Why it matters now
UAE SMEs need accurate, up-to-date books for Corporate Tax and VAT. E-invoicing is also expected to become mandatory for SMEs from July 2027. Leaving bookkeeping to the last minute gets more expensive every year.
What you need
- Hermes Agent by Nous Research
The AI agent that does the workFree, open source - Telegram
Send receipts straight from your phoneFree - Zoho Books
Where the records are kept~60 AED / mo
How it works
- Give Hermes a one-time "job description": your business details, daily tasks, a Monday summary, monthly P&L and VAT reports, and the rules it must follow.
- Send receipts and invoices on Telegram. The agent reads them with OCR, categorises them and records them in Zoho Books.
- Upload bank statements and it reconciles them against your records.
- Get monthly reports and help with inventory, with nothing actioned until you reply "yes".
⚠️ Treat it like a junior bookkeeper
- It needs training at the start, like any new hire.
- It prepares the numbers but doesn’t file anything. You and your accountant review and submit.
- Check everything it does for the first month.
- The free Nous plan uses free AI models, so test it on a week of receipts first.
Get the prompt
A template "job description" prompt is in the first comment of the LinkedIn post. The comments also cover alternatives, including FTA-accredited accounting tools with WhatsApp and Claude integrations, and what UAE e-invoicing from 2027 may mean for your Zoho plan.
Rather have it done for you?
We can set up an AI accountant for your business on the tools you already use, and agree with you what needs your approval. Send us a WhatsApp message: an AI receptionist replies first with a few questions, then a person takes it from there.
Get the full post and promptThe ready-to-use prompt is in the first comment on LinkedIn. Join the conversation there.