Exact Online Alternatives for Belgian SMEs (2026)
Exact Online is the dominant online accounting and invoicing platform in the Benelux. It serves more than 400,000 SME files through a network of over 6,700 accountants. That reach is a real advantage, especially if your accountant is already using it.
But Exact Online was designed with accountants first and business owners second. Entry pricing starts at €49/month ex-VAT with a cap of 25 outbound invoices. OCR (their "Scan & Herken" feature) costs an additional €0.45 per document. Adding users costs €49/user/month extra. Implementation partners typically charge €500 to €2,500 for onboarding.
If you are a Belgian freelancer, sole trader, or small company and those numbers give you pause, this article is for you.
For full feature details, see our Feen vs Exact Online comparison.
Why Belgian SMEs look for Exact Online alternatives
There are usually a few common reasons:
Pricing at entry level. The Essentials plan (€49/month ex-VAT) caps outbound invoices at 25/month. The Plus plan (€99/month ex-VAT) removes that cap but raises the base cost significantly. For a freelancer sending 10–15 invoices a month, either plan may be more software than needed.
OCR is a paid add-on. Scan & Herken, the feature that reads incoming documents, costs €0.45 per document. For a business receiving 50 invoices a month, that is €22.50/month on top of the base price.
The 2026 Peppol mandate is now in force. Every VAT-registered Belgian business must send and receive structured e-invoices via Peppol since January 1, 2026. Exact Online supports Peppol, but the mandate has pushed many smaller businesses to look for simpler, cheaper alternatives rather than adopting a full accounting suite.
Quotes require a separate CRM module. If you want to send quotes through Exact Online, you need the Exact CRM add-on. That is not a criticism; it is just the architecture. But for a service business that lives by quotes, it is an extra layer.
The best Exact Online alternatives for Belgian SMEs in 2026
Feen: invoicing and Peppol without the accounting overhead
Feen is a Belgian invoicing and document platform focused on the needs of freelancers and small companies. It handles Peppol through Recommand.eu, a certified Belgian access point. Setup is self-service and takes a few minutes.
Pricing:
- Inbox plan: from €7/month ex-VAT, to receive Peppol invoices and manage incoming documents with OCR
- Pro plan: €15.70/month ex-VAT (€19 incl. VAT), covering outbound invoicing, quotes, credit notes, OCR, VAT dashboard, and multi-user access
OCR is included in the Pro plan, not billed per document. Bank statement import works via CSV or PDF upload. Live bank sync is coming soon. Accountant access is a free read-only invite.
What Feen does not have yet: recurring invoices (coming soon), live API integrations (coming soon), multi-currency (coming soon). If those are essential for you today, read on.
Compare: Feen vs Exact Online
Billit: strong integrations, volume-based pricing
Billit is a Belgian-made smart invoicing platform serving businesses from freelancers through enterprise. It connects to 30+ native Belgian accounting packages and 180+ integrations overall, which makes it a natural fit if your accountant works in one of those packages.
Peppol send and receive are included. Pricing starts at €7.50/month ex-VAT (Starter, capped at 25 documents/month) up to €145/month ex-VAT (Premium 4, capped at 500 documents/month). The Free plan includes Peppol send only, not receive.
One thing to factor in: Billit's billing is quarterly or annual, not monthly rolling. And the "document" count includes invoices, receipts, and credit notes but not quotes or purchase orders, so you need to think about volume carefully.
Compare: Feen vs Billit
WinBooks: accountant-led, Belgian-native accounting
WinBooks is a well-established Belgian accounting suite owned by Exact (the same group as Exact Online). It is primarily designed for accountants and fiduciaires managing multiple client dossiers, not for business owners doing their own books.
Peppol send and receive are add-ons in WinBooks. Pricing is opaque: reseller-quoted rather than transparent SaaS pricing. Classic modules start from €60/month (Connect bundle) or €180/month (Classic bundle), ex-VAT, but these are accountant-facing prices. The on-premise architecture means no web-first experience. WinBooks on Web is no longer accepting new licences.
If your accountant already uses WinBooks and they manage everything for you, this is not really a choice you make; it is infrastructure your accountant manages. If you want a self-service tool, WinBooks is not designed for that.
