Bol.com invoices and Exact Online: how do you automate the invoicing obligation?

Selling through Bol.com feels like outsourcing. The platform handles the storefront, the order and the payment. But there is one thing Bol.com explicitly does not do for you, and it catches many entrepreneurs off guard. You create and deliver the invoices to your customers yourself.

As long as you have a few orders per month, it is manageable. But once your volume grows, or when the first business buyer requests a correct invoice, it becomes a daily chore you would rather not have. In this article we explain what Bol.com expects from you, what manual invoicing costs you, and how to automate the entire process from Exact Online.

Bol.com handles the payment, not your invoices

A common assumption: "Bol.com collects the money, so the invoice will be fine too." That is not true. Bol.com provides the payment overview, not the invoice to your customer. The invoicing obligation lies with you as the seller.

In practice that means a few things:

• You are responsible for a correct and complete invoice per order
• If a customer requests an invoice, it must be available quickly (Bol.com applies a 24-hour deadline)
• For business (B2B) orders there are extra requirements for what the invoice must contain

Failing to meet those requirements is more than an administrative slip. It affects your customer satisfaction, your rating on the platform and in the worst case your selling status.

What manual invoicing costs you

The standard route without automation looks like this: you create the invoice in your bookkeeping, you download the PDF, you log in to your Bol.com sales account and you upload the file to the right order. Per order. Every day again.

The downsides of that are predictable:

• Time-consuming A few minutes per order seems little, but with dozens of orders a day it adds up fast.
• Error-prone The wrong PDF with the wrong order, a forgotten upload, a typo in the details.
• Pile-up Invoice requests you plan to handle "later" stay put until you have passed the 24-hour deadline.

It is exactly the kind of work nobody enjoys and that is the first to be left undone on a busy day.

How the connector with Exact Online works

The connector between Exact Online and Bol.com removes that manual step completely. The idea is simple: you keep invoicing in Exact Online, the connector does the rest.

As soon as an invoice is created in Exact Online, the connector automatically sends the PDF back to the platform through the Bol.com API. The invoice is then immediately ready in the buyer's account. If an invoice request comes in, it is in most cases already handled before you would even look at it.

The process runs entirely in the background and fits your existing administration. You do not have to change your way of working in Exact Online. You simply add an automatic link to it.

The benefits at a glance

• No more manual uploads Invoices are sent back to Bol.com directly from Exact Online.
• Always on time Invoice requests are handled automatically, well within the 24-hour deadline.
• Compliant, also for B2B Business orders receive a correct and complete invoice without extra checks.
• One source of truth Customer, order and invoice data stay synchronised between Exact Online and Bol.com.
• Secure processing The transfer of invoice data follows fixed, secure standards.

What to keep in mind

An honest story belongs here too. A connector is no miracle cure, and in these cases it is good to have clear expectations:

• You need Exact Online as a foundation The connector automates the sending, but you still create the invoice itself in Exact Online. If you currently invoice outside Exact, you first need to set up Exact.
• It is an extra step in your process That comes with a time saving, but it is a component that needs to be maintained and monitored. That is what our SLAs are for.
• One-time setup Count on a short implementation in which we configure and test the connector before it goes live.

For most Bol.com sellers who work with Exact Online, the time saved far outweighs those points. As soon as you spend more than half an hour a week uploading invoices, the automation quickly pays for itself.

Getting started: implementation, support and SLA

We set up the connector in clear steps, with the option to run it in a test environment first. After that our team is ready to support you, from support tickets to phone help and proactive management. You choose the SLA level that suits your business. We are happy to think along about the best setup for your situation.

Conclusion

The invoicing obligation on Bol.com is yours, but that does not mean you have to spend time on it every day. With the connector between Exact Online and Bol.com, invoices are created, sent back and delivered on time automatically. Compliant, error-free and without manual work. You keep time for the work that really matters.

Curious whether this fits your webshop? Get in touch right away or request a no-obligation demo. Also take a look at all our Bol.com connectors with Exact Online.