# Fatura Go — in-app help (English, full text) > Full text of every in-app help article, grouped by category. Public pages are one long page per category. Index: https://invoicefatura.com/help Compact directory: https://invoicefatura.com/llms.txt Articles: 73 ## Getting started ### How does signing in work? ID: login.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#login-a1 You can sign in with Continue with Google or Continue with Apple, or with your email and password. Under that form, Email me a magic link sends a one-time link instead of asking for a password. A magic link only signs in an existing account — it does not create one. If the email is unknown you will see “No account found with this email — please create an account first.” Open the link in the same browser you requested it from. ### The sign-in link says it expired ID: login.a2 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#login-a2 Magic links are single use and short-lived. Request a new one with Email me a magic link on the sign-in screen, and open the newest email — an older link in your inbox will not work. If links keep failing, choose Sign in with password instead, or Continue with Google or Continue with Apple if that is how the account was created. ### What business details do I need? ID: settings.business-details URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#settings-business-details When you create a business, Business name and Emirate are required. On the same form you can add TRN (optional), Address (optional), Currency, VAT rate (%), and Payment terms. Name, address, email and phone are printed on the tax invoice when they are filled in. Email and phone are not on the create form. Add them later under Settings → Business → Business profile, together with the name and address. Emirate, currency, VAT rate and payment terms are edited under Settings → Documents → VAT & currency. The invoice prefix is under Settings → Documents → Document numbering. Document language is under Settings → Documents → Invoice design. The VAT report’s ready-to-file checklist flags a missing name, address, or TRN. Fill those in before you file. ### What is a TRN and do I need one? ID: settings.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#settings-a1 A TRN is the 15-digit Tax Registration Number from your FTA certificate. The field is labelled TRN. If you are registered for VAT, add it under Settings → Business → Business profile. Fatura then prints it on your invoices. If you are not registered, leave it empty — you should not charge VAT until you are. Your client’s TRN is separate, on their client record, also labelled TRN. A VAT-registered buyer needs it to reclaim the VAT on your invoice. ### Monthly or quarterly VAT — how do I set it? ID: settings.vat-filing-period URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#settings-vat-filing-period The period on your VAT registration certificate is monthly or quarterly. It decides when the return is due. Most businesses file Jan–Mar, Apr–Jun, Jul–Sep, Oct–Dec. Once your TRN is set and the period is not, the dashboard shows “VAT filing period isn't set” and Open VAT report. On the VAT report, VAT filing period is Monthly or Quarterly. This matches my certificate saves quarterly starting in January. Mine is different lets you choose another cycle, including VAT period start month. Until you answer, Fatura cannot show your open period or filing deadline. ### Why does the emirate matter? ID: settings.a2 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#settings-a2 On a standard-rated sale the emirate decides which box of the VAT return the sale is reported in (boxes 1a–1g). Set it under Settings → Documents → VAT & currency. Documents already issued keep the emirate they were issued with and are not rewritten. ### Where do I add my bank details? ID: settings.a3 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#settings-a3 Under Settings → Business → Payment accounts. Add the account your clients should pay into. Those bank details are shown on invoices and quotes. A draft invoice or quote stores a copy of the account you choose, so a later change to the account does not alter that document. If you have several, exactly one is the default, used when none matches the document’s currency. ### How are document numbers generated? ID: numbering.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#numbering-a1 Each document type has its own prefix and its own next number, under Settings → Documents → Document numbering: invoices, quotes, credit notes, purchase orders and delivery notes. The number is padded to four digits — INV-0007. If the prefix does not already end in -, / or _, Fatura adds a hyphen. An issued invoice cannot be deleted. UAE VAT requires tax invoices to be kept for five years, and numbering must stay gapless. A draft can still be deleted. Correct an issued invoice with a credit note. ### What can a prefix be? ID: numbering.a2 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#numbering-a2 A prefix is 2–10 characters: letters and digits, optionally ending in one separator (-, / or _). It is saved in uppercase. The defaults are INV, QUO, CRN, PO and DN. ### Can I change a prefix or the next number? ID: numbering.a3 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#numbering-a3 Yes, under Settings → Documents → Document numbering. You can change the prefix and the next number for each document type. Save stays disabled until you tick “I understand this will affect future document numbers”. Changing a prefix or next number affects future documents of that type. Existing document numbers will not change. Do not set the next number lower than one you have already used. ### Logo, colours and document language ID: pdf.