Accounting integration: Exact, Moneybird, e-Boekhouden

Why integrate your accounting software?

In many small businesses it goes like this: an order comes in through the webshop, someone creates an invoice in the accounting package, enters the customer by hand and later ticks off that it's been paid. With ten orders a week that's manageable. With a hundred it becomes a full day's work. And every time you retype something, an error can creep in.

Take a maintenance company that uses a scheduling system. Every finished job has to become an invoice with the right hours, materials and VAT. Without integration, someone goes through all the job sheets on Friday afternoon and retypes them into Moneybird. With integration, the draft invoice is ready as soon as the engineer signs off the job. The admin team only checks it and clicks send.

With an integration, that happens automatically. The benefits at a glance:

• No duplicate work: data lives in one place and flows through automatically.
• Fewer errors in amounts, VAT and customer details.
• Always up-to-date insight into revenue and outstanding invoices.
• Faster invoicing, so often faster payment.
• Your accountant gets tidy, complete data.

Which systems can you connect to your accounting software?

Almost anything to do with money or customers can be connected. Common examples:

• Webshop: orders automatically become invoices or sales entries.
• Payment provider: payments are automatically matched to invoices.
• CRM: new customers immediately appear as contacts in your accounting software too.
• Quoting software: a signed quote becomes an invoice. See also automating quotes.
• Scheduling or time tracking: hours worked are invoiced monthly.
• Purchase invoices: AI reads incoming invoices and prepares them as entries.

Integrating Exact Online, Moneybird and e-Boekhouden: the differences

All three packages offer an API. An API is a digital entrance that lets other software read and write data securely. There are differences in how you work with them, though:

• Exact Online is often used by somewhat larger SMEs. There's a large app marketplace with ready-made integrations, and the API is extensive. You do need a good understanding of the bookkeeping to post everything correctly.
• Moneybird is popular with freelancers (zzp'ers) and small businesses. The API is clear and well documented, and there are many standard integrations with webshops and payment providers.
• e-Boekhouden is an affordable package used by many small business owners. Here too an integration through the API is possible, and there are standard integrations with well-known webshop systems.

Which package you choose is best discussed with your accountant. For an integration, what matters most is which data you want to exchange and how your bookkeeping is set up.

Switching packages soon? Then build the integration only after the switch. Otherwise you pay twice for the same work.

Standard integration or custom integration?

Always start by looking for a standard integration. If you use a well-known webshop and a well-known accounting package, one often already exists. You then usually pay a small monthly fee. As a guide, allow a few euros to a few tens of euros a month, but check the current price.

With a standard integration, do check exactly what it does. Some integrations only transfer daily revenue, others create a full invoice with customer details for every order. Also ask whether returns, discounts and different VAT rates are handled correctly. Try the integration first during a trial period, with a few orders you check yourself.

Custom work is smarter if:

• You use your own software, such as a custom customer portal or scheduling system.
• The standard integration doesn't do what you need, for example with unusual VAT or multiple administrations.
• You want several systems to work together at once.
• You want extra steps, such as a check before an invoice is sent.

A tool like Zapier, Make or n8n sits in between: you build an integration yourself with blocks, without coding. That works well for simple flows. For most accounting integrations with lots of rules, having a custom API integration built is more reliable.

Checklist: setting up an accounting integration properly

• Write down which data needs to go from where to where, and how often.
• Decide which system is leading for customer details, so you don't get duplicate contacts.
• Agree with your accountant which ledger accounts and VAT codes entries go to.
• Test with a few real orders before switching everything on.
• Set up alerts for when an integration fails, so you don't only notice at the quarterly VAT return.
• Record who's responsible for maintenance if a package changes something in its API.

Common mistakes when integrating your bookkeeping

• Duplicate customers or invoices because two systems both think they're in charge.
• Wrong VAT codes, so your VAT return doesn't add up.
• An integration that silently stops after an update, without anyone noticing.
• Wanting to connect everything at once instead of step by step.
• Only involving the accountant once it's already live.

How Violexa handles accounting software integration

At Violexa we build integrations between your accounting package and the rest of your business. We first check whether a good standard integration exists, because that's often cheaper. If there isn't one, or it doesn't do what you need, we build a custom integration with error alerts and a log, so you can always see what happened. Where it helps, we use AI, for example to read purchase invoices. Read more in processing invoices automatically.

An integration through AI & automation starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT), one-off. Larger projects get a fixed price up front, in writing.

Want to know which integration suits your bookkeeping? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or at your location, we look at your systems. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions