Looking for a Visma or AccountView alternative?
Visma is strong at accounting and finance - from AccountView’s desktop heritage to Visma.net in the cloud - but it stays mainly a financial package: CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce and a customer portal run separately alongside it. Here are the best alternatives side by side: from lightweight bookkeeping to a broad platform.
Odoo Gold Partner · Amsterdam · Dutch accounting and VAT return
What is the best alternative to Visma or AccountView?
The answer depends on your goal. If you mainly want to modernise your accounting and stay close to your accountant, Exact, Twinfield or - for smaller companies - SnelStart are the logical options. If you want to connect your finance to the rest of the business - CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce, projects and a customer portal on one modern platform - Odoo is usually the strongest alternative, with Dutch accounting and the VAT return built in.
The best Visma and AccountView alternatives, honestly scored
We build Odoo, so we are not impartial - and we will say so plainly. But honestly: if you want a purely accountant-friendly bookkeeping package, a financial specialist can be stronger. The difference is whether you want to connect finance to the whole business.
| Alternative | Breadth (beyond accounting) | Finance depth (NL) | Cloud & modern | CRM / eCommerce / portal | Open & extensible | Short verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OdooTop pick | Broad platform | Solid, NL-localised | Yes, browser-first | Native | Open source | Best if you want to connect finance to the whole business |
| Exact (Online) | Accounting to ERP | Very strong (NL standard) | Cloud | Limited | Closed | Strong if you want to stay in a Dutch accounting standard your accountant knows |
| AFAS | Broad (finance/HR/payroll) | Strong | Cloud | Limited | Closed | All-in-one Dutch suite, strong on payroll; rigid and closed |
| Oracle NetSuite | Broad, enterprise | Strong (international) | Cloud | Via the suite | Closed, pricey | Strong for internationally fast-growing trade and manufacturing; expensive, NL localisation via a partner |
| SnelStart | Accounting-focused | Good for small business | Cloud | No | Closed | Light and cheap for small companies; outgrown fast |
| Jortt | Accounting-focused | Good (freelancers/small, automated) | Cloud | No | Closed | Strong bookkeeping automation for freelancers and small business; too narrow once you grow |
| e-Boekhouden.nl | Accounting-focused | Good, simple | Cloud | No | Closed | Affordable and simple for freelancers and small business; thin beyond bookkeeping |
| Twinfield | Accounting-focused | Strong (accountant) | Cloud | No | Closed | Accountant-driven bookkeeping; thin beyond finance |
Which alternative is meant for which situation?
Briefly per option, so you can cut the list down faster:
Odoo
Strongest if you want to connect your accounting to the rest of the business: CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce, projects and a customer portal on one modern, browser-first platform, with Dutch accounting and the VAT return built in. For payroll we integrate a Dutch specialist; everything else sits natively in the same data model, open source and without lock-in.
Exact (Online)
The Dutch standard for accounting up to light ERP, widely supported by accountants. Logical if you mainly want to stay in a familiar financial environment; beyond that (CRM, eCommerce, portal, customisation) it is narrower, more closed and priced per module.
AFAS
A broad Dutch all-in-one suite, strong at finance, HR and payroll from one hand. A good choice if that integration is your biggest need; the trade-off is that it is rigid and closed - you adapt your processes to AFAS, not the other way around.
SnelStart
Light, affordable bookkeeping for small businesses and freelancers. Fine as a starting point, but you outgrow it once you want to seriously connect inventory, production, projects or a webshop.
Oracle NetSuite
A global, fully cloud ERP for internationally fast-growing trade and manufacturing companies. Strong in multi-entity and international finance, but pricey, closed and with a Dutch localisation that comes through a partner.
Jortt
Bookkeeping with far-reaching automation based on your bank statements, ideal for freelancers and small business that want to spend as little time on admin as possible. You outgrow it once inventory, projects or sales seriously come into play.
e-Boekhouden.nl
Popular, clear and affordable bookkeeping for freelancers and small business, known for simplicity and a good (free) help desk. Fine as a pure bookkeeping package; thin once you want to connect the whole business.
Twinfield
Cloud bookkeeping from Wolters Kluwer, strong at collaboration with your accountant. Logical if finance sits with your bookkeeper; as a pure bookkeeping package it is thin beyond the financial administration.
What Visma and AccountView do, and where you find it in Odoo
Visma.net and AccountView revolve around accounting and finance. Here is how each area maps to Odoo:
| In Visma / AccountView | In Odoo |
|---|---|
| General ledger & journals | Accounting: general ledger, journals and entries |
| Invoicing | Invoicing with customer and vendor invoices |
| VAT return (NL) | Accounting with the Dutch VAT return and reports |
| Bank sync & reconciliation | Bank synchronisation with automatic reconciliation |
| Fixed assets | Asset management with depreciation |
| Receivables & reminders | Customer follow-up with automated reminders |
| Reporting | Spreadsheet reporting, dashboards and analytic accounting |
| Inventory & orders (Visma.net) | Native Inventory, Sales and Purchase |
| Projects | Project with timesheets and post-calculation |
| Payroll & HR | Limited in standard Odoo for NL; we integrate a payroll specialist (e.g. Nmbrs or Loket) |
| CRM & sales | Native CRM and Sales, where Visma is thin |
| eCommerce & customer portal | Native Website, eCommerce and Portal |
Why companies look for a Visma or AccountView alternative
Visma and AccountView earned their place with solid accounting: general ledger, invoicing, VAT returns and receivables. The pain is usually beyond finance. CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce and a customer portal are thin or missing, so a second system often runs alongside with double entry and manual exports. With AccountView there is the desktop, client-server heritage on top: installed locally, dated next to modern browser-first software. Visma.net is more modern, but at its core it stays a financial platform the rest of the business has to be built around.
