Moneybird or Exact Online for a small business: a bookkeeper’s view
We work for clients in both Moneybird and Exact Online, and both do the job for a small business. Which one suits you depends on what you need besides bookkeeping, such as more than one administration, cost centres or more users. Here they are side by side.
At a glance
| Topic | Moneybird | Exact Online |
|---|---|---|
| Suits | Business owners who send their own invoices and want a simple package | Businesses with several administrations or cost centres, or that expect to grow |
| Plans | Compact, Start, Groei, Compleet | Essentials, Plus, Professional, Premium |
| Bank feed | From Groei, through Ponto | On every plan, the number of accounts varies |
| More administrations | Each administration has its own plan and invoice | Two on Plus and above, several companies in one environment on Premium |
| Cost centres | Projects per invoice line | Cost centres and cost units from Plus |
| Free trial | 60 days | 30 days |
This is how things stood on 31 October 2026. Plans and limits change, so check the pricing pages of Moneybird and Exact Online before you choose. Both are in Dutch.
Who Moneybird suits
Moneybird is built around sending invoices and handling receipts. The screens are calm and easy to find your way around, even without a bookkeeping background. If you work alone or with a few people and have one administration, that covers what you need.
According to Moneybird, its four plans differ in three things: the number of bank transactions you can process each month, the number of users and the number of linked bank accounts. Compact is meant for an administration where you book very little or that you want to keep. It has no bank feed and no electronic VAT return. Start has no bank feed either, so you import your bank transactions yourself. An external bank feed comes with Groei and Compleet.
Watch how Moneybird counts. A transaction counts when it is matched to an invoice or category, and what you don’t use in a month lapses. If your bookkeeper processes your transactions, those count too. Check that the number in your plan fits the number of bank transactions you have each month.
Who Exact Online suits
Exact Online has more modules and more settings. It takes a little longer to set up, and it leaves room for a growing business. You book in journals, use a chart of accounts you arrange yourself, and can later add modules such as projects or payroll.
Essentials has one user, one administration and one bank feed, and cannot be extended. From Plus you get two users and two administrations, more bank feeds, cost centres and fixed assets, and you can buy extra users and administrations. Professional adds unlimited bank feeds and current accounts between administrations, among other things. Premium is for several companies in one environment, with a checklist for closing periods.
Moneybird’s smallest plan costs less than Exact Online’s smallest. What you end up paying for either depends on the plan you need.
Bank feeds
In Moneybird, the feed from external banks runs through Ponto, a service with a PSD2 licence. Rabobank and bunq still have an older direct connection. Exact Online includes a bank feed on every plan: one on Essentials, five on Plus and unlimited above that.
With both, you have to renew your consent at your bank from time to time. What goes wrong when you forget, and how to fix gaps and duplicate transactions, is explained (in Dutch) in bankkoppeling problemen.
Cost centres and projects
If you want to see what a department, a location or a job costs and earns, you need a way to label costs. Moneybird does this with projects. You put a project on an invoice line, on hours or on a journal entry, and see revenue and costs per project. A project can only go on a profit and loss category.
Exact Online has cost centres, for a department or location, and cost units, for products or services. They come with Plus and above. If you need both, or want to set budgets against your figures, Exact is the better fit.
Working in English
According to its own help centre, Moneybird lets you set both your user account and your administration to English, and it offers support in English. Your VAT return and your dealings with the Dutch tax office stay in Dutch whichever package you use.
Exact Online is sold in several countries. On Exact’s Dutch site we could not confirm whether a Dutch administration can be used entirely in English. Try it during the free trial before you choose.
Working with your bookkeeper or accountant
In Moneybird you invite a bookkeeper or accountant with the role Boekhouder. They don’t count towards the users in your plan, and you can do this on any plan. In Exact Online, working with your accountant or bookkeeper is part of every plan, and you decide what they may do.
Both packages have a VAT overview to file your return from. Exact also has, on every plan, a report that compares the VAT in your return with the VAT in your bookings.
What it means for us
Very little. We book in your own package, with the receipt attached, and close every month. In Moneybird we don’t need an extra user, but your bank transactions do need to reach Moneybird. In Exact Online, each administration is a separate subscription with us. Read more on Moneybird and Exact Online, or see all packages.
What a closed month means is on month-end close. Our prices are on pricing. We don’t do payroll, annual accounts or tax advice. Those stay with your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I move from Moneybird to Exact Online later?
- Yes, but plan it. You start a new administration in Exact with an opening balance from Moneybird. Ideally do it at the start of a financial year, and talk it through with your accountant. Keep your old administration for as long as the retention rules require.
- Which plan do I need if you do my bookkeeping?
- In Moneybird, your bank transactions have to come in, through a feed or by importing them, and the number of transactions has to fit your plan. In Exact Online we need access to your bank entries, purchase entries and documents. If in doubt, email us before you sign up.
- Do you work in other packages too?
- Yes, also in SnelStart, Twinfield, Xero and QuickBooks. See packages.