Accounting software for construction contractors in UAE, job by job

Construction profit is made or lost per contract, so every bill is tagged to a job. HelloBooks uses projects for each contract and a chart designed for contractors.

• Contract revenue certified, and unbilled work done awaiting certification
• Retentions receivable from clients and retentions payable to subcontractors
• Direct materials: steel, blockwork, ready-mix concrete, MEP materials
• Subcontractor costs, plant hire, site labour and labour camp costs
• Advance payments received and the advance recovery deducted from each certificate

Construction services supplied by a contractor are generally standard-rated at 5%, even where the finished residential building will be zero-rated on its first supply by the developer. The zero rate belongs to the developer’s sale or lease, not to the contractor’s invoice.

Timing is the harder question. Progress claims, retentions and advance payments each raise the question of when VAT falls due, which depends on invoices issued and payments received under the FTA’s date-of-supply rules. HelloBooks records the certificate date, invoice date and payment date for each claim so your tax agent can apply the right rule; the agent does not decide the tax point for you.

Contractors invoice businesses, so the e-invoicing rollout applies. Businesses below AED 50 million of revenue must appoint an accredited service provider by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027. HelloBooks keeps the invoice records you will need, but you appoint the provider from the Ministry of Finance list.

Send a photo of a delivery-note-backed supplier invoice from site and the agent posts it to the right job and cost code. Upload the payment certificate and it drafts the progress invoice: gross value to date, less previous certificates, less retention and advance recovery, plus VAT. Subcontractor claims are booked the same way in reverse.

Ask “what is our margin to date on the Al Quoz warehouse?” or “how much retention is owed to us across all jobs?” Finance still approves each claim before it goes to the client and every payment run before it leaves the bank.

Job cost against budget, retention ageing, and cash flow by job are the three reports most contractors open weekly. A contract worth AED 4.8 million that is 55% certified with AED 2.3 million of cost booked is already running thinner than its tender margin, and the agent flags it.

Cost codes, the claim layout your clients expect and approval limits for site purchases can all be configured. Email hello@hellobooks.ai or book at /book-a-demo to discuss them.