Overdue books · Reconciliations · Clear handover
Months of accounts left unfinished? We help UAE businesses rebuild the record period by period, reconcile what can be supported and make the gaps visible—so decisions are based on dependable figures.
The direct answer
Backlog accounting, also called catch-up bookkeeping or accounting clean-up, deals with historical transactions that have not been properly recorded, reconciled or reviewed. The aim is to establish a usable ledger for defined periods, not simply to enter a pile of invoices into software. The work may include bank and payment-platform reconciliations, customer and supplier balances, payroll, VAT control accounts, inventory and opening balances.
A ledger can look complete while its figures still do not agree to bank statements or tax records. We distinguish supported corrections from assumptions, obtain management decisions where needed and maintain an exception list for missing evidence. The output gives management a clearer starting point for year-end financial statements, management reporting and separately scoped tax work.
Common reasons businesses call
The starting point determines the work. We identify the period, the last reliable closing position and the source of the gap before proposing a clean-up.
Sales, purchases, expenses and bank activity have accumulated outside the ledger. We organise the source records by period, post supported entries and reconcile the balances rather than treating bank deposits as a complete sales register.
Bank, receivable, payable, tax or inventory balances differ from independent records. We investigate duplicates, omissions, cut-off issues and misclassifications, then document the proposed adjustment and its evidence.
A migration or change of accountant can leave incomplete journals, unmatched payments and unsupported opening balances. We preserve the prior data, establish a reliable transition date and identify what cannot be verified.
A controlled recovery
We work in an agreed sequence so a year-end deadline does not lead to undocumented shortcuts. Management approves the records and judgements; our team prepares and explains the accounting work.
Confirm each legal entity, backlog period, software, reporting deadline, transaction volume and last signed-off or reconciled position. Review a sample of source records before agreeing a timetable.
Collect bank and payment-gateway statements, sales and purchase records, invoices, contracts, payroll and prior reports. Sort by period and create a log for missing or conflicting documents.
Post supported transactions, review the chart of accounts and reconcile bank, customer, supplier, VAT, payroll, stock and intercompany accounts where applicable. Trace material differences back to their sources.
Discuss cut-off, accruals, prepayments, loans, owner transactions and opening-balance differences. Keep the reason and approval for corrections; do not invent invoices or silently force balances to agree.
Deliver the agreed ledger, trial balance, reconciliations and exception list. Separately flag any possible VAT or Corporate tax review and establish a monthly close routine to stop the backlog recurring.
A practical example
A trading company may have invoices in its accounting platform, card settlements from a payment provider and cash deposits in the bank. Booking only the bank receipts can understate gross sales, hide fees and leave VAT or customer balances unexplained. The catch-up task is to reconcile each channel to its source and document differences by period.
The same principle applies to supplier credits, owner-paid expenses and stock movements. An unexplained figure does not become reliable because the software produces a tidy profit-and-loss report.
What to send first
Tell us the legal entity, financial year-end, last month you trust and the month you need to reach. A representative month of bank activity, sales, purchases and your latest trial balance helps us estimate the work. We then agree a secure route for full records and software access.
If some invoices are missing, tell us early. Bank statements can show payment, but they do not always prove the expense, customer, tax treatment or accounting period. We record evidence gaps rather than conceal them.
Accounting and compliance
Historical books may reveal a tax difference. That is a question to assess, not an instruction to automatically change a filed return.
Reconcile VAT control accounts to invoices and filed returns period by period. The FTA states VAT invoices issued and received must generally be retained for at least five years; other record rules or extensions may apply. If an error emerges, review the correction route separately from the bookkeeping.
VAT voluntary disclosure guidance →Reliable financial accounts underpin a Corporate tax computation, but tax adjustments, elections and filing are separate work. UAE Corporate tax law generally requires relevant records to be kept for seven years following the end of the Tax Period. The entity and applicable period still matter.
Corporate tax return guidance →Catch-up work can produce a reconciled ledger and supporting schedules. Formal financial statements, an independent audit and recipient-specific reporting are distinct deliverables. Where the same firm is considered for accounting and audit, independence must be assessed before acceptance.
Financial statement preparation →Official references: FTA VAT invoice retention FAQ and Corporate tax Law, Article 56. Confirm the rules applicable to your periods before acting.
Scope and fees
Ten quiet months in a small consultancy are different from ten months of retail sales through several channels. We assess transaction volume, number of entities, systems, available evidence, stock, payroll and the number of balances needing investigation. Missing data and management response times often govern the schedule more than data entry does.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the practical questions business owners ask when the books are behind or an accountant has changed.
Catch-up bookkeeping brings overdue accounting periods up to date. It involves identifying the last reliable closing balance, entering supported transactions, reconciling accounts and documenting unresolved differences. It may be called backlog accounting or accounting clean-up.
Backlog work addresses historical periods that were not completed or were completed unreliably. Monthly bookkeeping is the recurring process that keeps current transactions recorded and reconciled. A company may need the first before it can start the second on a dependable basis.
Potentially. We first assess the number of periods, transaction volume, available records and the reliability of opening balances. Older years may involve missing source documents, system changes or prior filings, so the project is scoped after a sample review rather than promised on a fixed timetable.
Bank statements identify cash movements but do not, on their own, establish the nature of every transaction, VAT treatment or whether an expense is properly supported. We request invoices, contracts, payment-platform exports and other evidence, and keep a clear list of items that remain unverified.
We compare the opening trial balance with prior statements, tax records, bank balances and supporting schedules. Corrections need an explanation and approval; we do not silently overwrite historical balances to make a reconciliation appear complete.
We can assess the existing accounting system and import or rebuild records using an agreed workflow. SAIF supports Zoho Books, Odoo and other accounting and ERP platforms; the right approach depends on data quality, access, chart of accounts and the reliability of any migration.
No. The accounting review may identify a difference between source records and a filed VAT return, but the correct treatment, amendment or voluntary-disclosure route requires a separate tax review for the period and facts. We identify the issue and agree any additional tax work before submission.
Reliable financial statements are an important starting point for Corporate tax work, but bookkeeping is not the tax calculation or return. Tax adjustments, elections, disclosures and filing are separately reviewed against the applicable period and entity.
Yes, subject to scoping the entity and records. A free-zone licence does not remove the need for reliable accounting. Additional reporting, audit and Corporate tax questions depend on the particular company and authority, and should be assessed separately.
Yes. We seek an orderly handover of the latest trial balance, general ledger, supporting schedules, prior financial statements, filings, software access and unresolved-item list. We establish a verified start point before posting new periods.
The agreed deliverables may include an updated general ledger and trial balance, bank and key-control reconciliations, an adjustment list, outstanding-document and exception schedules, and a closing handover for monthly accounting. Formal financial statements, tax returns or audit reports are separate unless included in the engagement.
Fees depend on the periods and entities involved, transaction volume, record quality, number of bank and payment channels, inventory or payroll complexity, and how much investigation is needed. A representative sample helps us quote the actual work instead of offering a misleading one-size-fits-all price.
Timing depends on the size and condition of the backlog, access to the software, response times for missing documents and the number of unexplained balances. We agree milestones after an initial review and flag work that depends on management or third parties.
Yes, a separate recurring bookkeeping or management-reporting scope can follow the catch-up. We agree who supplies documents, approves entries, owns bank access and reviews each month-end close so the backlog does not return.
Bring the accounts back under control
Share the last reliable month, software used, number of entities and the deadline you are working toward. We will review the starting point and propose a practical scope.
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