As an SME company, have you grown out of Exact Online? Then the step to Exact Online Premium seems logical: more flexibility and more possibilities. But is it also the most logical choice?

In this article, we compare Exact Online Premium with SAP Business One.

If you are about to switch to Exact Online Premium, you will be investing in a more comprehensive system, redesigning processes and making choices for the future. Right at that moment, it is wise to ask yourself: does this step still fit the direction in which your business is developing, or is a full ERP system such as SAP Business One a better choice?

This consideration is still sometimes skipped too quickly in practice.

Basic difference

Exact Online Premium is a cloud solution that you can expand with other tools. This allows you to adapt the system to your situation step by step, without having to change everything at once.

SAP Business One works from a single integrated system. Finance, logistics, inventory and possibly production are in the same environment and use the same data.

That difference becomes especially apparent when processes become less standard.

Functionality

Both SAP Business One and Exact Online Premium do what you would expect on the financial front. Accounting, reporting and compliance are well set up.

The differences are mainly in the processes around it. Exact Online Premium offers basic functionality for inventory management, for example. More advanced applications often require additional solutions.

SAP Business One has more extensive functionality as standard. Think advanced inventory management, batch and serial number registration, production planning and more extensive logistics support. This makes it a better fit for companies working with physical flows of goods.

Links

A strong point of Exact Online Premium is its flexibility. You can create links with other software relatively easily, expanding your environment. For many organizations, that works well.

At the same time, this brings with it dependencies. The more links, the greater the impact if something doesn't work properly or changes.

The more links, the greater the impact if something doesn't work properly or changes.

SAP Business One often requires a bigger step up front, but after that, a lot of functionality is already in the system itself. Extensions remain possible, but are less often necessary. This makes the whole system more manageable and easier to manage.

Scalability

Exact Online Premium can grow well with you as long as processes remain manageable. For organizations with a clear structure and limited exceptions, this is often sufficient.

When processes become more complex, for example due to multiple warehouses, specific stock flows or production, you run into limits more quickly.

SAP Business One is precisely set up to deal with this kind of complexity. These processes fit within the system itself, without having to organize much around it.

Price difference between SAP Business One and Exact Online Premium

Exact Online Premium initially seems more advantageous due to its subscription model with relatively low entry costs. However, the cost increases as you add more modules, users and links.

SAP Business One usually requires a higher investment, both in licenses and implementation. On the other hand, much functionality is already in the system, so you need fewer additional solutions.

In practice, it comes down to this difference: Exact Online Premium is often more advantageous with a simple setup, while SAP Business One comes out better once processes become more complex.

Exact Online Premium is often more advantageous with a simple setup, while SAP Business One comes out better once processes become more complex.

What do you choose?

The choice between these two systems depends on your situation

• Exact Online Premium fits well with companies that want to work quickly, seek flexibility and do not have complex logistics or production processes.
• SAP Business One is a better choice if you want more control over processes, want to be less dependent on links and are looking for a system that can last for the long term.

If you are about to switch to Exact Online Premium, now is the time to make that decision consciously. This will prevent you from having to make the same choice again in a few years time.

Are you also torn between SAP Business One and Navision? Then check out our comparison of SAP Business One versus Navision and discover the key differences between these two ERP solutions.