Ongoing business support.
Seven recurring tasks that drain a founder's time — we close them. Renewals, bookkeeping, tax, audit, attestation. One handler, one invoice, one deadline calendar for the year.
What happens after the company is set up.
Forming a company is a one-time event. Supporting it is a year-long rhythm of 30–40 deadlines: license renewal, monthly bookkeeping, quarterly VAT returns, annual corporate-tax filing, audit, establishment-card refresh, employee visa renewals, occasional attestations. Every one of them carries a late penalty — anywhere from AED 1,000 to AED 50,000.
Over five years we've seen the same mistake repeatedly: the founder decides to «handle it themselves when the time comes». Eight months later the first FTA or free-zone late notice arrives — fines already accrued, often more than the annual support budget. Reactive work is always more expensive than planned work, and almost always lands at the worst moment.
What we do: maintain the calendar of every deadline 30 days in advance; prepare the paperwork; file with FTA, the free zone, the bank; deliver a quarterly financial summary. Not «accounting in the air» — concrete actions with concrete deadlines and confirmations.
What we don't do: stand in for a CFO at companies above $5M in revenue (that needs an in-house team), handle complex international transfer pricing (we'll refer you to a specialist firm), or advise on unlicensed crypto structures outside the VARA perimeter. Everything within the UAE operational rhythm — ours.
Seven workstreams, one calendar.
Below: the workstreams in the standard support bundle. Take all of it or part — pricing stacks from the blocks you select. Most clients begin with renewals and bookkeeping, add tax in April–May (filing season), and add audit when the free zone requires it.
Renewals
License, establishment card, e-channel, Ejari, bank registration — each has an expiry and demands timely renewal. License lapses over 60 days trigger AED 5,000+ in fines and freeze visa operations. We maintain the calendar, prepare, file.
Bookkeeping
IFRS-light bookkeeping with monthly statements: P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow. Xero, QuickBooks, or Zoho — your choice. Prepares you for VAT and corporate tax. Up to 50–500 transactions/month included in the base tier.
VAT 5%
Mandatory registration above AED 375,000/year turnover. Quarterly filing within 28 days of quarter end. Late fines: AED 1,000 for the first, AED 2,000 for subsequent. We prepare the return, file in the FTA portal, maintain the input/output VAT ledger.
Corporate tax
9% on profit above AED 375,000/year. Free zones get a Qualifying Income test that most companies underestimate. Filing due within 9 months of fiscal year end. We compute, verify Qualifying Income, file the return, maintain transfer-pricing documentation for international structures.
Audit
Mandatory in DMCC, DIFC, ADGM and at the bank's request — everywhere. We work with auditors accredited in every major free zone. Prepare the workpapers, coordinate with the auditor, deliver the report in the format the free zone expects. Due within 90 days of fiscal year end.
PRO services
Public Relations Officer — representation in UAE government bodies: GDRFA, MOHRE, the free zone, the municipality. Submitting and collecting documents, paying fees, signature attestations. Useful when you need something filed or collected and you're not in Dubai.
Attestation
Notarization, apostille, translation, legalization of documents for use in the UAE and the other way around — for banks, GDRFA, free zones, foreign consulates. Documents from Russia, CIS, EU — handled through notary, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the source country's embassy. 5–15 days.
Not sure what's included? 60 seconds.
Six questions about your company — turnover, headcount, free zone, what's already handled in-house. The calculator estimates the monthly retainer in AED and suggests what to keep in-house versus outsource to us.
Operations questions, concretely.
What does ongoing support typically cost per month?
Depends on volume: a small consulting LLC with no staff — AED 1,500–3,000/mo (renewals + basic bookkeeping). A trading company with VAT and 3–5 employees — AED 3,500–7,500/mo. Manufacturing or e-commerce with audit — AED 7,500–15,000/mo. Corporate tax and audit are seasonal add-ons: AED 5,000–20,000/year. Every line item is fixed in writing before the contract.
If you already have your own accountant, we can cover renewals, attestations, and PRO only — no bookkeeping. That brings the bill to AED 1,000–2,500/mo.
Can I do bookkeeping myself and outsource only tax to you?
Yes, and it often makes sense for companies under AED 2M/year revenue. Conditions: you maintain books in Xero/QuickBooks/Zoho (not Excel), give us read-only access, and we prepare VAT and corporate-tax filings off your data. We take responsibility for filing correctness, not for the correctness of the input. Cost: AED 1,500–2,500/mo.
What is Qualifying Income for free zones and why does it matter?
Since 2023, UAE corporate tax is 9%. Free zones get an exception: Qualifying Income is taxed at 0%. What counts as Qualifying — activity from the FTA list (intra-free-zone trade, exports, certain financial services) provided the substance conditions are met (real office, staff, operations). What doesn't count — income from UAE residents outside the free-zone exception; that's taxed at the standard 9%. Most mistakes come from claiming 0% without passing the substance test. It only surfaces during audit, when it's too late.
When is an audit mandatory and who performs it?
Mandatory: DMCC (all companies), DIFC (all), ADGM (all), JAFZA, KIZAD (some). Not mandatory in IFZA, Meydan, RAKEZ for small companies, but banks often request an audit when revisiting a credit line. The auditor must be accredited in the specific free zone — lists are published. Due within 90 days of fiscal year end. Cost: AED 4,000–25,000 depending on transaction volume.
What if I miss a license renewal?
Up to 30 days late — AED 250/mo penalty to the free zone, no other consequences. 30–60 days — AED 500–2,000 plus a freeze on visa operations (no new visas). 60+ days — AED 5,000+, risk of bank account freeze (banks check license status), inability to open a new account. After 6 months — the license is cancelled, and reinstating means a new company. Best avoided.
What's included in PRO services and do I need it?
PRO (Public Relations Officer) — representation at UAE government bodies. Specifically: submitting visa/EID applications, renewing the establishment card, attesting documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, filing with the free zone or municipality, collecting completed documents. You need it if: (a) you're not in Dubai full-time, (b) you don't have an HR/admin employee, (c) something urgent needs filing when you're absent. You don't need it if you have a staff member who knows the procedures.
Can I attest documents from abroad remotely?
Source-country side: the document must be apostilled in its country of origin and notarially translated to English or Arabic — achievable via a trusted contact. UAE side: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only accepts submissions in person or via consulate — but we can file on your behalf under power of attorney. Turnaround: 5–10 working days from the apostille being ready. Cost: AED 500–1,500 per document depending on the translation language and urgency.
What happens if I change support providers mid-year?
Technically fine. Practically — a few pinch points: handing over the bookkeeping file (Xero/QuickBooks — painless, Excel — painful), syncing the deadline calendar (the previous provider may have dropped something), reconciling interim VAT returns with FTA. We onboard clients from other providers regularly. Smoothest if you switch at the start of a quarter, not mid-quarter. Don't switch in April–May (corporate-tax season) or in December (year-end close).
Related, recent.
The UAE corporate tax filings most founders are already getting wrong.
Two years in, patterns are emerging. The free zone Qualifying Income test is where most mistakes happen — and they don't show up until audit season.
Renewals and filings calendar for a free-zone LLC: a year in weeks.
Thirty deadlines a year for a typical IFZA company. Which ones are critical, which can slide by a month, and which fines actually get applied versus which are paper threats.
DMCC audit: what the auditor really checks and where small companies stall.
Six places where DMCC audits stumble for small companies. Half are about substance and operations reality, half are about documentation of related-party transactions.