The Saudi government platforms, explained

Why there are so many

Almost every interaction between a company and the government in Saudi Arabia now happens online, and each authority runs its own platform. That is fast once it is set up, and confusing at first: the same employee appears on four or five systems, each with its own login, delegate permissions and data. Knowing which platform does what is the first step to keeping them in sync.

Company and investment

• Saudi Business Center (business.sa) and the Ministry of Commerce: Commercial Registration, its annual confirmation, and changes to partners, capital or activities.
• MISA, the Ministry of Investment: the investment licence that a foreign-owned company needs alongside its Commercial Registration.
• Chamber of Commerce: membership, and attestation of commercial documents.
• Balady: municipal licences for your premises, and the civil defence and signage requirements that come with them.

People and payroll

• Qiwa, from the Ministry of Human Resources: your establishment file, work visas and work permits, employment contracts, transfers of expatriate employees, and your Nitaqat band.
• Mudad: payroll under the Wage Protection System. Salaries are reported here every month, and the data must match Qiwa and your bank transfers.
• GOSI: social insurance registration for every employee and the monthly contributions.
• Muqeem and Absher Business: residency (iqama) issue and renewal, exit and re-entry visas and final exits for expatriate employees.
• HRDF (Hadaf): support programmes for hiring and training Saudi nationals.

Tax and money

• ZATCA portal: registration and returns for VAT, zakat, income tax and withholding tax, and the certificates you need for government work and bank facilities.
• FATOORA: ZATCA’s e-invoicing platform, which your invoicing system must connect to once your company is called for integration.

Contracts, courts and property

• Etimad: government tenders and purchasing. Registration is required to bid for public contracts.
• Najiz, from the Ministry of Justice: legal services, powers of attorney, and court cases.
• Ejar: registration of residential and commercial leases. A lease on Ejar is needed for many other transactions.
• National Address, from Saudi Post: the registered address of the company and its people, used across government services.

Keeping them in order

• Hold every login in the company’s name, with named delegates, not in one employee’s personal account.
• Remove access the day someone leaves.
• Keep the same data everywhere: an employee’s salary on Qiwa, Mudad and GOSI should match.
• Check certificates and expiry dates on each platform on a fixed schedule.

How we run it

We set up and run these platforms for our clients as named delegates, keep the data consistent across them, and track every certificate and renewal on one calendar.