Bookkeeping in Saudi Arabia,
closed and reconciled every month.
Alliant Co. keeps the books for companies in Saudi Arabia from its Dammam office: monthly ledgers, bank reconciliation, management accounts and year-end statements. Your VAT and zakat returns start from books that already balance.
- Fixed monthly scope, quoted to your transaction volume
- Books kept in the Kingdom, ready for a ZATCA review
- Dammam office, serving the Eastern Province
Four questions, and we'll
tell you where you stand
Two things your books have to carry
1Records ZATCA can ask for
Retention
Records ZATCA can ask for
RetentionEvery VAT-registered business has to keep its accounting records and invoices in the Kingdom, either on paper or on a system that can be accessed from inside Saudi Arabia.
Most records must be kept for at least six years. Records for capital assets are kept for 11 years, and for real estate 15 years.
When ZATCA reviews a return, it asks for the ledgers and invoices behind it. Books that are reconciled every month make that a short exercise rather than a scramble.
2The year-end calendar
Every year
The year-end calendar
Every yearA company's year is a sequence of filings, and each one depends on the books being right first.
VAT returns are monthly or quarterly. Withholding tax is monthly whenever you pay a non-resident.
Zakat and corporate income tax returns are due 120 days after the financial year ends, and the approved financial statements are filed with the Ministry of Commerce on Qawaem within six months.
We keep the books on that calendar, so each filing starts from closed months instead of a year-end rush.
Filing calendar
| Obligation | Applies to | How often | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT return | VAT-registered businesses | Monthly (over SAR 40m) or quarterly | End of the following month |
| Withholding tax | Payments to non-residents | Monthly | 10th of the following month |
| Zakat return | Saudi and GCC ownership share | Yearly | 120 days after year end |
| Corporate income tax return | Foreign ownership share | Yearly | 120 days after year end |
| Financial statements on Qawaem | All companies | Yearly | 6 months after year end |
Records ZATCA can ask for
Every VAT-registered business has to keep its accounting records and invoices in the Kingdom, either on paper or on a system that can be accessed from inside Saudi Arabia.
Most records must be kept for at least six years. Records for capital assets are kept for 11 years, and for real estate 15 years.
When ZATCA reviews a return, it asks for the ledgers and invoices behind it. Books that are reconciled every month make that a short exercise rather than a scramble.
Two details most pages get wrong.
First, e-invoices issued through Fatoora are records too, and the same retention rules apply. Second, a filed return does not replace the books: in a review, ZATCA works from your records, not from the return alone.
The year-end calendar
A company's year is a sequence of filings, and each one depends on the books being right first.
VAT returns are monthly or quarterly. Withholding tax is monthly whenever you pay a non-resident.
Zakat and corporate income tax returns are due 120 days after the financial year ends, and the approved financial statements are filed with the Ministry of Commerce on Qawaem within six months.
We keep the books on that calendar, so each filing starts from closed months instead of a year-end rush.
| Obligation | Applies to | How often | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT return | VAT-registered businesses | Monthly (over SAR 40m) or quarterly | End of the following month |
| Withholding tax | Payments to non-residents | Monthly | 10th of the following month |
| Zakat return | Saudi and GCC ownership share | Yearly | 120 days after year end |
| Corporate income tax return | Foreign ownership share | Yearly | 120 days after year end |
| Financial statements on Qawaem | All companies | Yearly | 6 months after year end |
What we do
Monthly bookkeeping
- •Sales, purchases and expense processing
- •Bank and card reconciliation
- •Supplier and customer balances
- •Payroll and GOSI entries
- •A monthly close by an agreed date
Reporting
- •Monthly management accounts
- •Profit and loss by cost centre where needed
- •Cash position and receivables ageing
- •VAT-ready reports for every return
- •Year-end financial statements under IFRS as endorsed in Saudi Arabia
Systems and compliance
- •Setup in your accounting software, licence in your company's name
- •A chart of accounts built for VAT and zakat
- •Invoicing compatible with Fatoora Phase 2
- •An audit file prepared for your licensed auditor
- •Statements prepared for filing on Qawaem
Monthly bookkeeping
- •Sales, purchases and expense processing
- •Bank and card reconciliation
- •Supplier and customer balances
- •Payroll and GOSI entries
- •A monthly close by an agreed date
Reporting
- •Monthly management accounts
- •Profit and loss by cost centre where needed
- •Cash position and receivables ageing
- •VAT-ready reports for every return
- •Year-end financial statements under IFRS as endorsed in Saudi Arabia
Systems and compliance
- •Setup in your accounting software, licence in your company's name
- •A chart of accounts built for VAT and zakat
- •Invoicing compatible with Fatoora Phase 2
- •An audit file prepared for your licensed auditor
- •Statements prepared for filing on Qawaem
What's included, and what isn't
Included
- •Monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
- •Monthly management accounts
- •Year-end financial statements
- •A named contact and a fixed monthly close date
Not included
- •Statutory audit. A licensed audit firm signs it; we coordinate.
