Professional services
Lucidarc Digital builds the enquiry system for business setup consultants in the UAE: cost pages with an itemised year-one total, AI qualification on activity, visas, jurisdiction and timeline, a named consultant on every conversation, and follow-up and renewal reminders from your CRM. It runs as a fixed-fee 90-day programme of AED 15,000–30,000. Evidence · published The 90-day system: fixed fee. AED 15,000–30,000 (≈ USD 4,000–8,000), fixed for the first 90 days and covering everything we set up. The audit sets the exact number within the range. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Last reviewed · every fact and rule below names its source
01 · What we can show
Real work only, with its status and the date we checked it. Where we have nothing in business setup yet, we say so.
02 · The market
Each fact names its source, the date we read it and how solid it is. A figure we couldn't source isn't here.
Fact 01Reported
The UAE added about 250,000 new companies in 2025, bringing the number of businesses operating in the country to 1.4 million, according to the Minister of Economy and Tourism. Evidence · reported Arab News, 7 Jan 2026. Reported by a third party, not an official release. Treat it as indicative. arabnews.com · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Arab News, 7 Jan 2026 · read 2 Oct 2026
Fact 02Published
DMCC welcomed more than 2,300 new companies in 2025, taking membership past 26,000. Demand was strongest from India, the UK and Türkiye; the fastest growth came from the US (59%) and China (56%). Evidence · published DMCC press release, 14 Apr 2026. Published by the source named below. A figure as the source states it; we have not adjusted it. dmcc.ae · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
DMCC press release, 14 Apr 2026 · read 2 Oct 2026
Fact 03Reported
Abu Dhabi's economic licences rose 21% in Q1 2026 against Q1 2025, with professional licences up 193% and freelance licences up 261%, according to the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority. Evidence · reported Khaleej Times, 22 Jun 2026. Reported by a third party, not an official release. Treat it as indicative. khaleejtimes.com · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Khaleej Times, 22 Jun 2026 · read 2 Oct 2026
DWTC Free Zone issued 850 new licences in 2025, up 41%, and processed 1,822 renewals, a 96% renewal rate. Evidence · reported Entrepreneur Middle East, 18 May 2026. Reported by a third party, not an official release. Treat it as indicative. mena.entrepreneur.com · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
ReportedEntrepreneur Middle East, 18 May 2026 · read 2 Oct 2026
One setup firm lists IFZA's published rates at AED 12,900 for a zero-visa licence, and about AED 28,790 in year one for a one-visa company once establishment card, visa processing, medical and Emirates ID are added. Evidence · published A&A Associate, IFZA company setup page (prices it says were verified in September 2026). Published by the source named below. A figure as the source states it; we have not adjusted it. aaconsultancy.ae · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
PublishedA&A Associate, IFZA company setup page (prices it says were verified in September 2026) · read 2 Oct 2026
03 · How they choose
What happens before anyone contacts you. Open a step for the detail.
Comparison sites rank 40 or more free zones by cost, and setup firms put calculators in their main navigation. Founders arrive holding a number, and the firm that explains what its total includes gets the conversation.
On the setup firms' sites we checked, WhatsApp sits beside or above the enquiry form. The conversation starts there, and often stays on one consultant's phone.
DMCC's strongest demand in 2025 came from India, the UK and Türkiye. A founder in London finishes work three or four hours after you do, so their questions land in your evening.
Ratings, named consultants and partner status with the free zone all count. ICP publicly warns about fraud using fake calls and counterfeit websites, so a reply from an unnamed number with no licence details starts behind.
IFZA runs a professional partnership with a commission-based referral programme, and Meydan Free Zone has channel and city partners. Those referrals need their own source in the CRM, or the channel that works stays invisible.
04 · The leak
Most happen after the enquiry arrives. The free audit shows which apply to you.
A founder has seen one zone advertised under AED 5,000 and another at AED 12,900. A generic package list doesn't make the shortlist; an itemised year-one total for the right zone and visa count does.
Cost-calculator results are captured without the activity, the visa count or a phone number, and sit in a spreadsheet with no owner and no next step.
A message from an overseas number at 21:00 is answered, or not, from a personal phone. It never reaches the CRM, and it leaves when the consultant does.
Activity, visa count, mainland or free zone, office need and banking profile decide the product. When nobody asks before the call, senior consultants spend their mornings on price checks.
Relocation and banking decisions take weeks. Without a dated next step and a named owner, the deal goes to whoever follows up when the founder is finally ready.
Licences renew every year, and so do visas and the accounting that comes with them. When the dates aren't in the CRM, that work goes to whichever provider remembers first.
05 · Worked example
A scripted run of the workflow we build in month 3. Try it with your own words.
A name or a role on your team. It appears in the run, nowhere else.
Run logWhatsApp → CRM
The first reply is automated. The next one is your team’s.
We build this in Month 3 · Automation.
Scripted run of a Month 3 workflowNo network calls, no AI modelNothing you type leaves this page
06 · Your 90 days
The same three months as every 90-day system, shaped for business setup consultants. You own every account from the first day. Evidence · published You own every account. We work inside your analytics, ads, CRM and WhatsApp accounts as invited users. You stay the owner of every one, from the first day. Programme terms · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
Month 1
Month 2
Month 3
What we'd measure
Measured in your own accounts from the first month. Any target is a planning range, never a promise.
