Most currencies have two decimal places: 100 cents to the dollar, 100 paise to the rupee, 100 fils to the dirham. Three Gulf currencies are different. One Kuwaiti dinar is 1,000 fils, one Bahraini dinar is 1,000 fils, and one Omani rial is 1,000 baisa.
Where two-decimal software goes wrong
- Prices like KWD 4.125 get rounded to 4.13, so every invoice is slightly wrong.
- VAT calculated on rounded amounts doesn't match the VAT on the customer's records.
- Payments of the exact invoice amount leave tiny balances open on customer accounts.
- Amounts in words read in cents instead of fils or baisa.
Each error is small, but they add up across thousands of invoices, and they make reconciliation and audits slower.
What to check in your software
- Amounts are stored to three decimals in the database, not just displayed that way.
- Tax is calculated per line and rounded to three decimals.
- Payments, bank reconciliation and reports all keep three decimals.
- Invoices print amounts in words in dinars and fils, or rials and baisa.
SoarLedger stores and calculates amounts to three decimals for Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani companies throughout: invoices, payments, VAT and reports.
Written by the SoarLedger team · General information, not tax advice — confirm your obligations with your Chartered Accountant.