The Form Structure — 6 Sections
The IFZA Simplified Financial Statement form (officially titled "Financial Report") is issued under Administrative Resolution No. (ADM Legal 001/2025) and applies to small entities meeting the criteria of less than AED 3 million annual turnover and fewer than 9 employees. It has 6 sections, each requiring Current Year and Previous Year figures in AED. Let's go through each one.
For the full eligibility criteria and how to submit, read our companion guide: How to Fill the IFZA Simplified Financial Statement Form →
Section 1: Company Details
Company Information
| Field | What to Enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Company Name | Your exact legal name as per trade licence | BYTEBRIDGE IT - FZCO |
| TL Number | Your IFZA trade licence number | 59569 |
| Financial Year-Start Date | Start of the financial year being reported | 11-Mar-2025 (if incorporated mid-year) |
| Financial Year-End Date | End of the financial year | 31-Dec-2025 |
First-year companies: If your company was incorporated during the financial year, the start date is your incorporation date (not 1 January). The previous year column will be zero across all fields.
Section 2: Financial Position — Assets
What Your Company Owns
| Field | What It Means | What to Include | Negative Allowed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Assets | Assets expected to be used or converted to cash within 12 months | Bank balances, cash, trade receivables (money customers owe you), prepaid expenses, inventory | ❌ No |
| Non-Current Assets | Long-term assets held for more than 12 months | Equipment, furniture, computers, vehicles, deposits (e.g., office security deposit) | ❌ No |
| Total Assets | Auto-calculated: Current + Non-Current | — | ❌ No |
The form does not accept negative values in the Assets section. If you have a negative balance in what would normally be an asset — for example, a bank overdraft (negative bank balance) or a negative receivable (overpayment from you to a customer) — you must reclassify it as a Current Liability instead. Don't try to enter a negative number in Current Assets — the form will reject it.
Section 3: Financial Position — Liabilities
What Your Company Owes
| Field | What It Means | What to Include | Negative Allowed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Liabilities | Amounts due within 12 months | Trade payables (money you owe suppliers), accrued expenses, short-term loans, VAT payable, employee dues, bank overdrafts, any reclassified negative asset balances | ❌ No |
| Non-Current Liabilities | Amounts due after 12 months | Long-term loans, shareholder loans (if repayment is beyond 12 months), end-of-service benefit provisions | ❌ No |
| Total Liabilities | Auto-calculated: Current + Non-Current | — | ❌ No |
💡 The reclassification trick: If your bank balance is negative (overdraft), don't enter it as a negative under Current Assets. Instead, enter 0 for the bank portion of Current Assets and add the overdraft amount as a positive number under Current Liabilities. Same principle for any other "negative asset" — move it to liabilities. The balance sheet must still balance: Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Total Equity.
Section 4: Equity
Net Worth of the Company
| Field | What It Means | What to Include | Negative Allowed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Equity | Total Assets minus Total Liabilities | Share capital + retained earnings (accumulated profits or losses) + any owner's current account balance | ❌ No |
Important: Total Equity must equal Total Assets minus Total Liabilities. If your company has accumulated losses exceeding your share capital (negative equity), this creates a problem since negative amounts aren't allowed. In such cases, you may need professional help to properly structure the figures. Fastlane handles this from AED 999 + VAT →
Section 5: Financial Performance
How Much You Earned and Spent
| Field | What It Means | What to Include | Negative Allowed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | Total gross revenue for the financial year | All sales income + service income. On Cash Basis: actual cash received from customers. Do not include VAT collected. | ❌ No |
| Total Expenses | All operating costs for the financial year | Salaries, rent, utilities, professional fees, marketing, travel, insurance, bank charges, depreciation, and all other business costs | ✅ Yes (negative sign allowed) |
| Net Profit / (Loss) | Turnover minus Total Expenses | Positive = profit. Negative = loss. A loss is shown in brackets: (25,000) | ✅ Yes (negative for losses) |
A common mistake: entering your profit in the Turnover field. Turnover is your total revenue — all sales and service income before deducting any expenses. If you invoiced (or received cash for) AED 500,000 in services during the year, your Turnover is AED 500,000 — even if your expenses were AED 450,000 and your profit was only AED 50,000. Expenses go in the Total Expenses field separately.
Section 6: Number of Employees
Average Employee Count
Field: "The average number of persons employed by the company during the most recent Financial Year."
Enter the average number of employees during the year. If you had 2 employees for 6 months and 4 employees for 6 months, the average is 3. Remember: this must be 9 or fewer to qualify for the simplified form. If you had 10+ employees at any point, you should be submitting audited financial statements instead.
Section 7: Declaration and Submission
The final section requires the authorised signatory (Manager, Director, or Shareholder) to make three declarations:
1. Declaration: Confirming the financial information is approved, accurate, and consistent.
2. Acknowledgement: Accepting that providing false, inaccurate, or misleading information may result in legal consequences.
3. Agreement: Understanding that the Registrar or Licensing Authority reserves the right to request an audited financial statement at any time, and the company is obliged to provide one if asked.
All three checkboxes must be ticked. Then click Submit.
What Happens After You Submit
After clicking Submit, you'll see a confirmation message from IFZA:
"Thank you for submitting the Simplified Financial Statement required for your trade license renewal.
To proceed, the authorised signatory has been sent an email to verify and sign the document.
If you require assistance, please contact your Professional Partner."
The submission is not complete until the e-signing step is done. The authorised signatory will receive a separate email asking them to electronically verify and sign the financial statement. Check the inbox (and spam folder) of the email address registered with IFZA for the signatory. The license renewal will not proceed until this is completed.
Not Sure What Numbers to Enter? Let Fastlane Handle It
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The Balance Sheet Must Balance
This is basic accounting but it's the #1 reason forms get rejected or queried: Total Assets must equal Total Liabilities + Total Equity. If they don't match, something is wrong.
Quick check before submitting:
Total Assets (Section 2) = Total Liabilities (Section 3) + Total Equity (Section 4)
If the numbers don't balance, review your figures. The most common causes of imbalance: forgetting to include retained earnings in equity, not reclassifying negative assets into liabilities, or mixing up current year and previous year figures.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Entering negative amounts in Assets or Liabilities. The form rejects negatives in these sections. Reclassify negative assets as liabilities.
2. Putting profit in the Turnover field. Turnover = total revenue. Profit = turnover minus expenses. These are different fields.
3. Forgetting previous year figures. The form requires both Current Year and Previous Year. If this is your first year, enter zeros for Previous Year.
4. Not completing the e-signing step. Submitting the form is only half the process. The authorised signatory must click the verification email and sign electronically. Check spam folders.
5. Using accrual basis instead of cash basis. The simplified form requires Cash Basis accounting — income when received, expenses when paid. If your books are on accrual basis, convert before entering figures.
💡 Already have FTA audited financials? If you've already prepared audited financial statements for your corporate tax filing, you can submit those to IFZA instead of filling the simplified form. No need to do both.
Written & Reviewed by Nithin — FTA-Registered Tax Agent (TRN: 104218042400003)
Nithin has prepared financial statements for hundreds of IFZA companies. This guide is based on the actual IFZA Simplified Financial Statement template and submission process as of April 2026.