[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fzPlIMVD5zjvqCBbXfxSKhIXHqMOXAIYWl3wa6l0jYY4":3},{"item":4},{"id":5,"idKnowledge":6,"idDomain":7,"idCluster":8,"kindOverride":9,"slug":10,"title":11,"description":12,"bodyMarkdown":13,"bodyHtml":14,"author":15,"date":16,"createdAt":17,"topics":18,"image":25,"hasDownload":26,"fileName":27,"youtubeId":28,"domainCrumb":29,"clusterCrumb":32},"388","FEAC9649-813E-BC4C-BE9E-0C348199A909","E46BDB0A-2979-1E40-93F7-AC40185848A5","33710AE6-6A9E-F741-A6A4-9DFCC5810440","article","how-to-connect-filemaker-to-exact-online","How to connect FileMaker to Exact Online","A practical guide to connecting FileMaker with Exact Online: which method to choose, what breaks in practice, and how to keep data in sync without double entry.","An order gets typed into FileMaker by your sales team, and then someone in finance re-types the same order into Exact Online so the invoice can go out. A new customer is created in FileMaker, and a day later someone manually copies the name, address and VAT number into Exact Online because the accountant needs it there too. If this sounds familiar, you're not dealing with a FileMaker problem or an Exact Online problem — you're dealing with a gap between two systems that were never designed to talk to each other.\n\nThis article walks through how to actually close that gap: what your connection options are, which one fits your situation, and the practical issues you'll hit once the connector is live.\n\n## Why doesn't FileMaker just talk to Exact Online out of the box?\n\nFileMaker is a platform for building the software your business actually runs on — order intake, production planning, CRM, custom quoting tools. Exact Online is accounting and financial administration software. They solve different problems, by different vendors, and neither was built with the other in mind.\n\nExact Online does expose a REST API (built on OAuth2), so a connection is absolutely possible — it just doesn't exist by default. Someone has to build the bridge: authentication, field mapping, error handling, and a plan for what happens when the connection hiccups at 2am during a batch sync.\n\n## What are your options for connecting FileMaker to Exact Online?\n\nIn practice, there are three realistic approaches, each with real trade-offs.\n\n**1. Direct API integration (FileMaker calls Exact Online's REST API)**\nFileMaker's native `Insert from URL` and JSON functions can call Exact Online's API directly. This is the leanest option — no extra software layer — but you own the OAuth2 token refresh cycle, Exact Online's request-per-minute rate limits, and every schema change Exact publishes.\n\n**2. Middleware \u002F iPaaS (e.g. an integration platform sits between the two)**\nTools built for system-to-system integration handle authentication, retries, and logging for you. This adds a monthly cost and one more moving part to maintain, but it saves significant development time if you're connecting Exact Online to several systems, not just FileMaker.\n\n**3. Custom connector layer (a dedicated sync service you control)**\nFor companies with real integration complexity — multiple entities, multi-currency, high order volume — a purpose-built connector (often a small script-driven service, sometimes containerized) gives you full control over retry logic, logging, and mapping rules. This is more upfront work but avoids being boxed in by a generic tool's limitations.\n\nMost businesses start with option 1 for a single, well-defined flow (e.g. \"push new invoices to Exact\") and migrate toward option 3 as the number of synced objects grows.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fapi\u002Fknowledge\u002Finline-image\u002F258?w=700&f=webp\" alt=\"FileMaker and Exact Online boxes connected by an API arrow, sync icons for orders, invoices, contacts\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-full sm:w-1\u002F3 sm:float-left sm:mr-7 mb-5 rounded-2xl border border-[#E8E8ED] bg-[#F5F5F7]\" \u002F>\n\n## What data actually needs to sync — and in which direction?\n\nThis is the question most teams skip, and it's the one that causes the most rework later. Before writing a single line of integration code, map out, per data type, which system is the \"source of truth\":\n\n- **Customers\u002Fcontacts** — usually created in FileMaker (sales owns this) and pushed to Exact Online for invoicing.\n- **Products\u002Fitems** — often master data lives in FileMaker (production, stock) and needs to sync to Exact Online for sales invoices, or vice versa if Exact is your master item list.\n- **Sales orders\u002Finvoices** — typically created in FileMaker, then pushed to Exact Online once an order is confirmed, so the accountant never re-keys anything.\n- **Payment status** — the reverse direction: Exact Online marks an invoice paid, and FileMaker needs to know that to update order status or trigger a shipment.\n\nGet this wrong and you end up with two-way sync loops — FileMaker updates Exact, Exact's automation updates the record again, FileMaker sees a change and pushes it back. One direction per field, always.\n\n## How do you actually build the connection, step by step?\n\n1. **Register an app in Exact Online's App Center** to get your OAuth2 client ID and secret.\n2. **Decide your sync direction per object** (see above) and write it down — literally, in a shared document, before building anything.\n3. **Build the authentication flow in FileMaker** using `Insert from URL` with the OAuth2 token endpoint, and store refresh tokens securely (not in a visible field).\n4. **Map your fields** — Exact Online's API uses specific division numbers, GUIDs for items and accounts, and its own field names; expect a mapping table, not a one-to-one match.\n5. **Build the sync as event-driven, not just scheduled** — trigger the push when an order is marked \"confirmed\" in FileMaker, rather than only running a nightly batch, so finance isn't a day behind.\n6. **Log every call and its response.** When (not if) Exact Online rejects a record — a missing VAT number, a duplicate item code — you need to see why without digging through server logs.\n7. **Build a retry and alert mechanism.** Exact Online enforces rate limits and has scheduled maintenance windows; a failed call should retry automatically and alert someone if it fails repeatedly, not fail silently.