In short — as of September 2026: At GrowIN, accounting for a Portugal Lda is bookkeeping: recording expenses and sales, checking invoices are compliant and submitting the monthly SAF-T — Essentials at €160/month (2 hours included) or Standard at €240/month (3 hours included), then €80/hour, all ex-VAT. Everything else a company needs is priced as its own line: VAT declarations (€270/quarter), the corporate tax return — Modelo 22 + IES (€990/year), Company Secretary & Compliance — minutes book, company records, RCBE and the legal calendar (€150/month, required with our company accounting) — and the registered address (€50/month). Payroll (usually ~€25/month per employee), one-off amendments and the actual tax you owe are separate again. A freelancer retainer stays a single, lighter fee at €129/month, because a sole trader doesn't carry the same statutory obligations as a company.
"How much is accounting going to cost me?" is the wrong first question when you're comparing firms — the right one is "what does that monthly number actually buy?" Two accountants quoting the same monthly fee can mean very different things by it, and the gap usually shows up later as a surprise invoice. This guide breaks down what company accounting covers, what's billed separately and why, and where founders most often get caught off guard.
Why "How Much" Is the Wrong First Question
A monthly accounting fee isn't a flat subscription to "all things tax" — it's payment for a defined, recurring scope of work. Cheaper quotes sometimes look attractive until you discover VAT returns, the annual corporate tax return, payroll or even routine correspondence are priced separately and add up fast. The useful comparison isn't the headline number; it's the scope behind it, matched against what your company will actually need in year one.
What's Included in Company Accounting (from €160/mo)
For a typical Unipessoal Lda or small Lda, GrowIN's company accounting covers:
- Ongoing bookkeeping. Recording your expenses and sales into organised accounts throughout the year, not compiled retroactively.
- Invoice compliance checks. Checking that the invoices you issue and receive meet Portuguese requirements.
- Monthly SAF-T (PT). Generating and submitting the monthly invoicing SAF-T file, due by the 5th of the following month.
- Included time. Essentials (€160/month) includes 2 hours a month; Standard (€240/month) includes 3 hours; beyond that, €80/hour.
This is the recurring bookkeeping engine of a compliant company — the underlying obligations (mandatory certified accountant, IVA/IES filing, RCBE) are set out on our verified company formation & corporate-law data page, and see our first year of running a company guide for how these pieces fit into the calendar.
What's Billed Separately (and Why)
Several things sit outside company accounting, and a transparent firm will tell you this upfront rather than let it surface as a surprise invoice:
- VAT declarations — €270/quarter. Preparing and filing the periodic IVA return on the applicable cycle — quarterly for most small companies, monthly above €650,000 turnover — telling you what to pay or reclaim, and handling refund claims; 3 hours included, then €90/hour. See our IVA in Portugal guide for the full mechanics.
- Corporate tax return — Modelo 22 + IES, €990/year. Preparing and filing the annual corporate tax return and the Informação Empresarial Simplificada (due 15 July), and telling you what to pay; 11 hours included, then €90/hour.
- Company Secretary & Compliance — €150/month, required with our company accounting. Keeping the minutes book and recording the annual minutes approving the accounts, keeping company records and the certidão permanente up to date, keeping the RCBE declaration current, the company's legal calendar with reminders, and the first reply and routing of letters from the Tax Authority, Social Security and the Registry; 1 hour a month included, then €90/hour.
- Registered address — €50/month. The physical address, with 5 letters a month received and scanned, then €5 per extra letter.
- Payroll — typically ~€25/month per employee. The moment you put someone on payroll (including, in some structures, yourself as a remunerated gerente), it's a distinct piece of work — IRS withholding calculations, Social Security processing and payslips — priced per head, not folded into the base fee.
- One-off amendments and dossiers. Changes at the Registry such as amending your articles of association or changing your registered address (company amendments, from €600 plus state fees), extra minutes beyond the annual approval of accounts (€90 per set), or a bespoke financial dossier for a bank or investor are one-time pieces of work, quoted separately.
- The tax itself. This is the one people most often conflate: your fees pay for correct, on-time bookkeeping and filing. Any IVA, IRC, municipal derrama or Social Security actually assessed is a payment to the Autoridade Tributária or Segurança Social — not part of your accountant's invoice. Budget for compliance fees and tax liabilities as two separate lines.