- •VAT, zakat and income tax filing, unless you add it (see our tax compliance page)
- •Payroll processing and WPS (see our PRO services page)
- •Fatoora integration projects (see our e-invoicing page)
- •Legal or Sharia advice
- •Cleanup of past years (quoted once, separately)
Included
- •Monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
- •Monthly management accounts
- •Year-end financial statements
- •A named contact and a fixed monthly close date
Not included
- •Statutory audit. A licensed audit firm signs it; we coordinate.
- •VAT, zakat and income tax filing, unless you add it (see our tax compliance page)
- •Payroll processing and WPS (see our PRO services page)
- •Fatoora integration projects (see our e-invoicing page)
- •Legal or Sharia advice
- •Cleanup of past years (quoted once, separately)
What it costs, and what it depends on
We quote a fixed monthly fee once we know three things: how many transactions you post a month, how many bank accounts and branches you have, and whether you want tax filing on top. Quoted in writing, usually within 24 hours.
| Package | What's included |
|---|---|
| Essential | Under 50 transactions a month. Bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and VAT-ready reports. |
| Standard | Under 200 transactions a month. Adds monthly management accounts and year-end statements. |
| Complete | Adds VAT returns, the annual zakat or income tax return and withholding tax filing. |
One-off work
| Service |
|---|
| Catch-up bookkeeping for past months or years |
| Moving your books from Excel or another provider |
Government fees, audit fees and software licences are paid by you.
Request a quoteWho this is for
Your books are in Excel and you have outgrown it
Spreadsheets work until the bank, the VAT return and the stock stop agreeing. We move you onto proper software and keep it reconciled every month.
You are a foreign-owned company that has just registered
Filing obligations start with the CR, with or without revenue. We set up the chart of accounts for corporate income tax and zakat from day one.
Your accountant left, or the books are behind
We take over the file, catch up the missing months, and agree a monthly close date so it does not happen again.
You need statements for a bank, an investor or an audit
Year-end statements have to tie back to the ledger. We prepare them, and the audit file your licensed auditor will ask for.
Your books are in Excel and you have outgrown it
Spreadsheets work until the bank, the VAT return and the stock stop agreeing. We move you onto proper software and keep it reconciled every month.
You are a foreign-owned company that has just registered
Filing obligations start with the CR, with or without revenue. We set up the chart of accounts for corporate income tax and zakat from day one.
Your accountant left, or the books are behind
We take over the file, catch up the missing months, and agree a monthly close date so it does not happen again.
You need statements for a bank, an investor or an audit
Year-end statements have to tie back to the ledger. We prepare them, and the audit file your licensed auditor will ask for.
We keep the books of a trading and distribution business of our own. Alliant Co. imports, stocks and sells electronics, files its own VAT, zakat and corporate income tax returns, and went through Fatoora integration before doing it for clients.
Alliant Co. is a Saudi company in Dammam, CR 7003521841, established 2016, with a SOCPA-licensed zakat and tax practitioner on the team.
Why us
Because we also handle PRO, payroll and tax filing, your books, WPS payroll and returns sit with one accountable team instead of three providers.
What we will not claim: where something needs a licensed audit firm, we say so and coordinate it. We do not sign audited accounts, and no provider should claim to unless it is a licensed audit firm.
Bookkeeping in Saudi Arabia: common questions
Send us your details
Tell us your monthly volume and where your books are today, and we will come back with the package that fits and a fixed monthly quote.
Prefer to talk first?
Message us on WhatsApp and we'll answer your questions directly.
Alliant Co. · CR 7003521841 · Yazid Ibn Malik, Al Khalidiyah Ash Shamaliyah, Dammam 32231 · info@alliant.sa · +966 55 754 2748