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#pdf-a1 The logo is on Settings → Business. Upload logo sits on Business profile, and Logo again under Document branding. It is the same image, so changing either updates both. Documents already sent keep the logo they were issued with. Design and Accent color are on Settings → Documents → Invoice design. Those designs apply to the generated PDF — the on-screen document preview does not change. Document language is on the same screen: English, العربية / Arabic, or Bilingual, with each label in Arabic and English together. It changes the fixed labels on the PDF and the live preview. It does not change the language of the app. That is Settings → Language, described as the language for the app interface. ### How do I invite a colleague? ID: team.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#team-a1 Open Settings → Team and press Invite member. Send the invite to their email. If it does not arrive, ask them to check spam, and use Copy invite link to send it yourself. The invite is for that email address only. They sign in, or create an account, then press Accept invite. You can press Remove at any time, and they lose access to this business. ### What can each role do? ID: team.a2 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#team-a2 The owner has full access, and is the only one who can delete the business. An admin has full access except billing and deleting the business. Staff start with sales. Turn on extra access as needed. Without Send without approval, they prepare an invoice and press Submit for approval. Someone with Send without approval presses Approve before it can be sent. An accountant has access to this business’s invoices, expenses and reports. They cannot see salaries or bank details. ### I didn't find my answer ID: other.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/getting_started#other-a1 Press Contact support, then send the form titled Message us. Reply email is filled with your account email, and you can change it. The reply will come to that address. We aim to reply within one business day. ## Selling ### How do I issue my first invoice? ID: invoices.issue-first URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#invoices-issue-first Create it in Invoices → New invoice. Under Select client, choose a client you have already added. If they are not in the list, add them first in Clients → Add client. The invoice form does not create a client for you. Add the lines: Description, Qty, Unit price, and VAT type. For a normal sale in the UAE choose Standard (5%). Zero-rated, Exempt, and Out of scope are for special cases. Fatura works out the VAT and the total. Check three things: Date, Due date, and that the client's TRN is filled in if they are VAT-registered. Create invoice saves the draft and assigns the number straight away. While it is a draft you can change anything, or delete it. Send Email or Mark as Sent issues it as a tax invoice. Common mistake: issuing late. UAE law requires a tax invoice within 14 days of the date of supply. ### Full or simplified tax invoice — which do I need? ID: invoices.full-or-simplified URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#invoices-full-or-simplified The UAE has two kinds of tax invoice. A full tax invoice is required when the buyer is VAT-registered and the amount is over AED 10,000. It shows both parties' TRNs and addresses, VAT per line, and any discounts. A simplified tax invoice can be used when the buyer is not VAT-registered, or is registered but the amount is AED 10,000 or less. It carries fewer details — a typical retail receipt. You do not pick the kind. Fatura issues a full tax invoice when the client has a TRN, or when the total is over AED 10,000. It issues a simplified tax invoice only when the client has no TRN and the total is AED 10,000 or less. A VAT-registered client therefore gets a full tax invoice even at AED 10,000 or below. Common mistake: leaving out a registered client's TRN. They then cannot reclaim the input VAT on your invoice and will ask you to reissue it. Without a TRN on the client, Fatura treats the invoice as full only when the total is over AED 10,000. ### How do I send an invoice to my client? ID: sending.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#sending-a1 On the invoice, send it with Send Email or Share via WhatsApp. Both include a link that opens the invoice in a browser, where the client can download the PDF without installing anything. An invoice has no separate button for copying that link. If you handed it over on paper or another way, use Mark as Sent. The invoice is issued the same way. The client is not emailed or messaged. Once it has gone by email or WhatsApp, or the client opened the link, it has reached them. It can no longer return to draft. Corrections are made with a credit note. Tip: turn on Automatic payment reminders under Settings → Notifications. Fatura emails the client, in your business's name, 3 days before the due date, on the due date, and 3 days after if the invoice is still unpaid. ### How do I record a payment? ID: invoices.record-payment URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#invoices-record-payment When the client pays, open the issued invoice and press Payment received. Enter the amount, the Payment date, and the Method: Bank transfer, Cash, Cheque, Card, or Other. The method decides the account in your books. Cash is posted to Cash on hand. Bank transfer, Cheque, Card, and Other are posted to Bank account. If they paid part, record the part. The invoice stays open with the balance. Record the next payment the same way. When the balance reaches zero, the invoice becomes paid. Wrong amount or date? Use Delete payment and record it again. Deleting also reverses the payment in your books. Common mistake: using the invoice date instead of the day the money arrived. The Payment date decides which month the money belongs to. ### My invoice has a mistake — what do I do? ID: sending.a3 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#sending-a3 It depends on whether it reached the client. If you only used Mark as Sent — it was not emailed, not shared on WhatsApp, and the client did not open the link — open the invoice, then More, then Return to draft. Fix it and