INTEGRATIONSEXACT ONLINE + SIMPLICATEConnect Exact Online to Simplicate
For many service firms, Simplicate is where projects, hours and invoices come together. Exact Online is the accounting system. Simplicate has its own integration with Exact, so the question usually isn't whether to connect them, but how to set it up and what manual work is left afterwards.
ISO 9001 & 27001
- Sales invoices and credit notes comes from Simplicate
- Accounts comes from Simplicate
- Payments goes to Simplicate
- Purchase invoices comes from Simplicate
- Work in progress comes from Simplicate
Built for clients including Tata Steel, M&G Investments, Digistore24, Toppers in Concert, Bar-le-Duc and Loogman
Agencies and consultancies work in Simplicate from quote to invoice: logging hours, monitoring budgets, invoicing on time and materials or subscription. So the invoice is created in Simplicate. Exact has to post that revenue to the right general ledger account and keep track of what has been paid.
Around that invoice sits other work: work in progress that has to go into the books at month end, project costs from Exact that you want to see in Simplicate, or a second administration for another legal entity. Those parts aren't in the description of the standard integration. So check what still happens by hand in your case.
For each item: which direction it goes, when, and why. This is the starting point; in the first conversation we fit it to your situation.
- 01Sales invoices and credit notesSimplicate → Exact Onlinewhen an invoice has been sent from Simplicate
Every invoice and credit note from Simplicate goes into Exact. The revenue group in Simplicate determines which general ledger account, and optionally cost centre, the revenue lands on, with a default account as a safety net.
- 02AccountsSimplicate → Exact Onlinewith the first invoice to a customer
Simplicate compares accounts by name with the customer accounts in Exact. You can set a match manually. Without a match, the integration creates a new customer account with the first invoice.
- 03PaymentsExact Online → Simplicateevery night
Simplicate checks the outstanding items in Exact. If an invoice has been matched there, it shows as paid in Simplicate the next morning. In between, you can update payments manually.
- 04Purchase invoicesSimplicate → Exact Onlinewhen recorded in Simplicate
Purchase invoices you record in Simplicate also go to Exact. That way, purchase costs sit against the project budget and in the books.
- 05Work in progressSimplicate → Exact Onlineat the end of the month
Hours worked but not yet invoiced can go to Exact as a general journal entry, which you reverse the following month. You set this up as a separate step, on the Simplicate and Exact APIs.
Not always. If an existing integration for Exact Online and Simplicate does exactly what you need, we'll tell you.
Simplicate builds the Exact Online integration itself, and it's also listed in the Exact App Store. Sales and purchase invoices go to Exact at general ledger level, and payment information comes back automatically. You map revenue groups to general ledger accounts and optionally cost centres, and Simplicate's VAT codes to those in Exact. Invoices from before the integration can still be processed from a chosen date.
If you invoice in Simplicate and mainly want revenue posted correctly and payment status back, this integration is enough. Two conditions apply: invoice numbers may only contain digits, and the period date table in Exact is preferably set to optional.
- You want work in progress automatically posted to Exact as a journal entry every month.
- You want to see project costs and margin from Exact per project in Simplicate.
- You have several legal entities and the project determines which administration the revenue belongs to.
- You want hours from Simplicate and figures from Exact together in one report.
AI reads, sorts and prepares a suggestion. Where it matters, a person decides.
Reviewing draft invoices
Before Simplicate sends the invoices, AI reviews the drafts: hours on the wrong project, a rate that differs from the quote, an invoice missing the reference the customer asks for. The project lead decides what changes.
How is this customer doing?
A project lead asks an AI assistant about a customer: how much budget is left, what has been invoiced, what is outstanding in Exact. The assistant reads from both systems and changes nothing.
Accounts matched on name
The integration compares accounts by name. If a customer is 'Jansen B.V.' in Exact and 'Jansen BV' in Simplicate, you get a second customer account. Review the suggested matches at the start; if you have more than 2,000 accounts, save each page separately.
