Mirror header, single grid
Arabic block right, English block left, one shared line grid with bilingual column headers. Best for A4 tax invoices where both parties read both languages.
Bilingual Arabic and English Invoicing: Rules and Practical Tips
Arabic is the official language of the UAE, and most invoices you issue will be read by both Arabic and English speakers. Here is how to design a tax invoice that satisfies the FTA, prints cleanly on A4 and 80 mm thermal, and does not embarrass you in front of a government auditor.
Why it matters
Arabic is not a nice-to-have on a UAE invoice
Article 65 of the Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 requires a tax invoice to be issued in Arabic where the FTA asks for it, and English-only invoices are accepted in practice only because the FTA tolerates them until asked otherwise. During a tax audit, an inspector can request an Arabic version of any invoice, and the taxable person is expected to produce one within a reasonable time. Businesses that issue bilingual invoices from day one avoid a scramble later, look more credible to Arabic-speaking customers, and remove one line item from the auditor's checklist. Bilingual does not mean two documents. It means one clean layout where Arabic and English sit together, neither language cramped, and every mandatory field appears in both.
FTA mandatory fields
What a UAE tax invoice must contain, in either language
- The words Tax Invoice clearly displayed, ideally in both Arabic (fatoora daribiya) and English
- Name, address and Tax Registration Number (TRN) of the supplier
- Name and address of the recipient, and their TRN if they are registered
- A sequential or unique invoice number that identifies the document
- Date of issue, and date of supply if different from the date of issue
- Description of goods or services supplied
- Unit price, quantity or volume supplied, rate of VAT and amount payable in AED
- Any discount offered
- Gross amount payable in AED
- Tax amount payable in AED with the exchange rate applied if the invoice is in another currency
- For reverse-charge supplies, a statement that the recipient is required to account for the VAT
Layout basics
How Arabic and English share one page
Arabic reads right-to-left, English reads left-to-right, and the two do not fight if you plan the layout. The cleanest UAE invoice puts the Arabic company name and header on the right, the English mirror on the left, and centres the invoice number and date. The line grid uses paired column headers - Item / al-sanf, Qty / al-kammiya, Price / al-si'r, Total / al-ijmali - stacked on two rows or side by side. Numbers stay in Western digits (0-9) because the FTA figures, the bank transfer and the customer's accountant all expect them that way. Currency stays as AED, not the Arabic three-letter code, unless you deal in a second currency.
The four layout patterns that actually work
Pick one and stick to it
Stacked bilingual rows
Every field label appears twice, English above Arabic, in a smaller weight. Verbose but bulletproof for auditors and for customers outside the UAE.
Primary + secondary
One language is primary at full size, the second is a smaller parallel column on the right. Common for exporters whose main customer base is English-speaking.
Thermal 80 mm receipt
POS receipts print English top block, Arabic footer block, with the TRN and Tax Invoice label in both scripts. Line items stay in English to save paper.
Set-up sequence
How to build a bilingual invoice template once, correctly
1
Enter both names on every master
Company, branch, customer, supplier, item and chart of accounts all need an English name and an Arabic name field. Fill both at creation time - retrofitting Arabic across 4,000 SKUs later is a bad afternoon.
2
Choose an Arabic-capable font
Noto Naskh Arabic, Amiri or Dubai are safe choices. Pair with a Latin font of similar x-height so the two scripts do not look mismatched.
3
Design the header as a two-column band
Arabic on the right, English on the left, TRN centred. Do not translate the TRN digits, they stay Western.
4
Pair the column headings
Two rows in each header cell: English on top, Arabic below in a lighter weight, or vice versa. Keep the numeric columns right-aligned in both directions.
5
Print the amount in words twice
Once in English, once in Arabic, both ending with 'only' or its Arabic equivalent (faqat). This is not legally required but is expected on cheques and larger invoices.
6
Test on A4 and on 80 mm thermal
RTL layouts can shift when the paper narrows. Print a real receipt before you go live.
What buyers get wrong
Bilingual done badly vs bilingual done well
| Element | Common mistake | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Arabic company name | Left blank, or auto-translated by Google | Registered Arabic trade name from the trade licence, entered by a human |
| Arabic item names | Only English, so Arabic customers cannot verify | Every SKU has an Arabic short name for the line grid |
| Numbers | Eastern Arabic-Indic digits (٠١٢٣) that break bank uploads | Western digits (0123) everywhere on the invoice |
| Amount in words | English only, no Arabic | English + Arabic, both including the fils portion |
| Reverse charge note | Missing or English-only | Bilingual clause on every reverse-charge invoice |
| TRN placement | Buried under the logo | Prominent under both language headers, same size as the invoice number |
| Font | Default Arial Arabic renders poorly at small sizes | Noto Naskh Arabic or Dubai font, minimum 9 pt for line items |
One database, two languages, zero duplicates
Do not maintain a separate Arabic company or a duplicate item master. Every record - customer, item, account, warehouse, tax code - should carry a name_en and a name_ar column, and the invoice template picks whichever the printout needs. This is how Zeyto handles it internally, and it is the pattern any competent ERP should follow. If your current software forces you to duplicate records to get Arabic, that is a data-integrity problem, not a feature.