issue it again. Return to draft is also unavailable when the invoice is marked paid, or when a credit note has already been issued against it. More explains which path is available and why. If it reached them, an issued tax invoice cannot be deleted or changed. UAE law requires the records to be kept for five years, and numbering has no gaps. Correct it with a credit note, which reduces or cancels the invoice, then issue a new, correct one if you still need to charge. Common mistake: trying to delete it. Deleting an issued invoice is blocked. That protects you in a tax audit. ### Credit notes and refunding a client ID: credit-notes.when-to-issue URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#credit-notes-when-to-issue A credit note reduces an issued invoice: a return, a late discount, or a mistake. On the invoice, open More and choose Create credit note. Enter the lines and the amount. It cannot exceed what is left uncredited on the invoice. The credit note changes what the client owes only after you issue it, with Mark as sent or Email to client. A draft credit note does not. If the invoice is unpaid, an issued credit note lowers what you are owed. If the invoice is already paid, you then owe the client. Refund them and record it on the credit note with Record refund. Amounts you still owe clients appear in Books health as “You owe clients a refund.” Common mistake: crediting a paid invoice and forgetting Record refund. Your books then keep a debt to the client. ### Quotes, and turning a quote into an invoice ID: quotes.what-is-a-quote URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/selling#quotes-what-is-a-quote A quote (Quotes → New quote) is a price offer before the sale. It is not a tax document. VAT on the lines is only part of the price you are offering: nothing is due, and the quote does not appear on the VAT report. Send it with Email to client. That marks the quote as sent. A quote has no Share via WhatsApp and no Mark as Sent. Once it is no longer a draft, Copy public link is available. You can also Mark as accepted or Mark as declined. When the client agrees, open the quote and press Convert to invoice. That is available on a sent or accepted quote that has not already been converted. It creates a draft invoice with the same lines, prices, and client. You check it and issue it. A quote that is not a draft cannot be edited in place. Use Return to draft, then edit. Return to draft is blocked after the quote has been converted to an invoice. You can delete a quote whether or not it was sent. Tip: set Valid until. Supplier prices change, and a client who agrees later should see that the old price no longer holds. After that date a sent quote is shown as expired. ## Buying ### Expense or bill — which do I record? ID: expenses.how-to-record URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#expenses-how-to-record Record an expense for something you have already paid: a receipt, a card payment, cash out of the till. Record a bill for something you still owe and will pay later. Both need a category. When the supplier charged UAE VAT, both can carry input VAT. The difference is timing. A bill stays under You owe until you pay it. An expense does not. If you are not sure, ask whether the money has already left. It has — an expense. It has not — a bill. ### What is a bill and when is the VAT claimed? ID: bills.what-is-a-bill URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#bills-what-is-a-bill A bill is a purchase you still owe. Enter it, press Receive, and pay it later with Record payment. Input VAT is claimed when the bill is received, not when it is paid. The bill date decides which VAT period that claim falls in. A bill needs a supplier. An expense does not. ### When should a bill have line items? ID: bills.line-items URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#bills-line-items A new bill starts as a single amount, which is enough for rent or a phone bill. That amount is the total on the document, VAT included. Press Add line items when the supplier’s invoice has several goods at different VAT rates, or when you are buying stock. Each line has Qty, Unit price, and VAT type. VAT is added on top of the unit price. Under Additional information the line can have its own Ledger account. Stock is added only when the line is a product with Track stock on. Pick that product on the line. A line with no product does not create a stock layer. Once the bill is received, the lines are frozen. Press Return to draft first. That is available only while the bill is received and has no payments. ### Can I scan a receipt or a supplier invoice? ID: expenses.scan URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#expenses-scan Yes. Scan with AI reads a JPG or PNG and fills in the amount, VAT, date, currency, supplier, description, and category. On a bill it can also fill the bill number. Check what it read before saving. It is a suggestion, not a fact. The scan fills the header only. It does not create line items. A PDF is not accepted. On a new expense, after the scan, Already paid, or to pay later? decides whether it is saved as an expense or a bill. To pay later needs a due date. The bill form has the same Scan with AI and saves a bill. Expenses also has Bulk receipts for several photos at once. Those can be JPG, PNG, or WebP. ### Where do I manage expense categories? ID: expenses.categories URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#expenses-categories Settings → Business → Expense categories. Every expense and every bill needs one. When accounting is on, the category’s account is where a single-amount expense or bill is posted. On a bill with lines, a line’s own Ledger account is used instead when you set one. A product with Track stock on is posted to Inventory either way. You can rename the built-in categories, and Archive the ones you never use, so the picker stays short. Archiving hides the category from the picker. It does not change expenses already recorded. ### I bought a service from