Accounting software for an agency is not the same purchase as accounting software for a shop. An agency sells time and deliverables, bills the same clients every month, runs projects that can quietly lose money, pays account managers on commission, and in the Gulf it does all of this across AED, SAR and USD with a VAT rate that depends on the country. Most "best accounting software UAE" lists ignore that and rank general ledgers. This guide compares six tools on the things a marketing, design, PR or creative agency in the UAE or Saudi Arabia actually runs into, and it is honest about where each one wins. Staks is our own product and is judged on the same list.
What an agency needs that a general business does not
Before the comparison, the checklist. If a tool cannot do most of these, it will end up next to a spreadsheet within six months.
- Retainer billing. The same invoice to the same client on the same day every month, with the right VAT, without someone remembering to create it.
- Quote to invoice. Proposals that turn into invoices without re-typing line items, and a pipeline that shows what is coming.
- Project or job costing. Revenue and costs per project and per client, including freelancers, media buys and software, so you know which accounts make money.
- Payroll and commissions. Salaries, plus commissions tied to the deals people closed, posted to the books rather than tracked in a sheet.
- Multi-currency with the rate stored. A Dubai agency bills AED, pays a freelancer in USD and has a Riyadh client on SAR. The exchange rate has to be saved on each transaction, not applied at month end.
- Local tax. 5% VAT in the UAE, 15% in Saudi Arabia, tax invoices with TRN or VAT numbers, and a plan for e-invoicing.
- Client history in one place. Contracts, quotes, invoices, payments and files attached to the client, not spread across a CRM, a drive and the accounting tool.
Threshold: VAT registration is mandatory at AED 375,000 of taxable turnover in the UAE and SAR 375,000 in Saudi Arabia. Most agencies cross both in their first year, so pick a tool that handles VAT from day one rather than one you will migrate away from.
The six tools compared
| Tool | Built for | Retainers | Quotes → invoices | Project costing | Payroll + commissions | Multi-currency | UAE / KSA VAT | Price (from) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staks | SMBs and agencies in MENA | Recurring invoices | Yes, from deals and quotes | Yes, per project and client | Yes, commissions tied to deals (Scale plan) | Yes, rate saved per transaction | Both, plus Lebanon 11% | $19/mo |
| Zoho Books | SMBs worldwide, strong UAE edition | Recurring invoices | Yes | Yes, with timesheets | Via Zoho Payroll (separate) | Yes | Both, FTA-accredited | Roughly AED 45/mo |
| Xero | SMBs, accountant-led | Repeating invoices | Yes | Via projects add-on | Via third parties | Yes | Configurable | From USD 29/mo |
| Wafeq | GCC SMEs, Arabic-first | Recurring invoices | Yes | Limited | Payroll module | Yes | Both, accredited | Roughly SAR 89/mo |
| FreshBooks | Service freelancers and small agencies | Recurring invoices | Estimates | Time-based | No | Yes | Configurable | From USD 19/mo |
| QuickBooks Online | US and UK SMBs, sold via UAE resellers | Recurring invoices | Estimates | Projects add-on | Via partners | Yes | Configurable | Reseller pricing |
Prices are typical ranges as of September 2026 and change often. Check each vendor's site for the current figure in your currency.
Staks
Staks is one system for the whole agency: invoicing, quotes, a sales funnel, expenses, bills, projects, payroll and commissions, documents, and real double-entry accounting underneath. It was built by an agency for agencies, and the agency still runs on it.
Where it fits an agency. A won deal becomes a quote or an invoice in one click, so the line items you sold are the line items you bill. Retainers are recurring invoices with a payment link, marked paid automatically when the client pays. Every invoice, bill, expense and payroll run can be tagged to a project, so the project profitability and client profitability reports show margin per account without a timesheet. Commissions are tied to the deals each person closed and run through payroll. Multi-currency stores the exchange rate on each transaction, so a USD freelancer invoice against an AED retainer produces the right realized difference in the books. Contracts and briefs sit on the client record. The Staks Agent drafts invoices, logs receipts and records payments from a plain request, and asks you to confirm before it posts anything.
Where it does not. There is no time tracking, so if your model bills by the hour you will need a separate tool for the hours and bill from the total. The interface is English only for now. It is a young product, and e-invoicing readiness for the 2027 UAE mandate is on the roadmap rather than certified today. Accounting, bills and reports start on the Growth plan at $49 a month; payroll and commissions are on Scale at $99.
Zoho Books
The strongest general-purpose option for a UAE agency that wants a big ecosystem. The UAE edition is FTA-accredited, produces bilingual tax invoices, and connects to Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects and Zoho Payroll, which together cover most of the checklist.
