Aqid ERP is cloud accounting for UAE marketing, media and creative agencies. It bills retainers in AED with 5% VAT, books ad spend bought from overseas platforms under the reverse charge, shows the margin on each client, runs payroll with a WPS salary file and keeps signed PINT AE XML with every invoice.
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 setupAqid ERP is cloud accounting for UAE marketing, media and creative agencies. It bills retainers in AED with 5% VAT, books ad spend bought from overseas platforms under the reverse charge, shows the margin on each client, runs payroll with a WPS salary file and keeps signed PINT AE XML with every invoice. 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 timesheets, so staff cost reaches a client by moving payroll cost onto its project, not from logged hours.
| For | Marketing agencies |
|---|---|
| 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 (AED 109 a month before VAT): dollar and euro bills from ad platforms and freelancers abroad, and payroll with no limit on headcount. |
| Price | AED 109 a month before VAT · 60-day free trial today, no card |
| Not built yet | Aqid ERP has no timesheets, so staff cost reaches a client by moving payroll cost onto its project, not from logged hours. |
Each retainer is a recurring invoice with 5% VAT that is issued and emailed on the day you set. From your phone you can send the link on WhatsApp, and once a payment provider is connected the client can pay from the invoice.
Many ad platforms bill a UAE agency from abroad, in US dollars. Enter the bill in its own currency, tag it to the client, and the 5% reverse-charge VAT is posted on both sides of the entry, with no self-invoice to raise.
Tag the retainer, the media recharge, freelancer bills and shoot expenses to the client's project. Move the team's payroll cost onto it by re-tagging the payroll entry or with an allocation journal, then run the P&L for that project.
Track each pitch as a deal in the sales pipeline, with calls, meetings and follow-ups logged on it. Convert it to a quote, send it by email or WhatsApp, and when the client accepts it in the customer portal, without signing up, the deal is marked won and the quote becomes the invoice.
Quotes, tax invoices, credit notes tied to the invoice they correct, and recurring retainers, sent by email or WhatsApp, with automatic email reminders and a payment link once a payment provider is connected.
One tag per client or campaign. Retainers, media rebills, platform and freelancer bills land on it, payroll cost is moved onto it, and the profit on each account is a report.
Purchase orders for media bookings and production, with an approval limit in AED above which a second person signs off the order or bill.
Dollar and euro bills from platforms and overseas freelancers, the exchange difference posted on payment, and open balances revalued at month end. Growth and Premium.
A campaign fee invoiced up front is recognised month by month across the campaign rather than in the month you billed it.
Monthly payroll in AED, a WPS SIF salary file for your bank, end-of-service gratuity accrued every month, and payslips in Arabic and English.
Retainers and fees carry VAT at 5%. Services bought from suppliers outside the UAE, which often includes ad platforms, fall under the reverse charge: box 3 of the VAT 201, recovered in box 10 under the normal rules. Aqid ERP lays out the VAT 201 from your ledger, with each box opening to its documents; you type the figures into EmaraTax yourself, and the layout has not yet been checked with a live filing.
Whether a media rebill is your own supply or a cost you pass on as the client's agent changes its VAT treatment and where it sits in your revenue. Settle that with your tax adviser; Aqid ERP records it either way.
Every invoice is generated as signed PINT AE XML and kept with it. An agency with revenue under AED 50 million appoints an accredited service provider by 31 March 2027 and transmits from 1 July 2027. Aqid ERP is not itself a provider, and its connection to one is not yet live, so for now you pass the XML to your provider yourself.
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
When the supplier is outside the UAE, you account for the 5% yourself under the reverse charge: it goes in box 3 of the VAT 201 and, under the normal rules, is recovered in box 10. Since 1 January 2026 no self-invoice is needed; keep the supplier's invoice with the bill. Aqid ERP posts both sides of the entry.
With revenue under AED 50 million, you appoint an accredited service provider by 31 March 2027 and invoices to businesses travel through it from 1 July 2027; at AED 50 million or more, from 1 January 2027. Aqid ERP already keeps signed PINT AE XML with each invoice, but its provider connection is not yet live. Confirm your dates with the Ministry of Finance and the FTA.
Yes. Tag the client's invoices, supplier bills and expense claims to its project, move payroll cost onto it, and run the P&L for that project.
No. There are no timesheets or hourly billing yet. Agencies on Aqid ERP bill retainers, fixed fees or rebills, and staff cost reaches a client by allocating payroll.
It produces a WPS SIF salary file for your bank and accrues end-of-service gratuity. Under Resolution 340 of 2026, wages are due on the 1st of the following month, and the run warns you if the payday is later or if an employee has no IBAN. GPSSA pension contributions are taken for Emirati staff. No bank has yet accepted an Aqid ERP WPS file, so test the first one with yours.
Under current guidance, free-zone companies come under e-invoicing on the same terms as mainland ones. For corporate tax, Aqid ERP records whether you are a Qualifying Free Zone Person, but its estimate does not split qualifying from other income, so the figure is for your adviser to work from.
Set up for the UAE's rules from the first day.
Aqid ERP