Startup Accounting Checklist for the UAE: 90 Days
A practical checklist for new UAE companies: bank accounts, VAT and Corporate Tax registration, software, chart of accounts, invoices, payroll and controls.
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Setting up your finances properly in the first 90 days saves months of clean-up later. Most of what follows is simple; the risk is forgetting it. This checklist is in a sensible order.
Days 1–15: foundations
- [ ] Separate business banking. Never mix personal and business money.
- [ ] Record the capital injection properly: Dr Bank / Cr Share capital (or director's loan, if it's a loan).
- [ ] Choose accounting software before you have transactions, not after. See how to choose accounting software in the UAE and the free option in free accounting software for UAE businesses.
- [ ] Set the financial year-end and keep it consistent.
- [ ] Set up a sensible chart of accounts — see chart of accounts for UAE small businesses.
- [ ] Decide who keeps the books — you, a bookkeeper, an accountant — and how documents reach them.
Days 15–45: tax and compliance
- [ ] VAT: check the thresholds. Registration is mandatory when taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 over 12 months (voluntary from AED 187,500) — registration threshold guide. Register on time if required; late registration is penalised — VAT penalties.
- [ ] Corporate Tax: UAE companies, including free zone companies, generally need to register for Corporate Tax. Check the FTA's current registration deadlines for your licence date, and read the Corporate Tax bookkeeping checklist.
- [ ] Understand e-invoicing, which is rolling out in phases — UAE e-invoicing 2026 guide — so you choose software that's ready.
- [ ] Licence and constitutional documents filed together with registrations.
Days 30–60: selling and buying
- [ ] Invoice template that meets tax-invoice requirements — TRN, sequential number, date, description, VAT. Use the Invoice Generator to start, and read what a tax invoice contains.
- [ ] Payment terms set and written on every invoice.
- [ ] Supplier set-up with TRNs and bank details verified — TRN Validator.
- [ ] Expense routine: capture every receipt, with VAT split out — expense tracking and input VAT.
- [ ] Petty cash rules if you'll hold cash — petty cash management.
- [ ] Price properly: know your margin vs markup and your break-even point.
Days 45–75: people
- [ ] Employment contracts, visas and WPS — payroll must be paid through the Wages Protection System where applicable. The WPS SIF Generator helps prepare the file.
- [ ] End-of-service gratuity accrual — UAE gratuity calculation guide.
- [ ] True cost of staff — salary and employer cost.
Days 60–90: routines and controls
- [ ] Monthly close routine — month-end close checklist.
- [ ] Monthly bank reconciliation — bank reconciliation step by step.
- [ ] Basic controls: payment approvals, supplier-change checks, role-based access — internal controls checklist.
- [ ] Backups and a document filing system — record-keeping requirements.
- [ ] Cash-flow forecast for the next 12 months, with a buffer for VAT and tax payments — see the startup runway calculator.
- [ ] VAT return calendar — filing is due by the 28th day after the end of the period.
- [ ] Find out whether you need an audit (legal form, free zone, bank, investors) — year-end audit readiness.
The five mistakes to avoid early
- Mixing personal and business spending.
- Not keeping receipts or tax invoices.
- Leaving bookkeeping until year-end.
- Missing a registration or filing deadline.
- Starting on spreadsheets and never leaving — see when spreadsheets stop being enough.
Start on the right system
Pyalm Books is free during beta and covers tax invoices with your TRN, expenses with input VAT, a double-entry ledger, VAT return reporting, bank reconciliation, POS and inventory if you sell goods, and financial reports — so you can run real books from day one. If you're a freelancer or consultant, see also how freelance developers invoice clients.
Rules and thresholds change. Confirm the current position with the Federal Tax Authority (tax.gov.ae) or a qualified adviser before you file or pay.