Saudi Accounting Glossary
Complete dictionary of Saudi accounting, VAT, ZATCA, and e-invoicing terms. Learn essential terminology in English and Arabic.
📊 Accounting (27 terms)
Accounts Payable
ذمم دائنة
Accounts Payable (AP) represents money a business owes to suppliers for goods/services received but ...
Accounts Receivable
ذمم مدينة
Accounts Receivable (AR) represents money owed to a business by customers for goods/services deliver...
Accrual Accounting
المحاسبة على أساس الاستحقاق
Accrual accounting records revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash c...
Aging Report
تقرير أعمار الذمم
An aging report categorizes accounts receivable or payable by the length of time invoices have been ...
Balance Sheet
الميزانية العمومية
The Balance Sheet shows a company's financial position at a specific date: Assets = Liabilities + Eq...
Bank Reconciliation
مطابقة البنك
Bank reconciliation is the process of matching your accounting records with bank statements to ident...
Break-Even Point
نقطة التعادل
Break-even point is the sales volume at which total revenue equals total costs (fixed + variable), r...
Cash Flow
التدفق النقدي
Cash flow is the net movement of cash in and out of a business over a period. Positive cash flow mea...
Cash Flow Statement
قائمة التدفقات النقدية
The Cash Flow Statement is one of three core financial statements showing cash inflows and outflows ...
Chart of Accounts
دليل الحسابات
Chart of Accounts (CoA) is a structured list of all accounts used in a business's accounting system....
Cost Center
مركز تكلفة
A cost center is an organizational unit that incurs costs but doesn't directly generate revenue. Use...
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
تكلفة البضاعة المباعة
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is the direct cost of producing or purchasing the goods that a company sel...
Depreciation
الإهلاك
Depreciation is the systematic allocation of a fixed asset's cost over its useful life. Saudi tax la...
Double-Entry Bookkeeping
القيد المزدوج
Double-entry bookkeeping is the accounting method where every transaction is recorded in at least tw...
Financial Statements
القوائم المالية
Financial statements are formal records of a business's financial activities. The three core stateme...
Fiscal Year
السنة المالية
Fiscal year is a 12-month period used for annual financial reporting. In Saudi Arabia, the fiscal ye...
General Ledger
دفتر الأستاذ العام
General Ledger (GL) is the master accounting record containing all financial transactions organized ...
Gross Profit
إجمالي الربح
Gross profit is revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS). It shows how much money a business makes fr...
Inventory Management
إدارة المخزون
Inventory management is the process of ordering, storing, tracking, and controlling a company's stoc...
Journal Entry
قيد يومية
A journal entry is the recording of a financial transaction in the accounting system using debits an...
Net Profit
صافي الربح
Net profit (bottom line) is the final profit after deducting all expenses including COGS, operating ...
Opening Balance
الرصيد الافتتاحي
Opening balance is the starting balance of accounts at the beginning of a new fiscal period or when ...
Profit & Loss Statement
قائمة الأرباح والخسائر
The Profit & Loss Statement (Income Statement) shows revenue, costs, and expenses over a period to d...
Profit Margin
هامش الربح
Profit margin is the percentage of revenue remaining after costs are deducted. Gross margin = (Reven...
ROI (Return on Investment)
العائد على الاستثمار
Return on Investment (ROI) measures the profitability of an investment as a percentage: (Gain - Cost...
Trial Balance
ميزان المراجعة
Trial Balance is a report listing all account balances at a specific date to verify that total debit...
Working Capital
رأس المال العامل
Working capital is the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Measures a company...
✅ Compliance (4 terms)
E-Invoicing
الفوترة الإلكترونية
Electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) is the digital generation and exchange of invoices in a structure...
Fatoora
فاتورة
Fatoora is ZATCA's official e-invoicing platform and standard for Saudi Arabia. It defines the techn...
QR Code
رمز الاستجابة السريعة
QR Code on Saudi e-invoices contains encoded invoice data for ZATCA verification. Required on all ta...
VAT Return
الإقرار الضريبي
VAT return is a periodic declaration filed with ZATCA summarizing taxable sales, purchases, output V...
📄 Documents (7 terms)
Credit Note
إشعار دائن
A credit note is issued to reduce a previously issued invoice amount. Used for returns, discounts, o...