abroad — what is reverse charge? ID: expenses.reverse-charge URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#expenses-reverse-charge When you buy a service from a supplier outside the UAE, the supplier charges no UAE VAT. You account for it yourself: the VAT is declared and claimed in the same return, so for a fully taxable business the two sides usually cancel. Tick Imported service (reverse charge) on the expense or the bill, and leave the VAT amount empty. The form says it is left empty because the VAT is self-accounted. When the document is posted, Fatura works out 5%. A supplier whose country is outside the UAE shows “This supplier is outside the UAE” and suggests the tick. It does not set it for you. This is not ordinary input VAT. The VAT report leaves it out of recoverable input VAT and notes the imported services. With accounting on, Check ledger vs VAT report shows Box 3 — Reverse charge and Box 10 — Reverse-charge input. ### When can’t I claim input VAT? ID: expenses.input-vat URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#expenses-input-vat You need a valid tax invoice from a VAT-registered supplier. If the supplier has no TRN, the form warns “Input VAT cannot be claimed without a supplier TRN” and still saves the expense or the bill. The amount is still included. It is your call and your record. The FTA also does not allow recovery on entertaining clients, or on a car available for private use. Fatura does not block those saves. VAT you account for on an imported service is reverse charge, not ordinary input VAT. If in doubt, keep the document. The FTA asks for the tax invoice. ### What should I fill in for a supplier? ID: suppliers.how-to-add URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#suppliers-how-to-add A supplier needs a name. Add their TRN if they are VAT-registered, so the input VAT on their invoices has a tax invoice behind it. Email, phone, address, currency, and notes are optional. Set the country. A supplier outside the UAE is what makes Fatura suggest Imported service (reverse charge) on their expenses and bills. The tick is still yours. If the same supplier was entered twice, press Merge. Their expenses, bills, and purchase orders move to the one you keep, and the duplicate is deleted. ### How does stock tracking work? ID: inventory.fifo URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#inventory-fifo Turn on Track stock on a product. Buying that product on a bill line adds a layer of quantity at that unit price. Selling it on an issued invoice takes stock out oldest first, and posts the cost of the goods sold. A sent credit note can put the quantity back. The product list shows On hand and Stock value from those layers. You can sell more than is on hand. The invoice still issues, and you see “Sold more than is on hand”. The cost is fixed up when the purchase is entered. Products without Track stock are not layered. Use the month-end stock count for those. ### How do I enter the stock I already have? ID: inventory.opening-stock URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#inventory-opening-stock On a product with Track stock and no movements yet, record Opening stock: Quantity, Unit cost, and As of. It is what you already have, before bills and sales in this app, and it is posted once. Remove opening stock works only while that opening is still the only movement. After the first sale or purchase, it stays. Enter opening stock before you issue invoices for that product, or those first sales have no cost to draw on until a purchase is entered. ### The quantity on a product is wrong ID: inventory.product-count URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#inventory-product-count Open the product and use Count stock. Enter Counted quantity and As of. That corrects the running figure and adjusts the value. Use it after a physical count, breakage, or theft. The movement is kept under Movements, with kind Count, so the history shows what changed and when. This is one product. For goods you do not track individually, use the month-end stock count instead. ### What is the month-end stock count? ID: inventory.month-end URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/buying#inventory-month-end For goods you have not turned Track stock on for, the cost of what you sold is worked out once a month: Opening stock, plus Purchases, minus what is left. You enter what is left. Saving posts the difference as cost of sales. Open Finance → Stock counts, pick the Month, and enter Closing stock. The screen already shows Opening stock and Purchases from the books, and the Cost of goods sold those figures produce, before you save. Purchases here are what was posted to Inventory, not every expense. If you also use Track stock, that stock is shown separately as Tracked stock. The closing figure you enter is for the untracked goods only. A missing count is a reminder, not a block. Period close warns (STOCK_COUNT_MISSING) when Inventory (account 1400) moved in the month and there is no count for that month’s last day. The warning says “Does not prevent closing.” ## VAT ### What goes into the VAT report? ID: vat_report.a1 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat_report-a1 Your issued invoices, less your sent credit notes, less the input VAT you can recover on expenses and bills. Drafts are not counted. An invoice counts once it is issued, a credit note once it is sent, and a bill once you have received it. Dates decide the period. An invoice counts by its invoice date, a credit note by its date, and a bill by its bill date — not the date you paid it. Imported services are noted separately. The VAT on them is self-accounted and is worked out in the ledger, not in this report, so it is not part of the recoverable input VAT here. ### When is my VAT return due? ID: vat.filing-deadline URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-filing-deadline The return is due 28 days after the end of your filing period. If that day is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday