Manufacturing and trading
MIS for manufacturing and trading companies in the UAE and the Gulf
A monthly MIS for a manufacturing or trading company in the Gulf shows margin, and how much cash is tied up in stock, customers and cheques not yet due. A large part of what customers owe often sits in post-dated cheques; counted as cash, they make the business look far more liquid than it is.
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Every figure shown here is invented for illustration. Nothing on this page is computed from anyone’s accounts.
The eight measures a manufacturing and trading MIS should show
| Measure | Formula | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales, local and export | Sales − returns, by market | GCC export and local sales carry different margins and terms |
| Gross margin % | (Net sales − materials − trading purchases − direct labour − factory overheads − freight in − duty ± change in stock) ÷ net sales | The core margin |
| Inventory days | (Raw materials + finished goods + trading stock) ÷ cost of sales × days | Show each stock type apart |
| Debtor days | Trade receivables ÷ net sales × days | Without post-dated cheques |
| Debtor days with cheques | (Receivables + post-dated cheques received) ÷ net sales × days | The real time to cash |
| Creditor days | Trade payables ÷ cost of sales × days | Read against debtor days |
| Cash conversion cycle | Inventory days + debtor days − creditor days | How long cash is out of the business |
| Finance cost cover | EBITDA ÷ finance costs | Trust receipt and letter of credit costs add up |
What Magic MIS computes, and what you work out from its ledgers
Every month: net sales, gross margin, inventory days, debtor days, creditor days, the cash conversion cycle, staff costs, EBITDA and cash, with interest cover one request away in the KPI library. Debtor days with post-dated cheques, and the split between local and export sales, take the cheque and sales ledgers, which sit one click behind receivables and sales.
Six mapping traps in a Gulf company's books
- Post-dated cheques received are not cash. Keep them as a receivable of their own until they clear.
- Post-dated cheques issued are still owed; keep them with payables until they clear.
- Letter of credit margin deposits are restricted cash, apart from the current account.
- End of service benefits. The provision is a liability and the monthly charge a staff cost; visa, labour and accommodation costs are staff costs too.
- VAT at 5% in the UAE: output and input VAT net to one balance payable or receivable, never inside sales or purchases.
- The owner's current account, common in family businesses, is equity unless it is a formal loan.
Al Noor Trading & Industries, an invented company, funds 27 days of its trade itself
From the company's trial balance over the six months to June 2026, in dirhams, worked by hand:
| Measure | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | Local 8,642,000 + GCC export 3,186,000 − returns 214,000 | AED 11,614,000 |
| Gross margin | (11,614,000 − cost of sales 8,084,000) ÷ 11,614,000 | 30.4% |
| Debtor days | Receivables 3,186,000 ÷ net sales for April to June 2026, 5,851,888, × 91 | 50 days |
| Debtor days with cheques | (3,186,000 + cheques 642,000) ÷ the same | 60 days |
| Inventory days | Stock 2,692,000 + in transit 214,000 ÷ cost of sales for April to June 2026, 4,037,416, × 91 | 65 days |
| Creditor days | Payables 1,486,000 ÷ the same cost of sales | 33 days |
The days are worked on the last three months, as the board works them. The gap between debtor days with cheques and creditor days is trade the business funds itself, partly through trust receipt loans.
In Magic MIS, the same books loaded a month at a time give this board for June 2026:
Magic MIS wrote these sections of the commentary for June 2026, word for word. The AI wrote the sentences; the engine filled every figure, and each one opens to its ledgers on the board:
Performance
Revenue from operations for Jun 2026 was AED 2,023,831.60, a change of AED 6,495.19 (0.3%) on last month, so revenue was broadly flat.
Direct costs were AED 1,434,167.08, up AED 73,463.51 (5.4%) on last month. EBITDA was AED 127,321.68, a change of AED (78,132.84) (-38.0%). Profit before tax was AED 52,119.65, a change of AED (78,758.11) (-60.2%). Profit after tax was AED 52,119.65, equal to profit before tax, with the same change on last month of AED (78,758.11) (-60.2%).
Margins
Gross profit was AED 589,664.52, a change of AED (66,968.32) (-10.2%) on last month. With revenue broadly flat and direct costs higher, the gross margin narrowed compared with last month.
The fall in gross profit carried through to EBITDA and profit before tax, which declined by similar absolute amounts, indicating that overheads were little changed from last month.
From the trial balance to the monthly MIS
- Export the trial balance from Tally, Zoho Books or your ERP as Excel, CSV or PDF. There is no live connection.
- Upload it. Each ledger is placed once on a line of the report, by rules first and the AI only for what the rules can't place; check the post-dated cheques, letter of credit margins and end of service on the ledger map.
- Get a checked Excel workbook with live formulas, a board you change by chatting, and the month written up.
- Next month, upload the new trial balance: the placing is remembered, so it is a refresh, not a rebuild.
Click any figure on the board to see its working, the month and the ledgers behind it. It is prepaid credits with no subscription, and every action shows its price before it runs; see the credit packs.
Set the company's conventions once: when its financial year starts, books kept in AED, dates day first. Present shows the board full screen with the company's own logo.
What Gulf companies ask before they upload
Does Magic MIS work with Tally?
Yes, from Tally's exports: export the trial balance and upload it. There is no connector.
Can it report in AED?
Yes. Each company is reported in the currency its books are kept in; figures are labelled, never converted.
We have a factory company and a trading company. Can it consolidate them?
No. Each company is reported on its own.
Can the commentary be written in Arabic?
Yes. Each company chooses the language its commentary is written in, Arabic among them. VAT returns are not produced: it reports the VAT balance in your books.
Read next
- The monthly MIS report for UAE and Gulf businessesWhat a monthly MIS covers in the UAE and the Gulf — P&L, balance sheet, cash and bank, receivables, payables, the VAT position, KPIs and commentary — and how to build it.Read
- MIS report from Tally: which raw reports to take and what to do with themHow to produce a monthly MIS from TallyPrime or Tally.ERP 9 raw data: which reports to take, the export settings that matter, and how to stop rebuilding it monthly.Read
- Debtors ageing report: format, buckets and how to read itHow to build a receivables ageing report (aged debtors, A/R aging): choosing buckets, ageing from bill date or due date, unallocated receipts, and acting on the result.Read
Build your company's monthly MIS from its trial balance
Create an account, load last month's trial balance, and get the report — paid per action.
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