The single most common VAT error we find in restaurant books: revenue recorded from the aggregator payout rather than the gross customer sale. It feels natural — that's the money that hit the bank — and it's wrong in a way the FTA finds quickly.
The correct treatment
When a customer pays AED 105 on Talabat, that is your VAT-inclusive sale. Your books should show:
- Revenue: AED 100 (105 ÷ 1.05)
- Output VAT: AED 5 — due on the gross sale
- Commission expense: the aggregator's cut, recorded separately (with its own input VAT where a tax invoice is issued)
- Bank receipt: the net payout, reconciled to the settlement report
Why booking the net payout goes wrong
Booking a net payout of, say, AED 78 as revenue does three things at once: understates sales, understates output VAT, and hides the commission cost — so your food cost percentage and margins are distorted too. Compounded across a year of delivery orders, the VAT shortfall becomes a voluntary disclosure with penalties, and the management accounts you steered by were fiction.
The monthly control
Reconcile each aggregator settlement report to your POS and to the bank receipt every month: gross sales per the platform should tie to POS delivery-channel sales, and gross minus commission and adjustments should tie to the deposit. When the three don't agree, the difference is usually refunds, adjustments or a missed settlement — all findable while the month is fresh.
Already booked it wrong?
Quantify the understatement across the affected periods and correct it through a voluntary disclosure where required — proactive correction is treated far more gently than an FTA assessment. And the good news: the commission you were netting off often carries recoverable input VAT you never claimed.