Odoo vs Exact Online: which one to choose for your SME?
A general ERP versus an extensive cloud accounting solution. An honest comparison for Belgian SMEs, with a focus on PEPPOL 2026.
UNDERSTANDING THE TWO PRODUCTS
Two different origins,two management philosophies.
Odoo was born in 2005 in Nivelles, Belgium, as a modular open-source ERP. Its ambition from the start was to provide a single platform to cover all the flows of a company, from invoicing to human resources. Exact was born in 1984 in Delft, Netherlands, as accounting software. Over forty years, it has evolved into a cloud suite that covers accounting, CRM, inventory, and industry-specific modules for commerce, production, and services. Both have evolved, but their center of gravity remains different.
Exact Online
Cloud accounting suite · Founded in Delft (Netherlands) in 1984
Publisher:Exact Group (Delft, NL)
Clients:675,000+ in NL, BE, DE
Coverage:Accounting, CRM, inventory, projects, production
Model:SaaS, monthly subscriptions by modules
Pricing:SeeExact Online Pricing
Odoo
Complete open source ERP · Founded in Nivelles in 2005
Founder:Fabien Pinckaers
Origin:Nivelles, Belgium
Coverage:Complete ERP
Model:Community (free) + Enterprise (paid)
Enterprise Pricing:Seeodoo.com/pricing
SPECIFIC POINT BELGIUM
Electronic invoicing PEPPOL:both are compliant.
Since January 1, 2026, B2B electronic invoicing is mandatory in Belgium for all VAT-registered businesses.
Invoices must be exchanged in a structured format (UBL/Peppol BIS 3.0) via the PEPPOL network. PDFs alone are no longer
accepted as a valid invoicing format between Belgian businesses.
A grace period has been granted by the Minister of Finance until the end of March 2026, but the
legal obligation has been in effect since January 1, 2026.
THE COMPARISON IN 8 CRITERIA
Accounting, inventory, CRM,integrations, and total cost.
Each criterion is presented in two side-by-side cards for direct reading. The
information is based on the documented features of both products in 2026.
Accounting and Financial Management | |
ODOO Une comptabilité complète intégrée à tous les flux. A complete accounting system integrated with all flows. Odoo includes a full accounting module: Belgian chart of accounts, automatic bank reconciliation, VAT, declarations, financial reports. The strength of Odoo is that accounting is directly connected to sales, purchases, and inventory, without re-entry. The initial setup is more demanding, and a certified partner is recommended. | EXACT ONLINE Exact Online est né comme un logiciel comptable et ça se ressent. Exact Online was born as accounting software, and it shows. The interface is designed for collaboration with fiduciaries and external accountants, with smooth multi-client access. Automatic invoice recognition and bank synchronization are particularly well developed. For pure accounting use, Exact is often more intuitive than Odoo. |
Inventory and order management | |
ODOO Complete inventory, multi-warehouse, serial numbers, and lots. Odoo's inventory management is one of the most comprehensive in its price range: real-time movements, multi-warehouse, lot and serial number traceability, automatic replenishment rules, inventory valuation. Everything is connected to purchasing, sales, and accounting without any re-entry. | EXACT ONLINE Wholesale module for commerce, sufficient for many SMEs. Exact Online offers a dedicated Wholesale module for wholesale trade, with order management, inventory management, and supplier relationships. This module is suitable for commercial SMEs with standard needs. It is less in-depth than Odoo on traceability and complex warehouse workflows, but sufficient for a traditional trading business. |
CRM and business management | |
ODOO Complete CRM, visual pipeline, and quotes connected to inventory. Odoo's CRM module covers contact management, opportunity pipeline, follow-up activities, quotes, and their conversion into orders. The main advantage is the direct connection with inventory and billing: a validated quote updates the inventory and generates an invoice without any re-entry. | EXACT ONLINE CRM is present but less central to the product than in accounting. Exact Online includes a CRM for managing customer relationships, tracking contacts, and certain aspects of business management. This module is functional but less rich and less central in the product than in accounting. For sales teams with advanced CRM needs, Odoo or a dedicated tool will be more suitable. |
Collaboration with fiduciaries and external accountants. | |
ODOO Possible but requires configuration. Odoo can be configured to allow access for an external accountant, but this is not the primary use for which it was designed. Collaboration with a trustee is possible, particularly through accounting exports and access rights, but it requires initial setup and a certain level of familiarity with the tool on both sides. | EXACT ONLINE Designed for accounting collaboration from the start. This is one of the distinctive strengths of Exact Online in Belgium and the Netherlands. The product has been designed for the business owner and their accountant or trustee to work on the same basis in real-time. Multi-client access for accounting firms is native. For SMEs that work closely with their trustee, this is a concrete advantage on a daily basis. |
Integrated e-commerce | |
ODOO Native online store, connected to inventory and accounting. Odoo includes a complete e-commerce module that integrates directly with the product catalog, inventory, and accounting. An order placed in the store updates the inventory, generates a delivery note, and an invoice without manual intervention. No third-party tool is required. | EXACT ONLINE No native e-commerce module. Exact Online does not offer an integrated e-commerce feature. An online store must be managed through a third-party tool (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento) with an API integration to Exact Online. This approach is viable but adds a layer of complexity and additional integration costs. |
