In the UAE, accounting software is no longer just about keeping books. It supports VAT compliance, prepares you for Corporate Tax and must produce records that an auditor or the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) can follow. Use this checklist to judge any system, from a simple cloud tool to a full ERP.

1. VAT done properly

  • Tax invoices and credit notes with all required fields, a TRN and sequential numbering. See the tax invoice checklist.
  • Tax codes for 5% standard, zero-rated, exempt and out-of-scope supplies, and for reverse charge and imports.
  • Input VAT tracking, with purchase invoices stored and checked for validity.
  • A VAT report by period that maps to the boxes of the VAT 201 return, with drill-down to the underlying invoices.

Our VAT guide explains registration and filing.

2. Corporate Tax readiness

Corporate Tax starts from accounting profit, then adjusts for items the law treats differently. Your system should produce a trial balance, profit and loss and balance sheet by period, flag related-party transactions, track fixed assets and depreciation and make it easy to share data with your tax adviser. See our Corporate Tax guide.

3. FTA Audit File and audit trail

  • Ability to export the FTA Audit File when requested.
  • An audit trail showing who created, changed or deleted each record and when.
  • Locked periods so closed months cannot be edited casually.
  • Attachments, so each transaction carries its supplier invoice or receipt.

4. Multi-currency and AED reporting

If you buy or sell in USD, EUR or other currencies, the system should record exchange rates, post gains and losses and always show the VAT amount in AED on tax invoices. The dirham’s peg to the US dollar makes USD simple, but other currencies need correct rates.

5. Banking

  • Bank statement import in CSV or other formats, and rules that match lines to invoices and bills.
  • Cheque management, including post-dated cheques common in the UAE.
  • Payment links and online payment recording; see online payments.

6. Receivables and payables

Ageing reports, statements, automatic reminders and credit limits keep cash coming in. Approval workflows for purchase orders and bills keep spending under control. Recurring invoices save time for retainers and subscriptions.

7. Inventory, projects and branches

If you hold stock, link it to accounts so cost of sales is right; see inventory management. If you run projects or branches, track profit by project, branch and cost centre.

8. Reports and ownership

  • Management dashboards: cash, receivables, payables, margin and runway.
  • Exports to Excel and PDF in English and Arabic.
  • Full data export at any time. You should own your data. See our data protection checklist.

How to evaluate

  1. Run a month of real transactions through a trial.
  2. Produce a VAT report and compare it with your manual figures.
  3. Ask your accountant to review the reports and audit trail.
  4. Check pricing, support in UAE hours and what happens to your data if you leave.

Many companies connect accounting to an ERP or CRM so sales, stock and payments flow in automatically. See our ERP buyer’s guide and accounting software.

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm current requirements with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser before you act.

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