Debit Note
إشعار مدين
A debit note is issued to increase a previously issued invoice amount. Used when additional charges ...
Delivery Note
إذن تسليم
A delivery note is a document accompanying shipped goods that details the items, quantities, and con...
Payment Voucher
سند صرف
A payment voucher is an internal accounting document authorizing and recording a payment to a suppli...
Purchase Order
أمر شراء
A purchase order (PO) is a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller specifying the items, q...
Simplified Tax Invoice
فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة
A simplified tax invoice is used for B2C transactions under SAR 1,000. It requires less information ...
Tax Invoice
فاتورة ضريبية
A tax invoice is a document issued by a VAT-registered seller to a buyer showing the VAT amount char...
🏛️ Government (13 terms)
Absher Business
أبشر أعمال
Absher Business is an electronic platform by the Saudi Ministry of Interior for businesses to manage...
GOSI
التأمينات الاجتماعية
General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) manages social insurance in Saudi Arabia. Employers...
Kafala System
نظام الكفالة
Kafala (Sponsorship) system ties a foreign worker's legal status to their employer (sponsor) in Saud...
Madad
مداد
Madad is a Saudi government e-services platform operated by the Ministry of Commerce that provides c...
Mudad
مُدد
Mudad is a Saudi Ministry of Human Resources platform that monitors wage payments and compliance wit...
Muqeem
مقيم
Muqeem is an online platform by the Saudi Directorate General of Passports (Jawazat) for managing ex...
Nitaqat
نطاقات
Nitaqat is the Saudi labor nationalization program that categorizes companies into color bands (Plat...
Qiwa
قوى
Qiwa (قوى) is the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) digital platform f...
Saudization
السعودة (نطاقات)
Saudization (Nitaqat) is a government program requiring businesses to employ minimum percentages of ...
SOCPA
الهيئة السعودية للمراجعين والمحاسبين
Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) is the regulatory body for the...
Tawteen
توطين
Tawteen refers to employment localization policies in Saudi Arabia aimed at increasing Saudi nationa...
WPS
نظام حماية الأجور
Wage Protection System (WPS) is a Saudi Ministry of Human Resources initiative requiring employers t...
ZATCA
هيئة الزكاة والضريبة والجمارك
Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) is the Saudi government body responsible for collecting zak...
(8 terms)
Annual Leave Calculation
حساب الإجازة السنوية
Saudi Labor Law grants employees 21 days of paid annual leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years o...
End of Service Benefits (EOSB)
مكافأة نهاية الخدمة
End of Service Benefits (EOSB) is a mandatory lump-sum payment to employees upon termination in Saud...
Final Settlement
المخالصة النهائية
Final settlement is the total amount owed to an employee upon termination, including unpaid salary, ...
Housing Allowance
بدل السكن
Housing allowance is a common employee benefit in Saudi Arabia, typically 25% of the basic salary. I...
Iqama
الإقامة
Iqama is the Saudi residence permit issued to foreign workers. The employer (sponsor) is responsible...
Overtime Calculation
حساب العمل الإضافي
Saudi Labor Law requires overtime pay at 150% of the hourly wage (base wage + 50% premium). Standard...
Probation Period
فترة التجربة
Probation period in Saudi Arabia can be up to 90 days, extendable to 180 days with written agreement...
Transportation Allowance
بدل النقل
Transportation allowance is a common employee benefit in Saudi Arabia, typically 10% of the basic sa...
📋 Registration (3 terms)
CR Number
السجل التجاري
Commercial Registration (CR) number is issued by the Ministry of Commerce to legally operating busin...
CR Renewal
تجديد السجل التجاري
Commercial Registration renewal is the process of extending a business's legal operating license thr...
TIN
الرقم الضريبي
Tax Identification Number (TIN) is a unique 15-digit number assigned by ZATCA to VAT-registered busi...
(6 terms)
Bank Feed
التغذية البنكية
Bank feed is an automatic connection between your bank account and accounting software that imports ...
Cloud Accounting
المحاسبة السحابية
Cloud accounting is accounting software hosted on remote servers and accessed via the internet. Offe...
Multi-Branch Accounting
محاسبة الفروع المتعددة
Multi-branch accounting manages financial data across multiple business locations while consolidatin...
