Accounting, CFO and Payroll
Delivered by our sister company, The One Accountant — a UAE accounting practice running since 2021, with more than 300 clients and books managed across all six GCC countries.
One group, two disciplines
Incorporation and accounting are usually bought from two firms who never speak to each other. The licence gets issued with activities that do not match how the business actually invoices, and nobody notices until the first corporate tax return.
Pistos Group sets the company up. The One Accountant keeps the books. Because we are the same group, your activity codes, your VAT position and your corporate tax registration get decided together rather than retrofitted.
If you already have a company
You do not need to have incorporated with us. The One Accountant takes on existing businesses regularly, including ones arriving mid-year with a backlog. Catch-up bookkeeping is quoted case by case.
Bookkeeping and accounting
- Monthly bookkeeping and management accounts
- Accounts receivable and payable
- Bank and credit card reconciliation
- Year-end financial statements
- Inventory and stock accounting
- Catch-up and backlog bookkeeping
Tax
Corporate tax changed what UAE businesses have to keep track of, and being under the Small Business Relief threshold does not mean you can skip registration.
- VAT registration and TRN issuance
- Quarterly and monthly VAT filing
- Corporate tax registration
- Corporate tax return preparation and filing
- Tax optimisation and structuring advice
- FTA audit support and voluntary disclosures
Free if you incorporated with us
Corporate tax registration is included at no charge for any company formed by Pistos Group. Registration is mandatory regardless of whether tax will be payable, so it gets done as part of the setup rather than invoiced separately later.
Payroll and WPS
The Wage Protection System is how the UAE verifies that staff are actually paid what their contracts say. Salaries route through an approved agent to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and a company that falls out of compliance finds new work permits blocked and renewals held up. It is one of the quietest ways a growing business trips itself over.
- Monthly payroll processing
- WPS file preparation and submission
- End-of-service gratuity calculation
- Leave, overtime and allowance tracking
- Payslip issuance
- Employee onboarding and offboarding on the payroll
Virtual CFO
For companies that need the thinking without the salary. A finance lead who looks at the numbers monthly, tells you what they mean, and flags the problem while it is still small.
Management reporting
A monthly pack built around the handful of numbers that actually drive your business, not a generic profit and loss.
Cash flow forecasting
Rolling forecasts, so you know what the position looks like in ninety days rather than after the fact.
Budgeting and variance
Budgets set with you, then tracked against actuals with an explanation of what moved and why.
Banking and facilities
Preparing the file for lending or a facility, and handling the conversations that go with it.
Board and investor reporting
Numbers presented in the format your investors or board expect to receive them.
Systems and controls
Fixing how money moves through the business before volume makes it expensive to fix.
Compliance
- AML and company compliance frameworks
- Ultimate beneficial owner and shareholder registers
- Economic substance assessments where relevant
- Banking compliance and KYC documentation
- Audit preparation and liaison — see our audit services
Accounting software
The One Accountant is a partner on Zoho Books, Wafeq and XYRA AI, and handles onboarding, migration and training on each. If your team keeps the books in-house, we train the person doing it rather than taking the work away from them.
Talk to The One Accountant
Tell us roughly how many transactions a month and whether you are up to date. We will come back with a monthly figure.
Questions We Get Asked
Does my company have to register for corporate tax?
Yes. Registration is mandatory whether or not any tax is due, including for businesses under the relief threshold and free zone companies expecting the 0% rate. We register companies we incorporate free of charge.
What are the corporate tax rates?
0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it. A Qualifying Free Zone Person can get 0% on qualifying income, but only while it meets the conditions — it is not automatic because you hold a free zone licence.
When do I have to register for VAT?
Mandatory once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000, voluntary above AED 187,500. The rate is 5%.
Do we need audited accounts?
Most free zones require them to renew the licence, and banks and the FTA will ask in their own circumstances. Books must be kept for at least five years regardless.
What is WPS and does it apply to us?
The Wage Protection System routes salaries through an approved channel to MoHRE so the authorities can verify staff are paid what their contracts say. It applies to employment visas. Falling out of compliance blocks new work permits and renewals.
What is the UBO register?
A record of the individuals owning 25% or more, or exercising decisive control. It has to be maintained and kept current. Fines for getting it wrong run from AED 20,000 to AED 100,000.
Do Economic Substance Regulations apply to us?
Only if you carry on one of the listed relevant activities. We assess it rather than filing defensively, because an unnecessary notification creates its own obligations.
Can you take over our books mid-year?
Yes, including with a backlog. Catch-up bookkeeping is quoted case by case once we have seen the state of things.
Not Covered Above? Ask Us.
Send the question as you would ask it on the phone. One of the team answers it properly — not a template, and not a sales call dressed up as an answer.