L
O
A
D
I
N
G
Zoho, Odoo, ERPNext, Dynamics 365 and custom ERP, delivered by one accountable team.
Write requirements that vendors cannot misread. This checklist covers the functional, UAE compliance and technical requirements a UAE company should capture before any demo.
An ERP requirements checklist for a UAE business lists testable statements of what the system must do, prioritized with MoSCoW. Beyond functional needs, it should explicitly cover 5% VAT with reverse charge and designated zone rules, corporate tax at 0% and 9%, WPS salary files, end-of-service gratuity, Arabic documents, PINT AE e-invoicing through an Accredited Service Provider, and non-functional needs such as hosting and security.
An ERP requirements checklist is the written list of what your new system must do, how well, and how important each item is. Without it, vendors demonstrate what their software does best, and your team scores the presentation rather than the fit. With it, every platform answers the same questions, and gaps show up before you sign instead of during user acceptance testing.
For UAE companies the checklist has a layer that generic templates miss: VAT at 5% with reverse charge on imports and designated zone rules, corporate tax at 0% and 9% with Small Business Relief and Qualifying Free Zone Person considerations, WPS salary files, end-of-service gratuity, Arabic documents and, from 2027, structured e-invoicing in PINT AE through an Accredited Service Provider. Our page on UAE e-invoicing requirements explains that last item in detail.
This page is about what to write down. The separate ERP selection checklist covers how to confirm the selection process was done properly, and the ERP RFP template shows how to package these requirements for vendors.
A common mistake is to write requirements around the current system's screens. If your team has worked in Tally, QuickBooks or spreadsheets for years, ask what outcome each step produces rather than how it is done today. 'Finance must approve every supplier payment over a set amount' is a requirement; 'we print the payment voucher and the manager signs it' is a current workaround that a modern ERP will replace with an approval workflow and an audit log.
A good requirements list comes from short workshops with the people who do the work, not from a template filled in by one person.
Gather a sample of each: tax invoice, credit note, quotation, purchase order, GRN, delivery note, payslip, VAT return working, month-end checklist. Documents reveal requirements people forget to mention.
Spend one to two hours with each department. Ask what they do daily, weekly and at month-end, where they re-key data and which approvals happen by WhatsApp or email.
Replace 'good inventory' with 'track stock by batch and expiry across three warehouses and suggest FEFO picking'. A vendor can demonstrate a statement; it cannot demonstrate an adjective.
Mark each line must, should, could or won't-for-now. If more than about half the list is 'must', the priorities are not yet real and the demo scoring will be weak.
Record transactions per month, item counts, number of entities, currencies and users by role. Volumes decide editions, hosting and performance needs.
Review the list with the sponsor and department heads, freeze version one and use it for demos and the RFP.
Use these areas as headings in your requirements document. Each area should contain several specific, testable lines.
A sample of how requirement lines should read. Your own list will typically have well over a hundred lines across all areas.
| Area | Requirement statement | Priority | How to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT | System calculates reverse-charge VAT on imported services and posts both output and input tax automatically | Must | Demo a foreign supplier bill and show the VAT return boxes affected |
| E-invoicing | System can send B2B invoices in PINT AE format through the chosen ASP and record the delivery status | Must | Vendor explains connector or integration method and shows a test flow |
| Purchasing | Purchase orders above a set amount need finance manager approval, captured with user and timestamp | Must | Demo an approval and the audit log |
| Inventory | Stock is tracked by batch and expiry and pickers are directed to the earliest expiry first | Should | Demo receipt of two batches and a pick |
| Sales | Sales reps see customer credit limit and overdue balance before confirming an order | Should | Demo an order blocked by credit limit |
| Payroll | Monthly payroll produces a WPS SIF file in the format required by our bank or agent | Must | Generate a sample SIF from test data |
| Documents | Tax invoices can be printed in Arabic and English on one layout | Could | Show a bilingual invoice template |
| Reporting | Management P&L by entity and cost center is available without exporting to Excel | Should | Run the report in the demo |
Tax-related requirements should be reviewed with your tax advisor. This page is not tax advice.
Typical ranges for a UAE company with five to eight departments. A single-entity trading business can move faster; a group with several entities and manufacturing will need longer.
Durations are typical ranges; your plan is agreed after discovery.
Gather sample invoices, POs, GRNs, delivery notes, payslips, VAT workings and existing reports from each department.
Short sessions with sales, purchasing, warehouse, finance, HR and management to capture daily, monthly and year-end needs.
Write testable statements, assign MoSCoW priorities and add volumes, users and entity details.
Steering group and tax advisor review; version one is frozen for demos and the RFP.
The effort pays back across selection and implementation.
Every vendor responds to the same testable statements, so proposals can be scored line by line.
The implementation team starts from documented needs instead of rediscovering them in workshops.
Requirements agreed before contract reduce disputes over what was in scope.
VAT, corporate tax, WPS and e-invoicing needs are designed in, not patched in after go-live.
We configure the system for the rules UAE businesses report against, and test it before go-live.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the FTA, MOHRE or your advisor. See all UAE compliance guides.
On-site workshops in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and remote or on-site delivery across the Northern Emirates and free zones.
Official sources and references
Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Rules change, so confirm current requirements before acting.
Still have a question? Our consultants are happy to help.
Ask an ExpertDetailed enough to be tested in a demo. A single line per business rule is usually right. Avoid describing screens or fields unless they are genuinely mandatory, because that limits how vendors can meet the need.
They describe how the system must behave rather than what it does: number of users, response times, hosting location, backup frequency, security roles, Arabic support, mobile access and availability. They often decide the edition and hosting model.
For most UAE businesses, yes. Mandatory phases start from 1 January 2027 for businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more and 1 July 2027 for others, with earlier ASP appointment deadlines. Check the latest Ministry of Finance and FTA guidance before finalizing.
Department users describe their needs, a project lead or consultant turns them into testable statements, and the steering group sets priorities. Finance and your tax advisor should review all tax-related lines.
Use it as a starting point only. Foreign templates rarely cover UAE VAT designated zones, WPS, gratuity, Arabic invoices, PDC handling or the UAE e-invoicing model, which are often the requirements that matter most.
The approved list becomes the basis of the fit-gap analysis and later the UAT scripts. Each must-have line should map to at least one test case in the ERP implementation checklist.
Related Solutions
Related Industries
Related ERP Platforms
We can run short department workshops and hand you a prioritized, testable ERP requirements document you can use with any vendor.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
