Exact licensing covers how Exact sells business software for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their accountants. Exact describes Exact Online as “a cloud-based SaaS solution, offering Accounting and ERP capabilities for both companies and accountants”. It also states that companies “running their businesses outside The Netherlands, Belgium or Germany are supported by our private cloud solutions Globe+ & Synergy”.[4] The two lines are licensed in different ways:
- Exact Online is a subscription per edition. Each edition includes a number of users and administrations (one administration being the books of one company), and extra users and administrations are charged monthly.[5]
- Exact Business Software, meaning Exact Globe (marketed today as Exact Globe+[4]), Exact Synergy and Exact Event Manager, is licensed for a number of Named Users. A Licence File issued by Exact fixes the number of Named Users and the administrations or databases that may be created. The licence is supported by annual maintenance, or replaced by a subscription and optionally hosted in Exact’s private cloud.[3]
For the general models see named user licensing and subscription and consumption licensing.
Contract framework
Exact keeps an index of terms by country and product line. For example, the United Kingdom lists “Exact Business Software” (Exact Globe, Exact Synergy, Exact Event Manager, Exact Connectivity) with terms “Applicable since July 2019”, and a separate “United Kingdom (Exact Online)” entry with terms “Applicable since June 2021”.[1] The Netherlands entry carries the current Exact SaaS Conditions, applicable since July 2026, which apply to Exact Online, Exact Horeko and Exact Gripp.[1][2] The Dutch conditions are bilingual, but “the Dutch text will be binding”.[2]
The Business Software terms (July 2019) are one document in several parts. General Provisions apply to every use, maintenance and support of all software. Special Provisions follow for the Licence Agreement, Customised Software, Maintenance, Consultancy, Subscription and Private Cloud.[3] Apps connected to Exact Online are covered by separate Connectivity terms.[11]
Editions
Exact Online. Each Dutch Exact Online product is sold in editions. Exact Online Boekhouden (accounting) has Essentials, Plus, Professional and Premium; Handel (wholesale), Productie (manufacturing) and Project Management use the same tier names; Exact Online for Accountancy has Essentials, Plus and Professional.[5][9] For example:
| Edition | Monthly list price | Included users | Included administrations | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boekhouden Essentials | EUR 49 | 1 (not extendable) | 1 (not extendable) | Exact Online Boekhouden Essentials |
| Boekhouden Plus | EUR 99 | 2 | 2 | Exact Online Boekhouden Plus |
| Boekhouden Professional | EUR 159 | 2 | 2 | Exact Online Boekhouden Professional |
| Boekhouden Premium | EUR 299 | 2 | 2 | Exact Online Boekhouden Premium |
These are the prices shown on the Dutch page.[5] The full set of 19 editions, with their extra user and administration prices, is in Exact Online editions, users and administrations.
Exact Globe+ and Exact Synergy. Exact sells them together as editions such as “Exact Globe+ Finance & Synergy” and “Exact Globe+ Productie & Synergy”.[10][9] For Globe+, the licence “determines which functionality is available and how many users are allowed to access the company”.[7] Synergy Enterprise, which covers CRM, documents, HRM, projects and workflow, is licensed by user licence roles: Basic user, Employee self-service user, CRM role and Professional role, plus add-on roles.[8] See Exact Globe and Synergy licensing.
Metrics
| Exact term | Catalog row | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| User (Exact Online) | User | “the Customer, an Employee of the Customer and/or a client of the Accountant who uses the Exact SaaS Service”[2] |
| Administration | Administration | The financial accounts of the customer’s company, including each one kept for Subsidiaries[2] |
| Named User | Named User | The natural person for whom a User-ID is created, “irrespective of whether they use the Software or not”[3] |
| Licence File | Licence File | The file from Exact used to create administrations and/or databases and Named Users[3] |
| Synergy licence role | Synergy licence role | Users licensed per role, each with a defined functionality set[8] |
Exact Online also meters some usage per licence: sales invoices per month, bank connections, and an average number of booking lines per administration per month.[5] See the catalog rows Sales invoices per month, Bank connection and Booking lines per administration per month.
Counting / floors
Exact Online. The right of use covers “the number of Users, Administrations and modules as set out in the Exact SaaS Agreement”. The customer may not use the Web Application with more Users or Administrations than that number.[2] Exact’s FAQ clarifies that an accountant connects to the client’s administration from its own licence and is not a user of the client’s subscription.[5] Login details are personal and may not be shared inside or outside the organisation.[6] Catalog: Exact Online right of use limited to the contracted Users, Administrations and modules; The accountant is not a user of the client’s subscription; Login details are personal to each User.
