Full-time accountant vs accounting as a service in Saudi Arabia: the cost breakdown

When a Saudi SME compares an in-house accountant with an outside option, the salary usually gets all the attention. In practice the monthly cost of an in-house accountant has several more lines, and some of them are fixed by regulation. This article lists them so you can price both options on the same basis.

The cost lines of an in-house accountant

• Salary and allowances: basic pay plus the housing and transport allowances that are common in KSA packages.
• Social insurance (GOSI): for non-Saudi workers the employer pays 2% of wages for occupational hazards; for Saudi nationals the employer share is higher because it also covers annuities and unemployment insurance (source: GOSI).
• Expat levy: SAR 800 per month for each expatriate worker (source: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development).
• Iqama, work permit and visa costs, plus recruitment and travel when the person is hired from abroad.
• Medical insurance, which is mandatory under the Council of Health Insurance rules.
• End-of-service award: half a month's wage for each of the first five years and a full month's wage for each year after that (source: Saudi Labor Law, Article 84).
• Housing, desk, laptop and software licences.
• HR time for onboarding, leave, performance and renewals, and cover when the accountant is on leave or leaves.

What accounting as a service changes

With The Kabeer Co, you hand us the accounting work (bookkeeping, reconciliations, payables and receivables, month-end close and reports) and we deliver it remotely as a service, during Saudi business hours. There is no hiring and no extra overhead. Because the work is delivered remotely, you no longer carry costs like visas, Iqama, housing, equipment or HR. You pay one monthly service fee, and overall cost can come down by up to 40%. Actual costs vary, and the fee is quoted per service.

Every engagement runs under a service agreement with contractual SLAs, a monthly audit and a monthly report, so you can see what was done and how it measured against the agreed standard.

How to compare the two fairly

1. Put every line above into a monthly figure for the in-house option, including the end-of-service accrual.
2. Write down the scope you actually need each month: number of transactions, accounts, entities and reports.
3. Ask for a service quote on that same scope, then compare the two monthly totals side by side.

Our cost calculator lets you enter your own figures for each line. For a wider view of the options, see managed accounting service vs accounting office vs freelancer.

Sources

• General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI): contribution rates, gosi.gov.sa
• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development: expat levy, hrsd.gov.sa
• Saudi Labor Law, Article 84 (end-of-service award)

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and fees change, so confirm current requirements with a qualified adviser or the relevant authority.