Fatura has listed, it moves to the next working day. Your period is monthly or quarterly, from your FTA certificate. Set it on the VAT report if you have not already. VAT filing period is Monthly or Quarterly. This matches my certificate saves the usual cycle. Mine is different lets you choose another cycle, including VAT period start month. While the deadline for the previous period is still ahead, the open period on the dashboard, the To do list, and the VAT report’s compliance calendar stays on that previous period, because that is the one you are filing. The figures on the report follow the quarter you select, and that list opens on the current quarter. The To do list shows the deadline under Deadlines, and how many days are left. ### What is the standard rate? ID: vat.standard-rate URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-standard-rate Most sales in the UAE carry 5% VAT. You charge it, and your VAT-registered clients reclaim it, so it passes through you to the FTA. VAT type is set on each line, so one invoice can mix Standard (5%) with other treatments. The default for your business is VAT rate (%) under Settings → Documents → VAT & currency. You should not charge VAT until you are registered and have a TRN. Leaving the TRN empty does not stop a line from being standard-rated. This is a plain-language primer, not tax advice. ### Zero-rated, exempt, out of scope — what's the difference? ID: vat.zero-exempt-out-of-scope URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-zero-exempt-out-of-scope Zero-rated is in the VAT system at 0%: exports, some education and healthcare. You report the sale, and you can still recover the input VAT on your costs. Exempt is outside the charge: certain financial services, bare land, local passenger transport. You report it, but input VAT on costs used for exempt sales is generally not recoverable, and apportionment may apply. Fatura does not calculate that split. When the period includes exempt supplies, the report says so and tells you to check with an accountant. Out of scope is not a UAE supply at all. The report shows it as “Out of scope — not on the FTA return”, and total sales already exclude it. Choose out of scope only when you are sure. If you are not, a zero-rated sale is the safer of the two. This is a plain-language primer, not tax advice. ### Why does the emirate matter? ID: vat.emirate-boxes URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-emirate-boxes A standard-rated sale is reported in the box for the emirate where the supply was made — boxes 1a–1g of the return. Set the default under Settings → Documents → VAT & currency. The field is Emirate. Documents already issued keep whatever they were issued with and are not rewritten. ### What is the ready-to-file checklist? ID: vat_report.a3 URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat_report-a3 Ready to file is a last look before you file: draft invoices and draft credit notes dated in the period, your business name, address and TRN, your emirate, documents in another currency with no exchange rate, and a client with a TRN but no address. None of it blocks you. It exists so you notice a draft that should have been issued, or a missing detail that makes an invoice incomplete in an audit. When these checks are clear, the screen says they look complete for this period. That is not a confirmation that the return is correct or ready to submit. ### Why do the VAT report and the ledger differ? ID: vat.report-vs-ledger URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-report-vs-ledger They are two views. The VAT report follows your documents — issued invoices, sent credit notes, and recoverable input VAT on expenses and bills. The ledger return follows what was posted to the VAT accounts. They differ by design on reverse charge. The VAT on imported services is worked out when the document is posted, so boxes 3 and 10 are calculated in the ledger and not in the document report. For those boxes, the ledger figure is the correct one. Check ledger vs VAT report shows both sides line by line. The page is VAT return check. It says when the two sides differ only for known reasons, and it marks an unexpected difference. Look at an unexpected difference before you file. ### I already filed this period elsewhere ID: vat.filed-elsewhere URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/vat#vat-filed-elsewhere If you moved to Fatura mid-year, set the date up to which you filed with your old system: Settings → Data → Data export, under VAT already filed elsewhere through. Documents dated on or before that date stay off Fatura’s VAT return — invoices, credit notes, expenses, and bills — so you do not report them twice. The note on the screen names invoices. The ledger is not affected. Those documents are still in your books. You cannot move the date over a period already marked filed in Fatura. The change is blocked. ## Accounting ### What are the books, and do I need them? ID: ledger.what-is-a-ledger URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-what-is-a-ledger Invoicing and VAT work without them. The books — the ledger — are the second layer: from the day they start, each document also becomes a journal entry, so you can see profit, what you own and owe, and prepare corporate tax from the ledger. Turn them on if you want financial statements, a bank reconciliation, or a corporate tax return. If you only issue invoices and file VAT, you can leave them off. Profit & Loss then stays the cash report. ### Turning accounting on ID: ledger.when-posting-starts URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-when-posting-starts Settings → Accounting. Choose Accounting starts on — the first day of a month — and Financial year end month, if it is not set yet. That month decides the tax period and the return deadline. Documents dated before the start date are not posted, so you can start clean without re-entering history. The start date is fixed once anything has been posted or