Accounting & Bookkeeping
If you run a business, regardless of the size of that business, then you need the services of a good bookkeeper. Bookkeeping is the process keeping your books balances by means of recording all of your company’s financial transactions in an orderly and easily readable way. This includes receipts, expenditure, invoices, refunds, sales, purchases, income and disbursements. It is an essential basis for all of your company’s accounting, classifying and reporting data as none of that can be done without proper bookkeeping being carried out on a regular basis, either monthly or quarterly.
Proper bookkeeping enables you to manage the cash flow running through your business. It really is the only way to do this. If your books are properly kept and maintained then you can judge how healthy your company is and how it is performing. For example, you can quickly see which customers are in arrears with their payments or if there have any outstanding balances owed by the company. Without this information, you are really “flying blind”. Monthly and quarterly bookkeeping also enables you to make more accurate cash flow forecasts for your business than waiting until the year end.
This is a financial statement which shows the company’s net profit or loss over any given period. It is an essential item for any business and it can only be created on the basis of proper bookkeeping procedures.
Anyone who is considering investing in your business or lending money to your business will almost certainly demand access to your company’s complete set of financial data before they invest or lend. This can only be made available to them if your books are in order and up-to-date.
Proper bookkeeping records will ensure that your company does not pay more taxes than it properly owes. Also, proper and up-to-date books make it less likely that your company will be audited by the tax authorities. A lack of good bookkeeping and resultant sloppy records make an audit more likely and a tax audit will cost your business a lot in terms of both time and money, not to mention the possibility of fines or other penalties.
We are a firm of UK qualified chartered accountants that operate to the highest professional and accounting standards. Based in Dubai, we can offer the first-rate bookkeeping services that your company needs. As well as that we can also offer an efficient, friendly full accountancy service including financial and tax advice.
Cloud Accounting
Our team specialises in finding solutions for Small and Medium size businesses seeking cost effective and easy to use systems. We strategize with clients to help find the right solutions for their operational, reporting and growth requirements. Where our team is unable to complete an implementation directly for our clients, we act as advisors on the selection process of a system and remain on-board as support for the implementation of workflows and training around the system.
OUR CORE STRENGTHS LIE IN IMPLEMENTATION OF CLOUD BASED SYSTEMS:
We want our clients to spend the least amount of time managing their accounts and business finances, which is why we do not just offer a one size fits all software solution we tailor our offering to keep our clients and accountants connected at all times.
Our accountants have the training and knowledge to help our clients with the setup and conversion to may types of cloud accounting software, as well as provide ongoing support on managing their businesses day-to-day accounting operations.
OUR ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IS RECOMMENDED BY OUR ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
UK Tax Return
Even if you no longer live in United Kingdom, under certain circumstances you may still be required to file tax with HMRC. For UK residents and non-residents tax rules are very different and it is important to find out tax residency status.
Tax residence status:
HMRC use their Statutory Residence Test to determine whether you are a tax resident which incorporates a number of factors. Most common and expensive, mistake non-residents make is reading about it on the internet, and establishing their residence status. Figuring out tax residence status can be complicated, and one should always seek advice from a qualified accountant. As getting it wrong might be very expensive.
Self Assessment tax return:
A Self Assessment tax return is a declaration of the income you have received during a tax year. For example the 2017/18 self assessment tax return covers the tax year ended 5 April 2018. Note the tax year begins on 6 April and end on 5 April. The tax return will enable the HMRC to calculate how much tax you owe in the UK, or any repayments which are owed to you, from income you received during the tax year under review.
Under normal circumstances, if the HMRC deems that you are required to complete a Self Assessment tax return, they will send you a notification once the tax year has ended and will be due to be submitted by October 31st (by paper) that year or January 31st the following year if submitted online. Any tax payments will be due by 31st January. You may also need to make a payment on account on 31 July.
Example: You are requested to submit a tax return for the tax year 2018/19. You receive a notification in the post in May 2019. Your tax return will be due by October 31st 2019 if you intend to complete your tax return by post. If you are filing your tax return online, it must be submitted by 31st January 2020. All payments must also be received by January 31st 2020.
Non-resident tax return requirements:
If you are deemed to be a non-UK resident, it may still be necessary to complete a tax return if you have UK source of income even if you owe no tax.
Typical scenarios that may require a tax return for non residents to be completed include:
Income received from investments (eg. interest or dividends) typically do not have to be declared if they are your UK only income and the total is less than £10,000. If you work in the UK, unless tax has already been deducted by your employer through pay as your earn scheme, any work you do will be taxable and you will therefore be required to complete a tax return.
It is also important to remember that you may have to be taxed on your income in your country of residence, if it is not in the UK. The UK does, however, have double taxation treaties with some countries which means that tax is only payable in one country.
Non-resident tax return penalties:
If you file or pay your Self Assessment after the 31st January you will incur a penalty.
In addition to the above you will be required to pay tax geared penalties and interest on any outstanding tax payments.
Payroll
Tax free and business friendly environment has encouraged many companies to either move base or start a branch in the Middle East, especially in Dubai.
