Which Dubai businesses do we work with?
Dubai is a trading city. Goods arrive through Jebel Ali and the airport, sit in a warehouse for days or weeks, and leave again for the Gulf, Africa, South Asia and beyond. Around that flow sit a few common company types, and each one asks different things of its accounting and sales system.
Trading and re-export houses
Family-run firms in Deira and around Jebel Ali that buy in USD, sell in AED and USD, and live on credit terms and repeat buyers.
Free-zone companies
Entities in JAFZA, DMCC, DAFZA, Dubai Silicon Oasis, IFZA and similar zones, often small teams with customers outside the UAE.
Mainland LLCs
Companies selling inside the UAE market, with local customers, VAT on most invoices and a sales team on the road.
Logistics and freight
Forwarders and clearing agents who bill by job and carry many pass-through costs.
Indian-owned groups
An Indian parent with a Dubai entity for buying, stocking or selling abroad. This is the pattern we know best.
Mixed groups
One owner, a mainland LLC and a free-zone company, and one spreadsheet trying to hold both together.
What does each kind of Dubai company need from Zoho?
| Company type | Zoho Books | Zoho CRM | Zoho Inventory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading and re-export house | Multi-currency, receivables ageing by salesperson, supplier payments, bank reconciliation | Buyer list, quotations in AED and USD, repeat-order follow-up | Warehouse stock, landed cost, purchase and sales orders |
| Free-zone company | Own organisation and tax registration, export and inter-company treatments agreed with the tax agent | Overseas enquiry tracking by country | Stock by warehouse, transfers to a mainland sister company |
| Mainland LLC | 5% VAT on local sales, VAT return report, e-invoicing | Field-sales pipeline, visit and follow-up tracking | Stock for local delivery, backorders |
| Logistics and freight | Job-wise income and cost, recharged expenses, statements by customer | Rate enquiries and quotations | Usually not needed |
| Indian group with a Dubai entity | UAE edition for Dubai, India edition for the parent, inter-company accounts | One pipeline or two, decided in discovery | Stock in both countries, goods in transit |
A freight forwarder still needs its own operations software for shipments and documents. Zoho covers the sales and accounting sides.
How does the setup differ by trade?
Most of our Dubai conversations are with traders. The ledger is the same for all of them; the item master and the stock rules are where trades differ.
| Trade | What the system has to track | How we set it up |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics and mobile phones | Individual units, fast-moving prices | Serial-number tracking, price lists by customer group |
| Foodstuff | Batches and expiry dates | Batch tracking with expiry, stock reports sorted by expiry |
| Building materials | Bulky items sold in several units, project orders | Unit conversions, quotations and orders tracked by project |
| Auto parts | Very large catalogues with part numbers | Clean item codes, bulk import, reorder points on fast movers |
| Textiles | Designs, colours, rolls and metres | Item groups with variants, units by metre or roll |
| Gold and jewellery | Weight, purity, making charges | Custom fields and separate charge lines; a specialist jewellery system may fit better, and we say so after discovery |
Gold and diamond trade carries its own VAT treatments. We configure whatever your UAE tax agent confirms and do not give tax opinions. Our trading and distribution page shows this work for clients we can name, and the manufacturing page covers companies that also produce.
What changes when you have free-zone and mainland entities in Dubai?
A free-zone company and a mainland LLC are two legal persons even when one family owns both and they share a warehouse. We give each one its own Zoho Books organisation, with its own tax registration number, bank accounts and invoice numbering. Goods sold from one to the other are invoiced in one set of books and booked as a purchase in the other, on inter-company accounts that are matched monthly.
Some free zones are treated as designated zones under UAE VAT law, and some purchases fall under the reverse-charge mechanism. Which rule applies to which movement is a question for your tax agent. We turn the agreed answers into tax treatments in Zoho Books and test them before go-live. The UAE page covers multi-entity structure in more depth, including the Indian-parent pattern.
Local Dubai partner vs remote partner in India
Both models work. They suit different companies, and you should pick on the rows that matter to you.
| What matters | Local Dubai partner | Remote partner in India (Biz Systems) |
|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face meetings | Yes, at your office | No. Video sessions only |
| Language | Some offer Arabic as well as English | English only |
| Working hours | Same time zone and working week | 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM Dubai time, Monday to Saturday |
| Knowledge of local practice | Daily contact with UAE banks, auditors and tax agents | Two UAE entities live on Zoho Books; we rely on your tax agent for the tax position |
| Indian parent company | Usually needs a second partner in India for GST | One team for the India and UAE editions |
| Licences | May resell and invoice locally | You buy directly from Zoho |
| Pricing | Ask each partner | Fixed price in AED or USD after a free 30-minute call |
| Hardware, printers, on-site fixes | Can attend | Cannot attend |
Choose a local partner if your team wants someone in the room, needs Arabic, or needs on-site help. Choose us if most of your work is finance, stock and reporting done on screen, and particularly if you have a company in India as well.
When does e-invoicing start for Dubai businesses?
E-invoicing is a federal rule, so the dates are the same in Dubai as in the rest of the UAE.
| Annual revenue | Appoint an Accredited Service Provider by | Mandatory from |
|---|---|---|
| AED 50 million or more | 30 October 2026 | 1 January 2027 |
| Below AED 50 million | 31 March 2027 | 1 July 2027 |
Zoho Software Trading LLC is on the Ministry of Finance list of Accredited Service Providers, so e-invoices can be issued from inside Zoho Books. The work on your side is cleaning customer and supplier records and testing. Read the full UAE e-invoicing guide for Zoho Books. If you also sell into Saudi Arabia, see ZATCA e-invoicing with Zoho Books.
