Portuguese properties using the WTConnector integration in Mews need to comply with local legal and fiscal regulations during the onboarding process to ensure that all financial documents, invoices, and tax transactions align with Portuguese law. This process happens at the beginning of the setup journey in the Mews platform and continues through the integration with local accounting partners like Moloni.

 

Learn more in our help article Understanding the WTConnector integration setup.

 

In this article, you can find answers to the following frequently asked questions:

• What do I need to know about issuing invoices in Portugal?
• How do I manage deposits correctly?
• What actions should I avoid to stay legally compliant?
• How do invoices flow between Mews and the WTConnector?
• What should I configure during onboarding?

What do I need to know about issuing invoices in Portugal?

Mews is not certified by the Portuguese Tax Authority, Autoridade Tributária. This means the bills you issue in Mews are not legally valid on their own. You need to use a certified invoicing partner like Moloni via the WTConnector integration.

 

To ensure compliance:

• Set up WTConnector at the start of the onboarding process.
• Use Moloni or a certified partner to generate official invoices.
• Make sure every invoice contains a valid NIF number that matches the bill owner’s name.

For example, when you issue an invoice in Mews, it goes to WTConnector, which transforms it into a legal document and sends it back to Mews under the customer profile.

 

How do I manage deposits correctly?

Portuguese law requires careful handling of deposits. Use the Tax Deposit functionality to issue compliant invoices for prepayments.

 

Follow these steps:

1. Use the Tax Deposit setting in Mews, not a deposit created as a product.
2. Enable Automatic deposit settlement or apply deposits manually.
3. Make sure you link both the initial deposit invoice and the final stay invoice.

For example, if a guest prepays before arrival, issue an invoice for the deposit. After the stay, issue a final invoice with the remaining charges and link it to the first invoice.

 

What actions should I avoid to stay legally compliant?

Certain actions in Mews can lead to fiscal compliance issues. These actions do not generate valid documents and may trigger alerts from WTConnector.

 

Avoid the following:

• Rebating full bills that include deposit lines.
• Rebating bills that include negative lines.
• Adding negative lines without using the discount feature.
• Creating bills that contain only negative lines.
• Posting an item and its rebate on the same bill.

Note: If these actions occur,

• the integration may reject the bill.
• WTConnector notifies you by email.

 

How do invoices flow between Mews and the WTConnector?

There are two main flows:

 

Standard flow:

1. You create a bill in Mews.
2. The integration sends it to WTConnector and transforms it into a legal invoice.
3. The integration returns and stores the bill in the customer profile.

Tax deposit flow:

1. You issue a deposit invoice for the prepayment.
2. You issue a second invoice for the stay.
3. The integration sends both to WTConnector and links them appropriately.

For example, if the guest purchases additional products during the stay, the system creates a credit note and a new invoice to reflect the updated total.

 

What should I configure during onboarding?

During onboarding, ensure you set up all operational and legal elements for Portuguese requirements.

 

Property settings:

• Include city tax details in guest emails and check-in instructions.

Additional services:

• Create services like lodging, cancellation fees, and city tax with overridable prices to manage VAT variations.

Stay service:

• Avoid enabling Closed balanced bills at check-out.
• Do not use online checkout as it is not available in Portugal.

Products:

• Avoid products with negative adjustments, such as hostel booking platform commissions.