Invoices typed in one program and stock kept in a sheet? Which books a Dubai trader needs

If your invoices are typed in one program and your stock sits in another, this is for you. This is not for you if you hold no stock and only send invoices and file VAT: a small invoicing app is enough and costs less.

Do you need an invoicing app or full books?

Ask four questions about your month. Do you hold stock? Do you buy to resell? Do you run branches or tills? Do you keep a second company, in another country? One yes means you need books that carry all of it. Four no means an invoicing app will do.

One Dubai selection guide puts it plainly: a ten-invoice-a-month consultancy does not need an ERP, and a 500-item trader should not run on a starter plan with stock bolted on in spreadsheets. Exiloz says over-buying is as common as under-buying. We agree, and our own Accounts page tells small invoice-only teams to buy something cheaper.

The pattern is familiar: the Deira company in one program, the Saudi branch in a second, stock in a sheet, and group figures rebuilt in Excel at month end.

What does FTA approved actually mean?

It means the vendor wrote to the FTA. The Federal Tax Authority says software providers who "have provided a written declaration" that their software meets its requirements "may be listed" in the Tax Accounting Software Register. The vendor submits the application through EmaraTax and pays AED 10,000 to complete the listing.

Each listing carries a version and a valid-till month. On the live register today, one entry reads "Till Nov 2026" and another "Till Mar 2027". So the check is the month, read on the FTA's own page, not the badge on a vendor's website.

This register is not the e-invoicing list. E-invoicing runs through Accredited Service Providers, and a package can sit on one list and not the other. Our provider checklist has the dates and the five questions for the provider side.

What do local ERPs charge, and what does the difference buy?

Local ERPs publish lower per-user prices than we do. On 21 October 2026, Xrero's page shows AED 99 per user a month with every module, plus setup packages from AED 2,999. AmalERP shows plans from AED 99 a month and puts connection to an Accredited Service Provider "on our roadmap".

Mindcat Accounts costs more than that. It is AED 209 per user a month for users 1 to 5 and AED 179 for users 6 to 20. At 12 users that is AED 2,298 a month. Our page says we cost more than every option it lists, and it says what the difference buys: your data hosted in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, two companies in one copy, a setup we do with you in Arabic and English, and a team that answers in your time zone.

If your need is one company, no hosting rule and a team that sets up its own software, a cheaper ERP can be the right call. Compare setup, hosting and who answers the phone. The subscription line is not the whole price.

Which question should you ask before you sign?

Ask for one thing in writing: a live client, with a name you can call, sending a structured e-invoice through an Accredited Service Provider. From your e-invoicing date in 2027, a PDF is not an e-invoice. The FTA's notice of 29 September 2026 sets the dates by revenue. At AED 50 million or more, appoint a provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027. Under AED 50 million, appoint by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027.

A vendor with that client will give it. A vendor without it will say "roadmap". Both answers are useful. One of the vendor pages above says provider integration is on its roadmap. Ask us the same question. Our page says the invoice data and the VAT 201 figures are ready today, and the link to the provider you appoint is built against that provider during setup and quoted after the call.

How do we decide which one you need?

Our method is called Cleared, then sent. We count the people who work in the books, the companies and branches, where stock sits and what you use today. Then we say which side of the fork you are on.

1. 01Do you hold stock, buy for resale, run branches or tills, or keep a second company? If all four are no, we tell you to buy an invoicing app.
2. 02If any is yes, which program holds your numbers today, Tally, QuickBooks or a Phase 1 desktop program, and can it export your open balances, customers and items? We move those from our templates or your old program's exports.
3. 03Which provider will you appoint for 2027, and what do they need from the books? We build the link against that provider during setup.

Open invoices come across as balances per customer, and your accountant signs off the opening balances before go-live. For a Saudi branch, each branch is onboarded with ZATCA's Fatoora during setup, and both companies sit in one copy in riyals and dirhams. Not legal or tax advice: confirm your own VAT treatment with your adviser.

What does it cost with us?

Here is what the Accounts page says today. You pay per user a month, and a user is a named login that works in the books. Your customers on the portal and your outside auditor's read-only login are free. Companies, branches, warehouses, items and invoices are unlimited, with no per-invoice fees.

• Users 1 to 5: AED or SAR 209 each. Users 6 to 20: 179 each. Users 21 to 50: 129. Above 50: 99.
• Twelve users: 5 x 209 + 7 x 179 = AED 2,298 a month. This is the subscription for one set of books, whatever the number of companies.
• The quick start is a fixed AED/SAR 2,500 for one company and up to 5 users, and we set it up. The monthly minimum is AED/SAR 1,045, so one login does not buy a seat at the per-user rate.
• Two companies, or stock in several warehouses, is the case most traders reading this are in. We set it up with you: the monthly minimum is AED/SAR 2,298 and the one-time setup is AED/SAR 14,900 for 1 to 20 users. Plan on both numbers, not the quick start.

Your Accredited Service Provider's fees from 2027, SMS and WhatsApp messages and payment gateway fees are outside the price, billed to you by those vendors. Prices exclude 5 percent UAE VAT and 15 percent Saudi VAT.

Tell us how many people work in the books, which companies and branches you run and what you use today. We reply with the setup plan and the monthly price. If you only send invoices and file VAT, tell us anyway and we will say so.