Fiatteren is the Dutch term for the formal approval of a purchase invoice by someone authorised to give it, before the invoice is paid. In Exact Online you set this up with the Purchase invoice approval feature: once it is on, an invoice only appears in the Payments overview after it has been approved. Sequential approval in up to five steps is available from the Boekhouden Plus edition.
This is the guide I wanted when I first set up an approval flow in Exact Online. First what fiatteren actually is, then the buttons in Exact Online itself, then the mistakes I see most. I checked every statement about Exact Online on 24 September 2026 in the Exact knowledge base and on the Exact pricing page. The sources are listed at the bottom. Exact's own screens are in Dutch, so I give the Dutch menu names with an English explanation.
What is fiatteren?
Fiatteren comes from the Latin fiat: let it be done. Whoever fiatteert an invoice says: this is correct, this may be paid. In practice Dutch finance teams use three words for it:
- Fiatteren: the act. Someone puts their sign-off on one specific invoice.
- Goedkeuren (approving): the same thing in plainer words. Exact Online uses this word in its menu: Facturen goedkeuren.
- Autoriseren (authorising): the broader concept. Authorisation is about who may approve what, up to which amount and for which cost centre. You record that in an authorisation matrix.
In short: authorisation decides who may approve, and fiatteren is the moment that person actually does it. A longer definition is in the glossary under fiatteren.
What is digital approval (digitale fiattering)?
Digital approval means the sign-off happens in software and is stored with the invoice, instead of an initial on paper or an "approved" in an email. The difference is not the click, it is what you can find afterwards: who approved, when, and which version of the invoice. An email saying "fine, go ahead and pay" is rarely traceable to the right entry a year later.
Approving purchase invoices in Exact Online
Exact Online has approval built in. Below is how it works, with the menu path where you can check it yourself.
Which edition do you need?
According to Exact's pricing page, from Exact Online Boekhouden Plus you can have invoices approved sequentially in up to five steps. Plus costs 99 euros per month. Users who only need to approve can be created free of charge and without limit. That is useful: a budget owner who only approves does not cost you an extra licence.
The knowledge base itself adds that not every feature on the Facturen goedkeuren tab is in every subscription. The advanced options, such as approver limits, a default approver per supplier and automatic approval per supplier, are only available if your subscription includes the scan service. So check which options you see in your own administration.
Who can approve?
Approving is a right in Exact Online. The role is called Inkoopfacturen goedkeuren (approve purchase invoices). You find the roles under Administration name > Stamgegevens (master data) > Gebruikers (users) > Rollen (roles). To switch approval on or off for users you need the role Rechten toekennen (assign rights) yourself. An approver needs access to purchase documents and outstanding items. Exact grants those related rights automatically when you switch on the approval right.
Switching approval on
- Go to Administration name > Instellingen (settings) and open the Facturen goedkeuren tab.
- Tick Goedkeuring facturen inschakelen (enable invoice approval). This only works once at least one user has the approval right.
- Under Goed te keuren door (to be approved by), pick the users who may approve.
- Choose which invoices need approval: all purchase invoices (including payment method Cash and Direct debit), only invoices with payment method On credit, or only invoices received via Peppol.
You can also switch approval on through the Slim Inkopen (smart purchasing) settings. An invoice with an amount of 0 does not need approval.
Setting up an approval flow
One approver for everything is a start. If you want steps in sequence, you create an approval flow (goedkeuringsflow):
- Go to Administration name > Instellingen > Facturen goedkeuren tab.
- In the Opeenvolgende goedkeuring (sequential approval) section, click Instellen (set up) for a new flow, or Beheren (manage) to edit an existing one.
- Add steps. A flow has at least one and at most five steps. You can change the order.
- Pick an activity per step and click Goedkeurders selecteren (select approvers). You choose from all approvers, the default approver per supplier or the default approver per cost centre.
- Optionally link suppliers and cost centres to the flow under Geavanceerde instellingen (advanced settings). Without a link it is a general flow.
- Fill in Actief vanaf / Actief tot (active from / to) if the flow should only apply for a while.
The activities Exact offers per step:
- Controleren op bedrag (check amount): is the amount right and does it match the order?
- Controleren op goederen/diensten (check goods/services): has what was ordered been received?
- Controleren op boekingen (check entries): are the VAT code and GL account right?
- Controleren op hoge bedragen (check high amounts): only invoices above the approver's limit come past, the rest are approved automatically in this step.
- Voorbereiden op betaling (prepare for payment).
- Controleren op nieuwe leverancier (check new supplier): are bank account, VAT code and address right?
