You’ve lost count of Sunday evenings when you promised yourself: “Tomorrow I’m really going to start.” That business idea, that freelance project, that switch to becoming self-employed. But then Monday arrives and… another week passes.
Let’s do some sums that are going to hurt a bit.
If your idea would earn you €1,500 net per month (a perfectly realistic figure for a starting freelancer), each year of postponement costs you €18,000. Two years? €36,000. That’s the price of a new car. Or a house deposit. All because fear spoke louder.
The Real Cost of “I’ll Look Into It Later”
Imagine Sofia. A graphic designer who works at an agency and dreams of her own projects. She has interested clients who regularly approach her. She could easily invoice €2,000 per month as a freelancer. But she’s been putting it off for 18 months. “It’s just that I’d have to register for activity with the Tax Office… and Social Security… and the invoices… and VAT…”
Let’s look at the maths:
- €2,000 x 18 months = €36,000 of lost invoicing
- With the simplified regime coefficient (75% of what you invoice in services counts as profit), that’s €27,000 of lost taxable income
- Even after paying taxes, we’re talking about around €20,000 net that Sofia let slip away
All because she didn’t dedicate 2 hours to opening her activity.
The Table That’ll Make You Think Twice
See how much you lose for each month of postponement, according to what you could be invoicing:
If you’d invoice €1,000/month:
- 6 months of postponement: €6,000 lost
- 12 months: €12,000 lost
- 24 months: €24,000 lost
If you’d invoice €1,500/month:
- 6 months of postponement: €9,000 lost
- 12 months: €18,000 lost
- 24 months: €36,000 lost
If you’d invoice €2,500/month:
- 6 months of postponement: €15,000 lost
- 12 months: €30,000 lost
- 24 months: €60,000 lost
And these are conservative figures. Many Portuguese freelancers invoice well more than this.
The Fears That Are Costing You Thousands
Let’s be honest about what’s holding you back:
1. “What if I make mistakes in the declarations?”
This is fear number 1. The fines can be significant — nobody wants to receive a letter from the Tax Office. But with FIZ.co, the quarterly VAT and Social Security declarations are submitted automatically. Zero stress. And if any error happens? The Tax Shield covers fines up to €500 per declaration.
2. “I don’t understand anything about taxes”
That’s normal. The Portuguese tax system isn’t simple. But you don’t need an accounting course. In the simplified regime, 75% of what you invoice in professional services (Article 151 CIRS) counts as profit (the other 25% are expenses assumed automatically). FIZ.co calculates all this for you.
3. “I’m afraid I won’t get enough clients”
Start part-time! You can have your job and invoice as self-employed at the same time (provided your contract allows it). You’ll build your client portfolio without pressure.
4. “What if I can’t pay Social Security?”
Good news: you don’t pay in the first year! You have 12 complete months of exemption if it’s the first time you’re opening activity. That’s more than enough time to stabilise.
5. “I’ll have to hire an expensive accountant”
No, you won’t. To start with, FIZ.co’s Base plan is free — certified invoicing without limits. When you want to automate declarations, the Auto plan does everything for you. No accountant needed.
João Waited 3 Years. He Did the Sums and Nearly Cried
João is a programmer. For 3 years he worked for a company, but always had side projects. Clients who asked him for websites, apps, consultancy. He refused everything because “I don’t have activity opened” and “it’s too complicated”.
One day he sat down and calculated:
- Refused projects: average of €3,000/month
- Time lost: 36 months
- Total: €108,000
More than one hundred thousand euros. Out of fear of dedicating an afternoon to opening activity.
He opened activity the following week. Today he invoices €4,000/month and works from home.
Important: Many people think that in the simplified regime “the State does everything for you”. Wrong! Simplified simply means that you automatically assume 25% expenses (in services). But you have to submit all declarations — quarterly VAT declaration, quarterly Social Security declaration, annual IRS declaration, and the monthly invoice communication (this last one is automatic if you use certified software like FIZ.co). If you don’t submit them, you get fined. This is where FIZ.co makes the difference — it submits everything automatically.
How Much Is Overcoming Fear Worth Today?
Opening activity with the Tax Office literally takes 15 minutes online. Setting up FIZ.co takes another 10 minutes. Total: less than half an hour.
Compare half an hour with the thousands of euros you’re losing. The maths makes postponement completely absurd. Each day that passes is money that doesn’t come back.
Catarina Was Also Afraid. Now She Earns 3x More
Catarina, 28 years old, was a marketing assistant. She did extra work for friends — social media, copy, campaigns. Always “under the table” because she was afraid of bureaucracy.
One day a friend showed her this calculation:
- “Under the table” work: €500/month (and she couldn’t even accept much)
- Potential as an official freelancer: €1,500/month easily
- Difference: €1,000/month = €12,000/year
Catarina opened activity that weekend. With FIZ.co, she sends invoices in 30 seconds via WhatsApp. The quarterly declarations? Automatic. Six months later she’s already invoicing €2,500/month. And the best part: she sleeps peacefully. Everything legal, everything automatic.
The First 3 Steps (That You Can Take Today)
1. Open activity with the Tax Office (15 minutes)
Tax Office Portal > Activity Start. Choose simplified regime, service provision activity. Done.
2. Set up FIZ.co (10 minutes)
Create account on Base plan (free). Connect to your NIF. You can now send unlimited certified invoices.
3. Send the first proposal (30 minutes)
That client who’s been asking you for months to do work for them? Send them a quote today. Seriously, today.
Total: less than 1 hour to start recovering the thousands you’ve been losing.
In Summary
- The cost of fear is real and measurable — each month you postpone costs you between €1,000 and €3,000 or more, depending on your potential. Do the sums with your numbers.
- The obstacles are much smaller than you imagine — opening activity takes 15 minutes, in the first year you don’t pay Social Security, and with FIZ.co declarations are automatic (you don’t need an accountant).
- You can start today — literally today. In less than an hour you have everything ready to invoice legally. Each day you postpone is money you won’t recover.
The choice is yours: continue postponing “until Monday” and lose a few more thousands, or dedicate an hour today and finally start. How much is your next postponement going to cost you?
