Which tool fits your IT consultancy best?
The honest answer: it depends on your team size and cross-border needs. But there are clear patterns that make this choice easier for most IT and software consultancies in BE/NL.
Here's a quick breakdown before we dive deeper:
- Moneybird — best for smaller teams (5–10 people) who want a clean, fast setup with minimal accounting overhead
- Exact Online — best for scaling firms (10–25 people) that need CRM, payroll, and time tracking in one place
- SevDesk — best for Belgian-focused firms that need solid Peppol and e-invoicing compliance out of the box
All three tools have become significantly smarter in 2026, with AI-assisted transaction matching and better integrations with project tools like Monday.com and Toggl. Let's break down what actually matters for IT consultants.
Moneybird: the lean choice for growing IT teams
If your team is between 5 and 10 people and you're tired of spending half a day on invoicing, Moneybird is probably your fastest win.
Starting at €14/month, it's the most affordable of the three — and the most user-friendly. According to Boekhouder.nl, Moneybird scores 4.4/5 across over 700 reviews, which is unusually high for accounting software.
What makes it work well for IT consultants specifically:
- Bank connections in under 10 minutes — ING, Rabobank (NL) and KBC (BE) are all supported
- AI-powered transaction matching that saves 30–50% of time spent on bank reconciliation
- Mobile invoicing so you can send a quote from a client site without opening your laptop
- Zapier and n8n integrations to pull time data from Toggl or Harvest into invoices automatically
A Utrecht-based IT consultancy with 12 staff switched from Exact Online to Moneybird and reported dropping from 4 hours of bookkeeping per week to just 1. Real-time project revenue tracking was a big part of that.
The main limitation? Moneybird is less strong for complex hourly billing scenarios and doesn't have native CRM functionality. You'll need to connect external tools if your workflow is more sophisticated.
Exact Online: the full-stack option for larger firms
Exact Online makes sense the moment your team grows past 10 people and your invoicing gets more complex — think multiple billing rates, freelancers on payroll, recurring retainers, and clients in multiple countries.
At €48/month for the Essentials plan (or €97 for Plus), it's more expensive, but the ROI case is strong for firms with 15+ employees. According to Softwarewiki.nl, mid-sized IT agencies report up to 25% faster invoicing after integrating Exact's CRM module with their existing workflow.
Key strengths for IT consultants:
- Native time tracking and project billing — no third-party workaround needed
- CRM built in — manage client contacts and deal history alongside your books
- Payroll integration — useful if you mix employees and freelancers
- API connections with tools like Monday.com, ClickUp, and Stripe for international payments
- Full NL and BE compliance, including Peppol for Belgian e-invoicing
The downside is the learning curve and setup time. Exact Online is not plug-and-play. You'll want to give your accountant role-based access early, and plan a proper onboarding session before going live.
For a 20-person IT bureau in Amsterdam, that investment paid off: CRM and payroll integration reduced administrative overhead significantly, especially for managing a mix of permanent staff and project-based freelancers.
How does SevDesk handle Belgian e-invoicing compliance?
SevDesk is the strongest option for Belgian Peppol compliance — which matters a lot in 2026, now that e-invoicing is mandatory for B2G transactions in Belgium.
Starting at €9–€29/month depending on edition, it's also the most affordable option for Belgium-focused firms. The key reasons IT consultants in Antwerp or Brussels choose SevDesk:
- Peppol certification built in — essential for invoicing Belgian public sector clients
- Plug-and-play Belgian bank connections including Bancontact
- EU cross-border compliance — useful if you're working with clients across Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands
- High user satisfaction (4.6/5 based on independent reviews)
One Antwerp-based dev shop with 8 people switched to SevDesk specifically for Peppol compliance and reported avoiding €2,000 in potential penalties — with bank connection setup taking less than a day.
The trade-off: SevDesk is weaker on Dutch-specific time tracking and doesn't have the depth of Exact Online's project billing features. If your team is split evenly across NL and BE, you may need a workaround for NL VAT reporting.
What should you actually do next?
Here's a simple decision framework for IT consultancies in BE/NL in 2026:
- Under 10 people, primarily Netherlands-based? Start with Moneybird. Use the 6-month referral trial, connect your bank, and set up project codes for each client engagement.
- 10–25 people, complex billing or payroll? Go with Exact Online Plus (€97/month). Book a demo with your accountant before migrating.
- Belgian government clients or heavy cross-border work? SevDesk is your safest choice for Peppol compliance. Run the 14-day trial and get your Peppol certificate set up first.
Whichever tool you choose, measure ROI after 90 days: track time saved per week, invoice turnaround time, and any compliance-related costs avoided.
For more context, Flowbizz.nl has a detailed comparison of all three tools, and Appwiki.nl publishes updated top-10 rankings for accounting software in the Netherlands.
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