\n8. **Test with real edge cases**: credit notes, partial deliveries, multi-currency orders, customers with a different invoice address than delivery address.\n\n## What actually breaks in real-world Exact Online integrations?\n\nA few patterns show up again and again once a connector goes live:\n\n- **Token expiry mid-batch.** OAuth2 refresh tokens expire; if your batch sync doesn't refresh proactively, you get a wave of failures right in the middle of a nightly run.\n- **Duplicate customers.** If FileMaker doesn't check for an existing Exact Online relation before creating one, you end up with the same customer three times under slightly different spellings.\n- **VAT and currency mismatches.** A quote built in FileMaker without a VAT code set will get silently rejected — or worse, accepted with the wrong rate — by Exact Online's invoice API.\n- **Rate limiting during peak periods.** End-of-month invoicing runs are exactly when you're most likely to hit Exact Online's API limits — plan for queuing, not instant push.\n- **Schema drift.** Exact Online updates its API; a field that worked last year quietly changes behavior. Version your integration and monitor it like you would any production system.\n\n## Where does AI fit into a FileMaker–Exact Online connection?\n\nOnce the raw data pipe between FileMaker and Exact Online exists, AI can add real value on top of it — not as a gimmick, but for genuinely tedious tasks:\n\n- **Matching incoming bank transactions or supplier invoices** to the right FileMaker order, even when the reference number is slightly off or missing.\n- **Flagging anomalies before they sync** — an invoice amount that's 10x a customer's usual order, a VAT code that doesn't match the customer's country.\n- **Summarizing sync failures in plain language** for a non-technical office manager, instead of a raw JSON error dump.\n\nThis only works well once the underlying integration is reliable — AI on top of a flaky sync just automates confusion faster.\n\n## Quick checklist before you start building\n\n- [ ] Do you know, per data type, which system is the source of truth?\n- [ ] Have you registered an app in Exact Online's App Center and tested OAuth2 in a sandbox division?\n- [ ] Is your sync event-driven where it matters (new orders, payment status), not purely batch-based?\n- [ ] Do you log every API call and its response somewhere a human can actually read?\n- [ ] Do you have a retry mechanism for rate limits and token expiry?\n- [ ] Have you tested credit notes, multi-currency, and partial deliveries — not just the happy path?\n- [ ] Does someone get alerted (not just a silent log entry) when a sync fails repeatedly?\n\n## FAQ\n\n**Can I connect FileMaker to Exact Online without writing custom code?**\nNot really — some integration platforms offer pre-built Exact Online connectors, but you'll still need to configure field mappings and sync logic specific to your FileMaker schema. There's no zero-configuration option for a business-specific data model.\n\n**Does Exact Online support real-time sync, or only batch?**\nIts REST API supports on-demand calls, so real-time (event-driven) sync is possible. Whether you use it depends on your integration design, not a limitation of Exact Online itself.\n\n**What happens if the connection goes down for a day?**\nWith good design, nothing is lost — queued records simply sync once the connection is restored. This is exactly why logging and retry logic matter more than raw connection speed.\n\n**Is a direct API connection or middleware cheaper long-term?**\nDirect API integration is cheaper to build for one flow but gets expensive to maintain as you add more sync points. Middleware costs more monthly but scales better across multiple systems — the right choice depends on how many integrations you expect to run, not just this one.\n\nFor a broader look at connection strategies beyond Exact Online, see [how to connect FileMaker to modern applications and services](https:\u002F\u002Floggix.com\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-connect-filemaker-to-modern-applications-and-services).\n\nIf double data entry between FileMaker and Exact Online is already costing your team hours every week, it's worth mapping out the actual data flows before choosing a tool. Loggix builds custom FileMaker solutions and API integrations that connect systems like Exact Online reliably — and where it adds real value, layers in AI to catch errors and reduce manual matching work. If you're not sure which approach fits your setup, a short consultancy conversation is often enough to see the right next step clearly.","\u003Cp>An order gets typed into FileMaker by your sales team, and then someone in finance re-types the same order into Exact Online so the invoice can go out. A new customer is created in FileMaker, and a day later someone manually copies the name, address and VAT number into Exact Online because the accountant needs it there too. If this sounds familiar, you're not dealing with a FileMaker problem or an Exact Online problem — you're dealing with a gap between two systems that were never designed to talk to each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This article walks through how to actually close that gap: what your connection options are, which one fits your situation, and the practical issues you'll hit once the connector is live.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Why doesn't FileMaker just talk to Exact Online out of the box?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>FileMaker is a platform for building the software your business actually runs on — order intake, production planning, CRM, custom quoting tools. Exact Online is accounting and financial administration software. They solve different problems, by different vendors, and neither was built with the other in mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exact Online does expose a REST API (built on OAuth2), so a connection is absolutely possible — it just doesn't exist by default. Someone has to build the bridge: authentication, field mapping, error handling, and a plan for what happens when the connection hiccups at 2am during a batch sync.