Your accounting sits in SnelStart, you sell through a webshop and your customers live in a CRM. Three systems, the same data, and still you retype every order into an invoice by hand. A waste of your time, and error-prone on top of that. A SnelStart integration removes that manual work: you connect SnelStart to your other software so data flows back and forth automatically. In this guide you will read which integrations exist, how the connection key and the API work, what it costs, and when a ready-made connector or custom work is the better call. No sales pitch, just an honest picture for small and mid-sized businesses.
Want the wider context on automation first? Read our guide to AI automation for SMEs. And to ask the right questions up front, our checklist for automating a process is a good place to start.
What is a SnelStart integration?
A SnelStart integration is a connection that lets SnelStart exchange data automatically with another system, such as your webshop, CRM, bank or payroll package. Instead of retyping orders, invoices or payments, you let the software do it through the SnelStart web API. The integration pulls data, translates it and writes it to the right place, on a fixed schedule or the instant something happens.
That retyping is not a small problem. According to MuleSoft’s Connectivity Benchmark Report (2024), organisations use nearly 1,000 separate applications on average, of which only about 29 percent are actually connected to one another (MuleSoft). The rest are islands. And every island means double entry and mistakes you only spot once it is too late.
Which integrations are available for SnelStart?
Almost any type of business software can be connected to SnelStart. The most requested integrations revolve around sales, payments and staff. Below are the most common categories.
| Integration | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Webshop / e-commerce | Orders, stock and customer data straight into the books | Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento |
| CRM | Keeps customer and invoice data in sync | HubSpot, Pipedrive, Simplicate |
| Bank (PSD2) | Reads bank transactions in and reconciles | ING, ABN AMRO, Knab, SNS |
| Payroll / HR | Posts salary journal entries automatically | Nmbrs, Loket |
| POS / till | Daily turnover from the till into the books | Till integrations for retail and hospitality |
| Scan & recognise | Reads and books purchase invoices automatically | Invoice processing and recognition software |
| Accountant | Your accountant works in the same administration | SnelStart for accountants |
Not seeing your system? As long as it has an API, an integration is almost always possible. The only question is which route, and that decides the price and the reliability.
Ready-made connector or custom via the API?
You can set up a SnelStart integration in three ways. Which one fits depends on how standard your process is and how much control you want to keep.
- Ready-made connector from a software partner. SnelStart has an extensive integration overview with partners who have already connected their software to SnelStart. You activate such a connector usually with a connection key. For common combinations, like Shopify to SnelStart, this is often the fastest and cheapest route.
- No-code integration platform. Tools like Zapier, Make or an iPaaS connect SnelStart to apps that have no ready-made partner connector. You set which data goes where yourself, no programming. Handy for light, non-critical flows.
- Custom integration through the SnelStart API. A developer builds an integration that does exactly what your process needs: custom logic, two-way synchronisation and strict error handling. Pricier, but fully yours. You usually pay for such a custom integration as a one-off, plus a maintenance fee. what an API integration costs.
| Route | Suited to | Rough price | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner connector | Common standard integrations | € 0 to 50 per month | Low, you follow the partner |
| No-code platform | Light, non-critical flows | € 20 to 100 per month | Medium |
| Custom via API | Custom logic, critical data, sync | € 1,500 to 7,500+ one-off | High, you own the code |
Torn between no-code and custom? Putting Zapier, Make and n8n side by side will point you in the right direction. And our piece on no-code versus custom automation shows exactly where the line sits between clicking it together yourself and having it built.
How does the SnelStart API work?
The SnelStart web API is the official way external software talks to your online administration. Important to know: SnelStart does not build the integration itself. The company only opens the port, after which a software partner or developer builds the actual integration (SnelStart Kennisplein). Access runs through a connection key: a unique key you generate yourself in SnelStart Web and paste into the external application. That grants the app access to your administration specifically, and each administration gets its own key.
For serious, broadly deployed integrations there is a second layer. Anyone who wants to offer a production integration for multiple clients must use OAuth and pass a SnelStart certification process; certification is a one-off 250 euros per key (SnelStart). That sounds like a hurdle, but it is there precisely to stop sloppy integrations getting loose on financial data.
The SnelStart API is a REST API, like most modern packages. Postman’s State of the API report (2023) found that more than 85 percent of developers work with REST APIs (Postman). That is good news: it makes the integration predictable to build and maintain. Do watch the limits an accounting API sets, though, such as caps on the number of calls. An integration that processes a lot of data at once has to handle that smartly.
