Sensor SA Case Study: Zoho Books and ZATCA Fatoora

At a glance

100%Saudi VAT & TRN Compliance

100%Master Data Migrated

90%Faster Invoicing

ZEROManual ZATCA Submissions

The challenge

What Sensor SA needed to fix

Sensor SA partnered with Shyphan to deliver zoho Books with live Fatoora Phase 2. Sensor SA needed Saudi VAT and Fatoora e-invoicing live from day one, plus a clean financial baseline to build on.

Sensor SA needed Saudi VAT and Fatoora e-invoicing live from day one, plus a clean financial baseline to build on.

No Structured AccountingThere was no proper platform, just spreadsheets and manual entries.
Saudi VAT & Tax GapsVAT and TRN handling was not configured to KSA standards.
Fatoora Not ConfiguredZATCA Phase 2 e-invoicing was a known gap before cutover.
Scattered Master DataCustomers, vendors and COA data lived across files and formats.
No Opening Balance BaselineOpening balances were not posted or validated cleanly.
Manual Transaction ProcessingEvery entry, invoice and report needed manual handling.

Hand with pen checking a financial statement beside a calculator. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Accounting ran on spreadsheets and manual entries with no proper platform

Zoho Books running on a clean, structured chart of accounts

VAT and TRN handling was not configured to KSA standards

Saudi VAT codes, tax groups and return logic mapped to KSA rules

ZATCA Phase 2 e-invoicing was a known gap before cutover

Every outbound invoice cleared by ZATCA Fatoora Phase 2 in real time

Opening balances were not posted or validated cleanly

Opening balances posted and reconciled in Zoho Books before go-live

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Data migration
Customers, vendors, items and old chart of accounts data were cleaned from files in different formats and loaded into Zoho Books, giving Sensor SA one consistent set of master data.
02
Zoho Books
Zoho Books is set up with the company profile, TRN and a clean, structured chart of accounts, with old accounts mapped into it and opening balances posted and reconciled before go-live.
03
VAT setup
Saudi VAT is configured with tax codes, tax groups and return logic for 15% and exempt supplies, so VAT and TRN handling meets KSA rules on every transaction.
04
Fatoora Phase 2
Zoho Books is integrated with ZATCA Fatoora Phase 2. Every outbound invoice is cleared in real time, with the XML, PDF and QR code generated automatically and no manual submission.
05
Training
Finance and sales users received hands-on training, followed by UAT and an admin handover, so the team could run invoicing, quotes and delivery notes in Zoho Books on their own.
06
Go-live
After end-to-end validation of the full transaction cycle, Sensor SA went live on 11 Nov 2025 and moved into a hyper-care period with go-live support from Shyphan.

The solution

What we built for Sensor SA

Shyphan, a Zoho Premium Partner, set up Zoho Books for Saudi VAT, posted validated opening balances, migrated master data and integrated ZATCA Fatoora Phase 2 end-to-end.

Company profile, VAT and TRN setup
Saudi VAT and tax configuration
Chart of Accounts setup
ZATCA-compliant invoice formatting
Customer, vendor and COA migration
Opening balance migration and validation
User training, admin handover and UAT

Fatoora ZATCA Phase 2

Zoho Books to ZATCA Fatoora integration
Automatic XML and PDF e-invoice generation
QR code on every invoice
Real-time invoice clearance workflow
End-to-end testing before go-live

Scope delivered

Zoho Books set-up with a clean chart of accounts
Migration of customers, items and opening balances
VAT configuration and tax groups
ZATCA Phase 2 Fatoora onboarding and clearance testing
Invoice, quote and delivery note templates
Bank reconciliation
VAT return and financial reports
Training and go-live support

Who uses it

Finance team

Issue VAT-compliant invoices cleared through Fatoora, reconcile bank accounts and run VAT returns and financial reports.

Sales users

Create quotes, invoices and delivery notes on the branded, ZATCA-compliant templates in Zoho Books.