reversed. A draft locks it too, until you delete that draft. You can turn accounting off only while the journal is still empty. That is by design — finding out later is worse. Imported invoices and bills are flagged as conversion data and are never posted, so an import does not double the books. What customers still owe, and what you still owe suppliers, is entered once under Opening balances. ### What is the chart of accounts? ID: ledger.chart-of-accounts URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-chart-of-accounts Finance → Chart of accounts. It is the list of accounts your money moves between: cash, bank, customers who owe you, VAT, sales, each kind of expense. Fatura creates a standard UAE set when you turn accounting on. You can rename an account, including a system one, and add your own. System accounts — marked System, the ones postings depend on — cannot be removed. Each expense category needs a ledger account. That is what decides where a cost lands. A category left Not linked cannot be posted. ### What is a journal entry? ID: ledger.journal-entry URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-journal-entry Finance → Journal. Every posting is a journal entry: a date, a description, and lines that must balance — debits equal credits. Your documents create them automatically. You can also write one yourself, with New entry, for something with no document, such as a bank charge. A draft changes nothing until you post it. The screen says Not in reports until posted. A posted entry is never edited or deleted. If it is wrong, Reverse it. That writes the opposite entry, and both stay in the record. The confirmation says this creates an opposite entry and does not remove the original. ### Why must the trial balance balance? ID: ledger.trial-balance URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-trial-balance Finance → Trial balance. It lists every account’s net for a range: Debits, Credits, and Closing. Debits and credits must be equal. If they are not, the screen says the ledger itself is wrong, not your reading of it. Drafts are not in it. They are not posted. An imbalance is a real fault, and it blocks a period close until it is fixed. An unposted document is a different problem, with its own warning: the document was issued but never became an entry. ### What is the general ledger? ID: ledger.general-ledger URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-general-ledger One account’s story: opening balance, every posting in order, and a running balance. Finance → General ledger, or click an account on the trial balance. Use it when a figure looks wrong. The trial balance shows Accounts Receivable (1100) with a closing balance — the general ledger lists the entries that made it. ### Profit & Loss ID: ledger.profit-loss URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-profit-loss Finance → Profit & Loss. With the books on, it is income minus expenses for the posted entries in a range. It follows documents, not money: an invoice you issued but have not been paid for is still income. The screen says revenue is counted when an invoice is issued, not when it is paid. Before you turn accounting on, the same screen shows a cash profit and loss. Cash income is paid invoices, excluding VAT, counted on the date they were paid. Expenses are what you recorded, and currencies are never combined. Once the books are on, the ledger version replaces it. ### What does the balance sheet show? ID: ledger.balance-sheet URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-balance-sheet Finance → Balance sheet. What you own, what you owe, and what is left, as at one day. Assets should equal liabilities plus equity. If they do not, the screen says the ledger itself is wrong. Profit for the year so far appears as its own line, marked Calculated. Profit from earlier financial years appears as Retained earnings (previous years), also Calculated. You do not post anything for those lines. ### The To do list ID: todo.the-list URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#todo-the-list To do is one list of what this business needs. The sections are Getting started, Deadlines, Close the month, and Worth checking — overdue invoices, drafts, open bank statements. A task is left out when you do not have the permission to act on it. Close the month is left out when the books are off. Advisory items can be dismissed, except Getting started. Deadlines cannot, and neither can overdue items such as unpaid invoices. It is the list to open first. ### Books health ID: ledger.books-health URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#ledger-books-health Finance → Books health. It answers whether you can trust the figures. It checks that the books balance, then reconciles each control account with its detail: what clients owe against receivables, suppliers against payables, VAT on the books against your documents, the bank against your last reconciled statement, stock, gratuity, and the asset sale clearing account. Each check passes, shows a difference between the ledger and the detail, or says it cannot be checked yet and why. Checks that do not apply stay under Show not applicable. Customer credits are an action, not a fault. The line is You owe clients a refund: money waiting to be refunded or applied to their next invoice. ### What does closing a month do? ID: period-close.what-closing-does URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#period-close-what-closing-does Finance → Accounting periods. Closing locks a date range so nothing new lands in it — no entries, not even drafts — until you reopen it. Close a month once you are done with it, so last month’s figures stop moving. The dates start as the last complete VAT quarter, and you can change them. Two things refuse a close: a trial balance that does not balance, and issued documents with no posted journal. Fix those and close. Everything else is advisory and does not prevent closing, including depreciation not run, a missing stock count, VAT that