For engineering and design consultancies in the UAE working for developers, contractors and government clients. Aqid ERP invoices each design or supervision stage in AED, holds retention in its own receivable until handover, shows what every project earns after subconsultants and staff, and prepares the VAT 201 and PINT AE e-invoices.
Sign up as this kind of business and the books start with the accounts it posts to, beyond the country's chart:
It also sets the invoice terms, whether prices include VAT, and the setup steps that matter for it. You can change it later, and nothing you have is removed.
Start with this setupFor engineering and design consultancies in the UAE working for developers, contractors and government clients. Aqid ERP invoices each design or supervision stage in AED, holds retention in its own receivable until handover, shows what every project earns after subconsultants and staff, and prepares the VAT 201 and PINT AE e-invoices. Aqid ERP lays out the FTA's VAT 201 from the books, generates every invoice as signed PINT AE XML for the 2027 e-invoicing mandate and runs payroll in dirhams with a WPS salary file and end-of-service gratuity. The Growth plan fits, at AED 109 a month, with a 60-day free trial. Not built yet: Aqid ERP has no progress billing by percentage of completion and no payment applications, so you raise each stage invoice yourself.
| For | Engineering consultancies |
|---|---|
| E-invoicing | PINT AE: signed UBL XML kept with each invoice; sending through an accredited service provider is not yet live (the mandate starts in 2027) |
| VAT | 5% standard rate; the VAT 201 is laid out from the books, sales by emirate |
| Payroll | A WPS salary file, end-of-service gratuity, GPSSA pension for Emirati staff, payslips in Arabic and English |
| Stock | Not needed by most businesses of this kind |
| Recommended plan | Growth, at AED 109 a month before VAT: payroll with no employee limit for your engineers and draughtspeople, and consolidation if the Dubai office is a separate company. Starter fits an office of up to 5 employees. |
| Price | AED 109 a month before VAT · 60-day free trial today, no card |
| Not built yet | Aqid ERP has no progress billing by percentage of completion and no payment applications, so you raise each stage invoice yourself. |
When the client approves a stage, raise its invoice. The retention the client holds back moves to its own receivable and stays there until you release it at handover, so the project's last payment is never forgotten in the client balance.
Tag stage invoices, subconsultant bills and site visit costs to the project, and allocate engineers' payroll cost to it with a re-tag or an allocation journal. Its P&L, against the project's budget, shows whether the fee is holding up.
Site supervision billed monthly runs as a recurring invoice, issued and emailed on the same day for as long as the site is open, and stopped when the contract ends.
An office in Dubai beside the one in Abu Dhabi is a branch with its own commercial registration on its documents and its own balance sheet. Its standard-rated fees reach the VAT 201 under its own emirate.
Retention held on an invoice is tracked in its own receivable until released, so it never gets lost in the client balance.
Revenue, subconsultant bills and expenses tagged to each project and to the branch; payroll cost allocated with a re-tag or allocation journal; a revenue and cost budget and % complete compared with actuals.
Fee proposals as quotes that clients accept in the customer portal without an account, then stage invoices, credit notes and statements.
Purchase orders to subconsultants and an approval limit in AED, so a large bill needs a second sign-off before it is paid.
Monthly payroll in AED with the WPS SIF salary file, gratuity accrued every month, bilingual payslips and reminders before residence visas, work permits and passports expire.
Survey instruments, vehicles and design workstations on the asset register, with depreciation run each month in one click.
VAT in the UAE is 5% on most goods and services. Aqid ERP charges it on each stage and supervision invoice as your items are set up, tracks input VAT on subconsultant bills as you enter them, and reports standard-rated fees by the emirate of the office that issues them. When and how VAT falls on retention depends on the contract, so confirm it with your adviser; the retention balance is kept apart either way.
Invoices to developers, contractors and government clients are all in the e-invoicing mandate. A firm with revenue of AED 50M or more should already have appointed an accredited service provider, by 30 October 2026, and transmits from 1 January 2027; below AED 50M, appoint one by 31 March 2027 and transmit from 1 July 2027.
Aqid ERP signs every invoice as PINT AE XML now and keeps it with the invoice. It is not an accredited service provider, its connection to one is not yet live, and the VAT 201 figures are entered on EmaraTax by you.
For small businesses that need compliant invoicing
77 د.إ / month
For teams that want the full books, not only invoices
109 د.إ / month
For companies with branches, devices and volume
214 د.إ / month
Yes. Retention held on an invoice sits in its own receivable until you release it, and the client statement shows it separately from what is due now.
No. There is no percentage-of-completion billing or payment applications. You raise an invoice for each stage when the client approves it; the project's % complete is for reporting against budget.
With revenue of AED 50M or more, from 1 January 2027, with the provider appointed by 30 October 2026. Below that, appoint one by 31 March 2027 and transmit from 1 July 2027. Aqid ERP already produces the signed PINT AE XML; its own connection to a provider is not yet live.
It produces the WPS SIF file and, before a run closes, warns when payday is after the 1st or when an engineer has no IBAN and would be paid outside WPS. Since 1 June 2026, 85 percent of wages must go through WPS. Gratuity is accrued in the same run.
Yes. Tag invoices, subconsultant bills and expenses to the project, allocate payroll cost to it with a re-tag or allocation journal, and run its P&L against its budget.
No. There are no timesheets yet. Engineers' cost is allocated to projects from payroll, by re-tagging the payroll entry or posting an allocation journal.
Set up for the UAE's rules from the first day.
Aqid ERP