Choosing the system
We help you choose between Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks and Tally based on your entities, transaction volumes and the integrations you need.
Advise · Accounting software
Accounting software set up for UAE VAT and corporate tax.
ebs Chartered Accountants is a Zoho Advanced Partner and has set up the Zoho Finance suite for more than 250 businesses. We also set up Xero, QuickBooks and Tally, each with a chart of accounts built for UAE VAT and corporate tax, data migrated from your previous system and users trained to post the same way.
- Zoho status
- Advanced Partner
- Zoho Finance suite set up for 250+ businesses
- Setup in every package
- Free
- chart of accounts, software and Zoho Books training
- FTA access to records
- On request
- including passwords or encryption keys, since 30 July 2026
- E-invoice data stored
- In the UAE
- for the full record-retention period
Advise
Who this is for
- The company has outgrown spreadsheets or an entry-level setup, and reporting now needs real structure.
- Each entity runs a different system or chart of accounts, so results cannot be compared across the group.
- The chart of accounts was not built for UAE VAT and corporate tax, so every return needs manual adjustments.
- You are migrating from a legacy system and need opening balances, customers, suppliers and open items brought across and reconciled.
- Users post the same transaction in different ways from month to month, because no one set the rules or trained them.
- The system needs bank feeds, POS or payment gateway connections, and invoice data ready for e-invoicing.
What we do
The work, end to end.
A chart of accounts for UAE tax
A chart of accounts (the list of accounts transactions are posted to) with VAT treatments built in as tax codes, and separate accounts for items corporate tax treats differently, such as entertainment and related-party transactions.
Zoho implementation
As a Zoho Advanced Partner, we implement the Zoho Finance suite, including Zoho Books, Invoice, Expense, Inventory, Payroll and Checkout, and integrate it with your existing processes.
Xero, QuickBooks and Tally
Setup, training and customisation in Xero, QuickBooks or Tally, where you prefer one of them or already use it.
Data migration
We move your data from spreadsheets or a previous system: opening balances, customers, suppliers and open invoices, reconciled to your last balances.
Integrations
Payment gateways such as Stripe set up in Zoho Books or Xero, and bank feeds and POS (point-of-sale) systems connected to the accounting software, so transactions arrive without retyping.
Training
Hands-on training for your team, so the system is used the same way every month. Zoho Books training is included in every package.
How it works
How the engagement runs.
- 1
To start
Free first consultation
We look at your entities, transaction volumes, current tools and what the system needs to do.
- 2
At the start
Choose and plan
We recommend a system and agree the chart of accounts, the integrations and the migration plan.
- 3
Varies
Set up and migrate
We configure the software and tax codes, connect the integrations and bring your data across.
- 4
Before go-live
Check the balances
We reconcile the migrated balances to your last accounts before you go live.
- 5
Before go-live
Train your team
Your team is trained on the workflows it will use every day.
- 6
Ongoing
Support
We support you after go-live. If we keep your books, it is the system we work in with you every month.
What you get
Deliverables
- A recommendation on the right system for your business
- A chart of accounts built for UAE VAT and corporate tax
- Your software configured, with VAT tax codes set up
- Opening balances, customers, suppliers and open items migrated and reconciled
- Bank, POS and payment gateway connections where you need them
- Users trained on the agreed workflows
- Access set up so you can give the FTA what it asks for
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
Records may be kept electronically if the copies are identical to the originals, available for the whole retention period and can be reproduced as readable copies on request.
Cabinet Decision No. 74 of 2023, Art. 4
- 2
Electronic copies must be complete, with all pages in their original order, and the FTA must be given access on request, including passwords or encryption keys and access to the system that holds them.
FTA Decision No. 4 of 2026, Arts. 2 and 3
- 3
E-invoice and e-credit note data must be stored within the UAE for the record-retention period.
Ministerial Decision No. 243 of 2025, Art. 11
- 4
For corporate tax, all amounts must be stated in AED, with foreign-currency amounts converted at the Central Bank of the UAE exchange rate.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 43
- 5
A full VAT tax invoice must show the VAT in AED, and the exchange rate used where an amount was converted from another currency.
Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, Art. 59
- 6
Records submitted to the FTA must be in Arabic. The FTA may accept English but can require an Arabic translation, and not providing records in Arabic when asked costs AED 5,000.
Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022, Art. 5; Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017, as amended by Cabinet Decision No. 129 of 2025
- 7
Corporate tax records must be kept for 7 years after the end of the tax period they relate to.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 56
It depends on the number of entities, transaction volumes and what the system needs to connect to. We work in Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks and Tally, and recommend one after looking at how you operate. We are a Zoho Advanced Partner and have set up the Zoho Finance suite for more than 250 businesses.
It is the list of accounts every transaction is posted to: sales, rent, salaries, bank and so on. Built properly, it carries VAT treatments as tax codes and keeps items corporate tax treats differently, such as entertainment, in their own accounts. The returns then come straight from the ledger instead of a spreadsheet of adjustments.
Yes. We bring across opening balances, customers, suppliers and open invoices, and reconcile the migrated balances to your last accounts before you go live, so the new system starts from figures you can rely on.
Yes. Every one of our fixed monthly packages includes free setup and implementation: the chart of accounts, the software and Zoho Books training. You can compare the packages at /pricing/.
If it asks, yes. Since 30 July 2026, FTA Decision No. 4 of 2026 requires that the FTA can access your records on request, including any passwords or encryption keys and access to the system that holds them. We set up access so you can provide it when asked.
For e-invoices and e-credit notes, the rule is specific: the data must be stored within the UAE for the full retention period. Other records must be complete, available for the whole retention period and readable on request. Check where your provider hosts the data before you commit.
The tax rules are about what you submit: returns, records and documents submitted to the FTA must be in Arabic, though the FTA may accept English and ask for an Arabic translation, at your cost. Not providing records in Arabic when the FTA asks costs AED 5,000.
Yes. We set up payment gateways such as Stripe in Zoho Books or Xero, and connect bank feeds and POS systems to the accounting software. For one Dubai restaurant group, we set up cloud accounting with POS and bank feeds as part of moving it from cash-basis books to accrual accounting.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Set up the system once, properly
Tell us what each entity uses today, your transaction volumes and what the system needs to connect to. We will recommend a system and set out what the setup involves. The first consultation is free.
- Zoho Advanced Partner
- FTA Registered Tax Agency, so VAT and corporate tax are filed for you
- Accountants with Big Four audit-firm experience
- Mon to Fri, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (GST)
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