Built in Dubai, after dark, by someone who had to file the returns too

Why it exists

Every accounting product sold in the UAE was built somewhere else. The VAT 201, the emirate split, WPS salary files, gratuity, the AED 375,000 corporate tax band, Small Business Relief: all of it arrived as a module, a workaround or a spreadsheet an accountant keeps on the side.

I run a small business here. I have registered for VAT, filed the returns, run payroll through WPS and worked out whether Small Business Relief applied. Each of those was harder than it needed to be, not because the rules are complicated, but because the software assumed I was somewhere else.

So I built the tool I wanted: proper double-entry books underneath, the FTA forms as the starting point rather than an afterthought, AI reading receipts so nobody types numbers, and an interface for a business owner rather than a bookkeeper. It is called Midnight Ledger because that is when it got written.

How it is run

Midnight Labs is a founder-led company. The person who writes the code is the person who answers support email, which is why the product is narrow on purpose: UAE only, small businesses only, the things you actually have to file. Feature requests that would make it a worse fit for that are turned down, politely.

There is a free plan that does not expire, and a Pro plan for businesses that outgrow it; both are on the pricing page, priced in dirhams, with no sales call in between. Your data exports as CSV at any time, on either plan.

Accuracy

Everything the product says about UAE tax, and every figure in the guides, is checked against Federal Tax Authority and Ministry of Finance publications and dated. If you find a mistake, send it through the contact form and it will be fixed and credited.

Nick Shawnley, founder