Ask specific questions with customer names, item codes and dates
The more specific your question, the better the answer. Instead of "show orders", ask "show all open sales orders from customer Bakkerij de Groot from the past 30 days". Mention customer names, item codes, dates and status filters for the best result.
Always specify the Exact Online administration in your question
Do you work with multiple Exact Online administrations? Start with: "In administration Productie BV, how much of item A1001 is in stock?" This way the AI knows exactly which administration to search and you avoid confusion.
Break down complex questions into smaller steps
A question like "give me an overview of all customers with outstanding invoices, their payment terms and a comparison with last quarter" is too complex for one go. Break it down:
- "Which customers have outstanding invoices?"
- "What are the payment terms for these customers?"
- "Compare the outstanding amounts with Q3 2025."
Always verify AI output in Exact Online
AI assistants are powerful but not infallible. Always verify important information in Exact Online itself. Ask for order numbers or invoice numbers so you can quickly verify. Never make business-critical decisions based solely on AI output.
Use follow-up questions to zoom in step by step
You don't have to cram everything into one question. Start broad and zoom in:
- "Find all open purchase orders."
- "Show me the details of order PO-2026-0034."
- "Book a receipt for line 1, 500 units."
The AI assistant remembers the conversation context, making follow-up questions feel natural.
Find more example prompts in the prompt library. Have questions? Check the FAQ. Ready to get started? Follow the MCP setup guide and you'll be up and running in 5 minutes. New to AI? Read our AI starter guide for SMBs or browse the full Exact Online AI integration.
Why these tips matter
The difference between an AI assistant that is useful and one that disappoints rarely sits in the model. It sits in how you phrase the question and whether you check what comes back. Below are five habits that make the most difference in practice.
1. Always name the administration
If you manage several administrations, the assistant does not know which one you mean. Forget it and you get a correct answer from the wrong set of books - and you will not spot it from the answer itself. Name the administration in the first question of a conversation.
2. Be concrete with names, codes and periods
"How is revenue doing?" produces a vague answer. "What was revenue per month in the second quarter, compared to last year?" produces something usable. The less room for interpretation, the better the answer.
3. Split complex questions up
A question with five parts often produces an answer where three of them were addressed. Ask the parts in sequence and use each answer as the reason for the next. That costs a few seconds more and saves a wrong picture.
4. Check amounts before acting on them
An AI assistant pulls figures from your administration, so the chance of error is small - but not zero, and the way an answer is presented can give a wrong impression. For amounts that lead to a decision, always check the underlying records.
5. Start with reading, not writing
Only enable write access once you have a week of experience with read questions. By then you know how the assistant interprets your questions, and that is exactly what you want to know before it can change anything. Write access is off by default; see the security page.
A sixth, for the advanced
Start a new conversation for a new subject. Long conversations that jump from stock to invoices to projects mix up context. A new conversation costs nothing and stops an earlier answer colouring the next.