We know Visma from the inside
We are not writing this as outsiders. Our founder Tim was a Visma partner for years with his previous company. It was exactly that experience that sent us looking for a better alternative - one that does not keep finance separate from the rest of the business - and we found it in Odoo. That is precisely why Radical Fanatics backs Odoo today: not from theory, but because we hit the limits of a purely financial package ourselves.
AccountView or Visma.net: two different moves
It helps to know where you are coming from. Leaving AccountView usually means moving from a desktop accounting package to the cloud, and the gain is mostly modernity, access anywhere and connecting the books to the rest of the business. For AccountView switchers in particular, Odoo Accounting tends to feel familiar straight away: the same bookkeeping logic of journals, general ledger and VAT, but browser-first and with automatic reconciliation, so most teams are up to speed quickly. Leaving Visma.net means you are already in the cloud, so it is more about breadth, openness and price: one platform instead of finance with separate satellites around it. In both cases we plan the move around a clean data plan: master data, open items, VAT history and the opening balance.
Which Visma product are you replacing?
Visma has grown into a large ecosystem through acquisitions, so the best alternative depends on which product you are replacing and how big you are. If you are replacing Visma eAccounting or you keep the books as a freelancer or small business, lightweight packages like e-Boekhouden.nl, Jortt or SnelStart are the obvious fit - and Odoo as soon as you want to grow into sales, inventory or a webshop. If you are replacing AccountView, you move from desktop bookkeeping to the cloud: Odoo Accounting feels familiar quickly there, with Exact or Twinfield as a purely accounting alternative. If you are replacing Visma.net ERP as a mid-sized to large company, Odoo is usually the strongest choice to connect finance to the whole business, with AFAS as a Dutch all-in-one and Oracle NetSuite for internationally fast-growing trade and manufacturing companies. And if you are replacing Visma Severa for projects and time tracking, Odoo Project covers that natively, with PSOhub as an alternative that hooks onto your existing CRM. The thread stays the same: the more you want to connect finance to the rest of the business, the stronger Odoo becomes.
Accountant or platform? The honest trade-off
This is the heart of it, and we are honest about it. Exact, Twinfield and SnelStart are financial specialists deep in Dutch bookkeeping practice and collaboration with accountants. If you just want to modernise your administration and stay close to your bookkeeper, such a specialist can be more comfortable than a broad platform. Odoo wins the moment you want to connect finance to the rest of the business: one data model from quote to order to invoice, with CRM, webshop, inventory, projects and portal native alongside. One honest caveat: for Dutch payroll standard Odoo is limited - there we integrate a specialist like Nmbrs or Loket, instead of pretending Odoo solves that best itself.
How to choose
Three rules of thumb. One: if your need is purely bookkeeping and you want to stay close to your accountant, Exact, Twinfield or - for small companies - SnelStart are the logical candidates. Two: if you want to connect finance to CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce, projects and portal on one modern platform, Odoo is usually the strongest choice, with a payroll integration for the NL-specific part. Three: if you mainly want finance, HR and payroll tightly from one Dutch hand, AFAS comes into play - provided you can live with the rigidity. Start from where your biggest pain is, not from the feature list.
Curious about realistic hours, cost and timelines? See the Odoo implementation benchmark →
Frequently asked questions about Visma and AccountView alternatives
Is Odoo a good alternative to Visma or AccountView?
For companies that want to connect their accounting to the whole business - CRM, sales, inventory, eCommerce, projects and portal on one modern platform - Odoo is usually the strongest alternative, with Dutch accounting and the VAT return built in. If you want a purely accountant-friendly bookkeeping package, a specialist like Exact or Twinfield can be more logical.
What is the best alternative to AccountView?
If you are leaving AccountView mainly to move from desktop to cloud and connect the books to the rest of the business, Odoo is usually the strongest choice. If you want a comparable, purely accounting package in the cloud, Exact Online and Twinfield are the logical options, and SnelStart for smaller companies.
Can Odoo handle Dutch accounting and the VAT return?
Yes. Odoo has a Dutch localisation with general ledger, journals, VAT return, bank feeds with automatic reconciliation, fixed assets and receivables. We set up the chart of accounts and VAT codes to Dutch practice.
What about payroll?
Honestly: for Dutch payroll standard Odoo is limited. In practice we integrate a specialised Dutch payroll solution (for example Nmbrs or Loket) and book the journal entries back into Odoo. That keeps accounting central without forcing Odoo where it is not the best fit.
How long does switching from Visma or AccountView take?
A well-scoped accounting implementation takes weeks to a few months, depending on scope and integrations. We start with a fit-gap and a data plan; master data, open items, VAT history and the opening balance are planned in explicitly.
Connect finance to the whole business?
We are happy to think along about which alternative fits your situation - even if that is a financial specialist rather than Odoo. Honest about where a bookkeeping package is more comfortable, and where a platform wins.