Customization and extensibility | |
ODOO Infinitely extensible, open source, and modular. Odoo is open source and can be adapted to any business flow via Odoo Studio (Custom plan) or the development of specific modules. The ecosystem of partner modules is very large. The functional limits of the standard can always be exceeded through development, making it the most flexible long-term solution. | EXACT ONLINE Industry-specific editions ready to use, less development possible. Exact offers specialized editions for wholesale, production, projects, and construction, which reduces the need for customization. However, if these editions do not meet the needs, the possibilities for custom development are limited. Extensibility mainly comes from integrations with third-party tools via the Exact API. |
Ease of use and deployment | |
ODOO Powerful but demanding: professional support is necessary. The richness of Odoo comes at a cost: implementation requires time, configuration, and a good understanding of business flows. A successful Odoo deployment almost always involves a certified partner. Without this support, the risk of a poorly sized or misconfigured project is high. | EXACT ONLINE Designed to be operational quickly, especially for accounting. For accounting and invoicing, Exact Online can be operational very quickly, with or without a partner. The interface is clear, standard flows are well marked, and support is accessible. For more advanced modules like Wholesale or Manufacturing, a reseller partner is recommended. |
Total cost of ownership over 3 years | |
ODOO Higher initial investment, profitable over a wide scope. The Odoo Enterprise license is competitive per user. The main investment is in implementation, which can represent the largest portion of the cost in the first year. Over 3 to 5 years, with a functional scope covering multiple areas, the total cost is often lower than a set of unconnected specialized tools. | EXACT ONLINE Predictable subscription, total cost depends on the number of modules. Exact Online operates on a model of monthly subscriptions per module and edition. The startup cost is lower than Odoo. The cost increases with the number of activated modules. If complementary tools are needed to cover missing functions (e-commerce, advanced CRM), the total cost can approach that of a unified ERP. |
RECOMMENDATION BASED ON YOUR PROFILE
The determining criterion:your operational center of gravity.
The question is not which is the best tool in absolute terms. It is which one best covers the role you expect
from your software in your organization. If this role is primarily accounting, the choice is different than if this role is primarily operational.
Odoo is the right choice if...
- You have inventory to manage and you want it to be connected in real-time to your sales and purchases.
- You are looking to reduce the number of tools by centralizing multiple flows into a single system.
- Your business is growing and you do not want to change tools in 3 years.
- You have an e-commerce project to connect directly to your management.
- Your processes have business-specific features that require customization or development.
- You have a local partner to assist you in the implementation.
Exact Online is the right choice if...
- Belgian accounting and tax compliance are your top priority.
- You work closely with a fiduciary or accounting firm and want smooth shared access.
- Your business is in wholesale or production with relatively standard needs.
- You want an operational tool quickly, without a heavy implementation project.
- You do not need integrated e-commerce and your CRM needs remain modest.
- You prefer a predictable monthly subscription model with progressively activatable modules.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What SMEs ask us before making a choice.
Exact Online is primarily an online accounting and financial management tool, with additional modules for commerce, production, and projects. Odoo is a general ERP that covers accounting but also sales, purchases, inventory, e-commerce, production, and human resources in a single database. If your priority is a solid cloud accounting solution oriented towards fiduciaries, Exact Online is a natural choice. If you are looking to centralize multiple business flows, Odoo is generally more suitable.
Yes. Both software support electronic invoicing via PEPPOL, which has been mandatory since January 1, 2026, for all B2B transactions between Belgian companies subject to VAT. A grace period has been granted until the end of March 2026. Exact Online offers PEPPOL registration and sending as standard. Odoo also natively integrates PEPPOL into its accounting and invoicing modules.
Yes, through industry-specific modules. The Wholesale edition of Exact Online covers order management, inventory, and supplier relationships. The Manufacturing edition adds production planning. These features are suitable for small and medium-sized commercial or industrial businesses with standard needs, but are less comprehensive than Odoo's native inventory management in terms of traceability and complex workflows.
Yes. This is one of the strengths of Exact Online in Belgium and the Netherlands. The product is designed to facilitate collaboration between the business and its accountant or fiduciary, with native multi-client access and accounting structured around local requirements. This integration is more natural with Exact than with Odoo, where the setup for an external accountant requires more configuration.
Yes. This type of migration is feasible. It involves extracting the chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, and transaction history from Exact Online, transforming them into Odoo format, and validating their import. The transfer of the general ledger and billing history requires special attention to maintain accounting consistency. Professional support is recommended.
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