TOConline is a Portuguese invoicing and document management platform certified by the AT (Portuguese Tax Authority), used by tens of thousands of companies and accounting firms in Portugal. Automating processes with TOConline means eliminating the manual work of sending documents between a company and its accountant, classifying expenses, entering accounting data, and preparing tax obligations.
TOConline positions itself as a bridge between a company's invoicing and its accounting, making it easier to exchange documents and data. However, many companies use the platform only to issue invoices, without exploring the automation capabilities that can radically transform the efficiency of financial management.
TOConline in the Portuguese market
TOConline occupies a unique position in the market:
- AT-certified invoicing: meets all legal requirements for electronic invoicing in Portugal.
- Company-accountant connection: lets the company and the accounting firm work on the same platform, eliminating file exchanges.
- Document digitization: lets you photograph or scan receipts and purchase invoices for classification and bookkeeping.
- Available API: a programmatic interface for integration with other systems.
The problem with the document flow
In most Portuguese SMEs, the flow between company and accountant follows this inefficient pattern:
| Step | Manual process | Typical time | Problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Company gathers invoices and receipts (paper or PDF) | 2-4 hours/month | Lost, delayed documents |
| 2 | Sends them to the accountant (email, physical folder, USB drive) | 1 day of delay | Missing, duplicate files |
| 3 | Accountant classifies and enters them manually | 4-8 hours/month per client | Questions that require phone calls |
| 4 | VAT, corporate tax, and personal income tax filings | Depends on correct data | Errors due to incomplete data |
| 5 | Management reports | Available 30-45 days late | Decisions made on outdated data |
How to automate with TOConline
Automatic invoicing:
- Invoices issued in TOConline or automatically imported from the ERP.
- Automatic email delivery to the client with a PDF.
- Automatic payment reminders for overdue invoices (see invoicing automation).
Expense digitization and classification:
- Employees photograph receipts using the mobile app.
- AI extracts the data (supplier, amount, date, tax ID, VAT) and suggests an accounting classification (see AI document processing).
- The accountant validates instead of entering data. Time drops from 5 minutes to 30 seconds per document.
Account reconciliation:
- Bank transactions automatically matched against invoices and receipts.
- Automatic matches for direct payments and identified transfers.
- Ambiguous cases are flagged with a suggestion for human validation.
Tax obligations:
- With data digitized and classified continuously, monthly or quarterly VAT preparation is significantly faster.
- Automatic validations that catch inconsistencies before submission.
- Tax deadline alerts with a countdown.
Integrating TOConline with ERP and other systems
TOConline can be integrated with other systems to create a fully automated flow:
- ERP (Primavera, PHC, Sage): invoices issued in the ERP are automatically reflected in TOConline for bookkeeping. Purchase and expense data flows in the opposite direction (see systems integration).
- Banks: statements automatically imported for reconciliation.
- Expense management: expense report platforms connected to TOConline for automatic bookkeeping.
- E-commerce platforms: online sales automatically reflected in invoicing and accounting.
Impact for accounting firms
For accounting firms, automation with TOConline transforms the service model:
- From data entry to analysis: the accountant stops spending time classifying documents and starts analyzing data and advising clients.
- More clients with the same team: firms that automate the document flow report being able to serve 30 to 50 percent more clients without hiring.
- Fewer errors: automatically extracted data has fewer errors than manually entered data.
- Faster reports: with data classified continuously, management reports can be delivered to clients days or weeks earlier than with the traditional model.
How to implement it
- Activate all TOConline features: many companies only use invoicing. Explore expense digitization and bank reconciliation.
- Align with the accountant: automation requires the company and the accountant to work on the same system with defined processes.
- Implement expense digitization: equip the team with the mobile app and define classification rules.
- Integrate with the ERP if applicable: avoid duplicating data between TOConline and the ERP.
- Measure time saved: track the reduction in hours spent on administrative accounting tasks.
If you use TOConline and want to automate the document flow or integrate it with other management systems, talk to us for an initial assessment.