Running a wedding hall, event venue or catering business in Saudi Arabia

VAT basics for venues and caterers

VAT is 15% on hall hire, catering and event services. Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass SAR 375,000 in twelve months and voluntary from SAR 187,500. Tax invoices must carry the required details in Arabic, with the tax amount in Saudi riyals, and every VAT-registered business issues invoices electronically under ZATCA's FATOORA rules, with integration to the FATOORA platform rolled out in waves.

How the Saudi venue and catering market works

Weddings drive the calendar. Many wedding halls are designed with separate halls or floors for women and men, because a large share of families celebrate that way, and the women's hall is often the bigger and more decorated of the two. A single wedding can therefore occupy two spaces, two sets of staff and two service plans on one night.

Rest houses, known as istirahat, are a second market. Families rent them for a day or a weekend for birthdays, graduations and Eid gatherings, and often order catering to the site. Corporate events, conferences and government receptions add a weekday trade in hotels and dedicated event halls, especially in Riyadh.

Catering is commonly priced by the tray or by the head. A family may order whole lamb mandi trays sized by guest count, salads and sweets, plus Arabic coffee and dates served by staff. Quantities change late, and payments usually come as an advance followed by a balance on the day.

For owners this mix means long lead times and many small changes. A family can book a summer date a year ahead, then adjust the guest count, the menu and the decor several times, while the caterer needs firm numbers a few days before the night.

VAT and FATOORA e-invoicing basics

The standard VAT rate is 15%. Registration is mandatory once taxable supplies exceed SAR 375,000 in twelve months, and a resident business can register voluntarily from SAR 187,500. Hall hire, catering, decor and service charges are all standard rated.

E-invoicing came in two phases. Phase One, from 4 December 2021, requires taxpayers to issue and keep invoices electronically through a compliant system; a scanned paper invoice does not count. Phase Two, the integration phase, started on 1 January 2023 and connects invoicing systems to ZATCA's FATOORA platform in waves. Wave 24 covers taxpayers whose VAT-subject revenue exceeded SAR 375,000 in 2022, 2023 or 2024, with integration due by 30 June 2026, and ZATCA notifies later waves at least six months ahead.

Two invoice rules catch newcomers. Invoices must be issued in Arabic, though another language may appear alongside it, and the VAT amount must be stated in Saudi riyals. Records must be kept for at least six years from the end of the tax period.

The documents a Saudi venue issues for each booking

A typical wedding booking produces a quotation, a signed booking contract with the date, halls and cancellation terms, a tax invoice for the advance payment, a final tax invoice for the balance, and an event sheet for the operations team. If the guest count or menu changes after invoicing, a credit or debit note corrects it.

• Quotation listing each hall, the menu by head or tray, decor and staff
• Booking contract with dates, deposit, cancellation and change rules
• Tax invoice for the advance, issued within 15 days after the end of the month it was received
• Final tax invoice for the balance, with the advance deducted
• Credit or debit note within 15 days after the month of any change
• Event sheet for the halls, kitchen and service staff

How Venura fits a Saudi venue or caterer

Venura has two apps. The venue app gives wedding halls and event venues a shared calendar with double booking warnings, holds, an enquiry pipeline, quotations, deposits and balances on every booking, event sheets and staff roles. The catering app runs orders, menus, kitchen sheets, staff and payments. Both run on the web, Android and iOS, and share quotes and receipts on WhatsApp or by email.

Venura does not connect to ZATCA's FATOORA platform. Use it to run enquiries, bookings, quotations, deposits and event sheets, and issue the legal tax invoice from your FATOORA compliant e-invoicing solution. Plans for Saudi Arabia are priced on request, with a free 30-day trial to test it on a real wedding season.

Questions from Saudi Arabia