What SME Accounting Covers in Portugal

Running a small or medium-sized enterprise in Portugal means navigating a dense regulatory calendar. Every Lda. (Limitada) and Unipessoal Lda. must maintain organised accounting under the Sistema de Normalização Contabilística (SNC), submit a full set of tax returns throughout the year, and work with a registered Técnico Oficial de Contas (TOC/OCC) — an obligation that is both legal and practical. Without a certified accountant, your company cannot file declarations, and penalties from the AT (Tax and Customs Authority) can accumulate quickly.

At HVR Business Consulting, our SME accounting service covers every statutory obligation so that founders and managers can focus on growing the business rather than managing compliance deadlines.

Mandatory Compliance Requirements

• OCC (Certified Accountant): All companies must have a registered accountant. HVR's team of licensed OCC professionals assumes full legal responsibility for your filings.
• SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax): Monthly export of your accounting data to the AT in XML format. We generate and submit this automatically.
• IVA (VAT) declarations: Quarterly for most SMEs; monthly for companies exceeding €650,000 annual turnover. Includes recapitulative statements (Declaração Recapitulativa) for intra-EU transactions.
• IRC (Corporate Income Tax): Annual return (Modelo 22) due by 31 May for the prior financial year, plus estimated payments (pagamentos por conta) and special advance payments.
• IES (Annual Declaration of Accounting and Tax Information): Annual filing combining financial statements and statistical data, due by 15 July.
• DMR (Monthly Remuneration Declaration): Monthly reporting of employee and manager salaries to the AT, linked to Social Security (Segurança Social) contributions.

HVR SME Accounting Packages

• Essential — from €150/month: Ideal for newly incorporated companies and micro-entities. Includes bookkeeping up to 50 documents/month, quarterly IVA filing, annual IRC (Modelo 22) and IES, monthly DMR for up to 2 employees, and dedicated OCC signature.
• Professional — from €300/month: Designed for growing SMEs processing up to 200 documents/month. Adds analytical cost-centre accounting, monthly management reports (P&L, balance sheet), payroll for up to 10 employees, and a quarterly review call with your accountant.
• Premium — from €600/month: Full-service package for established companies with complex needs. Unlimited documents, consolidated reporting for group companies, treasury forecasting, support for bank financing applications, payroll for unlimited employees, and priority response within 4 business hours.

When to Upgrade Your Package

The document volume threshold is the primary driver. If your company regularly exceeds 50 invoices, receipts, expense reports, or bank transactions per month, the Essential tier will create bottlenecks. Upgrade to Professional when monthly documents surpass 50, and to Premium when they exceed 200 or when you require real-time management dashboards and multi-entity consolidation.

Additionally, if you are transitioning from the simplified regime (regime simplificado, available up to €200,000 annual turnover) to organised accounting (contabilidade organizada), HVR will manage the migration seamlessly, including opening balances and regime-change communication with the AT.

Organised vs Simplified Regime — Key Differences

The simplified regime applies an assumed profit coefficient to gross revenue (0.75 for services, 0.10 for wholesale trade) and is only available to sole traders and single-partner companies below the €200,000 threshold. It is simple but inflexible — you cannot deduct actual expenses.

Organised accounting records every income and expenditure transaction. It allows full deduction of legitimate business costs — rent, salaries, depreciation, financing charges — and is mandatory for all companies with turnover above €200,000 or with multiple partners. The result is a taxable profit figure that better reflects economic reality, often yielding a lower IRC bill despite additional accounting fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need an accountant even if my company has no activity?
Yes. A dormant company must still file a nil IES, a nil IRC return, and maintain the OCC contract. Failure to do so results in penalties and, eventually, dissolution by the registrar.

Q: Can I switch accountants mid-year without disrupting my filings?
Yes. HVR handles the TOC transfer with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados (OCC), requests prior-year files from your former accountant, and ensures continuity of all open deadlines. The process typically takes 5 working days.

Q: What documents do I need to send each month?
Sales invoices, supplier invoices and receipts, bank statements, payroll documents, and any contracts or credit notes. Our secure client portal accepts PDF uploads or direct integration with billing software such as InvoiceXpress or Moloni.

Related Services

Learn more about our full accounting service offering at HVR Accounting Services, or compare package prices in detail at Accounting Prices.