Invoice numbers and periods
Exact doesn't recognise an invoice number with letters or symbols as valid. So set numbering in Simplicate to digits only. Set the period date table in Exact to optional; that's when invoices most often come in without errors.
Payment status lags by a night
Payments come back to Simplicate overnight. If you send a reminder from Simplicate, you may chase a customer who paid yesterday. Update payments manually first, or send reminders from Exact.
Revenue group determines the ledger
Revenue lands on the account linked to the revenue group. So a new service with the wrong revenue group posts to the wrong account. Make choosing the revenue group a fixed step when creating a service.
What goes where
Which data moves, in which direction, and which system wins when two values differ. That is written down before anything gets built. For this integration, that means: Sales invoices and credit notes, Accounts, Payments, Purchase invoices, Work in progress.
Fields and rules
For every field, how it translates between the systems: statuses, VAT codes, general ledger accounts, item numbers. And what happens with a duplicate or a missing value. For this integration, that means: Accounts matched on name, Invoice numbers and periods, Payment status lags by a night, Revenue group determines the ledger.
Testing with real cases
In a sandbox or test administration, with the exceptions you actually run into: credit notes, partial deliveries, changed customer details.
Live, with logging and monitoring
Every sync is logged, and when something fails, someone gets an alert. If a vendor changes its API, we update the integration.
No account manager. You talk to someone who builds integrations themselves, and who will tell you when a standard integration is enough.
- Office on the Duivendrechtsekade in Amsterdam
- ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, certified by Kiwa
- 500 projects delivered
- 4.8 from 127 reviews
Does Simplicate have an integration with Exact Online?
Yes. Simplicate has its own accounting integration with Exact Online, which is also listed in the Exact App Store. Invoices and credit notes go to Exact, and payment information comes back to Simplicate.
How often does the payment status from Exact come back to Simplicate?
Every night. Simplicate then checks the outstanding items in Exact, and a matched invoice shows as paid the next morning. If you send reminders, update payments manually first.
Why does the integration create duplicate customer accounts?
Because accounts are compared by name. A small difference in spelling is enough for a new customer account. Link existing accounts manually at the start and agree on one spelling.
Can work in progress from Simplicate go to Exact automatically?
That's not in the description of the standard integration, which focuses on invoices and payments. With your own integration on the Simplicate and Exact APIs, you post work in progress to Exact as a general journal entry every month. Because such an entry can't be changed through the API, you delete or reverse it the following month.
When is the standard integration not enough?
When you want more than invoices and payment status: work in progress, project costs from Exact in Simplicate, several administrations per project, or reports combining hours and accounting. You build those alongside the standard integration, not instead of it.
Related services
- Connect Exact Online to HubSpotConnect Exact Online to HubSpot: which data to exchange, what HubSpot's own app does, and what to watch out for with deals, invoices and payment status.
- Connect Exact Online to SalesforceConnect Exact Online to Salesforce: opportunities to the right administration, payment status back, and a set-up that fits within the Exact API limits.
- Connect Exact Online to PipedriveConnect Exact Online to Pipedrive: won deals become invoices in Exact, payment status comes back to the deal, and what to watch with people and products.
- Connect Exact Online to ShopifyConnect Exact Online to Shopify: orders as sales entries, VAT on EU sales, reconciling Shopify Payments payouts, and keeping stock levels in sync.
- Connect Exact Online to WooCommerceConnect Exact Online to WooCommerce: post orders and refunds, align VAT settings, process payment provider payouts and keep stock levels up to date.
- Connect Exact Online to bolConnect Exact Online to bol.com: post orders, process bol's invoice with commission and fees, upload business invoices and track Fulfilment by bol stock.
Sources
The technical facts on this page come from the vendors' official documentation, checked on 19 September 2026. Vendors change their APIs and limits; when we build an integration, we always check the current state.