From a client's shoebox to a checked VAT return, and the books.
Five stages for every document. Ledger does the reading, coding and checking; your team makes the decisions.
1 · Captured
Drop a client's paperwork in one batch or a whole folder, however it came — scanned bundles, PDFs, phone photos, spreadsheets — or let the client send it through your firm's WhatsApp, email inbox or client portal. Documents can also be read from the client's Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks, Wafeq or Odoo. The intake agent splits multi-document files, works out which pages belong together, and files each document to sales, purchases or expenses and to the period its date falls in.
Your part: Drop the files, check the page estimate, start.
2 · Extracted
AI reads each document into lines: invoice number and date, counterparty and TRN, description, net amount, VAT and expense category, each with a confidence score. The original reading is stored permanently, so you can always see what the AI said.
Your part: Nothing — open any line to see it next to the scan.
3 · Checked
Every line runs through the automated FTA checks below. Flags show the rule, the cited article and the amount affected; blocked input VAT is kept out of the return automatically.
Your part: Review the flags, correct a line or its tax code, and the checks re-run immediately.
4 · Filed
Ledger drafts the VAT 201 return box by box. It moves through review and approval — approval is refused while blockers or uncoded lines remain — and once you mark it filed, the period is locked.
Your part: Approve, submit on EmaraTax, mark as filed.
5 · Handed over and advised
The same reviewed records feed the rest of the client's services: the books hand-over, with every line coded to an account and files ready to import into the client's own accounting software; the VAT refund and its claim deadline; a health check of filed returns against the ledger; and the Corporate Tax computation, with the add-backs found during the year.
Your part: Confirm the accounts, download the hand-over and import it; sign off the working papers.
Checks that cite the law
Every flag tells you which rule, and what it costs
Each check is tied to the FTA article it enforces, resolved live from the Lexara regulatory library.
| Check | Rule | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment — 50% not deductible | Corporate Tax Law Art. 32 | Adds back 50% in the CT computation |
| Input VAT on entertainment | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 53 | VAT excluded from Box 9 |
| Fines and penalties | Corporate Tax Law Art. 33 | Added back in full |
| Input VAT on personal-use vehicles | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 53 | VAT excluded unless business-only use is evidenced |
| Input VAT without a supplier TRN | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 59 | VAT excluded until a valid tax invoice is held |
| Zero-rated sale without evidence | VAT Law Arts. 44–45; Exec. Reg. Art. 30 | Blocks filing until the evidence is confirmed |
Form 201
Each tax code lands in its FTA box
Change a line's tax code and the return updates. VAT blocked by a check stays out of Box 9, and reverse-charge VAT counts as both output and input — so the payable figure is right.
Not captured yet: the emirate split of Box 1, tourist refunds (Box 2) and imports via customs (Boxes 6–7).
Built for audit
Ready for the question “where did this number come from?”
Nothing is overwritten
The AI's original reading is kept. Every correction records who changed what, when and why.
Every figure has a source
Each line links to the stored document it came from, filed in Vault under the client.
People approve, not the AI
Returns move from draft to filed only by a reviewer's decision, and only when checks pass.
Filed periods are locked
Once a return is filed, its lines, uploads and re-extraction are refused for that period.
Questions
Common questions
Does Ledger submit the return to the FTA?+
No. Ledger prepares and checks the return and produces a box-by-box summary and an audit workbook. You submit on EmaraTax and then mark the return as filed in Ledger, which locks the period.
What happens when the AI misreads a document?+
Open the line next to the scan and correct it. The correction is recorded alongside the original reading, and the checks re-run straight away.
Why was a line flagged?+
Each flag names the rule, the article it comes from and the amount affected, with guidance on what to do — for example, getting a compliant tax invoice before recovering the VAT.
Which files can I upload?+
PDF, JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC — printed or handwritten invoices, thermal receipts and other expense documents, up to 500 MB per file and 2,000 pages per batch. Clients can also send them on WhatsApp, by email or through the client portal, and you can import sales and expense spreadsheets and bank statements in Excel or CSV.
Does it connect to Zoho Books or Xero?+
Ledger can read invoices and bills from a client's Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks, Wafeq or Odoo, read-only. For the books, it produces files you import into those systems yourself.
Can I keep a client's books in their own Zoho, Xero or QuickBooks?+
Yes. Upload the client's chart of accounts, confirm the account Ledger suggests for each line, and download files ready to import into Zoho Books, Xero, QuickBooks or Wafeq, or a journal for any system. The client's software stays the books of record.
Does Ledger write anything to the client's accounting software?+
No. Ledger never writes to it. You download the files and import them, so every entry stays in your hands. Each row carries a reference back to the Ledger document, so a double import is easy to find.
Is a document kept out of the books if it isn't a tax invoice?+
Yes. Proformas, quotations, purchase orders, drafts and same-number duplicates are held out of the books and the return until a person decides.