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How do I make an invoice program that calculates VAT?

Written for Saudi ArabiaWritten for UAEUpdated October 12, 2026

The short answer

An invoice program needs your business details and tax number, a list of customers and items, and a VAT rate applied to each line: 15% in Saudi Arabia and 5% in the UAE, in general terms. It works out the amount before tax, the tax and the total, gives every invoice a sequential number and prints it. Official e-invoicing requirements should be checked with the official source or your accountant.

People also ask this as
  • invoice program with VAT for my computer
  • how to make a VAT invoice in my own software
  • invoicing software 15% VAT Saudi Arabia
  • invoice program 5% VAT UAE

What usually appears on a tax invoice?

  • Business name, address and tax number.
  • A sequential invoice number and the date.
  • Customer details, with their tax number if they are a business.
  • Lines: description, quantity and unit price.
  • Amount before tax, the VAT rate and amount, and the total.

Steps to build the invoice program

  1. 1
    Bring a real invoice

    The last invoice you issued is the best description of what you want.

  2. 2
    Fix the calculation rules

    Are prices tax-inclusive or before tax? Is the discount applied before VAT? Ask your accountant.

  3. 3
    Build and test with numbers

    Enter three invoices whose results you already know and compare to the last decimal.

  4. 4
    Set up printing

    Logo, two languages if you need them, and the paper size that suits your printer.

  5. 5
    Review it with the accountant

    Before you hand the first invoice to a customer.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE in brief

ItemSaudi ArabiaUAE
General standard rate15%5%
Official bodyZakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)Federal Tax Authority (FTA)
Where to confirmThe authority's official site or your accountantThe authority's official site or your accountant

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Can my program print receipts and invoices?

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Take a copy of the program's data regularly and keep it somewhere other than the computer itself: an external drive, a second disk or cloud storage. A simple rule is one copy every working day and a weekly copy kept outside the shop. Most important, test a restore at least once, because a backup you have never restored cannot be trusted when you need it.

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