differs from your documents, an unbilled asset sale, a purchase above the capitalisation threshold, and a corporate tax return coming due. Read them, decide, and close anyway if they are fine. Reopen asks you to confirm. It does not undo entries already posted. ### What is a lasting purchase? ID: fixed-assets.what-is-lasting-purchase URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#fixed-assets-what-is-lasting-purchase Finance → Lasting purchases. Equipment, furniture, a vehicle — something you will use for years. It is not an ordinary expense: it goes on the balance sheet and its cost is spread over its life. VAT on the purchase is recovered straight away and is never part of the cost. A draft appears here when a bill or expense is posted to a fixed-asset account. You can also add one with Add a purchase. A draft does nothing until you Start spreading the cost. The capitalisation threshold does not create that draft. On period close, a purchase coded as an expense above the threshold (AED 5,000) is only a question: should it have been an asset instead? ### How does depreciation work? ID: fixed-assets.depreciation URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#fixed-assets-depreciation Straight line only: what you paid, minus what you expect to have left at the end, spread evenly over How many months it will serve. Each month posts an expense and reduces what is still left to write off. On Lasting purchases, Charge now catches up any months still due, up to the date you pick. No charge is posted for months before the books started. If you ran it by mistake, Remove last charge — while that month is still open. Its journal is reversed. ### Selling or scrapping an asset ID: fixed-assets.disposal URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#fixed-assets-disposal Mark it Sold or retired, with the date and what you received, if anything. Fatura catches depreciation up to that date, removes the asset and its accumulated depreciation, and posts the gain or loss. If you sold it, the screen says Now invoice the buyer. Raise a normal invoice, and on the line choose the asset sale clearing account. Until you do, the proceeds sit in that account, and Books health and period close will ask about it. If you got it wrong, Undo sold or retired. The monthly charges stay — those months were served — and you are reminded to credit or cancel any invoice you already raised. ### What is bank reconciliation? ID: bank-reconciliation.what-it-is URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#bank-reconciliation-what-it-is Finance → Bank reconciliation. The statement is what the bank says happened. The books are what you recorded. Reconciling proves they agree. Upload the statement, confirm each suggested match, and create an expense or income for a line that is not in the books yet. Then reconcile. A suggestion is a guess until you confirm it. ### Importing a bank statement ID: bank-reconciliation.pdf-statement URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#bank-reconciliation-pdf-statement CSV or Excel: drop the file and map the columns. You confirm the period and the opening and closing balances before anything is saved. PDF: a model reads the pages. You must check every row before it is saved — the rows come from a picture of a page. Rows already stored are recognised and skipped. Re-uploading the same file adds nothing. ### The difference is not zero ID: bank-reconciliation.difference URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#bank-reconciliation-difference The screen shows Books balance, Statement balance, Difference, and which lines are still unmatched. Reconcile is refused while the books and the statement differ. Look at the unmatched lines first, then at In the books, never on the statement — a payment recorded twice, or one recorded in the wrong month. Once reconciled, the matches are locked. Reopen the statement to change them. ### Who must register for corporate tax? ID: corporate-tax.who-must-register URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#corporate-tax-who-must-register Most UAE businesses, even when the tax is zero. Registration is separate from paying: you register, you file, and you may owe nothing. Late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty. The dashboard shows Corporate tax registration until you add your corporate tax registration number, or until you dismiss that reminder. ### How is corporate tax computed? ID: corporate-tax.how-computed URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#corporate-tax-how-computed Finance → Corporate tax. From the books: accounting profit for the period, plus add-backs for costs the law does not allow, gives taxable income. The first AED 375,000 is taxed at 0%, and 9% applies above that. Profit here is the ledger’s profit, not cash in minus cash out. Fatura suggests add-backs from accounts marked not deductible — fines, half of entertainment, donations outside the approved list. A suggestion counts only once you Accept it. Nothing is added until you do. ### What is Small Business Relief? ID: corporate-tax.small-business-relief URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#corporate-tax-small-business-relief If revenue is AED 3,000,000 or less, the period ends on or before 31 December 2026, and revenue has not exceeded AED 3,000,000 in any tax period since June 2023, you can choose Small Business Relief and be treated as having no taxable income. No tax, but you still register and still file. It is a choice on the return, not automatic. Any loss that year cannot be carried forward. After 2026 everyone pays the standard rates, so plan for them from 2027. ### Filing corporate tax ID: corporate-tax.due-date URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/accounting#corporate-tax-due-date The return is due nine months after the period ends. File this return freezes the figures. If tax is due, it is posted to the books. You still enter the figures by hand on EmaraTax. This app does not file the return. The