Catch-up bookkeeping — backlog accounts brought up to date

Why it matters now

• Your Corporate Tax return starts from financial statements prepared under accepted accounting standards — without books, there is no return.
• VAT returns must reconcile to your ledger; gaps often hide errors that need a voluntary disclosure.
• Records must be kept for 7 years for Corporate Tax and at least 5 years for VAT. Failing to keep them carries a penalty of AED 10,000, or AED 20,000 for a repeat.
• Banks, auditors and investors all ask for up-to-date accounts.

How we rebuild your books

1. Collect — bank and card statements, sales invoices, purchase bills, contracts and payroll records, uploaded through our client portal.
2. Rebuild — every transaction recorded in Zoho Books, included in your plan, on a chart of accounts built for UAE tax.
3. Reconcile — each bank account reconciled to the statement, with unexplained items listed for you to confirm.
4. Close — year-end adjustments and financial statements, ready for your auditor where required.
5. Catch up on tax — overdue VAT and Corporate Tax returns prepared, and voluntary disclosures where earlier returns were wrong.

How we help beyond the numbers

• We flag missing invoices and related-party transactions as we go, so they are fixed before any return is filed.
• Our cross-border tax experience helps where overseas income, foreign suppliers or group companies are involved.
• If penalties have already arisen, we support you with reconsideration requests and FTA queries.
• Once you are current, you move onto a monthly bookkeeping plan so the backlog never builds up again.

Sources: Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on Corporate Tax (Articles 54 and 56); Ministerial Decision No. 114 of 2023 on accounting standards and methods; Federal Decree-Law No. 28 of 2022 on Tax Procedures, as amended; Cabinet Decision No. 40 of 2017 and Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 on administrative penalties, as amended.