Having an Exact Online integration built
An Exact Online integration means orders, relations and invoices are no longer retyped by hand between your administration and the other systems in your company.
Short answer
Elusive Innovations, an AI and software company in Oss, Noord-Brabant, builds integrations between Exact Online and the other software of mid-sized companies, such as a CRM, web shop or planning system. We work through the official Exact Online REST API with OAuth, first pin down which data goes in which direction and what happens on an exception, and build in error alerts and safety stops. If an app from the Exact App Store already does what you need, we recommend it.
A reply within one working day.
- Company
- Elusive Innovations B.V.
- Office
- Romeinenweg 110-E, Oss
- Service area
- Oss and north-east Brabant, the rest of the Netherlands remotely
- First step
- Free business scan, then a defined Sprint
What does an Exact Online integration do?
For many companies Exact Online is where the administration is right. The work that leads there often happens elsewhere: quotes and customer details in a CRM, orders in a web shop, hours in a planning tool. Without an integration someone retypes that data, and every retyping step is a place where an error or a delay creeps in.
An integration lets that data flow on its own, in an agreed direction and at an agreed moment. Which side holds the truth when they disagree, we pin down per field before anything gets built.
When your own integration makes sense, and when the standard app will do
Makes sense when
- You work with a system that has no app in the Exact App Store, such as your own CRM or planning system.
- An existing app does connect, but not the way you work: other fields, other moments, exceptions the app does not know.
- Several systems have to talk to Exact Online, and the order matters.
- You want to see what each run passed on, and be warned when something fails.
Does not make sense when
- There is an app in the Exact App Store that does exactly what you need. It is faster and cheaper, and its maker maintains it.
- It is a handful of invoices a month. Then the integration costs more than the retyping.
- Nobody can say which system has the right data when two sources differ. Then we start there, not with the integration.
Which data, which direction, how often
A common split. It differs per company, and that is exactly what we pin down at the start.
Relations (customers and suppliers)
- Direction
- CRM to Exact Online, or the other way when Exact is the source
- How often
- On every change
Orders and sales invoices
- Direction
- Web shop or CRM to Exact Online
- How often
- Per order, or in a fixed daily run
Invoice payment status
- Direction
- Exact Online to CRM
- How often
- Once or several times a day
Items and stock
- Direction
- Exact Online to web shop
- How often
- Depending on how fast stock changes
Project hours
- Direction
- Planning or time tracking to Exact Online
- How often
- Per week or per period
What happens on exceptions and errors
- A relation already exists under a slightly different name: the integration matches on a fixed key, such as the debtor number, and flags doubtful cases instead of creating a duplicate.
- Exact Online is briefly unreachable: the integration retries later and reports it if that fails.
- A run would suddenly change far more than usual: the integration halts itself and reports it, like the safety stops in our Shopify integration.
- Every run writes a log, so you can see what was passed on and what was not.
Maintenance
An integration hangs between two systems that both change. When Exact Online or the other system changes its API, the integration has to follow. Who does that and what it costs, we agree up front, not once it has stopped.
How we build integrations
- Client project · LeidingDeal.nl
Shopify integration
An integration that keeps stock in Shopify in line with the supplier's file twice a day, with an alert on errors and safety stops that halt the run themselves. That is how we build every integration.
View: Shopify integration - Our own product
Elusive CRM
Our own work platform connects email, WhatsApp and calling to the customer record, with execution logs on every automation. Which channels are available depends on the connected accounts.
View: Elusive CRM
What determines the investment?
An integration between Exact Online and one other system, with a defined set of data, can be a Sprint. More systems, or an integration that has to grow with new processes, is more likely a partnership.
- Fixed scope
Sprint
One defined deliverable: an integration between two systems, a recurring step that disappears, or an internal screen that does not exist yet. Scope and price are fixed upfront.
- Production-ready
MVP
A first version of your product or platform that real users can use. How long it takes depends on the scope, usually a few weeks.
- Ongoing
Partnership
Fixed build capacity per period, for organisations that keep extending. New parts, integrations and automations delivered to a steady rhythm.
A Sprint starts at 999 euro. For an MVP or a Partnership it depends on scope; we share that figure during the intake.
What moves the price most
- The number of data types and the direction they travel.
- Whether the other system has a usable API, or an export has to be processed.
- How many exceptions the process holds.
- How often the data has to update.
Explained in more depth in What does custom software cost?
How we approach it
Process and exceptions
Which data is retyped now, by whom and how often, and what happens when something does not add up?
One source per field
One source of truth per field, and a fixed key to match records to each other.
Build on the official API
Through the Exact Online REST API with OAuth, so the integration does not run on a shared password and access can be revoked.
Trial run and go-live
First alongside the manual work, with log and error alerts, until the outcome is right. Then the retyping stops.
Frequently asked questions
Who builds an integration between Exact Online and our CRM in Den Bosch or nearby?
Elusive Innovations in Oss builds Exact Online integrations for companies in Oss and north-east Brabant, including 's-Hertogenbosch, Uden, Veghel and Nijmegen, and the rest of the Netherlands remotely. We connect Exact Online to an existing CRM, or to software we build for you.
Is an app from the Exact App Store not enough?
Often it is, and then it is the best choice. Your own integration only pays off when there is no app for your system, or when the existing app does not fit how you work. We check that in the first conversation.
How do you connect to Exact Online?
Through the official Exact Online REST API, with OAuth for access. No screen scraping or workarounds that break with the next update.
What happens when Exact Online changes its API?
Then the integration has to follow. We agree that up front: who keeps it up to date and what it costs. An integration that stops reports itself, so it does not go unnoticed for weeks.
What does an Exact Online integration cost?
A Sprint starts at 999 euros: one defined result with a fixed scope. Above that it depends on what needs to be built, and we work with an MVP through to production or an ongoing partnership. After the introduction you know which shape your question falls into.
Read next
- ServicesBusiness AutomationDetails that are retyped between systems today travel on without anyone touching them.
- ServicesCustom SoftwareA web application, portal or internal system that carries the work your package does not allow for, built around your process.
- InsightsAutomating purchase invoices: what works now, and what stays human workReading invoices is no longer the hard part. Exceptions are. What you can hand over, what you should keep, and how to tell whether it pays off.
- InsightsBuild or buy: when custom software pays offA practical way to weigh off-the-shelf tools against a custom build, including the cases where buying clearly wins.
The next step
Tell us where work gets stuck.
Bring an example from your everyday work. Together we explore what is needed and whether we are the right team to help. Prefer it on paper first? Request the free business scan.