The verdict in three sentences
Editorial and royalties software for a Dubai publisher releasing around 50 titles a year in Arabic and English takes 5 to 10 months, depending on how clean the contracts and sales data are. Ship the royalties module first, ahead of your next statement run, and leave the editorial calendar and production tracking for a second release. The critical path is rarely the code: it is migrating author and translation contracts, with their escalating rates, advances and territory splits.
Why 5 to 10 months and not 3
A Gulf publisher's contract base is unusually varied. Arabic originals sit next to licensed translations from English, French or Turkish, rights are sold to other Gulf and North African publishers, and authors are paid in AED, USD or EUR. Each translation deal carries its own territory, term and royalty split, and the big regional rights moments, such as the Sharjah International Book Fair in November, create fixed dates when the rights team needs reliable data.
2026 market ballpark for a UAE or regional development partner:
| Phase | Realistic duration | Deliverable | Who must be available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 4 to 6 weeks | Contract types, calculation rules, wireframes | Finance director, rights manager |
| Detailed design | 3 to 4 weeks | Contract data model, bilingual statement templates | Royalties accountant |
| Royalties module | 8 to 12 weeks | Calculations, advances, multi currency statements | Business tester 1 day a week |
| Contract migration | 6 to 10 weeks, in parallel | 800 to 2,500 contracts entered and checked | 2 to 3 dedicated staff |
| Distributor and retailer feeds | 3 to 6 weeks | Automatic import of sales by channel | Distributor IT contact |
| Parallel run | 4 to 6 weeks | Variance under 1% against the old calculation | Finance director |
| Editorial module (release 2) | 6 to 10 weeks | Publication calendar, production, Arabic and English title records | Editors, production |
Right to left layout for Arabic statements and catalogue records adds roughly two weeks of design and testing, and it should be planned from discovery rather than bolted on.
The delays that hit most projects
| Cause | Typical delay | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Translation contracts scanned as images only | 3 to 6 weeks | Index and classify contracts before kick off |
| Territory and language splits on the same title | 2 to 4 weeks | List the 20 most complex deals first |
| Distributor files in undocumented formats | 2 to 5 weeks | Get a real sales file in week 2 |
| Unreconciled advances and historical balances | 2 to 4 weeks | Freeze balances at a year end and have them signed off |
| Arabic transliteration of author names inconsistent | 1 to 3 weeks | Agree one naming rule and a unique author ID |
| Statement template approved late | 1 to 3 weeks | Approve the bilingual template before coding |
On budget, the 2026 market ballpark runs from about AED 200,000 for a royalties module with sales imports to AED 650,000 for a full suite with editorial planning, an author portal and foreign rights tracking. Invoices to UAE customers carry VAT under Federal Tax Authority rules, and author and contract data falls under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law, or the DIFC data protection regime if you operate from DIFC. For a nearshore comparison, Kolonell's prices for a medium complexity custom application are 6,100 to 10,670 EUR (4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA), and 10,670 to 22,870 EUR and more (7,000,000 to 15,000,000 FCFA and more) for a complex one, with scope fixed after discovery.
A schedule that protects your statement run
If authors receive statements in March, the royalties module must be in parallel run in January, which means discovery in June or July, and ideally finished before the Sharjah fair so the rights team is not pulled into workshops during the busiest week of the year. Starting in October leaves two honest options: move the switch to the following statement run, or cut the scope to royalties only.
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Illustrative example: Omar, finance director of a Dubai publisher with 50 new titles a year, starts discovery in early June for a March statement run. His team must migrate 1,600 contracts, a third of them translation deals. Three staff entering 12 contracts a day each process 36 a day, so the migration takes about 45 working days, nine weeks in parallel with development. The royalties and sales import scope is budgeted at AED 360,000. Today statements take 3 people 5 weeks, roughly 600 hours; Omar targets 100 hours, freeing 500 hours a year, worth about AED 75,000 at AED 150 an hour.
FAQ
How long does custom royalties software take for a Dubai publisher?
Allow about 5 months for the royalties module alone and 8 to 10 months with full editorial management, as a 2026 market ballpark. Discovery alone takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Can Arabic and English titles live in the same system?
Yes, with a single title record holding both languages and right to left display for Arabic. Budget around two extra weeks of design and testing for it.
Do we really need a parallel run?
Yes: run both calculations on a real statement period for 4 to 6 weeks. The target is a variance under 1% of total royalties, with every gap explained contract by contract.
What budget should a 50 title a year publisher plan?
The 2026 market ballpark is AED 200,000 to 650,000 depending on scope. Royalties plus sales imports usually sits between AED 200,000 and 380,000.
What if the project slips past the statement date?
You issue statements with the old spreadsheets and switch at the next run, which delays the savings by a year. That is why the royalties module should be live at least 8 weeks before the deadline.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your contract count, statement date and distributors, and we will send a phased plan with an indicative budget. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
