Saudi Arabia

Accounting software and cloud ERP for start-ups and science-park firms in Dhahran

The start-ups, university spin-outs and small technology firms around KFUPM and the Dhahran Techno Valley science park sell pilots and subscriptions to large industrial clients. Aqid ERP follows each deal from quote to invoice, costs every pilot against its budget, bills subscriptions each month through ZATCA, and pays a small team with GOSI and the Mudad file.

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In short

The start-ups, university spin-outs and small technology firms around KFUPM and the Dhahran Techno Valley science park sell pilots and subscriptions to large industrial clients. Aqid ERP follows each deal from quote to invoice, costs every pilot against its budget, bills subscriptions each month through ZATCA, and pays a small team with GOSI and the Mudad file. The Growth plan fits, at SAR 111 a month, with a 60-day free trial. Not built yet: There are no timesheets and no hourly billing, a pilot cannot be invoiced automatically by its percentage complete, and there is no register of shareholders, funding rounds or grants: invoice each milestone yourself and keep the cap table with your lawyers.

At a glance

CityDhahran, Saudi Arabia
E-invoicingZATCA Phase 2: clearance and reporting once your device is connected with a Fatoora OTP; UBL 2.1 XML, QR code
VAT15% standard rate; the return is prepared from the books in ZATCA's layout
PayrollGOSI, a WPS salary file in the Mudad layout, end of service, payslips in Arabic and English
CurrencySAR, to 2 decimal places on every document and in the ledger
Recommended planGrowth: payroll beyond five people, projects with budgets for each pilot, and room for a second company if the start-up sets up a holding.
PriceSAR 111 a month · 60-day free trial today, no card
Not built yetThere are no timesheets and no hourly billing, a pilot cannot be invoiced automatically by its percentage complete, and there is no register of shareholders, funding rounds or grants: invoice each milestone yourself and keep the cap table with your lawyers.

Business in Dhahran, and the part Aqid ERP plays

Dhahran is home to King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and to Dhahran Techno Valley, the science park run by a company the university owns, where large energy and industrial companies have built research centres and which sets out to commercialise the university's research and bring small and mid-sized firms into the park. The university's start-up acceleration programme backs deep-tech founders, and its technology-transfer centre handles patents and licensing. Ithra, the cultural centre run by Aramco, adds exhibitions and creative programmes to the city.

The small companies here are young and few in people: a spin-out testing a sensor or a coating at a client's plant, a software firm selling a monitoring tool by subscription, an engineering studio building prototypes for a research centre. Their months are a handful of large customers, pilots with a fixed budget, and subscriptions that renew. Aqid ERP keeps the deals in a pipeline, each pilot as a project, and the subscriptions on recurring invoices.

How a business in Dhahran runs on Aqid ERP

From the first meeting to the purchase order

Each opportunity with a large client is a deal in the sales pipeline with its quotes, so you see what is close to an order; a won quote becomes the invoice without retyping.

Each pilot as a project

A pilot gets a project with its budget; tag materials, lab and travel costs and the invoice to it, mark its percentage complete, and see how much of the budget is spent before the client's review.

Subscriptions billed every month

A software or monitoring subscription repeats as a recurring invoice on its day, cleared through ZATCA and emailed to the client, with reminders when it is overdue.

A small team, paid properly

Payroll for engineers and developers with GOSI by nationality, the Mudad WPS file, bilingual payslips, iqama expiry alerts and end-of-service accruals from the first hire.

A month at a technology start-up in Dhahran (example)

  1. Say a technology start-up in Dhahran invoices SAR 180,000.00 of a pilot project and software subscriptions for industrial clients in October, all at the standard rate. That is SAR 27,000.00 VAT, SAR 207,000.00 in total, on tax invoices cleared through ZATCA or simplified invoices reported to it.
  2. A supplier bills SAR 45,000.00 plus SAR 6,750.00 VAT for lab equipment, test materials and cloud hosting, posted against a purchase order and tagged to the pilot project.
  3. Payroll for 9 staff runs with GOSI contributions and a WPS salary file in the Mudad layout, and its cost is posted to the books from the same run.
  4. The VAT return shows SAR 27,000.00 output VAT and SAR 6,750.00 input VAT, so SAR 20,250.00 to pay before any other purchases. Each box opens to the invoices and bills behind it.
  5. These figures only show the arithmetic. How VAT applies to your supplies is for your tax adviser, set up before you start invoicing.