System administrator

Manages users and settings in Zoho Books after the admin handover completed during the rollout.

Management

Review VAT returns and financial reports built on a clean baseline of reconciled opening balances.

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsLegacy filesBank statements

Delivered by ShyphanZATCA Fatoora

OutputsZATCA FatooraCustomer invoicesVAT return

Integrations

Saudi VAT Configuration
VAT codes, tax groups and return logic mapped to KSA rules.
Fatoora Phase 2 Integration
Live ZATCA clearance on every outbound invoice.
COA Migration & Mapping
Old accounts mapped into a clean, structured COA.
Opening Balance Posting
Opening balances posted and reconciled before go-live.
Customer & Vendor Migration
Master data cleaned and loaded into Zoho Books.
ZATCA Invoice Templates
Branded invoice layouts that meet ZATCA formatting rules.
End-to-End Validation
Full transaction cycle tested and signed off before cutover.

Reports and dashboards

VAT return

VAT by tax code and tax group, prepared with return logic mapped to KSA rules.

Financial reports

Standard financial reports built on the structured chart of accounts and reconciled opening balances.

Bank reconciliation

Bank transactions matched against entries in Zoho Books, showing what has been reconciled.

Fatoora clearance

Outbound invoices with their ZATCA Phase 2 clearance, XML, PDF and QR code.

The results

What the system does now

Full Regulatory ComplianceSaudi VAT and ZATCA Phase 2 are both live and validated.
Clean Financial FoundationBooks open with clean masters and reconciled opening balances.
Automated E-InvoicingEvery invoice is cleared by ZATCA in real time.
Eliminated Compliance RiskNo manual submissions means no missed filings or errors.
Faster TransactionsDay-to-day finance work runs 90% faster than the old way.
Future-ReadyCloud Zoho stack ready for new entities, reports and integrations.

Client testimonial

The implementation has given us complete confidence in our financials. Our VAT is configured correctly, our Fatoora e-invoicing is live, and our team knows exactly how to use the system. Shyphan delivered everything we needed, on time and with no surprises.

BasselManager · Sensor SA

Delivery

Five-phase delivery in 5 weeks · 125 hours

01
Discovery & Blueprint
Stakeholder workshops, AS-IS process mapping, BRD/FRD finalization
Signed-off Solution Design
02
Configuration & Build
Module setup, custom workflows, automation, integrations
Working sandbox
03
Data Migration & UAT
Data cleansing, mapping, migration, full UAT cycle with users
UAT sign-off
04
Training & Change Mgmt
Admin & end-user training, SOPs, recorded video walkthroughs
Adoption-ready users
05
Go-Live & Hyper-care
Cutover, production go-live, daily support, optimization sprint
Stable production system

Local rules built in

ZATCA e-invoicing

Fatoora-format tax invoices with XML and QR, cleared or reported as required.

15% VAT

Standard, zero-rated and exempt supplies mapped, with return-ready reports.

Saudi PDPL

Personal data kept to what the process needs, with role-based access.

Arabic and English

Bilingual documents where customers and authorities expect them.

FAQ

Questions about this project

Was Fatoora Phase 2 live from go-live?

Yes. Zoho Books was integrated with ZATCA Fatoora Phase 2, and the full transaction cycle was tested and signed off before cutover. From go-live on 11 Nov 2025, every outbound invoice has been cleared in real time, with no manual ZATCA submissions.

How were opening balances handled?

Opening balances were migrated into Zoho Books, then posted and reconciled before go-live. Old accounts were mapped into a clean, structured chart of accounts, so the Sensor SA books opened on a validated financial baseline.

What did the 5-week project include?

It covered the company profile, VAT and TRN setup, chart of accounts, customer, vendor and item migration, opening balances, ZATCA Phase 2 Fatoora onboarding and testing, invoice, quote and delivery note templates, bank reconciliation, reports, training and go-live support.

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What Sensor SA needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Data migration

Zoho Books

VAT setup

Fatoora Phase 2

Training

Go-live