Bookkeeping
E-Commerce Bookkeeping in Dubai
We turn marketplace payouts back into what they really are: gross sales, fees, refunds and VAT, so the return and the margin are both right.
- Payouts broken into gross sales, fees, refunds and VAT
- VAT on marketplace commissions recovered with the right invoice
- Foreign app and ad spend booked under the reverse charge
Who this is for
- You sell on Amazon, Noon or your own storeAnd the bank only shows the net payout.
- Your ad spend runs on Meta and GoogleBilled from abroad, with VAT nobody has accounted for.
- Cash on delivery goes through couriersAnd the remittances never quite match the orders.
- Stock sits in a fulfilment warehouseSo your count and theirs disagree.
What is included
- Settlement reports from each channel posted gross, not net
- Marketplace commissions and fees booked with their VAT
- Reverse charge VAT on foreign services such as ads and apps
- Courier cash-on-delivery remittances reconciled to orders
- Payment gateway fees and chargebacks recorded
- Stock at your warehouse and the marketplace's agreed monthly
- VAT returns prepared from the reconciled ledger
Why the payout is not your sales
A marketplace pays you what is left after it takes its share. The bank sees one number. The law sees several.
When Amazon or Noon act as an agent for a third-party seller, the seller usually remains the supplier of the goods and is responsible for the VAT on the full sale price. The platform's commission is a separate supply to you, and it carries 5% VAT that you can recover with its tax invoice.
Services bought from abroad, such as Shopify subscriptions, Meta or Google ads and cloud tools, are generally accounted for by a VAT-registered business under the reverse charge: the VAT is declared as output tax and recovered as input tax in the same return.
Registration thresholds count every channel together. A seller must register once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 in 12 months, and may register voluntarily from AED 187,500.
A worked example: one month on a marketplace
A seller receives a payout of AED 41,300 for October.
- Gross sales of AED 52,500, including AED 2,500 of output VAT
- Commission and fees of AED 10,000, plus AED 500 VAT, deducted
- Customer refunds of AED 700 deducted
AED 52,500 less AED 10,500 less AED 700 is the AED 41,300 payout. Booked as one sales line, the books understate revenue by more than AED 11,000, leave AED 500 of recoverable input VAT on the table, and lose the refunds that should reduce output tax.
The mistake we see most
Recording the payout as sales.
It is quick, and it makes every figure wrong at once: revenue, fees, VAT and margin. Import the settlement report instead, line by line, and the books match what the marketplace knows about you.
How it works
- Connect your channelsMarketplace settlement reports, store exports and bank statements.
- Free reviewWe rebuild one payout so you can see gross sales, fees and VAT.
- Fixed monthly quoteBased on channels, orders and SKUs.
- Monthly close by channelEach close pack shows margin per channel after fees.
E-Commerce Bookkeeping in Dubai — questions we get asked
Do I charge VAT if I sell through Amazon or Noon?
Usually yes. Where the marketplace acts as your agent, you remain the supplier of the goods and account for VAT on the full sale price, not the payout.
Can I recover VAT on marketplace fees?
Yes, if you are VAT-registered and hold the platform's tax invoice for the commission and fees.
What about Shopify, Meta and Google ad invoices from abroad?
These are generally imported services. A VAT-registered business accounts for them under the reverse charge, declaring and recovering the VAT in the same return.
When does an online seller need to register for VAT?
When taxable supplies across all channels exceed AED 375,000 in 12 months. Voluntary registration is possible from AED 187,500. See our VAT registration service.
Can you handle cash on delivery?
Yes. We reconcile each courier remittance to the orders it covers and follow up on anything missing.
Book your free compliance review
Fifteen minutes, no charge, and you leave with a written summary of where you stand whether or not you engage us.