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>What are your options for connecting FileMaker to Exact Online?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>In practice, there are three realistic approaches, each with real trade-offs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>1. Direct API integration (FileMaker calls Exact Online's REST API)\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nFileMaker's native \u003Ccode>Insert from URL\u003C\u002Fcode> and JSON functions can call Exact Online's API directly. This is the leanest option — no extra software layer — but you own the OAuth2 token refresh cycle, Exact Online's request-per-minute rate limits, and every schema change Exact publishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>2. Middleware \u002F iPaaS (e.g. an integration platform sits between the two)\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nTools built for system-to-system integration handle authentication, retries, and logging for you. This adds a monthly cost and one more moving part to maintain, but it saves significant development time if you're connecting Exact Online to several systems, not just FileMaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>3. Custom connector layer (a dedicated sync service you control)\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nFor companies with real integration complexity — multiple entities, multi-currency, high order volume — a purpose-built connector (often a small script-driven service, sometimes containerized) gives you full control over retry logic, logging, and mapping rules. This is more upfront work but avoids being boxed in by a generic tool's limitations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most businesses start with option 1 for a single, well-defined flow (e.g. "push new invoices to Exact") and migrate toward option 3 as the number of synced objects grows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fapi\u002Fknowledge\u002Finline-image\u002F258?w=700&f=webp\" alt=\"FileMaker and Exact Online boxes connected by an API arrow, sync icons for orders, invoices, contacts\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"w-full sm:w-1\u002F3 sm:float-left sm:mr-7 mb-5 rounded-2xl border border-[#E8E8ED] bg-[#F5F5F7]\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Ch2>What data actually needs to sync — and in which direction?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>This is the question most teams skip, and it's the one that causes the most rework later. Before writing a single line of integration code, map out, per data type, which system is the "source of truth":\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Customers\u002Fcontacts\u003C\u002Fstrong> — usually created in FileMaker (sales owns this) and pushed to Exact Online for invoicing.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Products\u002Fitems\u003C\u002Fstrong> — often master data lives in FileMaker (production, stock) and needs to sync to Exact Online for sales invoices, or vice versa if Exact is your master item list.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Sales orders\u002Finvoices\u003C\u002Fstrong> — typically created in FileMaker, then pushed to Exact Online once an order is confirmed, so the accountant never re-keys anything.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Payment status\u003C\u002Fstrong> — the reverse direction: Exact Online marks an invoice paid, and FileMaker needs to know that to update order status or trigger a shipment.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>Get this wrong and you end up with two-way sync loops — FileMaker updates Exact, Exact's automation updates the record again, FileMaker sees a change and pushes it back. One direction per field, always.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>How do you actually build the connection, step by step?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Register an app in Exact Online's App Center\u003C\u002Fstrong> to get your OAuth2 client ID and secret.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Decide your sync direction per object\u003C\u002Fstrong> (see above) and write it down — literally, in a shared document, before building anything.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Build the authentication flow in FileMaker\u003C\u002Fstrong> using \u003Ccode>Insert from URL\u003C\u002Fcode> with the OAuth2 token endpoint, and store refresh tokens securely (not in a visible field).\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Map your fields\u003C\u002Fstrong> — Exact Online's API uses specific division numbers, GUIDs for items and accounts, and its own field names; expect a mapping table, not a one-to-one match.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Build the sync as event-driven, not just scheduled\u003C\u002Fstrong> — trigger the push when an order is marked "confirmed" in FileMaker, rather than only running a nightly batch, so finance isn't a day behind.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Log every call and its response.\u003C\u002Fstrong> When (not if) Exact Online rejects a record — a missing VAT number, a duplicate item code — you need to see why without digging through server logs.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Build a retry and alert mechanism.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Exact Online enforces rate limits and has scheduled maintenance windows; a failed call should retry automatically and alert someone if it fails repeatedly, not fail silently.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Test with real edge cases\u003C\u002Fstrong>: credit notes, partial deliveries, multi-currency orders, customers with a different invoice address than delivery address.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Ch2>What actually breaks in real-world Exact Online integrations?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>A few patterns show up again and again once a connector goes live:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Token expiry mid-batch.\u003C\u002Fstrong> OAuth2 refresh tokens expire; if your batch sync doesn't refresh proactively, you get a wave of failures right in the middle of a nightly run.