Free tool · two minutes
How healthy are your company's books?
Ten questions an accountant asks in the first meeting. You get a score out of 100 and, for every gap, what it risks and how to fix it.
- 01
Are your books up to date to the end of last month?
- 02
Is every bank and card account reconciled to the books each month?
- 03
Do you keep an invoice or receipt for every transaction, in a form you could produce for seven years?
- 04
Do you get a profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow every month?
- 05
Are your VAT returns prepared from reconciled books, not from bank statements alone?
- 06
Since 1 October 2026, do you check new suppliers before claiming their input VAT?
- 07
Is payroll processed every month with payslips, and is gratuity accrued as it builds up?
- 08
Do you know your e-invoicing go-live date and when you must appoint a service provider?
- 09
Is your accounting software set up with a chart of accounts that fits UAE VAT and corporate tax?
- 10
Could you hand last year's complete file to an auditor, a bank or the FTA within days?
Under the hood
Why these ten questions
- 1
Current, reconciled books
Books that are up to date and reconciled to every bank and card account are the base for everything else: VAT, corporate tax, a bank facility, an audit.
- 2
Records you can produce
Corporate tax records must be kept for 7 years after the end of the tax period. Missing records can cost AED 10,000 per violation, or AED 20,000 for a repeat.
- 3
The 2026 changes
From 1 October 2026 input VAT depends on checking your suppliers first, and e-invoicing starts on 1 January 2027 for businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more.
- 4
Numbers you use
Monthly reports, a payroll that accrues gratuity, and a chart of accounts built for VAT and corporate tax turn bookkeeping into management information.