What does Zoho Books cost in Dubai?
| Zoho Books UAE plan | AED per organisation per month, billed annually |
|---|---|
| Free | 0 |
| Standard | 60 |
| Professional | 90 |
| Premium | 120 |
| Elite | 280 |
| Ultimate | 660 |
As listed by Zoho on 5 October 2026, excluding tax. Each legal entity needs its own organisation, so a Dubai group with two companies pays for two.
The licence is paid to Zoho. Our implementation fee is separate and fixed. Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory are priced separately by Zoho; if you need most of the suite, compare with Zoho One using our pricing calculator. VAT registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and voluntary above AED 187,500, so even a small Dubai company usually needs the VAT settings from day one.
How does a Dubai project run with a remote team?
- Discovery call. Thirty minutes on video, free. We ask what you trade, how many entities you have and what you use today.
- Data check. You send an export of customers, suppliers, items and the trial balance. We count what is there and what is missing.
- Fixed-price proposal. Written scope, phases, dates and one price.
- Build with a weekly review. One video session a week, at a time that suits your Dubai working day, where you see your own data in the system.
- Parallel run. Old and new systems run together until receivables, payables, stock and bank balances match.
- Training and go-live. Recorded sessions by role, then 30 days of support included.
A Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory project for one Dubai entity usually takes four to eight weeks. Zoho opened data centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January 2026; the data centre is chosen when the account is created, so we raise it on the first call.
How do you verify a Zoho partner?
Check any partner the same way, local or remote, including us.
- Look them up on Zoho's partner directory. Our listing shows the Advanced tier; the link is under Sources.
- Ask for named clients with a similar entity structure. Ours for the UAE are Duratuf Global Trading L.L.C., a mainland company, and Duratuf Products FZE, a free-zone entity, both on Zoho Books.
- Ask where the team sits and who will do the build. Ours is in Kolkata; the about page gives the address.
- Ask whose name the Zoho account is in. It should be yours, with the partner added as a user you can remove.
- Ask for a written fixed scope before paying anything.
Longer write-ups are on our case studies page.
What is the next step?
Book the free 30-minute call through the contact page or WhatsApp +91 74395 16363. If we are the wrong fit for your Dubai company, we will tell you on that call. For country-wide detail on Zoho People, Zoho Analytics, migration from Tally or QuickBooks and the Indian-parent setup, read Zoho partner for the UAE. Zoho Books background is on our Zoho Books page and sales setup on the Zoho CRM page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Biz Systems based in Dubai?
No. Our only office is in Kolkata, India, and we have no Dubai phone number. Dubai projects are delivered remotely on video and WhatsApp. India is 1 hour 30 minutes ahead, so our hours cover 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM Dubai time, Monday to Saturday.
Can a partner outside Dubai really set up Zoho Books for a Dubai company?
Yes. Zoho Books is cloud software, so configuration, data migration, testing and training are all done on your own Dubai organisation over screen share. We have done this for a UAE mainland company and a UAE free-zone entity. Your tax position still comes from your UAE tax agent.
Which Zoho Books plan does a Dubai trading company need?
Zoho lists six UAE plans from AED 0 to AED 660 per organisation per month, billed annually. The right plan for a Dubai trader depends on users, currencies, stock and e-invoice volume. We recommend one after the discovery call and you buy it directly from Zoho.
We have a Dubai mainland LLC and a free-zone company. How is that handled?
Each legal entity gets its own Zoho Books organisation with its own tax registration and bank accounts. Sales between the two Dubai companies are recorded as inter-company transactions in both, and combined reports are built in Zoho Analytics. Your tax agent confirms the VAT treatment of each flow.
When does e-invoicing start for Dubai businesses?
The dates are federal and apply across the UAE. Businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more must appoint an Accredited Service Provider by 30 October 2026 and go live on 1 January 2027. Smaller businesses must appoint one by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027.
How much do you charge a Dubai company?
A fixed project price in AED or USD, agreed in writing after a free 30-minute discovery call. We do not publish a price range for Dubai work because scope varies by entities, stock and integrations. The price includes 30 days of support after go-live.
Do you provide Arabic-language training?
No. We configure, train and support in English only. If your Dubai team needs training in Arabic, or a consultant at your office each week, choose a partner based in the UAE. Zoho lists them on its partner directory.
Talk to us about your Dubai company
Tell us what you trade, which entities you run and what you use today. We reply with a written scope and one fixed price in AED or USD.
+91 74395 16363 · info@bizsystems.in · Mon–Sat, 9 AM – 7 PM IST
Sources
- Biz Systems on the Zoho partner directory — https://www.zoho.com/partners/find-partner-profile.html?partnerid=f4341affea1b5ca154aecaa1ef3f4b8c
- UAE Ministry of Finance: amendments to e-invoicing decisions (ASP deadline moved to 30 October 2026) — https://mof.gov.ae/en/news/ministry-of-finance-announces-targeted-amendments-to-einvoicing-system-decisions/
- UAE Ministry of Finance: list of Accredited Service Providers — https://mof.gov.ae/en/about-us/initiatives/einvoicing/einvoicing-accredited-service-providers-asps/
- Zoho Books UAE: e-invoicing deadlines and ASP status — https://www.zoho.com/ae/books/e-invoicing/
- Zoho Books UAE pricing — https://www.zoho.com/ae/books/pricing/
- Federal Tax Authority: VAT registration thresholds — https://tax.gov.ae/en/taxes/vat/vat.topics/registration.for.vat.aspx
- Zoho: first UAE data centres (January 2026) — https://www.zoho.com/news/zoho-corporation-opens-its-first-data-centres-in-uae.html
Prices, dates and thresholds were checked against these sources on 5 October 2026. They change; confirm against the official source before acting.