Banks, landlords and procurement teams ask for a company profile because they want to understand, in a few pages, what your business does, who owns and runs it, and who it trades with. A short PDF of six to ten pages that agrees with your trade licence usually does the job. Ask each of them for their current checklist first.
Why does a bank, a landlord or a buyer ask for a profile?
Your licence shows that the company exists and what it is permitted to do. It does not explain the business. Someone reviewing an application has never met you, and may be looking at dozens of files that week. A profile gives them the story the licence cannot: what you sell, to whom, from where, and how the money moves.
Each of the three reads with a different question in mind. A bank officer is trying to understand the nature of the business and the kind of transactions to expect. A landlord or free zone leasing team wants to know what will happen inside the unit. A procurement team is deciding if you can deliver what you say you can.
What does each reader tend to look for?
This table is drawn from what our clients tell us they were asked. Treat it as a starting point, not as anyone’s official list.
| Reader | Often wants to see | Less interested in |
|---|---|---|
| Bank account opening team | Business activity in plain words, owners and managers, where customers and suppliers are based, expected type of trade | Slogans, long vision statements |
| Landlord or leasing office | What the premises will be used for, staff numbers on site, operating hours, any equipment or storage | Client lists, project galleries |
| Procurement or vendor registration | Scope of supply, relevant experience, certifications, key contacts, capacity | The founder’s personal story |
The overlap is large. All three want a clear description of the activity, the people behind it and the contact details. That overlap is your core document.
Which sections are worth including?
For a profile whose main purpose is registration, these sections cover most requests we see. Put them in this order.
- Company snapshot. Legal name, trading name if different, licence number, issuing authority, year established, registered address, phone, email, website.
- What the company does. Two short paragraphs in plain language. Say what you sell or provide, and to which kind of customer.
- Activities. The activities as listed on the licence, then a sentence explaining each in everyday terms.
- Ownership and management. Names and roles of owners and managers, with a line or two on each person’s background.
- Customers and suppliers. The sectors and countries you sell to and buy from. Name companies only if you are free to.
- How the business operates. Premises, team size, the usual route from order to delivery to payment.
- Experience and credentials. Selected projects, certifications, memberships, agencies held.
- Contacts. A named person for accounts and one for operations.
A new company will have little for point seven. That is fine. Say the company is newly formed and describe the owners’ prior experience in the trade instead.
How short can it be?
Shorter than most owners expect. For a bank or a landlord, six to ten pages is normally plenty, and some ask only for a one or two page summary. For vendor registration the profile may run longer if the buyer wants project experience, though the first two pages still carry the weight.
What makes a profile feel long is not the page count. It is having to hunt. A reviewer who finds the licence number, the activity and the owners on the first spread will forgive twenty more pages behind it. One who has to read a chairman’s message to find out what you sell will not.
If you already have a full sales profile, do not send all of it. Make a registration edition: the same design, cut down to the sections above. Our page on company profile design in Dubai explains how the full version is built, and the guide to what affects a company profile quote covers scope.
How do you keep details consistent with the trade licence?
This is where applications get sent back. A reviewer compares your documents side by side. If the profile says one thing and the licence says another, they have to ask, and asking takes time.
Put the licence next to the draft and check these, character by character:
- Legal name. Exact spelling, including the legal form at the end, in English and in Arabic.
- Trading name. If the brand differs from the legal name, state both and say how they relate.
- Activities. Do not describe services the licence does not cover. If you plan to add an activity, leave it out until the licence is amended.
- Address. The same unit, building and area as the licence and the tenancy contract.
- Owners and managers. Names spelled as in their passports and as on the company documents.
- Dates. Year of establishment should match the licence. If the owners traded earlier under another entity, explain that in a sentence.
- Contact details. The same phone number and email domain that appear on your letterhead and application forms.
If the profile is in both languages, the Arabic and English must say the same thing; our note on bilingual company profiles goes into that.
When the licence is renewed or amended, update the profile the same week. Add a small “updated” date on the last page so you know which version you sent to whom.
What PDF size and format should you send?
Many online portals and email systems limit attachment size, and the limit differs from one organisation to the next. Ask what theirs is. As a habit, keep a compressed copy that is small enough to email comfortably and upload without trouble, and a high quality copy for print.
A few practical points:
- Export as a standard PDF with selectable text, not as scanned images. Reviewers copy details out of it.
- Use single pages in reading order, not printer spreads.
- Embed the fonts so Arabic text displays correctly on any device.
- Name the file plainly: company name, “Company Profile”, month and year.
- Do not password protect it unless asked.
What should you ask before you design anything?
We cannot tell you what a particular bank, free zone, landlord or buyer requires. Requirements differ between organisations and they change. The reliable route is to ask the person handling your application for their current checklist, in writing, and build the profile to it.
Useful questions to put to them:
- Is there a required format or template for the company profile?
- Is there a page limit or a file size limit?
- Should it be in English, Arabic or both?
- Does it need a signature or a company stamp?
- Which other documents will it be read alongside?
Send us their answers with your licence and we will design to them. CPDA is part of HelloPixels, with offices in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, and a first draft follows within 48 hours of a complete brief. If you are registering as a supplier, our guide to a company profile for tenders in Abu Dhabi may help. Quotes are given in AED after we have seen the brief; use the contact page to send it.
Frequently asked questions
Is a company profile mandatory for opening a business bank account?
We cannot say, because each bank sets its own document list and those lists change. Many of our clients tell us they were asked for one. Ask your relationship manager or the account opening team for the current checklist before you prepare anything, and follow what they give you.
What can a brand new company put in its profile?
Describe the business plan in concrete terms: what you will sell, to whom, from which premises, and through which suppliers. Add the owners’ experience in the trade and any agreements already in place. Be clear that the company is newly established. Reviewers generally prefer a short honest profile to one that implies a track record.
Can I use the same profile for the bank and for vendor registration?
Often the core is the same, with one or two pages swapped. A bank edition can drop the project gallery. A vendor edition may add certifications and scope of supply. Keeping one master design with two short editions means the facts stay identical in both.
Does it need to be professionally designed, or will a Word document do?
A clean Word document with correct details is better than a handsome profile with errors. Design helps the reader find things quickly and shows care, which matters most with procurement teams and landlords. Get the facts right first, then decide how much design the audience warrants.