books must be closed through the last day of the period first. Figures that can still change are not figures you can file. There is no undo. A mistake after filing is corrected with an amended return. ## Payroll ### Adding an employee and the salary split ID: payroll.salary-split URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-salary-split A salary in the UAE is usually split: Basic, plus Housing, Transport and Other allowances. Enter it the way their contract does, under Salary split. The split is not cosmetic. End-of-service gratuity is worked out on Basic only — allowances do not increase it. That is why contracts here often keep basic low, and it is legal. Also add Joined, and their bank details under WPS bank details if you will pay them through WPS. ### Changing a salary ID: payroll.salary-history URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-salary-history A raise is a new row in Salary history. Set This salary starts on to the date it starts from. Earlier months keep the old split, so a pay run for March still uses March's salary. That is why the salary on the employee cannot simply be edited — it would rewrite the past. Add the change from the date it starts instead. ### What is a pay run? ID: payroll.what-is-pay-run URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-what-is-pay-run One month of pay: a line per employee with Gross, Deductions, Pension, Net, and Gratuity this month. Generate it, check the lines, Approve it, then Record payment when the money leaves. Approving posts the salary expense and the gratuity for that month to the books, so a pay run needs accounting to be on. Only deductions can be changed on a line — everything else comes from the employee record. ### How is gratuity calculated? ID: payroll.gratuity-calculation URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-gratuity-calculation For an expat on Gratuity (expats), Federal Decree-Law 33/2021 Article 51: 21 days of basic salary for each of the first five years of service, then 30 days for each year after that. It is worked out on the last basic salary, so a raise increases what is owed for every earlier year too — the month of a raise shows a larger Gratuity this month than usual, and that is correct. Resigning does not reduce it. Since 2021 an employee who resigns gets the same as one who is let go. ### Who earns gratuity? ID: payroll.who-gets-gratuity URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-who-gets-gratuity Expat employees. UAE and GCC nationals do not — they are on a state pension instead, with contributions each month. That is the choice under End-of-service: Gratuity (expats), or State pension (UAE / GCC). Employees in a free zone with its own scheme, such as DIFC or ADGM, are outside what Fatura computes — set that up with your free zone. ### Gratuity in your books ID: payroll.gratuity-accrual URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-gratuity-accrual Gratuity is money you will owe, so it is built up month by month as a liability, not paid out along the way. Each pay run adds that month's share, shown as Gratuity this month. This matters: a business with ten long-serving staff owes a real amount that is invisible if you only count cash. When someone leaves, the payment settles the liability that is already there. ### Someone joined before my books started ID: payroll.opening-gratuity URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-opening-gratuity If they joined before Accounting starts on, and End-of-service is Gratuity (expats), enter what they had already earned as Gratuity already owed. Without it, the liability in the books starts from that date and understates what you owe. Ask your previous accountant for that number, or work it out from Joined and Basic. ### Pension for UAE and GCC nationals ID: pension.regimes URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#pension-regimes Nationals of the UAE and the other GCC states are covered by a state pension fund, and you contribute each month alongside them. Choose their fund under Pension. The list is UAE — GPSSA, Saudi Arabia — GOSI, Qatar — GRSIA, Kuwait — PIFSS, Bahrain — SIO, or Oman — PASI. It appears when Nationality is a UAE or GCC country. The rates are applied for you; you do not enter percentages. Expats have no pension contributions here. They are on Gratuity (expats). ### Pension in your books ID: pension.in-the-books URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#pension-in-the-books The employee's share comes out of their net pay — that is the Pension column on the pay run — and your share is a cost to you. Both sit as one payable until you pay the fund, because you remit them together. The payable is Pension contributions payable. Approving the pay run posts your share as an expense and the whole amount as what you owe. ### The WPS file ID: wps.what-is-wps URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#wps-what-is-wps Salaries in the UAE are paid through the Wage Protection System. The bank needs a file in the Central Bank's format — a .SIF — listing each employee and what they are paid. Download WPS file from an approved or paid pay run. Each person needs a Labour card number, an IBAN and a Bank routing code. If any are missing, the pay run names who, so you can fill them in and download again. The business also needs its MOHRE establishment ID and Employer bank routing code, under Settings → Business → Business profile. Without those the file cannot be built. Downloading the file does not pay anyone and does not mark the run as paid. Your bank does the first. You do the second with Record payment. ### Who can see payroll? ID: payroll.who-can-see URL: https://invoicefatura.com/help/payroll#payroll-who-can-see Payroll is the most sensitive data in the app: salaries and bank details. An Owner and an Admin have it. A Staff member gets it only if you grant Payroll. An Accountant never does, even with access to the books. They will see the salary totals in the ledger, but not who earns what.