Pricing

How Much Does an Accountant Cost in Portugal (For Businesses)

In this Article:

An overview of what impacts your price at a Portuguese accountant
Prices at Elevate Accounting
Why there is so much variation in pricing between accounting firms.

Getting Started

How much does an accountant cost for my business in Portugal? The answer, as you may expect, is “it depends”. It’s kind of like asking how much it costs to build a house, there are a lot of variables to consider.

We’re specifically going to discuss pricing for a supporting an LDA business in Portugal. Currently Elevate isn’t accepting new Individual clients, only new business clients. We truly want to be able to support individuals, but the economics of the situation don’t allow it at this time.

Now…On to the good stuff!

What Factors Impact Accounting Costs?

Here are the main drivers affecting the price and some other accountants charge for accounting in Portugal:

The quantity of documents to process (primarily focused on the number of expense invoices you have)
How many expense invoices are from outside of Portugal (which requires much of the information from the invoice to be manually entered)
Whether documents are given to accountant primarily as paper or digital records
Complexity of the business being supported (is your business importing/exporting, are there a lot of industry-specific accounting rules, do you work with several different currencies, etc.)
Add On Services: Standard accounting includes bookkeeping and Tax Authority declarations (like IRS and VAT). Other services that can be added are things like Payroll, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Cashflow Management, Budgeting, Consulting, and Elevate specifically offers bookkeeping in Xero or QuickBooks as an additional service.
Different service levels: How much staff time is allocated to replying to questions, providing support, etc.

Let’s Start Talking Numbers. Prices at Elevate Accounting (Not Including VAT):

One final disclaimer – at Elevate we provide a custom proposal for each client. This page is meant to give you a baseline of what to expect and educate you on what goes into pricing. Additionally, whenever possible we charge a flat rate fee for our service, so clients know exactly what to expect each month (our rates don’t vary by monthly volume).

Bookkeeping & Accounting: Our lowest level pricing for an LDA is €300/month. There are accountants near us that charge less than us and some that charge more. We increase our price by €50 for each 20 expense invoices the client has each month. So if a client averages 20 or fewer expenses per month they pay €300, if they average between 21-40 they pay €350, etc. These are our base values that apply to most companies, but they must be adjusted for more complex situations (for example if they import/export, work with multiple currencies, etc.).

Payroll: For payroll we charge €15/month/employee if they’re paid a fixed salary each month, or €25/employee/month if their pay changes based on days/time worked.

For companies with a lot of employees we often work with the client to streamline their payroll process so that we can reduce the cost below these standard rates.

Accounts Receivable: To take over Accounts Receivable (“AR”) for our clients and handle the invoicing and tracking the payments their customers make to them, we charge €100/20 invoices. This service includes ensuring proper invoices are created, collecting the payment, marking invoices as paid, following up with customers with late payments, etc.

Accounts Payable: For Accounts Payable (“AP”), where we’re paying our client’s bills for them, we have a bit more work. In order to do Accounts Payable we first need to complete ongoing cash flow and budgeting analysis to ensure that the client will have enough cash in the bank as bills become due. We wouldn’t be doing a good service if we paid a bill today and then suddenly didn’t have enough money to pay employees a week later (as a side note, just having a budgeting and cash flow report is SUPER helpful for most business owners – it gives a nice spreadsheet view of what the business can expect throughout the month). Due to the required cash flow and budgeting analysis needed before we start paying bills, the cost for AP starts at €300 for the first 20 bills, and increases by €100 for each 10 bills after that.

Cost to Create an LDA in Portugal:

At Elevate we partner with talented law firms to provide our clients with a single point of contact to handle their business and legal matters in one spot, including helping clients create a new legal entity, which is typically an LDA.

For LDA creation most of the fees (and work) go to our legal partners. They create the legal entity, create all of the declarations, contracts, and other forms required by the Portuguese government to legally open and do business. Elevate then handles the “activation” of the business and sets the new business up properly throughout Portuguese government portals.

The base cost for this service is €1,999 euros which includes basic legal and accounting setup, choosing a business name off of a list supplied by the PT government. If there is a complex situation involved this price might increase, but this is our standard price that is used in most situations. Additionally there are around €300 euros in charges paid directly to the government to create the business, which is in addition to our charges.

To choose a custom name for the business (not off the list), it costs €175 which is a mix of legal and government fees. If you need it processed urgently this increases to €250.

If the client isn’t physically in Portugal or doesn’t want to accompany the attorney during the creation process, a Power of Attorney (POA) form can be created and signed by the client so that the attorney can do this on their behalf. The cost for this is typically around €160.

Why are Some Accountants More or Less Expensive Than Others?

Again, this can be due to a lot of reasons. I’ll outline the cost drivers that may be impacting a firms price to be higher or lower.

Labor – The Biggest Expense:

In Portugal, accounting is a labor-intensive profession. Complying with all legal and tax obligations involves detailed processes and strict timelines — and much of that work must be completed or reviewed by a certified accountant. Every new regulation or reporting requirement adds to the workload, and completing these tasks accurately requires time, care, and technical knowledge.

While we won’t list every obligation here, it’s important to understand that properly managing a company’s accounting involves many hours of work — especially when it’s done thoroughly and in accordance with legal standards.

As in any business, labor costs in accounting depend on three key factors:

The qualifications, experience, and skills of the team — including language and communication abilities;
The number of people on the team;
When hiring occurs — either proactively or only after capacity has been exceeded.

In any profession, professionals with more experience, training, and communication skills often come at a higher cost — but they can also bring more stability and consistency to client work.

At Elevate Accounting, we build our team with these priorities in mind. We invest in professionals who can communicate clearly, understand international client needs, and work within structured timelines. We also maintain staffing levels that allow us to respond to questions and complete work within our internal service timelines.

This approach allows us to focus on consistency, clarity, and long-term collaboration.

Technology:

Technology is another factor that influences the cost of accounting services. Most accounting software is billed either per employee or per client, so the number and type of tools a firm uses will affect its overall costs.

At Elevate Accounting, we’ve chosen to invest in technology that supports consistency, clear communication, and ease of use. These tools include:

Practice management software to track workflows and send automatic reminders for both our team and our clients,
A secure client portal to make document sharing easier and more protected,
Electronic signature tools to simplify approvals and reduce paperwork,
And other digital systems designed to support a reliable and streamlined service process.

While these tools come at a cost, they play a key role in helping us deliver our services in a structured and timely manner.

Real Estate / Equipment / Etc.

Other expenses — like office space, location, equipment (such as printers, scanners, or servers), and general administrative costs — also influence how firms set their pricing. These choices vary by firm depending on size, location, and service approach.

Wrapping Up

This overview is intended to give you a general understanding of the factors that affect accounting fees in Portugal. Not all firms will operate this way, but understanding the key cost drivers can help you make a more informed decision when choosing a provider that aligns with your needs.