EXTERNAL CLIENT CASE · MAINTAINED SINCE SEPTEMBER 2026
Mercabilis builds websites and web shops. For one of their clients, a WooCommerce web shop had to talk to Exact Online: orders in, products and prices out, no retyping. Robin Duin of Mercabilis looks after the web shop. I look after the Exact Online WooCommerce integration, the server it runs on and the maintenance. This is what that looks like.
External client case · maintained since September 2026 · follow-up measurement January 2027
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14
workflows set up, including error handling
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1
extension live: customer group pricing
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12
tables in the integration database
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24 h
response time on a fault, on working days
On this page: the case in one paragraph · about Mercabilis · the problem · what I built · the alert e-mail · maintenance · the extension · what this means for a web agency · frequently asked questions
The case in one paragraph
A client of web agency Mercabilis wanted its WooCommerce web shop and Exact Online to keep each other up to date, without retyping and without an off-the-shelf connector plugin. I set up a server of their own with Cloudflare in front, self-hosted n8n with its own integration database, and monitoring that sends an alert e-mail in plain language to Robin Duin and me on every deviation. The integration has been running since the summer of 2026, has watched itself since August and has been under maintenance since September with a monthly maintenance plan. Figures on processed orders, alerts and recovery time follow in January 2027, because I only publish what has been measured.
About Mercabilis
Mercabilis builds websites and web shops. Robin Duin, owner of Mercabilis, looks after the web shop; I look after the integration, the server and the maintenance. You can read more about the agency at mercabilis.nl.
This is also a partner case: a web agency that builds the web shop and lets AIAgentCycle do the integration and the server. The web shop itself belongs to a client of Mercabilis. I do not name them.
The problem
A web shop and an accounting system are two systems that each work fine on their own and know nothing about each other. Every order then has to be typed into Exact by hand. Every price change in Exact has to be copied to the shop by hand. That works until it gets busy, and then it goes wrong on exactly the day you have no time for it.
Mercabilis wanted to solve this for their client without an off-the-shelf connector plugin. Such a plugin runs on someone else’s server, you cannot see what it does, and when it breaks you hear it from your client. Robin wanted an integration that belongs to the client, that you can read, and that speaks up when something is wrong.
What I built
One server of their own, set up from the ground up, with the integration on it and a watchdog next to it. An ERP integration for WooCommerce is, at its core, a handful of flows and one watchdog; the rest is making sure they keep running.
Swipe the table sideways to see all columns.
| Layer | What is there | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Server | Own VPS in Europe, with automatic security updates and daily backups with a retention period | The client owns it; no third-party connector plugin |
| Access | Cloudflare in front: WAF, and Zero Trust Access for the n8n admin screen | The admin is not reachable with just a password |
| Integration | Self-hosted n8n with fourteen workflows, including error handling, and its own integration database of twelve tables | All logic is readable and exportable |
| Flows | Orders from WooCommerce to Exact; products and prices from Exact to WooCommerce; customer group pricing from Exact to WooCommerce (the right price for whoever is logged in); token management for the Exact API | Exact stays the source of truth for prices and products |
| Monitoring | Heartbeat check on every workflow, an error queue, and an alert e-mail to Robin and me on every deviation | A fault nobody sees does not exist |
| Logging | A log per step, with rotation and retention periods | Look back without filling the disk |
The integration has been running since the summer of 2026. Since August it has been watching itself.
The alert e-mail that makes the difference
Every integration breaks at some point. Usually not because of the integration itself, but because a system on the other side does not respond for a moment. Exact Online returns a server error now and then at night. That is fine, as long as you know.
So on every deviation the integration sends an e-mail, and that e-mail is written for a person, not for a programmer. Three headings: what went wrong, what this means and what needs to happen. Robin gets it, I get it. An order that could not land in Exact because a product code was missing is in there with the order number and the product code. A server error at Exact is in there as “wait, the integration will retry”.
The result: Robin does not have to ask whether the integration is still running. He hears when it is not, and he hears what to do about it.
Maintenance: what happens every month
An integration nobody maintains breaks within a year, because one of the connected systems changes something. That is why there is a maintenance plan. Every month:
- Check the server’s automated security scan and follow up on anything odd.
- Review pending updates. Security updates are automatic; regular updates are not, because applying everything automatically is exactly how you take down a working integration on a Tuesday afternoon.
- Check n8n and the containers against release notes and known vulnerabilities.
- Check logs, disk space and database, with a spot check on the error queue.
- Health of the integration: Exact token valid, workflows active, heartbeat present.
- Backup present and restorable.
- A short monthly report: what was done, what stood out, what is coming.
Twice a year n8n is updated on a copy, tested, and only then swapped in. Once a year the keys and passwords are rotated. If something breaks, I respond within 24 hours on working days; that is a response time, not a guaranteed fix time, and the agreement says so.
The extension: customer group pricing
In October 2026 Mercabilis wanted to extend the integration with customer group pricing: Exact holds separate sales prices for regular customers and resellers, and the shop has to show the right price to whoever is logged in. Exact stays the source of truth. Robin built the shop side, I built the Exact side. First I checked how the groups and prices are technically set up in Exact and through which API data they are available; then I extended the synchronisation with the prices per customer group, linked the Exact debtor to the WooCommerce user, and added error handling and tests. The extension runs in production. That brings the integration to fourteen workflows, including error handling, and Exact remains the only place where a price is changed.
What this means for a web agency
You build the web shop. Then your client asks for an integration with Exact, a CRM or a stock system, and that is not your trade. You can say no, put someone else’s plugin on it, or bring in someone who does the integration and the server and who speaks up when something is wrong. Mercabilis chose the third. Want to know how that would work for your agency? Book a free scan.
More about integrations, how I work, pricing and maintenance plans and how to automate business processes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a WooCommerce Exact integration also work with Shopify, Magento or Lightspeed?
Yes. The shop is the easiest side to replace. The hard side is the monitoring, the token management and the error handling, and those do not depend on the shop system.
Why not an off-the-shelf Exact Online plugin for WooCommerce?
It can be fine. The difference: a plugin runs somewhere else, you cannot look into the logic, and when it fails you usually hear it from your client. Here the integration belongs to the client, it is readable, and it reports itself.
What does an integration like this cost?
Two parts on the pricing page: the secure n8n setup (server, access, backups, monitoring) and the integration itself, which starts as a quick win for one process. Maintenance is a fixed monthly plan. The exact price depends on the number of flows and integrations; you hear it before the assignment, not after.
Who owns the integration?
The client. Server and accounts are in the client’s name, the workflows are exportable, and when maintenance ends the client receives the documentation.
Want to know first whether this pays off for your web shop or agency?
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Case delivered by Stefan de Graaf (AIAgentCycle) for Mercabilis, summer 2026, maintained since September 2026. Stack: WooCommerce, Exact Online API, n8n (self-hosted), own VPS, Cloudflare (WAF, Zero Trust Access), heartbeat monitoring, e-mail alerts. Workflow and table counts are as of October 2026. A follow-up measurement of processed orders, alerts and recovery time follows in January 2027.