Short answer: You connect Magento 2 to Exact Online using an automated integration. There are four common approaches—a ready-made connector, a generic automation tool (such as Zapier or Make), a custom API integration, or an integration platform. Which one is right for you depends on your order volume and the number of systems you want to connect.
Do you sell through Magento 2 and manage your accounting in Exact Online? If so, you’ll want orders, inventory, and products to sync automatically between the two systems—without anyone having to manually enter data. Manual data entry takes time, leads to errors, and causes discrepancies in inventory and sales. Below, you’ll find an honest overview of the available options and when to choose each one.
Please note: Exact Online or Exact Globe?
Important to know beforehand: Exact Online is a cloud service with a public API, while Exact Globe is an on-premises/private-cloud ERP that often runs on your own servers. This article covers Magento 2 ↔ Exact Online. Do you use Exact Globe? If so, that’s a different process—specialized providers such as xCore/Dealer4Dealer, APIcenter, or BPA Platform handle that. KoneX integrates Magento with Exact Online (cloud).
What data should you actually link?
Before you choose a method, it’s helpful to know exactly what data needs to flow between Magento 2 and Exact Online:
| Data | From | To | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders | Magento 2 | Exact Online | Process the order directly as a sales order or invoice, without retyping |
| Inventory | Exact Online | Magento 2 | Prevent overselling; up-to-date inventory in the webshop |
| Items (SKUs, prices) | Exact Online | Magento 2 | Manage product data once in the ERP |
| Customer / Account Receivable Information | Magento 2 | Exact Online | Automatically Create or Update Accounts Receivable |
| Order Status (Shipped / Completed) | Exact Online | Magento 2 | The customer and the online store see the correct status |
When managing inventory, pay attention to inventory reservations: a good integration system calculates based on available inventory (physical inventory minus what has already been reserved for open orders), not just the physical quantity. That way, you’ll never sell something that’s already been reserved.
The Four Ways to Integrate Magento 2 and Exact Online
1. Manually
Manually retyping orders and invoices between Magento 2 and Exact Online. No software required, but it’s time-consuming and prone to errors. Only feasible for a few orders per week.
2. A ready-to-use connector
There are providers offering ready-made integrations for Magento 2 and Exact Online—well-known examples include xCore and iWebDevelopment. These are quick to implement and maintained by the vendor, with support for orders, products, and often inventory. For many online stores, this is a great starting point; just be sure to check how well the connector supports your specific setup.
3. Zapier or Make (generic automation tools)
These tools use “triggers” (for example: when a new order is placed in Magento, create an invoice in Exact). Fast and inexpensive for simple, one-way flows. As soon as you want to synchronize inventory in both directions or are dealing with higher volumes, managing it quickly becomes complicated.
4. An integration platform
You connect Magento 2 and Exact Online once to an integration platform, which automatically orchestrates the data flows between the two (and, if applicable, your other systems). Less maintenance, a single overview, and the flexibility to add marketplaces, fulfilment, or a second online store later on without having to rebuild everything from scratch. This is the KoneX approach—a ready-to-use integration, not a custom project.
Comparison at a glance
| Method | Strength | Restriction | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual | No software required | Prone to errors, time-consuming | A few orders per week |
| Ready-to-use connector | Fast, maintenance by the supplier | Less flexible when it comes to customization | Common types of facilities |
| Zapier / Make | Inexpensive for simple triggers | Challenges with Two-Way Inventory and Volume | Light, one-way flows |
| Integration platform | Connect once, grows with you | Overkill for a single simple current | Growth & multiple systems |
Are you doubting between individual connections and a platform in general? Then also read: Individual connections or an integration platform? How to make the right choice .
Best Practices for a Seamless Integration
- Use mapping tables to ensure that each Magento field (SKU, tax code, shipping method) is correctly mapped to the corresponding Exact field.
- Make sure the SKUs match in Magento and Exact Online—that’s how the systems identify products.
- Determine which system is the primary system for inventory—usually, that’s Exact Online.
- Calculate based on available inventory (physical inventory minus reservations), not just physical inventory.
- Synchronize status updates: As soon as an order is processed in Exact (packing slip/invoice), set the status in Magento to “Shipped” or “Completed.”
How does KoneX do it?
KoneX is an integration platform that connects your Magento 2 online store, Exact Online, and your fulfilment operations into a single, reliable data stream: orders from Magento to Exact Online, inventory and product information back to Magento, and accurate status updates. You connect each system once and can later add marketplaces, a fulfilment partner, or an additional online store without having to rebuild the system — Integrate Once. Connect Everywhere.
It’s important to be honest: for a single, simple, low-volume data flow, a ready-made connector or even Zapier can work just fine. However, as soon as inventory needs to be synchronized in both directions, you want to centralize your product management, or you’re connecting more systems and channels, an integration platform generally becomes more reliable and cheaper to maintain. And if you’re using Exact Globe instead of Exact Online? Then we’ll gladly refer you to the Globe specialists—KoneX integrates with Exact Online.
Related
Be sure to check out KoneX’s Magento 2 ↔ Exact Online integration, or read our other integration guides: Integrating PrestaShop with Exact Online and Integrating WooCommerce with Your Accounting Software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Want to know which approach is right for your Magento 2 and Exact Online setup? Schedule a no-obligation consultation —we’ll give you honest advice, even if a ready-made connector is all you need. Be sure to check out our integrations as well.
