From a client's shoebox to a checked VAT return.
Four stages for every document. Ledger does the reading, coding and checking; your team makes the decisions.
1 · Captured
Drop a client's paperwork in one batch, however it came — scanned bundles, PDFs, phone photos — or let the client send it to your firm's WhatsApp. The intake agent splits multi-document files, works out which pages belong together, and files each document to sales, purchases or expenses and to the period its date falls in.
Your part: Drop the files, check the page estimate, start.
2 · Extracted
AI reads each document into lines: invoice number and date, counterparty and TRN, description, net amount, VAT and expense category, each with a confidence score. The original reading is stored permanently, so you can always see what the AI said.
Your part: Nothing — open any line to see it next to the scan.
3 · Checked
Every line runs through the automated FTA checks below. Flags show the rule, the cited article and the amount affected; blocked input VAT is kept out of the return automatically.
Your part: Review the flags, correct a line or its tax code, and the checks re-run immediately.
4 · Filed
Ledger drafts the VAT 201 return box by box. It moves through review and approval — approval is refused while blockers or uncoded lines remain — and once you mark it filed, the period is locked.
Your part: Approve, submit on EmaraTax, mark as filed.
Checks that cite the law
Every flag tells you which rule, and what it costs
Each check is tied to the FTA article it enforces, resolved live from the Lexara regulatory library.
| Check | Rule | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment — 50% not deductible | Corporate Tax Law Art. 32 | Adds back 50% in the CT computation |
| Input VAT on entertainment | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 53 | VAT excluded from Box 9 |
| Fines and penalties | Corporate Tax Law Art. 33 | Added back in full |
| Input VAT on personal-use vehicles | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 53 | VAT excluded unless business-only use is evidenced |
| Input VAT without a supplier TRN | VAT Exec. Reg. (CD 52/2017) Art. 59 | VAT excluded until a valid tax invoice is held |
| Zero-rated sale without evidence | VAT Law Arts. 44–45; Exec. Reg. Art. 30 | Blocks filing until the evidence is confirmed |
Form 201
Each tax code lands in its FTA box
Change a line's tax code and the return updates. VAT blocked by a check stays out of Box 9, and reverse-charge VAT counts as both output and input — so the payable figure is right.
Not captured yet: the emirate split of Box 1, tourist refunds (Box 2) and imports via customs (Boxes 6–7).
Built for audit
Ready for the question “where did this number come from?”
Nothing is overwritten
The AI's original reading is kept. Every correction records who changed what, when and why.
Every figure has a source
Each line links to the stored document it came from, filed in Vault under the client.
People approve, not the AI
Returns move from draft to filed only by a reviewer's decision, and only when checks pass.
Filed periods are locked
Once a return is filed, its lines, uploads and re-extraction are refused for that period.
Questions
Common questions
Does Ledger submit the return to the FTA?+
No. Ledger prepares and checks the return and produces a box-by-box summary and an audit workbook. You submit on EmaraTax and then mark the return as filed in Ledger, which locks the period.
What happens when the AI misreads a document?+
Open the line next to the scan and correct it. The correction is recorded alongside the original reading, and the checks re-run straight away.
Why was a line flagged?+
Each flag names the rule, the article it comes from and the amount affected, with guidance on what to do — for example, getting a compliant tax invoice before recovering the VAT.
Which files can I upload?+
PDF, JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC — printed or handwritten invoices, thermal receipts and other expense documents, up to 500 MB per file and 2,000 pages per batch. Clients can also send them on WhatsApp. Email intake and spreadsheets are coming next.
Does it connect to Zoho Books or Xero?+
Not yet. Syncing approved invoices and bills from Zoho Books and Xero is on the roadmap.