The parts you will use

Sales

Tax invoices cleared through ZATCA, simplified invoices reported, credit notes, quotes, automatic reminders, and statements by email or WhatsApp.

Projects and cost centres

Tag every line to a project, a cost centre or a branch; profit by job, a budget and percentage complete per project, and retention held on contract invoices.

Accounting and reports

A chart of accounts for Saudi Arabia, bank accounts and reconciliation, fixed assets with monthly depreciation, and the IFRS for SMEs statements.

Payroll

Monthly payroll in SAR, GOSI, a WPS salary file in the Mudad layout, end-of-service accruals and bilingual payslips.

The rules in Saudi Arabia, and what Aqid ERP does with them

E-invoicing: ZATCA's Phase 2 reaches VAT-registered businesses in waves. Aqid ERP produces the UBL 2.1 XML, the XAdES signature and the QR code, clears tax invoices and reports simplified ones once your device is connected with an OTP from the Fatoora portal. It implements Phase 2 end to end and is tested against ZATCA's published rules; its listing in ZATCA's solution-provider directory is in progress.

VAT: the standard rate is 15%. The return is prepared from the books in ZATCA's layout, and every box opens to the invoices and bills behind it. Filing on the ZATCA portal stays with you or your adviser.

Payroll: GOSI contributions by nationality, a WPS salary file in the Mudad layout, end-of-service accruals and payslips in Arabic and English, posted to the books from the same run. Employee records carry document expiry alerts for iqamas and passports.

Zakat and income tax are not computed; the year-end statements they start from are kept as you work, for you or your adviser.

Plans for a business in Dhahran

Starter

For small businesses that need compliant invoicing

 79 / month

  • Compliant invoices + QR
  • Customers & quotes
  • Payroll and WPS file for up to 5 employees
Start now for free
Recommended

Growth

For teams that want the full books, not only invoices

 111 / month

  • Everything in Starter
  • Full ledger & reports
  • Unlimited payroll, inventory and consolidation
Start now for free

Premium

For companies with branches, devices and volume

 219 / month

  • Everything in Growth
  • Branches & devices
  • Your own versioned metrics, consolidation & API
Start now for free

Compare the plans in detail

Questions

Can a Dhahran start-up see how much of a pilot's budget it has spent?

Yes. Make the pilot a project with its budget and tag every cost and invoice to it; the project shows spend against budget and the percentage complete you set. Invoicing by percentage complete is not built, so raise each milestone invoice yourself.

Is Aqid ERP live for ZATCA e-invoicing Phase 2?

Not listed yet: Aqid ERP's listing in ZATCA's solution-provider directory is in progress. It implements Phase 2 end to end (UBL 2.1 XML, XAdES signature, QR code, clearance for tax invoices and reporting for simplified ones) and is tested against ZATCA's published rules. You connect your device with an OTP from the Fatoora portal.

Does it run Saudi payroll?

Yes: monthly payroll in SAR, GOSI contributions by nationality, a WPS salary file in the Mudad layout, end-of-service accruals and bilingual payslips. Starter covers up to 5 employees; Growth has no limit.

Industry pages for Dhahran

IT and software companiesEngineering consultanciesConsulting firmsAll industriesAccounting firms in Dhahran

Other cities in Saudi Arabia

RiyadhJeddahDammamKhobarJubailMedinaTabukAl-AhsaMakkahTaifJazanAl-KharjAbhaBuraydahYanbuHailHafar Al-BatinArarSakakaAll cities in Saudi Arabia

Aqid ERP in Saudi Arabia

Set up for Saudi Arabia's rules from the first day.

  • Plans from  79 a month
  • ZATCA Phase 2
  • VAT 15 %
  • GOSI & Mudad WPS
Aqid ERP for Saudi ArabiaPrices in Saudi ArabiaVAT registration in Saudi Arabia: the thresholds, the 30-day deadline and the fineGetting a VAT refund from ZATCA: the credit balance, the request and the bank accountCancelling VAT registration in Saudi Arabia: when you must, when you may, and what follows

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