Choosing a UAE e-invoicing provider: 12 questions to ask before you sign, each tied to the rule

Check five things before you sign: the provider is on the Ministry of Finance list, its accreditation has not expired, it protects your data, its price after the free allowance is in writing, and it connects to your accounting system. Use the 12 questions below, each tied to the rule behind it.

What changed. 5 November 2026: the Ministry of Finance list of accredited providers named 84 companies, and the page said it was last updated on 4 November 2026. The Guidelines set 31 October 2026 as the last day to appoint a provider for a business with annual revenue of AED 50 million or more, with go-live on 1 January 2027; the timeline post explains the one-day difference with Ministerial Decision 66. Smaller businesses appoint by 31 March 2027 and go live on 1 July 2027.

What accreditation sets, and what it leaves to you

A provider on the list has passed the Ministry's test under Ministerial Decision No. 168 of 2026. That test covers technology, security and insurance. It sets almost nothing on the commercial side of your contract. Here is the split:

We read Decision 168 and the Ministry's guidelines on 5 November 2026 and found no article setting the second column. The one related duty is that a provider must tell you and the Federal Tax Authority about a disruption and send pending invoices once it is resolved (Guidelines, section 15.4). It sets no service levels. Treat each row as a negotiation point.

The 12 questions

Status: is the provider allowed to serve you today?

1. Is the company on the Ministry's list, and what is its accreditation number? Check the exact company name against the Ministry of Finance list. A sales brochure that says "e-invoicing ready" is not accreditation.
2. When does its accreditation expire? Accreditation lasts two years. A provider must apply to renew no later than 70 business days before expiry. If it does not, accreditation is cancelled and its links to every business it serves are revoked.
3. What will it do if its accreditation is terminated? The Ministry may terminate for lost conditions or proven complaints. The provider must tell you within five business days and can object to the Ministry within 40 business days. Ask how it will move you to another provider and who pays.

Security: does the product protect your data?

4. Can it show you the ISO/IEC 27001 certificate for the product, not only for the company? The Decision asks for certification of the product. Also ask for the ISO 22301 continuity certificate, which a new provider may submit up to three months after its financial year ends, and for the insurance certificates.
5. Where is your data hosted? The provider's product must comply with the hosting, storage, archival and residency rules that apply to you. If a regulator or a tender sets rules for your sector, tell the provider before you sign.
6. Who inside the provider can read your invoices? The Decision requires confidentiality. Ask for the roles with access and how access is logged.

Records: who keeps what, and how do you get it back?

7. Does it store your invoices, or only pass them on? By rule the provider keeps transaction logs, which are technical records of each exchange. Your invoices and credit notes are different. If you are VAT-registered, you must keep them for 5 years after the tax period, with a further 4 years during a dispute, a tax audit or an audit notification, and produce them to the Federal Tax Authority on request. Other periods apply to businesses that are not VAT-registered and to real estate records. A provider may store them for you if the contract says so, but your duty stays with you.
8. How do you export everything, in what format, and how fast? Write down the format, the time limit and the cost. This is your exit plan, because you can have only one provider at a time.

Money: what do you pay?

9. What is the price after the first 100 free services a year? The provider declares 100 free e-invoice exchange and reporting services a year for each customer from the date you sign. Ask whether a service means one invoice, one credit note or one message, and how receiving supplier invoices is counted.
10. What else is charged? Onboarding, testing, extra users, extra entities, support, and fees for changes in the Ministry's specification.

Connection: does it work with your system?

11. How does your accounting system send data to it, and who maintains that connection? Ask which route is used, such as an API or a file, and who fixes it when an invoice is rejected. Agree a way to test with real invoices before your go-live date.
12. What is the error process? The guidelines ask you to agree a governance model with your provider before go-live: who watches the confirmations, who corrects a rejected invoice and how fast. They also ask you to tell the provider about changes such as joining or leaving a tax group, through EmaraTax, the Federal Tax Authority's online portal.

Score your shortlist: a sheet for your request for proposal

This sheet is ours, not the Ministry's. Give each answer 0, 1 or 2 points: 0 means no answer or a refusal, 1 means an answer that is not in the contract, 2 means a written commitment in the contract. Total out of 24.

Questions 1 and 2 are also gates. If the answer to either is no, remove that provider from the shortlist, whatever its total.

How Tarleaks helps

Tarleaks is not a provider and is not on the Ministry's list. Tarleaks Accounting keeps customers and suppliers, with their tax registration numbers, in one contacts master, and issues invoices and credit notes. The UAE e-invoicing module builds PINT AE documents and checks them against UAE rules. It is in pilot, not certified, sends only through a test provider, and has no accredited provider connected yet.

What to do next

• Count the Ministry's list on the day you decide, and write down the date.
• Send the 12 questions to three providers and score the answers on one sheet.
• Read the UAE e-invoicing timeline for your group's dates, and what your vendor must still do if your accounting software is not itself a provider.
• Book a demo to see the customer and tax data an e-invoice is built from.

Questions people ask

How many accredited e-invoicing providers are there in the UAE?

The Ministry of Finance list numbered 84 providers when we read it on 5 November 2026, and said it was last updated on 4 November 2026. The list is updated periodically, so count it again on the day you choose.

How long does a provider's accreditation last?

Two years from the date it is granted. A provider must apply to renew no later than 70 business days before expiry. If it misses that deadline, its accreditation is cancelled and its links to the businesses it serves are revoked from the expiry date.

Is the provider's service free?

Partly. Each accredited provider declares it will give every customer 100 free e-invoice exchange and reporting services a year, counted from the day the customer signs. The Decision sets no price beyond that, so your contract must state what you pay after the 100.

Does the provider keep my invoices for me?

Only if your contract says so. The provider keeps technical transaction logs by rule. If you are VAT-registered, your invoices must be kept for 5 years after the tax period (longer in a dispute or audit) and produced to the Federal Tax Authority on request, and that duty stays with you even when the provider stores them.

Can I use more than one provider?

No. The Ministry's guidelines say a business in scope appoints only one provider, for both sending and receiving e-invoices. Choose carefully, and agree the export and exit terms in the contract before you sign.

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General information, not legal or tax advice. Checked against the official sources listed on this page on 5 November 2026. The list of accredited providers changes: check it on the Ministry of Finance website before you sign. Confirm your position with the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Authority or your adviser.