Compare: Feen vs WinBooks
Odoo: full ERP, very different positioning
Odoo is Belgian (Liège), open-source, and genuinely capable. The accounting module supports Peppol, double-entry bookkeeping, and Belgian GAAP out of the box. But Odoo is an ERP, not an invoicing tool. Implementation costs run from €5,000 to €80,000 depending on the partner. The Standard plan is €24.90/user/month (annual) ex-VAT, plus hosting, plus per-document OCR costs.
If you are comparing Odoo to Exact Online, the real question is whether you need a full ERP or just invoicing and Peppol compliance. For most freelancers and small companies, the answer is the latter.
Compare: Feen vs Odoo | Read: Odoo vs Lightweight Invoicing Belgium
How to choose between them
Ask yourself four questions:
1. How many invoices do I send per month? If you send fewer than 25, you fit on the entry tier of most platforms. If you regularly send 50–100, check whether the platform prices by document count or by flat rate.
2. Does my accountant already use a specific platform? If your accountant is on Exact Online, WinBooks, or Billit's accounting network, that integration may simplify your life even if the cost is higher. Check before switching.
3. Do I need features beyond invoicing today? If you need live bank sync, recurring invoices, a full double-entry chart of accounts, or multi-company consolidation, the lighter tools may not cover you yet. Feen and similar platforms are adding these features, but they are not all live today.
4. How much setup effort can I absorb? Exact Online and Odoo both benefit from a consultant or accountant handling the configuration. Feen and Billit are designed for self-service. If you want to be live within an hour, that matters.
Feature comparison at a glance
| Feature | Exact Online | Feen | Billit | WinBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peppol send | Yes | Yes | Yes | Add-on |
| Peppol receive | Yes | Yes | Yes (paid tiers) | Add-on |
| Certified Peppol AP | Unknown | Yes (Recommand.eu) | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price (ex-VAT/mo) | €49 | €15.70 | €7.50 | €60+ (accountant) |
| Invoice cap at entry | 25/mo | None | 25/mo | None |
| OCR for incoming docs | €0.45/doc add-on | Included in Pro | Partial | Add-on |
| Accountant access | Yes (paid seat) | Free read-only | Yes | Yes (fiduciaire model) |
| Quotes | Requires CRM add-on | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring invoices | Yes | Coming soon | Yes | Yes |
| Bank statement import | Yes (PSD2 live) | CSV/PDF; live sync coming soon | Yes (PSD2 live) | Yes |
| Self-service setup | Yes (but needs onboarding) | Yes, minutes | Yes | No |
| Implementation cost | €500 to €2,500 | €0 | €0 | Reseller-quoted |
Frequently asked questions
Is Exact Online mandatory for Belgian businesses? No. Exact Online is one option among many. The legal requirement is Peppol compliance (since January 2026), not any specific software. Any certified tool works.
Can I switch from Exact Online to a lighter tool? Yes. Exact Online supports data export (UBL, CSV). The main friction is migrating historical data and informing your accountant. If your accountant uses Exact Online's accountancy channel, switching your front-end tool while keeping them on Exact is possible in some configurations.
Is Feen a full accounting package like Exact Online? No. Feen focuses on invoicing, document management, and Peppol compliance. It gives you a cash and VAT overview, but it does not replace a full double-entry accounting suite. If you need full bookkeeping, your accountant can work with Feen's exports and read-only access.
What if I need multi-currency invoicing? Multi-currency is not yet available in Feen (coming soon). Exact Online, Odoo, and Billit support multi-currency on their higher-tier plans.
Are these prices including VAT? All prices in this article are ex-VAT (HTVA) unless stated otherwise. Belgian businesses that are VAT-registered can recover the VAT on software subscriptions. The net cost after recovery is lower than the sticker price.
Bottom line
Exact Online is a solid platform, particularly if your accountant is already on it. But for a Belgian freelancer or small business that just needs Peppol compliance, clean invoicing, and a VAT overview (without paying €49/month and €0.45/doc for OCR), lighter alternatives exist and are fully compliant with the 2026 mandate.
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