What each Saudi requirement asks of you, and what the software handles.
Five areas decide whether a business system fits Saudi Arabia: e-invoicing, VAT, Arabic documents, personal data, and payroll and labour obligations. For each, this page says what the rule asks in plain terms, what our software does, and what stays with you.
Where to look first.
Jump to the area that matters to you. Each one has the same three parts so you can compare them.
ZATCA e-invoicing
Invoices are issued as structured electronic documents and, for businesses in scope, shared with ZATCA's platform.
What the rule asks
- Issue invoices electronically in a structured format, rather than as hand-edited or scanned documents.
- Include the fields the regulation requires: seller and buyer details, VAT numbers, items, VAT amounts, a QR code and a unique sequence number.
- In the integration stage, invoices to businesses are cleared through ZATCA's platform before they are shared, and invoices to retail customers are reported to it.
- ZATCA notifies businesses in groups. The date and stage that apply to you come from ZATCA's notification.
What the software handles
- Invoicing is built to work with ZATCA e-invoicing requirements. The exact scope, including which stage applies to your company, is confirmed in your proposal.
- Arabic invoice content, with English alongside when you want it, from one record.
- VAT calculated per line and posted to its own accounts.
What stays with you
- Onboarding with ZATCA's portal, including the steps that need your authorised person.
- Deciding with your adviser which stage and which invoice types apply to you.
- Keeping customer VAT numbers and addresses accurate.
VAT at 15%
Saudi VAT is charged at a standard rate of 15%. Some supplies are zero-rated or exempt, and returns are filed for each period.
What the rule asks
- Charge VAT at the standard rate of 15% on taxable supplies and show it on the invoice.
- Treat zero-rated and exempt supplies as the law defines them, which is not the same as "no VAT".
- Record input VAT on purchases and file a return for each period. The filing period depends on your category.
What the software handles
- VAT calculated per invoice line, at the treatment you assign to each item or service.
- Sales VAT and purchase VAT posted to separate accounts, so the return is prepared from posted data.
- Zero-rated and exempt treatments kept distinct from items not subject to VAT.
What stays with you
- Deciding which of your supplies are standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt.
- Filing the return through ZATCA's portal. The software holds the posted figures it is prepared from.
Arabic documents
Invoices and official documents are expected in Arabic, with another language added where you need it.
What the rule asks
- Invoices issued in the Kingdom present their content in Arabic. Another language may be added alongside.
- Official documents often carry Hijri dates, and some deadlines are expressed in them.
What the software handles
- Documents issued in Arabic, English or both, from one record that stores both languages.
- Right-to-left layouts, fonts that shape Arabic letters correctly, and numerals in the style you choose.
- Hijri and Gregorian dates, shown together or separately.
What stays with you
- Reviewing the Arabic wording of your standard terms and document templates.
- Providing the Arabic names of customers, items and legal entities.
Personal data and data location (PDPL)
The Personal Data Protection Law governs how personal data is collected, kept, shared and transferred.
What the rule asks
- Tell people what personal data you collect and why, and collect only what you need.
- Keep personal data secure and limited to the people who need it.
- Follow the rules for transferring personal data outside the Kingdom.
- Handle requests from individuals, such as access and correction, and notify breaches as the law requires.
What the software handles
- Hosting location chosen per project and written into the agreement: in Saudi Arabia, on your own servers or in a global region.
- Role-based access, so each user sees only what their role allows.
- An audit trail of changes and approvals.
- A separate deployment for your company, not an account in a shared system.
What stays with you
- Deciding the purpose and basis for each kind of personal data you hold.
- Your privacy notice and your responses to individuals.
- Choosing the hosting location with your adviser.
Payroll, GOSI, WPS and Saudization
Employers register employees for social insurance, pay salaries through the wage-protection system, and track the share of Saudi employees.
What the rule asks
- Register employees with GOSI and pay contributions each month.
- Pay salaries through the Wage Protection System (WPS), with a salary file for each payroll run.
- Track the share of Saudi employees against the targets the Nitaqat programme sets for your activity and size.
- Keep residence permits (Iqama) valid and watch their expiry.
- Accrue and pay end-of-service benefits as the Labour Law requires, and observe reduced working hours in Ramadan.
What the software handles
- GOSI contributions calculated per employee, for Saudi and non-Saudi staff, from the salary components you define.
- A salary file for each payroll run, for upload through your bank or the wage-protection platform.
- End-of-service accrual per employee.
- Iqama expiry dates and Saudi and non-Saudi headcount by job category.
- Leave, Hijri dates and Ramadan hours in attendance and rosters.
What stays with you
- Registering employees and contracts on the government platforms. Direct integration with those platforms is scoped per project.
- Setting salary components and contract terms.
- Reviewing the figures before they are filed.
Your proposal states which of these are in scope.
Requirements apply differently to a contractor, a caterer and a clinic. Every proposal names, in writing, which of these areas are in scope for your deployment and how.
- For e-invoicing the wording is fixed: built to work with ZATCA e-invoicing requirements, with scope confirmed in your proposal.
- We do not describe the software as approved or endorsed by any authority.
- Where a requirement depends on your licence, sector or contracts, the proposal says so and leaves the decision to you and your adviser.
Common questions about compliance.
Does the software work with ZATCA e-invoicing?
Our invoicing is built to work with ZATCA e-invoicing requirements. The scope for your company, including which stage applies, is confirmed in your proposal.
Which e-invoicing stage applies to my company?
ZATCA decides and notifies businesses in groups. Check the notification you receive and confirm with your adviser. The proposal then states which parts the project covers.
Can we keep our current accounting system and still e-invoice?
Yes. The e-invoicing integration service connects an existing system to e-invoicing. Which parts stay and what flows between them is written in the proposal.
Where must personal data be stored?
There is no blanket rule that all data must stay in the Kingdom. It depends on the data, your sector and your contracts, and the PDPL restricts transfers of personal data outside the Kingdom. Confirm with your adviser; we build to your decision.
Do you file returns or salary files for us?
No. The software prepares the figures and files. Filing is done by your authorised people on the government platforms.
Related pages.
Tell us which of these apply to you.
A consultant from our Riyadh team replies with next steps. The proposal that follows names what is in scope.