Do you file the VAT return with the FTA?

No. Salt prepares the reconciliation and the client's locally appointed VAT filing agent submits the return. On this engagement the agent received a filing-ready reconciliation with output VAT already matched against input VAT, which is what reduced the back-and-forth between the two sides.

Does Salt have a UAE office or an FTA tax agent registration?

No, and Salt does not present itself as having either. The bookkeeping and the VAT reconciliation are performed remotely inside the client's own Zoho Books; anything that requires FTA tax agent registration goes to the agent the client has appointed locally.

How should interest and dividend income be recorded in the books?

From the official receipt statements, in line with UAE Federal Tax Authority guidance, rather than swept into a general income line. This is the part many bookkeepers decline, because it takes comfort with FTA treatment of investment income rather than transaction posting alone.

What if our income documentation does not fit standard chart of accounts categories?

It is workable, but it takes several rounds to settle. On this engagement the investment income documentation did not map cleanly to standard chart-of-accounts categories, and the classification had to be agreed with the client before anything could be reconciled or reported. That step is the one to allow time for.

What does a filing-ready VAT reconciliation mean?

Output VAT reconciled against input VAT, with the underlying records agreed, before anything reaches the filing agent. The agent receives a finished position rather than a set of figures to check.

Is this VAT work only, or does it include management reporting?

Both. The engagement covered ongoing bank feed, bank statement and credit card reconciliation and the preparation of the Profit and Loss statement and Balance Sheet, alongside the VAT reconciliation, so management could see how the numbers moved month to month.

Media & brand consulting · 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

Investment income that would not fit the chart of accounts

A UAE consulting firm needed dependable monthly books — and correct FTA treatment for interest and dividend receipts that most bookkeepers avoid.

Discuss a similar engagement

UAE media and brand consulting firm. Client identity withheld — we publish names only with written permission, so this engagement is described by its shape rather than by who it was.

Engagement: Bookkeeping, reconciliation, VAT support
Software: Zoho Books
Jurisdiction: United Arab Emirates
Sector: Media & brand consulting

The situation

The client needed a dependable partner to maintain their books of accounts, prepare financial statements, and help management understand how the numbers were trending month to month.
Their income also included interest and dividend receipts, which had to be recorded correctly under UAE Federal Tax Authority requirements rather than swept into a general income line.

What we did

Reconciled bank feeds, bank statements and credit card accounts on an ongoing basis.
Recorded interest and dividend income from official receipt statements, in line with UAE FTA guidance.
Prepared the Profit & Loss statement and Balance Sheet.
Reconciled output VAT against input VAT ahead of filing.
Handed the client's locally appointed VAT filing agent a clean, filing-ready reconciliation.

Why we were the right fit

Handling routine bookkeeping and a non-standard income stream in the same engagement takes comfort with FTA treatment of investment income, not just transactional bookkeeping — an area many bookkeepers decline.

The outcome

Accurate, up-to-date financials and a VAT position fully reconciled and ready to file.
Less back-and-forth with the filing agent, and a clearer view of business performance for management.

What we'd flag

Investment income documentation arrived in a format that did not map cleanly to standard chart-of-accounts categories. Classifying it correctly took several rounds with the client before it could be reconciled and reported.

Answers

Investment income that would not fit the chart of accounts

Where this applies

BookkeepingService Sales Tax · VAT · GSTService All services in United Arab EmiratesIFRS More case studies7 anonymised engagements

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