What does a SnelStart integration cost?
What a SnelStart integration costs depends mostly on the route. A ready-made partner connector usually sits at a fixed monthly fee. A custom integration is a one-off cost, plus maintenance. Here is a rough guide per type.
| Integration type | Example | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| Partner connector | Shopify orders into SnelStart | € 0 to 50 per month |
| No-code platform | CRM contact into SnelStart via Make | € 20 to 100 per month |
| Custom, one direction | Own webshop reads invoices from SnelStart | € 1,500 to 4,000 one-off |
| Custom, two-way + sync | Real-time sync between stock system and SnelStart | € 4,000 to 7,500+ one-off |
On top of the build, always budget for maintenance. An API changes, a connection key gets revoked, SnelStart rolls out an update: then the integration has to move with it. Those recurring costs are what people underestimate most. How to weigh them against the gains is covered in our breakdown of custom software costs, and whether an integration pays for itself you can work out with our guide to the ROI of automation.
The maths is simpler than it looks. According to Gartner, poor data quality costs organisations an average of 12.9 million dollars per year (Gartner). Every time someone retypes an order wrong, you pay a slice of that. An integration that removes the manual work often pays for itself faster than you would think.
Connecting your bank to SnelStart (PSD2)
A bank integration lets bank transactions come into SnelStart automatically, so all you have to do is reconcile them. This runs through PSD2, the European law that requires banks to share account data securely through an API with your permission. You set the integration up from SnelStart Web: under Cash and bank you choose to manage bank integrations, select your bank and confirm the authorisation. Major Dutch banks like ING, ABN AMRO, Knab and SNS are supported, usually at no extra cost. Note that a PSD2 authorisation expires over time, so you have to renew it periodically or the integration stalls.
Connecting your accountant to SnelStart
Connecting your accountant means they look into the same administration, without emailing files back and forth. In SnelStart you invite your accountant or accounting firm and grant the right permissions. They then work live in your books, which makes filing and the annual accounts a lot smoother. The other way around, an accountant can also set up your administration and give you access afterwards. SnelStart has a dedicated environment for accountants for this, so a firm manages several administrations in one place.
How secure is a SnelStart integration?
A well-built integration is secure, but security does not come for free. Because financial data travels over the internet, you want a modern access method, encrypted traffic over HTTPS and access to only the data that is truly needed. The connection key helps here: it grants access to exactly one administration and you can revoke it at any moment, for example when you stop working with a partner. If you process personal data, the GDPR applies in full: you must be able to show that data is exchanged securely and shared no more than necessary (Dutch Data Protection Authority). At TopDevs we build integrations with token management, encryption and logging as standard, not as an upsell.
What to watch when having a SnelStart integration built
Before you have an integration built, check a few things. They decide whether your integration lasts for years or breaks after the first update.
- Does a ready-made connector already exist? Look in SnelStart’s integration overview first. If the integration already exists and fits, custom work is a waste of money.
- One direction or two? Pulling data from SnelStart is simple. Keeping both sides in sync is more complex, and therefore pricier.
- What happens when it goes wrong? Ask explicitly about error handling, automatic retries and logging. An integration fails eventually; what matters is that you notice.
- Who owns the code? Make sure you keep a custom integration in your own hands. Why that matters so much is covered in code ownership and vendor lock-in.
- Who maintains it? Agree on upkeep up front, so an API change or an expired connection key does not catch you off guard.
If you run a bigger package alongside SnelStart, say AFAS, the question is often whether you build custom on top of the standard package and connect it through the API. We cover that trade-off in off-the-shelf versus custom software. And a customer portal almost always runs on integrations quietly doing their work in the background, for example to show invoices from SnelStart.
Do it yourself or have it built?
A common integration you set up fine yourself with a partner connector or a no-code tool. The moment money, customer data or reliability is on the line, you want custom work with proper error handling and maintenance. That is exactly the difference between a demo that works once and an integration you run on for years. Connecting systems is not a SnelStart-only story, by the way, since almost any accounting package with an API connects the same way. the wider guide to connecting software.
At TopDevs we build SnelStart integrations at a fixed price agreed up front, with code that stays yours. No subscription to your own integration, no lock-in.
TopDevs is a Dutch software agency that builds custom software, AI integrations and automations. Want to spar about which integration fits your systems? Book a free call and we will look together at where the gains are.