Exact Business Software. A Named User counts once a User-ID exists, whether or not the person uses the software, and the number may not exceed the Licence File.[3] Inactive User-IDs therefore still count. Catalog: Named Users count whether or not they use the software.
Floors. Exact Online Boekhouden Essentials includes one user and one administration and cannot be extended. The other editions include two users and two administrations (Boekhouden) or one user and two administrations (Handel, Productie, Project Management).[5][9] Under the Business Software terms, fees are owed “irrespective of whether the Customer actually uses these or not”.[3] Catalog: Fees are due whether or not the software is used.
Virtualization & partitioning
There are no processor, core or virtualization metrics. The Business Software licence allows installation once on a server, with administrations and databases limited by the Licence File.[3] Entities in different countries each need their own Globe+ licence file.[7] Catalog: Licensed software: one server installation within the Licence File limits.
Cloud / BYOL
Exact Online is multi-tenant SaaS. Globe+ and Synergy can be hosted by Exact under a Private Cloud Agreement. Private Cloud use is limited to the contracted software type, modules, Users and administrations, and may not be used for third parties, including accountancy or bookkeeping services.[3] The Private Cloud Software is software already licensed to the customer under a subscription or licence agreement, so hosting sits on top of the existing licence. Catalog: Private Cloud use limited to contracted modules, Users and administrations; no service-bureau use.
Programs
- Exact Online subscription. Runs for one month and renews monthly, or for one year if bought annually. The customer terminates through the Web Application with one month’s notice.[2]
- Licence Agreement, Maintenance Agreement and Subscription Agreement. These cover Globe+ and Synergy. Maintenance renews yearly with three months’ notice. A subscription runs for one year and then renews monthly.[3] Exact’s Finance FAQ says the Globe+ and Synergy bundle can be bought “met een jaarlijks onderhoudsbedrag of afnemen in een abonnementsvorm”, that is with an annual maintenance fee or as a subscription.[10]
- Accountant client accounts. Accountants may buy a specific type of user account for their clients.[2]
- Exact Online Developer’s License. Developers pay for it. Customers may connect their own apps free of charge, although Exact reserves the right to charge in future.[11]
Contract terms
Transfer. Under the Business Software terms, the customer may not transfer the right to use the software, “including but not limited to transfer by means of a merger or division”. It also may not lease, sublicense, sell or pledge that right, or let third parties use or manage the software, including through outsourcing.[3] If a third party is given unauthorised use, the customer pays for that use as well.[3] Catalog: No transfer of the right of use, including by merger or division; Customer pays for unauthorised use by third parties.
Prices. Exact Online fees may be adjusted monthly, with a right to terminate if the customer does not accept an increase.[2] Business Software fees may be adjusted yearly. The customer accepts increases in advance up to the Statistics Netherlands consumer price index, and may terminate as of the Renewal Date within two weeks if an increase is higher.[3] Catalog: Exact Online fees may change monthly; higher fees give a right to terminate; Annual price adjustment accepted up to Dutch CPI; above it, termination right.
Maintenance and the right of use. Ending maintenance for part of the Business Software, such as some Named Users or modules, ends the right to use that part. Rejoining maintenance later costs the Maintenance Fee retroactively from the date it lapsed.[3] Catalog: Dropping maintenance on part of the software ends the right to use that part; Re-joining maintenance costs back-maintenance from the lapse.
Audits and compliance
Both lines give Exact an inspection right. An expert chosen by Exact may check compliance during normal business hours without unreasonably obstructing the business. Exact pays for the check unless it shows non-compliance, in which case the customer pays.[2][3] For Exact Online, the counts of Users and Administrations are visible in the subscription itself. For Globe+ and Synergy, the in-product licence pages show licensed against used quantities, for example per Synergy licence role. Catalog: Exact Online audit: expert inspection, costs shift on non-compliance; Exact may inspect compliance; customer pays if non-compliant; Synergy Enterprise tracks purchased versus used licences per role. See software license audit.
No court decision on Exact software licensing with a published primary court record was identified for this article.
Out of scope
- Country terms other than those for the Netherlands (Exact Online) and the United Kingdom (Business Software and Exact Online, as reference texts).
- Other Exact products with their own terms: SRXP and Expense Management, Proquro, Exact Payment Services, Exact Horeko, Exact Gripp, WinBooks, Exact Salaris Plus and others.[1]
- Prices outside the Netherlands, and VAT treatment of the listed prices, which the pages do not state.