Running a Small Shop in Portugal as a Foreigner: Money Basics

You did the brave part: moved countries and opened a cafe, a surf shop, or a barbershop in Portugal. Now comes the unglamorous part — the money routine, in a system where the paperwork is in Portuguese, customers pay in ways you have never seen, and everyone keeps telling you to ask your contabilista. This guide covers the record-keeping basics that keep expat owners sane: how customers actually pay here, what your accountant does versus what only you can do, a daily routine you can run in English, and the words you will hear every week. It is general orientation, not legal or tax advice — Portugal's rules are real and specific, and the end of this article tells you exactly who to confirm them with.

How customers pay: Multibanco, MB Way, and cash

Portugal has its own payment habits. Multibanco is the national card and ATM network — nearly every Portuguese debit card runs on it, and terminals are everywhere. MB Way is the phone app built on top of it: customers pay by phone number or QR code in seconds, and it is hugely popular, especially with younger customers. Expect to be asked 'aceita MB Way?' — do you take MB Way? — in your first week. Cash remains completely normal, particularly in smaller towns, at markets, and with older customers. Practically, this means your daily takings arrive in three streams that settle at different speeds: cash immediately, card and MB Way typically the next business day or later. Record the three streams separately from day one — mixing them makes every later check impossible.

Why you need a contabilista from day one

In Portugal, a contabilista certificado — a certified accountant — is not a luxury. Depending on your legal setup, having one can be mandatory: companies with organised accounting are required to have a certified accountant, and even sole traders under the simplified regime usually hire one, because the filing calendar is relentless — VAT declarations, social security, withholding, annual statements. Expect very roughly 50 to 150 euros a month for a simple sole-trader setup and more for a company; prices vary by region and complexity. Interview two or three. You want one who answers messages and, ideally, is comfortable in English or patient with translation apps. This is the single relationship that decides whether your first year is stressful or merely busy.

Your job vs your accountant's job

• Your job: issue an invoice (fatura) for every sale through certified invoicing software — Portugal requires invoices to come from government-certified systems, and your contabilista will help you choose and set one up.
• Your job: keep every expense receipt and note what it was for, ideally the same day.
• Your job: write down daily takings — cash, card, MB Way — so any month can be reconstructed.
• Your job: tell your contabilista about anything unusual before you do it — hiring, buying equipment, taking money out of the business.
• Their job: VAT (IVA) declarations, social security filings, payroll if you have staff, the official books, and the deadlines you have never heard of.
• The trap: assuming they see everything automatically. They only know what you send them. A shoebox of receipts in January is not a system; a short weekly summary is.

A daily routine you can run in English

Your own working records can be in English — the things that must be Portuguese and official, like the fatura and the filings, come out of the certified software and your accountant's work. Try this ten-minute close: at the end of each day, count the cash drawer and subtract the float; note the card terminal's end-of-day total; note the MB Way total from the app; and write one line per expense with a photo of the receipt. Four numbers and a few photos, every day, in whatever language you think in. At month-end, send the summary and the photos to your contabilista. Owners who do this spend their accountant's hours on advice. Owners who do not spend those same hours — billed — on reconstruction.

Portuguese money words you'll hear every week

• Fatura — invoice. The official sales document; customers will ask you for it.
• Com contribuinte — 'with tax number'. You will hear 'fatura com contribuinte?' at the till constantly; many customers want the purchase linked to their personal tax number.
• NIF — the Portuguese tax identification number, for both people and businesses. You have one too, and you will type it endlessly.
• Recibo — receipt, the proof of payment.
• IVA — VAT, the sales tax that appears on every invoice.
• Despesa — expense.
• Caixa — the till, or the cash itself. 'Fecho de caixa' is the daily cash-up.
• Contabilista — accountant. The person to call before you act, not after.

Common first-year mistakes expat owners make

• Mixing personal and business money in one account — cheap to avoid in month one, expensive to untangle in month twelve.
• Fumbling the 'com contribuinte?' question at the till: set up your invoicing software so adding a customer's NIF takes five seconds.
• Recording nothing daily and catching up monthly — the memory of a 40-euro cash expense does not survive three weeks.
• Panicking at the bank balance because card and MB Way money arrives on its own schedule, not instantly.
• Not setting money aside for social security contributions as a self-employed owner — ask your contabilista exactly what to reserve from the start.
• Choosing an accountant on price alone and ending up with one who never answers. Responsiveness is the feature that matters.

The routine is the moat

Every expat owner in Portugal faces the same first year: new language, new rules, new payment apps. The ones who thrive are rarely the ones who mastered the tax code — they are the ones with a boring daily routine. Four numbers, receipt photos, a weekly message to the accountant. Build that habit in your first month, and the Portuguese part of running your shop becomes a translation problem instead of a chaos problem.