Special situations
Records reconstruction
Some UAE companies do not have a backlog problem, they have a records problem: statements never reconciled, or years of transactions coded to one miscellaneous account. Finbryn rebuilds the file from bank, card and payment-gateway statements, notes any genuine estimate as an estimate, and hands back records a bank, investor or tax agent can rely on.
Bank reconciliation summary
Illustrative client · August 2026
AED
| Account | Difference | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating account··4821 | 184,220.16 | 184,220.16 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Reserve account··0937 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Company card··1006 | (12,418.52) | (12,418.52) | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Card processor clearing | 8,905.40 | 8,905.40 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Payroll clearing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
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.
A different problem from simply being behind
Not every UAE business that comes to us has a backlog problem. Some have a records problem instead: a QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books file that technically exists, with numbers inside it nobody can actually stand behind. A prior bookkeeper coded years of spend to one miscellaneous account, left without explaining a chart of accounts nobody else can follow, or reconciled balances that were never genuinely checked against a real statement. That calls for a rebuild, not the usual monthly tidy-up.
Starting only from what can be verified
The rule here is simple and does not bend: every figure traces back to a primary source, never to an existing ledger entry someone is hoping is correct. Bank statements, card statements, payment-gateway reports and supplier confirmations get pulled first, and each transaction gets mapped from those documents into a chart of accounts rebuilt around how the business actually operates today, whether that is under a DMCC, JAFZA, IFZA or RAKEZ licence, or on the mainland under Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021. Where an invoice or a bill genuinely cannot be located anywhere, that gap gets stated in writing rather than papered over with a number dressed up as a fact.
Why free zone and mainland cannot be blended here
A UAE company's statutory accounts follow IFRS under the Commercial Companies Law, and a Qualifying Free Zone Person has to show its Qualifying Income separately from mainland-sourced revenue to protect its 0% rate on that income. A reconstruction that mixes free zone and mainland activity into one undifferentiated ledger undermines that position from the very first transaction it rebuilds, so the split gets built in from the start rather than retrofitted once the numbers are already assembled.
Records reconstruction pairs naturally with a multi-year catch-up where the same business is also behind on reconciliations, and it sets up cleanly for a wind-down where the closing figures need to hold up on their own. From there, the business moves onto the standard rhythm: weekly reconciliation, an early monthly close, and senior review before anything reaches you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Records reconstruction
What if some of our records are simply gone?
We work from what remains, bank and card statements, supplier confirmations, prior filings, and document every assumption we have to make.
Can reconstructed books support a Federal Tax Authority filing?
Yes. We build them to a standard your tax agent can rely on, and flag anywhere the reconstruction is an estimate rather than a fact.
Do you keep free zone and mainland income separate during a reconstruction?
Yes. A Qualifying Free Zone Person needs its Qualifying Income visible on its own, so the rebuild separates free zone and mainland activity from the first transaction rather than splitting it out later.
What sources do you use to reconstruct records when originals are missing?
Bank statements, supplier and customer confirmations, prior correspondence with the Federal Tax Authority and any partial software export are the main sources, in that order of reliability. Where a figure genuinely cannot be supported by any source, we say so rather than filling the gap with an assumed number.
What if some records are simply gone?
We work from what remains, bank and card statements, vendor confirmations, prior filings, and document every assumption we have to make.
Can reconstructed books support a tax filing?
Yes. We build them to a standard your credentialed preparer can rely on, and we flag anywhere the reconstruction is an estimate rather than a fact.
How is records reconstruction priced?
Pricing for records reconstruction 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.
What software works with records reconstruction?
Records reconstruction runs inside QuickBooks Online or Xero, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
Related services
- Special situationsMulti-year catch-upBringing several years of unreconciled or missing books current in one structured engagement, scoped and timed before the work starts.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
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.