- Beoordeling door projectleider and Beoordeling door inkoper (review by project manager, review by buyer).
You can create unlimited flows, but each flow must be unique: not the same combination of supplier, settings and cost centre twice, unless they are active on different dates. Exact picks the most specific flow. If you have a general flow, a flow for Voorbeeldleverancier BV and a flow for Voorbeeldleverancier BV plus cost centre Marketing, an invoice from Voorbeeldleverancier BV on Marketing goes to the last one.
Approving as an approver
The approver goes to Inkoop > Facturen > Inkoop > Overzicht (purchase invoice overview), filters on the status In afwachting van goedkeuring (awaiting approval), opens the invoice and clicks Goedkeuren. Anyone with the approval right, or assigned as approver, also gets an approval activity in the Activities section when a new purchase entry is created. If an approver is away, you change the approver per invoice or for a whole selection at once with Goedkeurder wijzigen (change approver).
What happens to payment?
This is the core. With Purchase invoice approval switched on, the outstanding item only appears in the Betalingen (payments) overview after the invoice has been approved. On the Openstaande posten | Te betalen (outstanding items, payable) page an unapproved invoice has the status In afwachting van goedkeuring. And if the supplier or amount on the invoice changes after approval, Exact reopens all approved steps. So an invoice cannot quietly change after sign-off.
Common approval mistakes
- Approving when the money has already gone. An emailed "approved" after the payment run is not a control, it is a formality. Switch approval on so an invoice without sign-off never reaches Payments.
- One approver for everything. Then everything stops when that person is on holiday, and someone approves invoices they know nothing about. Use an approver per cost centre or supplier.
- No segregation of duties. Whoever enters the invoice does not approve it. Whoever approves does not also prepare the payment without a second look.
- No amount threshold. An 80 euro invoice and an 18,000 euro invoice do not deserve the same route. Put high amounts in an extra step.
- No cover arranged. Agree in advance who steps in, and change the approver in time instead of after the reminder letter.
- Approving everything. An invoice that matches an approved purchase order and receipt was already reviewed at the time of ordering. More on that in 3-way matching explained.
Exact Online and Glimps side by side
Not a ranking, just what sits where. The Exact Online column comes from Exact's knowledge base and pricing page, the Glimps column from our own product pages.
| Topic | Exact Online itself | With Glimps |
|---|---|---|
| Approval by amount | Approver limits and the Check high amounts activity (limits need the scan service) | Amount thresholds in the approval rules |
| Approval by cost centre | Default approver per cost centre, link a flow to a cost centre | Rules on cost centre |
| Approval by supplier | Default approver per supplier, link a flow to a supplier, automatic approval with a limit | Rules on supplier |
| Approval by GL account | Check entries activity (a person checks) | Rules on GL account |
| Number of steps | 1 to 5 steps per flow | Multi-level approval |
| Who approves | Users with the Approve purchase invoices role; approve-only users free from Plus | Approvers: 3 in Professional, 10 in Business, extra approver 10 euros per month; Starter has no approval flow |
| When approval happens | On the purchase entry, before the item appears in Payments | Before Glimps posts the entry to Exact Online |
| Record | Status per invoice, approved steps reopen when supplier or amount changes | Audit trail on every invoice, notifications and reminders |
| Paying | Exact prepares the payment | Glimps never pays, that stays in Exact Online |
How Glimps handles approval
Glimps only works with Exact Online. An invoice arrives, Glimps reads it, codes the lines, matches it to the purchase order if you use PO matching, and routes it to the right approver. Which approver that is follows your own rules on amount, supplier, cost centre or GL account. The approver sees the invoice with its lines and context, and approves without a PDF travelling through inboxes. If something sits too long, a reminder follows. Who approved what stays with the invoice. More on setting up rules under workflows and on the page approving invoices in Exact Online.
After sign-off Glimps posts the invoice in Exact Online, per supplier as far as you allow. By default every invoice is prepared and you press post. You switch on automatic posting per supplier, and even then eight checks stop or limit a posting when something is off. Glimps never pays: payment happens in Exact Online. How the posting itself works is in posting invoices automatically in Exact Online.
Good to know: Glimps reads PDF and scanned invoices, and a UBL file together with the PDF of the same invoice. Peppol is not supported.
Start today
If you stay in Exact Online itself, start small: switch approval on, assign an approver per cost centre and create one flow with an extra step for high amounts. You can always extend it.
If you want to try Glimps, you connect Exact Online yourself and your first invoice is ready within minutes. The trial runs 14 days and is free. See the pricing or click through the demo first. Other terms from this guide are in the glossary.