Accounting package

Preparing Dutch annual accounts from Exact Online

Exact Online Boekhouden supplies the figures; you prepare the annual accounts themselves in Exact Online Jaarrekening (for firms) or in other software.

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✓ First annual accounts free ✓ Micro to large entities ✓ Dutch GAAP: Title 9, Book 2 DCC ✓ Primary database in the EU

The short answer

For annual accounts under Title 9 Book 2 DCC, Exact has a separate product: Exact Online Jaarrekening, aimed at firms and at micro and small entities. If you prepare them yourself, export the audit file via Import/Export > Export > Audit file or a report to Excel, once all entries have been processed.

Updated 30 October 2026

Key facts

Supplier	Exact
Export formats	Audit file in XML (XAF); reports to Excel; CSV and Excel via Import/Export
RGS	Standard classification per ledger account, if the Reference Ledger Scheme function is enabled
Own annual accounts function	Separate product Exact Online Jaarrekening: micro and small, filing with the KVK using your own PKIoverheid certificate
Source	support.exactonline.com and exact.com, consulted on 6 October 2026

What Exact itself offers for the annual accounts

Exact sells the annual accounts as a separate product: Exact Online Jaarrekening. On the product page Exact addresses firms and mentions ‘standard reports for natural persons, micro & small entities’. According to the feature overview, the annual accounts for micro and small entities comply ‘with BW2 Title 9 and the RJK’. Filing with the KVK is possible for those same classes; Exact writes: ‘You need your own PKI overheid certificate for this.’

The Essentials package costs € 99 per month, Plus € 205 per month, excluding VAT; Exact lists foundations (stichtingen) and associations under Plus. The figures arrive as a trial balance: via a financial link, an audit file, an RGS bridge schedule or an Excel file. How this product compares to a price per financial year is explained in Exact Online Jaarrekening alternative.

Exporting the audit file and Excel report from Exact Online

Audit file (XAF)

First process all entries of the financial year.
Go to [Administration name] > Import/Export > Export > Audit file.
Fill in the filters if you want to limit the export, for example to one financial year.
Click Export and save the file.

Exact warns: ‘Unprocessed entries are not included in the audit file.’ Processing makes an entry final. If a journal entry is still in draft, it will be missing from the file without any notice.

Balance sheet and profit and loss account to Excel

From any overview page you export to Excel: click the three dots at the top right and choose Export: Excel. The export contains the records that match the set filters and columns, up to a file size of 100 MB. Exact names the Balance sheet / Profit and loss account overview as the place where you compare the result with the previous year. The menu path to it depends on your subscription and menu layout; use the search function in Exact Online or Exact's knowledge base.

For a usable file Exact itself gives three rules: include the fields ledger account, description and debit and credit (or balance), remove subtotals and grand totals, and save as CSV.

Linking RGS in Exact Online

RGS is part of the master data of the ledger account. Go to Financial > Entries and ledger accounts > Ledger accounts > Overview, open an account and assign a standard classification under Standardised ledger account schemes. Exact states that the Reference Ledger Scheme is available ‘for everyone in the Netherlands if the Reference Ledger Scheme function is enabled’. You need the right to manage financial master data.

The support page on the audit file does not say whether the RGS classification is written into the file. Check this after the first export: open the XAF file and look at a ledger account for a code starting with B or W. Without a code, the mapping to the statutory line items remains manual work or a proposal that you review.

Checks before exporting from Exact Online

Everything processed. According to Exact, only a processed entry appears in reports such as the VAT return, the profit and loss account and the audit file.
Periods closed. Exact closes the financial year automatically once all open periods are closed. You can reopen via [Administration name] > Master data > Financial > Period date table.
Result not yet processed. If you process the result, Exact posts it to equity; export the profit and loss account before that.
Clearing accounts at zero. Review invoices and goods to be received; Exact mentions that check in its own year-end process.

Worked example: three draft entries

A BV shows a profit of € 96.400 in Exact Online. The journal still holds three unprocessed entries: € 12.400 depreciation, € 9.150 corporate income tax and € 3.600 accrued expenses. Together that is € 25.150. The audit file you export now therefore also shows € 96.400, while the annual accounts should come to € 71.250. Process the three entries and export again.

From Exact export to annual accounts and KVK

After the export comes the real work: classifying into the statutory line items, placing the prior-year figures alongside art. 2:363(5) DCC, writing the notes, adopting and filing art. 2:394(1) DCC.

Who prepares?	Size class	Route from Exact Online
Your firm	Micro or small	Exact Online Jaarrekening reads the trial balance via the link and files with the firm's certificate
You yourself, as director	Micro or small	Export audit file or Excel, prepare in separate software and file in the KVK portal Zelf Deponeren
You and your accountant	Medium-sized or large	Exact mentions no standard reports for these classes; the file goes to the auditing accountant art. 2:393(1) DCC

Exact Online and Jaarrekening.io

Jaarrekening.io reads an XAF audit file (version 3.1 and 3.2) or a trial balance in Excel or CSV from Exact Online. If debit and credit do not balance, the import stops and the app shows the difference. RGS codes from the audit file determine the mapping; if they are missing, you review an AI proposal. You take the comparative figures from the previous annual accounts or from last year's trial balance. A direct link with Exact Online is in preparation and not yet released. Background: linking to your accounting package.

When Exact Online Jaarrekening or your accountant is the better choice

If you keep your books in Exact Online and a firm prepares your annual accounts, Exact Online Jaarrekening is the logical route for that firm: the trial balance arrives without an export and the firm files it itself. As a director without a firm subscription you usually do not have that product. For medium-sized and large entities an accountant is needed for the audit in any case. Start in any case with the checks on the trial balance; if you prefer to keep a small company in one system, you can also use the bookkeeping of Jaarrekening.io.

Sources

Legal notice: this information is general in nature and does not replace tax or legal advice or an accountant's audit. The substantive accuracy and completeness of the annual accounts remain the responsibility of the board.

Frequently asked questions

Which XAF version does Exact Online export?

Exact's support page speaks of audit files in XML format (XAF) and gives no version number. Check the header of the file, or ask Exact. Important for later: from 1 January 2027 the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) only accepts XAF 4.0 for submissions.

Can I import an audit file into Exact Online?

No. Exact writes: ‘You cannot import audit files into Exact Online.’ The separate product Exact Online Jaarrekening does read an XAF or zip file as a trial balance.

My Excel export from Exact Online is empty or stops. Why?

An export from an overview page may be 100 MB at most. If it is exceeded, Exact only creates a file with column headings. Reduce the selection with filters or a shorter date range. If Excel opens the file empty, Protected View may be the cause.

Do I need Exact Online Jaarrekening to file the accounts myself?

No. Micro and small entities can also prepare and file the publication documents in the KVK portal Zelf Deponeren (self-filing). Filing from software, including Exact's, requires a PKIoverheid certificate.

What happens if I still post in the old financial year after the export?

Then the export no longer matches the books. Reopen the period, post the correction, process it and export again. Keep the old export; you must retain the records for seven years (art. 2:10(3) DCC).

Exporting and checking the trial balance →Linking annual accounts software to your accounting package →RGS mapping for the annual accounts →Bookkeeping in Jaarrekening.io →Exact Online Jaarrekening alternative →Annual accounts from Exact Reeleezee →Annual accounts from Twinfield →All accounting packages compared →