Multi-Currency Accounting
المحاسبة متعددة العملات
Multi-currency accounting handles transactions in multiple currencies with automatic exchange rate c...
POS (Point of Sale)
نقطة البيع
Point of Sale (POS) is the system where retail transactions are completed. In Saudi Arabia, POS syst...
SaaS (Software as a Service)
البرمجيات كخدمة
SaaS is a software delivery model where applications are hosted in the cloud and accessed via subscr...
💰 Taxation (8 terms)
Exempt Supply
توريد معفي
Exempt supplies are not subject to VAT. Unlike zero-rated supplies, businesses cannot claim input VA...
Input VAT
ضريبة المدخلات
Input VAT is the tax paid on business purchases and expenses. VAT-registered businesses can claim in...
Output VAT
ضريبة المخرجات
Output VAT is the tax collected on sales to customers. Businesses must charge 15% VAT on taxable sup...
Reverse Charge Mechanism
آلية الاحتساب العكسي
Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) shifts VAT liability from the seller to the buyer. Used in Saudi Arab...
VAT
ضريبة القيمة المضافة
Value Added Tax (VAT) is an indirect consumption tax applied to goods and services at each stage of ...
Withholding Tax
ضريبة الاستقطاع
Withholding tax is deducted at source when paying non-resident service providers. Rates vary by serv...
Zakat
الزكاة
Zakat is an Islamic wealth tax collected by ZATCA from Saudi and GCC-owned businesses. Calculated at...
Zero-Rated Supply
توريد بنسبة صفر
Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0% VAT. Unlike exempt supplies, businesses can still claim input ...
(9 terms)
ASP (Accredited Service Provider)
مزود خدمة معتمد
Accredited Service Provider (ASP) is a PEPPOL-certified intermediary authorized to connect businesse...
EmaraTax
إمارة تاكس
EmaraTax is the FTA's official digital platform for tax registration, filing returns, and managing t...
FTA (Federal Tax Authority)
الهيئة الاتحادية للضرائب
The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is the UAE government body responsible for administering and collect...
PEPPOL
بيبول
PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement Online) is the international e-invoicing network adopted by ...
PINT AE
بينت إيه إي
PINT AE (PEPPOL International Invoice - UAE) is the UAE-specific adaptation of the PEPPOL billing sp...
Small Business Relief (UAE)
إعفاء الأعمال الصغيرة (الإمارات)
Small Business Relief is a UAE Corporate Tax provision allowing businesses with annual revenue below...
TRN (Tax Registration Number)
رقم التسجيل الضريبي (TRN)
Tax Registration Number (TRN) is a unique 15-digit identifier issued by the UAE FTA to registered ta...
UAE Corporate Tax
ضريبة الشركات الإماراتية
UAE Corporate Tax is a federal tax on business profits introduced in June 2023. The standard rate is...
UAE Free Zone
المنطقة الحرة الإماراتية
UAE Free Zones are designated economic areas offering tax incentives including a 0% Corporate Tax ra...
(9 terms)
Clearance
المصادقة (الاعتماد)
Clearance is the ZATCA validation process for Standard (B2B) invoices. The invoice is sent to ZATCA ...
CSID
معرف الطابع التشفيري
Cryptographic Stamp Identifier (CSID) is a unique digital certificate issued by ZATCA to businesses ...
EGS (E-Invoice Generation Solution)
حل إنشاء الفواتير الإلكترونية
E-Invoice Generation Solution (EGS) is the software or system used by businesses to generate ZATCA-c...
PIH
هاش الفاتورة السابقة
Previous Invoice Hash (PIH) is a cryptographic hash of the previous invoice used to create a tamper-...
Reporting
الإبلاغ
Reporting is the ZATCA submission process for Simplified (B2C) invoices. Unlike clearance, reporting...
TLV Format
صيغة TLV
Tag-Length-Value (TLV) is the encoding format used in ZATCA QR codes. Each field (seller name, TIN, ...
UBL 2.1
UBL 2.1
Universal Business Language 2.1 is the XML-based standard adopted by ZATCA for electronic invoice fo...
UUID
المعرف الفريد العالمي
Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) is a 128-bit identifier used to uniquely identify each invoice ...
XML Invoice
فاتورة XML
XML Invoice is the machine-readable electronic invoice format required by ZATCA. The XML file contai...
Put These Terms into Practice
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