Included vs Extra: At a Glance
| Item | Included in company accounting (€160 or €240/mo) | Billed separately |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing bookkeeping of expenses and sales | Yes | — |
| Invoice compliance checks | Yes | — |
| Monthly SAF-T invoicing file | Yes | — |
| Periodic IVA return preparation & filing | — | VAT declarations, €270/quarter |
| Modelo 22 + IES | — | Corporate tax return, €990/year |
| Minutes book, company records, RCBE, legal calendar, AT/Social Security/Registry letters | — | Company Secretary & Compliance, €150/month (required) |
| Registered address | — | €50/month |
| Payroll | — | ~€25/mo per employee |
| Company amendments / bespoke dossiers | — | One-off, quoted per job |
| Actual IVA / IRC / derrama / Social Security owed | — | Paid directly to AT / Segurança Social |
Freelancer Retainer vs Company Accounting
It's worth contrasting this with the freelancer retainer, since founders sometimes compare the two directly and wonder why a company costs more. A freelancer retainer runs at €129/month and covers recibos verdes support, the quarterly Social Security declaration, periodic IVA if registered, and the annual IRS filing in a single fee. It's lighter because a sole trader on the simplified regime carries fewer statutory obligations — no mandatory organised accounts, no SAF-T, no IRC, no IES, no company legal admin. A company costs more because the company itself carries more, and at GrowIN each of those obligations is its own line: see our cost of starting a business in Portugal guide for how this fits into the wider budget.
Case study — Yusuf, budgeting year one for a small e-commerce Lda. Yusuf incorporated a Unipessoal Lda in Porto to run a small online retail business and budgeted only for a monthly bookkeeping fee, assuming that number was the whole story. When he asked for an itemised quote, the picture changed: bookkeeping and the monthly SAF-T at €160/month, Company Secretary & Compliance at €150/month, quarterly VAT declarations at €270, and the Modelo 22 and IES at €990 for the year. In month nine, growth meant he hired his first part-time employee to handle customer support — payroll came in as a separate ~€25/month line, plus a one-off setup step to register the new employee correctly. None of it was a shock, because each line had been written down before he signed. He now treats bookkeeping, periodic returns, company admin, payroll and tax liabilities as separate budget lines from day one, rather than assuming one monthly fee is a ceiling.
Things to Watch
- Assuming the monthly fee includes VAT returns and the annual corporate tax return. Ask — at GrowIN they are separate lines (€270/quarter and €990/year).
- Assuming the monthly fee includes payroll. It almost never does — confirm the per-employee rate before you hire.
- Confusing the accounting fee with the tax owed. Your fees buy correct bookkeeping and filing; IVA, IRC and Social Security liabilities are paid separately.
- Not asking what "one-off" work costs upfront. Amendments, extra minutes and bespoke dossiers should be quoted in advance, not discovered on an invoice.
- Comparing a freelancer quote to a company quote. They cover fundamentally different scopes — a lower number may simply mean less is included, not a better deal.
- Forgetting the company's legal admin. The minutes approving the accounts, the RCBE declaration and company records are not bookkeeping — at GrowIN they sit in Company Secretary & Compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because a company carries statutory obligations a sole trader doesn't — organised accounts, monthly SAF-T, periodic VAT returns, IRC and the IES, and the company's legal admin — all of which take real, recurring professional time.
Yes. Ask specifically what's included in the monthly fee versus what's billed quarterly, annually, per employee or as a one-off, and get it in writing before you compare prices between firms.
Payroll scales per employee, so yes — but it's usually a small, predictable increment (~€25/month per head) rather than a renegotiation of your whole fee.
Comparing accounting quotes in Portugal only works once you're comparing the same scope. Ask what's inside the number, confirm VAT, year-end, payroll and one-off pricing before you need them, and keep tax liabilities budgeted separately from the fees themselves — do that and your company's compliance costs stop being a mystery and become predictable lines in your first-year budget. For the fuller obligations calendar behind these fees, see our first year of running a company guide.
Want a clear, itemised quote before you commit — accounting, VAT, year-end, company secretary and payroll spelled out separately? Explore our monthly accounting & compliance retainer or see our company setup hub — GrowIN Portugal prices transparently, with no surprise invoices.