07 · Choosing an agency
Questions to ask whoever you hire, including us.
08 · The rules
Each regulator's own document, in plain words, linked and dated. We build every page, ad and message to fit them.
Not legal adviceThese are summaries of published documents as we read them on 2 Oct 2026. Your counsel or compliance lead confirms what applies to you before anything goes live.
Under Media Council Chairman Decision No. 3 of 2025 and Federal Decree-Law No. 55 of 2023, individuals (citizens, residents or visitors) who produce advertising content on social media from within the UAE, with or without compensation, need an Advertiser Permit. An individual promoting a product or service belonging to themselves or a company they own, via their personal account, is exempt. Advertisements must be clear and must not publish false or misleading product information. Advertising agencies must keep records of contracted permit holders and their published content for three years.
Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection, as amended by Federal Decree-Law No. 5 of 2023, covers pricing among other consumer rights. The government portal states that those who fail to provide clear information, advertise misleading prices or provide false data face imprisonment of up to two years and a fine not exceeding AED 2 million, and that suppliers must protect consumers' privacy and data and refrain from using them for promotional and marketing purposes.
Cabinet Resolution No. 56 of 2024 regulates telemarketing and No. 57 of 2024 sets the penalties. As summarised by Clyde & Co: from 27 August 2024, marketing calls are restricted to 9.00am–6.00pm, need prior approval from the TDRA, must use local numbers registered under the company's commercial licence and must respect the Do Not Call Registry, and an unanswered consumer may be called no more than once a day and twice a week. Fines for calling registered numbers are AED 50,000, then 75,000, then 150,000.
Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 prohibits the processing of personal data without the consent of its owner, except where processing is necessary to protect a public interest or to carry out legal procedures and rights. The DIFC has its own Data Protection Law (DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020).
09 · Price
One fixed fee for the first 90 days, whatever the sector. The audit sets where you land in the range. Every price on one page →
AED · the 90-day system15,000–30,000 Evidence · published The 90-day system: fixed fee. AED 15,000–30,000 (≈ USD 4,000–8,000), fixed for the first 90 days and covering everything we set up. The audit sets the exact number within the range. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
≈ USD 4,000–8,000 · fixed for the first 90 days
10 · Playbooks
Fictional businesses, month by month. Drawn, not captured: there are no results in them.
Playbook · Professional servicesIllustrative
International founders enquire across time zones; advisors spend their mornings on price checks.
11 · Questions
It gets founders to find the firm, turns their enquiries into qualified consultations, and follows up until they sign or say no. We build that as one system: cost pages founders can trust, qualification on WhatsApp and the website, a named consultant on every conversation, and a CRM that tracks each enquiry from source to signed licence.
The 90-day programme is a fixed fee of AED 15,000–30,000 (≈ USD 4,000–8,000), covering everything we set up. After day 90, a retainer from AED 5,000 (≈ USD 1,400) a month keeps it running. Ad spend is separate and paid direct to the platforms. The free audit sets where in the range you land.
We don't promise lead volumes. Setup firms already compete hard for the same founders in search and on social, and more budget rarely fixes what happens after the enquiry arrives. We change that part: each enquiry qualified, owned by a named consultant and followed up, so you can see which sources produce signed licences.
Yes, if the price is the year-one total for a defined scope. Founders compare totals, and a from-price that leaves out the visa, medical and Emirates ID costs invites the next firm to correct it. We build itemised, dated cost pages from your actual packages, and your counsel signs off the wording, because misleading price advertising carries penalties under the consumer protection law.
Yes, for the facts: activity, number of visas, mainland or free zone, timeline and where the founder is based. It says it is automated, gives no advice on structure, tax or visa eligibility, and hands the conversation to a named consultant with the answers attached.
Possibly. The Media Council's permit covers individuals publishing advertising content on social media from the UAE, paid or unpaid. The exemption is for someone promoting a business they own on their personal account, so a salaried consultant may not fit it. Ask your counsel before staff post about packages.
With consent, and inside the rules. Cabinet Resolution 56 of 2024 restricts marketing calls to 9am–6pm, with TDRA approval and Do Not Call Registry screening. Whether a WhatsApp message to someone who enquired counts as telemarketing is a question for your counsel. We capture consent at first contact and log every follow-up.
Nobody can promise it. What helps is answer pages with dated cost tables, consistent facts about your firm across your site and profiles, a complete Google Business Profile and mentions on sites you don't control. The free audit asks AI assistants these questions and shows which firms they name today.
Yes. Each referral gets its own source, so you can compare partner leads with search, WhatsApp and calculators on qualified consultations and signed licences. Whether you may use a free zone's name or logo in your marketing depends on your partner agreement, so we check it with you first.
No. If almost all your work comes from a few long-standing referrers, a 90-day programme is more than you need. If you want more ad spend rather than better handling, we're the wrong agency. And if no one can own qualified enquiries, start there before you buy a system.
Next step
Tell us how enquiries reach you today and who follows them up. We'll say what we'd fix first, and where we're not the right fit.