However, the payroll process in a tax free economy is not as simple as it appears. The diverse expatriate nationalities and the ever changing local regulations make payroll an intricate process. Furthermore, a proper documented payroll process has become imperative for all companies operating in the UAE after the implementation of Wage Protection System (WPS) as mandated by the Ministry of Labour in UAE. This development has led to many companies, whether on-shore or off-shore, seeking expert support from outsourced payroll providers.
When you’re operating across borders and employing an international workforce, you need careful planning and scrutiny so that you are both fully compliant with your global HR policies and procedures, and more importantly with local regulation requirements. Companies that are non-compliant will risk facing legal sanctions including fines, being banned from applying for new work permits and can ultimately suffer reputational damage.
With our highly qualified professionals, Livingstones Accountants can manage your end to end payroll process.
Livingstones offer a wide range of payroll services across the Middle East which includes but is not limited to:
The UAE introduced an electronic salary transfer system in 2009 which allows companies and institutions to pay workers’ wages via banks and financial institutions approved and authorised by the Central Bank.
The Wages Protection System (WPS) was developed by the UAE Central Bank and the Ministry of Labour to ensure timely and full payment of wages through a database. Companies that fail to abide by this process will face punishments and fines and will not be able to obtain work permits.
To participate in this system companies must select one or more banks or agents licensed by the Central Bank. Once the company’s authorised bank receives the salaries, it sends a notification to the Wages Protection System. The system then sends the workers’ details and wages as well as the salary transfer instructions electronically to the Central Bank of the UAE, which will in turn forward those details to the Ministry of Labour database in order to ensure that the details received correspond with those registered with the Ministry. The system will then send the approved information to the appointed agent in order to start paying the wages.
The WPS covers all institutions which have their employees registered with the Ministry of Labour across all sectors and industries, and will benefit different categories of labour.
Setting up a business in UAE
Companies looking to trade and operate in or from the UAE will typically be required to register a legal entity such as a company, branch or place of business. However, it is important you determine early what activities you want to carry out from this entity. Every company in the UAE requires a company license which is linked to its registered activity. In general you have two options when setting up an operational entity within the UAE.
Free Zones
Under the UAE federal constitution, each emirate is permitted to set up “free zones” for general or industry-specific activities to encourage foreign direct investment. Free zone entities are not generally required to have any UAE nationals as owners. There are at least two free zones in every emirate; Dubai alone has more than 20. Each zone has its own laws and regulations, and are sometimes referred to as “offshore” jurisdictions.
The types of companies available within free zones differ, but the basic types available are:
The entities established in the free zone can have 100% foreign ownership and there is no requirement for having a local service agent for a branch or representative office.
Onshore jurisdiction
These zones are ruled by federal laws and regulations.
The most common types of companies within the onshore jurisdiction for corporate clients are:
An LLC in the onshore jurisdiction requires a 51% local UAE shareholder. A branch office, a representative office or a sole establishment in the onshore jurisdiction requires a local service agent to be their representative in front of the local authority.
Office space requirements
An entity set-up in the UAE is always a combination of license, legal entity and facility. The UAE has always been a real estate-driven economy and it is law that a company license is always linked to the size of the office space as stated in the official office space tenancy contract.
Several free zones offer flexible desk solutions to provide companies with affordable options for office space. The conditions of minimum office space differ from one jurisdiction to another. Local statutory rules will often require companies to appoint officers such as a manager, directors and a company secretary.
Company license
Every free zone specialises in a certain industry and business activity, so when you’re choosing a free zone jurisdiction you need to think about the type of activity and industry of your future company.
Almost all company licenses in the onshore jurisdiction are available in any sector, but the licenses are then linked with the permitted type of entities. Some business activities are reserved for LLC and some are for branch of foreign entities.
A company license from a free zone jurisdiction allows the company to operate only within the free zone and outside the UAE, whereas a company license from the onshore jurisdiction can be used to operate in the whole UAE.
Corporate secretarial services in UAE
Our UAE team are experts in a wide range of corporate secretarial services to help keep you keep on top of your corporate governance. We provide incorporation and directorship services and help big and small businesses with coordination of annual company license renewal and coordination of annual general meeting (AGM).
Incorporation services
We can:
Directorship services
We provide management services by providing an individual who acts as a nominee manager, director, company representative and the company secretary. This person will conduct the business of your company only with your prior approval and/or instruction.
Coordination of annual company license renewal
We can:
Accounting
DON’T DROWN YOURSELF, LET US HELP YOU SORT OUT THE PAPERWORK AND LOOK BEYOND THE NUMBERS.
For many of our clients we act as outsourced Senior Accountants and Finance Managers in the UAE. For small and medium size companies not ready to hire a full time Finance Manager, Livingstones Accountants saves significant time and money by providing expertise in the following areas:
By using Livingstones Accountants for monthly accounting and reporting services in Dubai, you gain both operational efficiency and business advisory capabilities that can help you grow your business to the next level.
Unlike many chartered accounting firms in the region, we do more than just crunch numbers. Our extensive experience and Chartered Accountants find ways to save you money, help you allocate resources more efficiently and take a proactive approach in helping you identify and resolve issues before they become serious problems.
We consistently monitor our clients business to make sure they are on the right track. We want every business to flourish, therefore, you hear from Livingstones more than just once a year.