How Zeyto handles it
Bilingual behaviour that ships in the box
Paired name fields everywhere
Company, branch, customer, supplier, item, account, warehouse and tax code all carry English and Arabic names. Enter both once, print either or both.
Full RTL UI
Switch the interface to Arabic and every screen mirrors correctly - menus, toolbars, line grids, dialogs and reports.
Amount in words, EN and AR
Cheques and invoices print the amount in words in both languages, with the fils portion, ending with only and faqat.
Document designer
Drag Arabic and English blocks anywhere on the template. Column headers stack in two lines. Preview on A4 and 80 mm.
Bilingual VAT reports
The VAT return workings and the sales and purchase registers can print with bilingual headers for FTA review.
Offline, on your PC
All of this runs on the local PostgreSQL database without internet. The invoice prints even if the line is down.
Edge cases
Reverse charge, foreign currency and export invoices
Three cases catch UAE businesses out. First, reverse-charge invoices for imported services need a bilingual note stating that the recipient accounts for the VAT under Article 48; a monolingual clause is fine legally but fails half the time in audit if the reviewer is Arabic-first. Second, invoices in a foreign currency must show the AED equivalent of the tax amount at the exchange rate published by the UAE Central Bank on the date of supply; put both the FX amount and the AED amount in the same row, do not tuck the AED into a footnote. Third, export invoices to GCC customers should print bilingual even when the customer is English-speaking, because the invoice may travel with the shipment through Arabic-speaking customs officers.
Pre-launch review
Print one real invoice and check these before you go live
- Tax Invoice label appears in both languages, top of the page
- Supplier and recipient TRNs are visible without scrolling
- Line grid column headings are bilingual and the numeric columns right-align
- Arabic text is Noto Naskh, Dubai or Amiri, not the browser default
- Numbers are Western digits throughout
- Amount in words prints in English and Arabic and both include the fils portion
- Reverse-charge clause, if applicable, prints in both languages
- Foreign currency invoices show the AED equivalent of the tax amount
- Footer carries the trade licence number and Arabic company name
- 80 mm thermal receipt still fits and both scripts render at readable size
FAQ
Straight answers
Is an Arabic invoice mandatory in the UAE?
The FTA can require a tax invoice in Arabic and expects the taxable person to produce one on request. In practice, English-only invoices are accepted day to day, but bilingual invoices remove the risk of an audit query and are strongly recommended for any VAT-registered business.
Can I issue the invoice in English and keep an Arabic copy on file?
You can, but the FTA may still ask for an Arabic version of the printed document, not just a translation on the side. Bilingual invoicing solves this at source and costs nothing extra once your masters carry Arabic names.
Do numbers need to be in Arabic-Indic digits on the invoice?
No. Western digits (0-9) are standard on UAE tax invoices, are what the FTA return and bank systems expect, and are what auditors are used to seeing. Keep the numbers Western even when the labels are Arabic.
Which fonts render Arabic properly on printed invoices?
Noto Naskh Arabic, Amiri, and Dubai are safe, free options that render crisply at small sizes. Avoid the operating-system default Arabic fallback, which often prints thin and uneven at line-item size.
Do I have to print the amount in words in Arabic?
It is not a legal requirement for VAT compliance but it is expected on cheques and on larger invoices, and it prevents disputes about the total. A bilingual amount-in-words is standard on well-designed UAE invoice templates.
Does Zeyto need internet to print a bilingual invoice?
No. Zeyto runs on the local PostgreSQL database on your PC and prints invoices, receipts and reports with zero internet. Bilingual layout, Arabic fonts and amount-in-words all work offline.
Can I switch an existing customer master to bilingual without re-entering everything?
Yes. Zeyto keeps English and Arabic name fields on the same customer record, so you add the Arabic name to the existing row rather than creating a duplicate. Item and account masters work the same way.
Bilingual invoicing that just prints
Book a walkthrough, or start a 14-day trial on your own PC with your own data. No cloud lock-in, no data leaving your premises.