period. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
How is month-end close priced?
Pricing for month-end close depends on your transaction volume, the software you use, and how much cleanup is needed before ongoing work starts. Current ranges are published on the pricing page, and your exact fee is confirmed in writing before anything begins.
Related services
- Close & reportingAccrualsExpenses and revenue recorded in the period they actually happen, even when the invoice or cash has not moved yet, so the month's numbers reflect that month's activity.
- Close & reportingManagement reportsMonthly profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow packaged with a plain-English narrative so the numbers explain themselves before anyone has to ask a question.
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
Industries
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.