Exact Online is one of the most widely used accounting tools in the Netherlands and Belgium, especially among SMEs. Whether your software supports cashflow forecasting, invoicing, or financial reporting, integrating with Exact Online is key to unlocking real-time financial data for your users.
In this guide, we walk you through the essentials of the Exact Online API, best practices to follow, and how Chift helps you skip the heavy lifting with our Unified Accounting API.
What is the Exact Online API?
Exact Online provides two types of APIs to developers:
- REST API (primary): Uses OData for advanced filtering. It’s well-structured and widely documented.
- Supports both bulk (up to 1000 records) and standard (60 records) endpoints.
- Pagination is managed via a cursor.
- XML API: Used for specific actions not yet covered by the REST API, such as matching invoices with payments.
Authentication is handled via OAuth2, requiring developers to register an app in the Exact Online App Center. Apps can be public or private, but if you plan to use your app with multiple customers, Exact must approve it.
🔗 Developer documentation: Exact Online API Docs
Through Chift’s Unified Accounting API, software vendors can connect to Exact Online and dozens of other accounting tools using a single, unified model.
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Examples of Exact Online API integration use cases
Connecting Exact Online through Chift’s Unified Invoicing API opens the door to several impactful use cases for software vendors across all financial software categories.
Here are some real-world examples of how our clients leverage connectivity with Exact Online through Chift’s Unified Accounting API.
Automating bank fee reconciliation
Banks and neobanks use Chift to connect with major European accounting platforms, including Exact Online. This integration enables automatic creation of bank entries in accounting tools, making it easier to reconcile transactions that include bank fees, foreign exchange differences, or partial payments.
Connecting vertical SaaS software to accounting
Users of Vertuoza (construction), Dashdoc (transport) or Tebi (hospitality) can export financial records such as supplier or client invoices and generate accounting entries in Exact Online (and other tools) in just a few clicks. This automation reduces repetitive tasks and minimizes human error, saving time for both business owners and their accountants.
Streamlining payment reconciliation
Payment providers’ users often deal with transaction amounts that differ from invoice totals due to fees and refunds. With Chift, they can connects to Exact Online to push transaction data, making payment reconciliation smoother and more accurate.
Forecasting cash flow
Cashflow management platforms can integrate with Exact Online via Chift to retrieve open client and supplier invoices, which are then used to enhance forecasting models and anticipate upcoming cash movements. It gives finance teams better visibility and planning capabilities.
Accelerating loan analysis
Fintech lenders can connect to Exact Online using Chift to pull real-time accounting data and feed it into their credit scoring algorithms. This allows them to assess loan eligibility in seconds by removing manual transfers of data.
Explore more real-world examples on our Case studies page.
How to connect to Exact Online
To start integrating with Exact Online, follow these steps:
- Create or log into an Exact Online developer account.
- Register your OAuth2 application (private or public) via the Exact Online App Center.
- Request approval from Exact if your app is to be used by multiple customers.
- Use the access token generated via OAuth2 to authenticate your API calls.
Once connected, you can start syncing customer data, invoices, transactions, and more.
Best practices for Exact Online API integration
To ensure a smooth integration and avoid hitting technical walls, keep the following in mind:
- Respect the rate limits: Exact Online applies both daily and minutely limits, which vary based on your users’ subscription level. You can check the full limits here.
- Use OData filters: These powerful filters allow you to retrieve only the data you need. Helpful for performance and avoiding API overuse.
- Leverage bulk endpoints: When available, bulk requests (1000 records per call) can significantly reduce the number of API calls and keep you within your rate budget.
Connect to Exact Online, Sage, Pennylane, and more with a single integration
Building a direct connection to Exact Online takes time, effort, and ongoing maintenance—especially if you also need to integrate other accounting tools.
With Chift’s Unified Accounting API, you connect once and access Exact Online, Holded, QuickBooks, Xero, Sage Génération Experts, Pennylane, and many more tools through one consistent data model.
Here’s what you get:
✅ Single integration for dozens of accounting tools
✅ Built-in support for OAuth2, pagination, bulk sync, and rate limits
✅ Unified and standardized data
✅ Real-time sync and advanced monitoring
✅ Seamless experience for your users (yes, even on-premise)
Your team saves time. Your users get what they need faster. Your product scales smarter.
Ready to simplify your accounting and invoicing integrations? Book a demo with our team today.
Exact Online API – Frequently Asked Questions
What Exact Online API endpoints are accessible?
Integrating with Exact Online gives you access to multiple data models to push or pull information. For example:
- Clients
%%/clients%% - Suppliers
%%/suppliers%% - Invoice attachments
%%/attachments%% - VAT Codes
%%/vat-codes%%
Consult our Exact Online API documentation for a list of all the available endpoints.
What is the API rate limit on Exact Online?
Exact Online applies two types of rate limits:
- Minutely limits: Control the number of calls made per minute.
- Daily limits: Cap the total number of calls made in a day.
These limits depend on the pricing plan of the end customer. The higher the plan, the more generous the quota. You can find the official details here:
🔗 Exact Online API rate limits
Does Exact Online have an API?
Yes, Exact Online offers a robust set of APIs:
- A REST API using OData for filtering and pagination (main API).
- An XML API for niche use cases like invoice-payment matching.
They are designed to support a wide range of business operations: customers, invoices, journal entries, etc.
Is Exact Online API free?
Access to the API is included with Exact Online, but:
- It requires an active Exact Online subscription.
- Usage limits (rate limits) depend on the customer’s plan.
- To use the API at scale or for multiple clients, you must register and get your OAuth2 app approved by Exact.
In short: it’s not an extra cost per se, but it's not 100% free either. Your API access is tied to the subscription level of each Exact Online user.
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