Accounting software for freight forwarders in UAE, shipment by shipment

Forwarding margins are made on the difference between what carriers charge and what the client pays, so revenue and cost are tracked per job. HelloBooks uses projects or classes per shipment and a forwarding chart.

• Freight revenue: sea, air, road, and international versus domestic
• Carrier costs: shipping line, airline, trucking subcontractors
• Customs duty and port charges paid on behalf of clients (disbursements)
• Warehouse handling, documentation and clearance fees
• FX gains and losses on USD carrier payments

International transport of goods, including transport between GCC states, is zero-rated, and the UAE Government’s sector guidance lists related goods and services as zero-rated too. Moving goods within the UAE, such as a truck from Jebel Ali to Al Quoz that is not part of an international movement, is generally standard-rated at 5%. Customs duty paid as the client’s agent can be a disbursement outside VAT if it meets the FTA’s disbursement conditions.

HelloBooks lets you set the treatment per invoice line so one job invoice can carry all three. The agent proposes a treatment from the job type; operations or finance confirm it, and difficult cases go to your tax agent.

Shipping line invoices arrive in bulk. The agent reads each PDF, matches the container or bill of lading number to the job and posts the cost. When the job closes, it drafts the client invoice with zero-rated freight, standard-rated local delivery and the duty disbursement on separate lines. USD payments to carriers are matched against your statement upload with FX differences posted.

Ask “which shipments in September made a loss?” or “how much duty have we paid for clients that is not yet invoiced?” Finance still approves every client invoice and every carrier payment.

Owners watch profit per shipment, unbilled costs on closed jobs, client ageing and carrier payables by due date. On a 40-foot import billed at AED 9,800 with AED 7,600 of carrier and port costs, the AED 2,200 margin disappears if a demurrage bill arrives after invoicing; the unbilled-costs report catches that.

Job numbering, invoice layouts with container details and approval limits for carrier payments can all be set up for you. Book at /book-a-demo or email hello@hellobooks.ai.