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Duplicate customers.\u003C\u002Fstrong> If FileMaker doesn't check for an existing Exact Online relation before creating one, you end up with the same customer three times under slightly different spellings.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>VAT and currency mismatches.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A quote built in FileMaker without a VAT code set will get silently rejected — or worse, accepted with the wrong rate — by Exact Online's invoice API.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Rate limiting during peak periods.\u003C\u002Fstrong> End-of-month invoicing runs are exactly when you're most likely to hit Exact Online's API limits — plan for queuing, not instant push.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Schema drift.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Exact Online updates its API; a field that worked last year quietly changes behavior. Version your integration and monitor it like you would any production system.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Ch2>Where does AI fit into a FileMaker–Exact Online connection?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Once the raw data pipe between FileMaker and Exact Online exists, AI can add real value on top of it — not as a gimmick, but for genuinely tedious tasks:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Matching incoming bank transactions or supplier invoices\u003C\u002Fstrong> to the right FileMaker order, even when the reference number is slightly off or missing.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Flagging anomalies before they sync\u003C\u002Fstrong> — an invoice amount that's 10x a customer's usual order, a VAT code that doesn't match the customer's country.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Summarizing sync failures in plain language\u003C\u002Fstrong> for a non-technical office manager, instead of a raw JSON error dump.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>This only works well once the underlying integration is reliable — AI on top of a flaky sync just automates confusion faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Quick checklist before you start building\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Do you know, per data type, which system is the source of truth?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Have you registered an app in Exact Online's App Center and tested OAuth2 in a sandbox division?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Is your sync event-driven where it matters (new orders, payment status), not purely batch-based?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Do you log every API call and its response somewhere a human can actually read?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Do you have a retry mechanism for rate limits and token expiry?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Have you tested credit notes, multi-currency, and partial deliveries — not just the happy path?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cinput disabled=\"\" type=\"checkbox\"> Does someone get alerted (not just a silent log entry) when a sync fails repeatedly?\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Ch2>FAQ\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Can I connect FileMaker to Exact Online without writing custom code?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nNot really — some integration platforms offer pre-built Exact Online connectors, but you'll still need to configure field mappings and sync logic specific to your FileMaker schema. There's no zero-configuration option for a business-specific data model.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Does Exact Online support real-time sync, or only batch?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nIts REST API supports on-demand calls, so real-time (event-driven) sync is possible. Whether you use it depends on your integration design, not a limitation of Exact Online itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>What happens if the connection goes down for a day?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nWith good design, nothing is lost — queued records simply sync once the connection is restored. This is exactly why logging and retry logic matter more than raw connection speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Is a direct API connection or middleware cheaper long-term?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\nDirect API integration is cheaper to build for one flow but gets expensive to maintain as you add more sync points. Middleware costs more monthly but scales better across multiple systems — the right choice depends on how many integrations you expect to run, not just this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a broader look at connection strategies beyond Exact Online, see \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Floggix.com\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-connect-filemaker-to-modern-applications-and-services\">how to connect FileMaker to modern applications and services\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If double data entry between FileMaker and Exact Online is already costing your team hours every week, it's worth mapping out the actual data flows before choosing a tool. Loggix builds custom FileMaker solutions and API integrations that connect systems like Exact Online reliably — and where it adds real value, layers in AI to catch errors and reduce manual matching work. If you're not sure which approach fits your setup, a short consultancy conversation is often enough to see the right next step clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n","Jeroen","2026-07-24",1784901678000,[19,20,21,22,23,24],"FileMaker integration","Exact Online API","FileMaker ERP connector","data synchronization","FileMaker Claris","business automation","\u002Fapi\u002Fknowledge\u002Fimage\u002F388\u002F?v=b7b6c76bb8da",false,"",null,{"title":30,"slug":31},"FileMaker and Claris","filemaker-and-claris",{"title":33,"slug":34},"How to connect FileMaker to modern applications and services","how-to-connect-filemaker-to-modern-applications-and-services"]