Years behind, brought current
A bookkeeper left, the business grew faster than its admin, a year got away. It is ordinary — and entirely fixable. What is not fixable is continuing to wait.
Books fall behind for ordinary reasons — a bookkeeper left, the business grew faster than its admin, a year got away. The problem is that the consequences compound quietly: unfiled or estimated VAT returns, a Corporate Tax registration deadline passed, a licence renewal blocked for want of financial statements, and an owner who genuinely does not know whether the business made money.
How we run a catch-up
- Scope honestly. How many periods, how many entities, what records actually exist. We quote catch-up separately from ongoing work, because it is a different job.
- Establish an opening position. The last reliable balance sheet, or a reconstructed one built from bank, loan and asset records.
- Rebuild the periods. Bank statements, POS exports, supplier and customer records, payroll — posted properly rather than summarised into a plug.
- Quantify the exposure. Unfiled returns, under- or over-declared VAT, missed registrations and the penalty position, set out in writing so you can decide with the facts.
- Regularise. Late filings, voluntary disclosures where appropriate, and registrations completed — in the right order, because sequence affects outcome.
- Hand over to a normal cycle. Monthly close from a defined date, with the systems and process that stop it happening again.
Correcting an error before the authority finds it is generally a materially better position than waiting. The voluntary disclosure mechanism exists for exactly this, and there are conditions and deadlines that shape how and when a disclosure should be made. It is worth taking advice on sequencing before filing anything — the order in which registrations, returns and disclosures are made genuinely affects the outcome.
We do not lecture clients about how far behind they are. Every firm sees this monthly, and the only useful response is to scope it, price it and fix it.
Reviewed 18 August 2026 by Ahmed Nabil Selim. UAE tax rates, thresholds and deadlines change — confirm the position for your period before relying on it.
Catch-up bookkeeping — frequently asked questions
As far back as the records support. Bank statements are usually obtainable for several years, and between those, supplier and customer records, payroll files, POS exports and the last filed returns, most periods can be rebuilt to a defensible standard. Where a period genuinely cannot be reconstructed from evidence, we say so and document the basis of any estimate rather than presenting a guess as a fact.
Both the Corporate Tax and VAT regimes carry administrative penalties for late registration, late filing, late payment and incorrect returns, and several escalate with the length of delay. Because the amounts and mechanics depend on the specific failure and period, the right first step is to quantify your actual position rather than work from a general figure — and then to regularise in a sequence that limits further accrual. Continuing to do nothing is invariably the most expensive option.
No. We act for you. Our role is to establish your position accurately, explain the options including voluntary disclosure, and act on your instructions. What we will not do is prepare or file something we know to be false — that protects you as much as us, because a knowingly incorrect filing converts a compliance problem into a much more serious one.
Is this your situation?
Tell us how the business is set up and where the numbers currently stand. We will tell you what is required and what it costs to have it handled properly.
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