Where it wins. Breadth. If you already use Zoho CRM or want timesheet-based project billing, the integration is real and mature. Arabic support is good. Pricing in AED is clear.
Where it does not. The agency workflow is spread across four products with four subscriptions and four interfaces. Commission tracking is not native. Reports are accountant-oriented, so an owner asking "which client made money this quarter" is a few clicks and a filter away rather than a report.
Xero
Xero is popular with digital agencies because accountants like it and the interface is clean. Multi-currency is solid and the app marketplace is large.
Where it wins. If your accountant already works in Xero, collaboration is easy, and bank feeds with local banks are improving.
Where it does not. UAE VAT is configured rather than native, there is no local e-invoicing commitment for small businesses, pricing is in USD, and anything agency-specific such as projects, payroll and CRM is an add-on or a third-party app. Total cost climbs fast.
Wafeq
A GCC-built platform with Arabic as a first language, accredited in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and well ahead on ZATCA e-invoicing for Saudi businesses.
Where it wins. If your agency is in Riyadh or Jeddah and needs Arabic invoices and Fatoora compliance today, Wafeq is the safe choice. Its Arabic help content is the best in the region.
Where it does not. It is an accounting product first. Pipeline, quotes-to-deals, project margin and commissions are thin, so the agency side of the business still lives elsewhere.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is designed for service businesses that bill time, which describes a lot of small agencies. Invoices look good, reminders are automatic and time tracking is built in.
Where it wins. Hourly billing with time tracking and a pleasant client experience.
Where it does not. It is not a full double-entry system in the way an accountant expects, VAT is a manual tax rate rather than a UAE-aware setup, there is no payroll, and it is priced and supported for North America.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks is still sold in the UAE through authorised resellers and is familiar to many accountants. It is a capable general ledger with projects and estimates.
Where it wins. Accountant familiarity, and reseller support if you want someone local to set it up.
Where it does not. It was designed for the US and UK first. UAE VAT is configured rather than native, the FTA e-invoicing mandate is not something a small agency can plan around from the product, and agency features such as commissions and client-level margin are not there.
Which one for which agency
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| Two to twenty people, retainers plus projects, want one login for sales, billing, projects and books | Staks |
| Already deep in Zoho CRM, or need timesheet billing | Zoho Books |
| Your accountant insists on Xero and you bill in USD | Xero |
| Saudi agency that needs Arabic invoices and Fatoora today | Wafeq |
| Solo freelancer billing by the hour, no VAT yet | FreshBooks |
| Accountant-led setup with a local reseller | QuickBooks Online |
E-invoicing: what agencies in both countries should plan for
Deadline (UAE): e-invoicing becomes mandatory for B2B and B2G transactions from 1 January 2027 for businesses with revenue of AED 50 million and above, and from 1 July 2027 for everyone else. Most agencies fall in the second group.
Deadline (Saudi Arabia): Fatoora Phase 2 Wave 25 covers businesses with revenue above SAR 187,500 and has an integration deadline of 1 February 2027. Earlier waves already apply above SAR 375,000.
Agency invoices are almost all B2B, so both mandates apply in full. Whatever you choose, ask the vendor for a written plan and a date, and avoid anything that requires re-keying invoices into a separate compliance portal.
From the platform: in Staks a retainer is one recurring invoice with a payment link. When the client pays, the invoice is marked paid, the payment is recorded and the revenue is posted to the client's project, so the client profitability report is already current before you open it.
Frequently asked questions
Does an agency need project accounting or is a P&L enough?
A P&L tells you the agency made money. It does not tell you that two retainers subsidised three projects that lost money. Agencies with more than a handful of clients should tag revenue and costs to clients and projects from the start, because reconstructing it later is painful.
Can I run commissions without payroll software?
You can, in a spreadsheet, but the numbers then never reach the books and disputes are common. A tool that ties commissions to closed deals and runs them through payroll removes both problems.
Do I need Arabic invoices?
In the UAE, English tax invoices are accepted. In Saudi Arabia, Arabic is required on tax invoices, with English allowed alongside. If most of your clients are Saudi, prioritise a tool with Arabic invoice templates.
Is multi-currency really necessary for a Dubai agency?
If you pay any freelancer or platform in USD, or invoice any client outside the UAE, yes. The point is not showing two currencies on an invoice; it is storing the rate on each transaction so the books reconcile.
Related reading
- The best accounting software in the UAE (2026)
- How to chase late payments in Dubai without losing the client
- Quote vs invoice: what a Gulf SME needs and when
- UAE e-invoicing for small businesses: dates and what to do
If you run an agency and want to see all of this in one place, start a free 14-day trial of Staks. No credit card required.