Why outsource accounting in the UAE
UAE’s combined VAT, corporate-tax and economic-substance regime has raised the bar on what "good books" means. The Excel spreadsheet that worked in 2020 is now an audit risk. You need IFRS-compliant accounts, monthly bank reconciliations, complete VAT-recoverable expense tracking, and a clear paper trail — all maintained year-round, not bolted on at year-end.
For most SMEs, hiring an in-house accountant is overkill. For most large groups, outsourcing select functions is more efficient than expanding the finance team. Optimum’s outsourced accounting service sits between the two — a dedicated team operating as your finance back-office, at SME-friendly pricing.
What we run for you
Monthly bookkeepingTransactions categorised, banks reconciled, VAT and CT-relevant fields flagged correctly.
Management accountsMonthly P&L, balance sheet, cash flow with year-on-year comparatives — by the 10th.
PayrollUAE-compliant payslips, WPS files, end-of-service computations, leave tracking.
VAT & CT readinessRecords structured for direct quarterly VAT filing and annual corporate-tax return.
Audit supportYear-end packs prepared in audit-ready format, reducing audit fees by 30–50%.
KPI dashboardsCustom monthly dashboards: gross margin, customer concentration, AR ageing, cash runway.
What’s included
- Cloud-accounting setup (Xero, Zoho Books, QuickBooks, or your existing system)
- Daily transaction recording, supplier invoicing, customer invoicing
- Monthly bank reconciliation across all accounts and currencies
- Trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, cash flow — IFRS-compliant
- Quarterly VAT return preparation and submission
- Annual corporate-tax computation and return filing (when subscribed)
- Payroll: WPS, payslips, end-of-service, gratuity provisions
- Audit liaison — we hand the auditor a clean pack and answer their queries
- Monthly review call with a senior accountant
How we work
- Onboarding (week 1–2) — system selection, chart of accounts setup, opening balances reconciled
- Monthly cadence — invoices, expenses and bank statements collected by day 5; books closed and reports issued by day 10
- Quarterly — VAT return filed before the 28th, with 5+ days’ review buffer
- Annually — pre-audit pack ready by month 2 of the new year, audit completed by month 4–5, corporate-tax return filed within statutory deadline
Pricing
We price by transaction volume and complexity, not by hour. Most SME clients land between AED 1,500–4,500 per month for full-service outsourced accounting (including VAT). Pre-audit packs and annual corporate-tax returns are typically AED 4,500–12,000 per year, depending on company size.
