Connecting Sage 50, Acomba or QuickBooks to an application: what is possible

Accounting software at a glance

API, SDK, ODBC, import: what these words mean

Web API

An access point over the internet. The application sends a request (“create this invoice”) and gets a response, with nothing to install on your side. It is the simplest and most reliable method.

SDK

A development kit supplied by the vendor. For desktop software, the program that uses it generally runs on a computer where the accounting software is installed.

ODBC

Direct access to the software’s database, through standard queries. Powerful, but it requires a good knowledge of how the tables are structured.

Import file

A file (CSV or a vendor-specific format) that the accounting software imports. Simple for a small volume, but rarely automatic.

Notification (webhook)

A notice the accounting software sends to the application as soon as a piece of data changes. Without it, the application checks for changes at regular intervals.

Sage 50: no web API, but an SDK and files

Sage 50, Canadian edition, is at version 2027. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. Sage’s developer portal, which documents the APIs of its other products, offers nothing for Sage 50. The connection goes through two routes.

• The Sage 50 SDK: according to a Sage employee (September 2026), it is free and downloaded through the partner portal, after registering. Sage technical support does not assist with these projects; the developer programs, which give access to test copies, have annual fees whose amount is not published.
• Import files: the CSV format is used for records (customers, vendors, employees, items), without transactions or balances. Invoices and other transactions go through the .IMP format, designed for add-ons and programs built with the SDK.

Because Sage 50 only runs on Windows, the connection relies in practice on a workstation or server where it is installed. Sage 50 Cloud, the same software delivered in a browser from servers in Canada, changes the picture: Sage states that some custom integrations might not be available there. Check before you start.

Acomba: an API for Acomba GO, an SDK or ODBC for the desktop version

Acomba is published by ACCEO Solutions, which develops it exclusively for the Canadian market. Two products coexist: Acomba GO, online management software, and Acomba, the classic desktop software, also offered hosted by ACCEO under the name Acomba Online.

Acomba GO opens up to applications through ACCEO Connect, a web API. The developer receives a key, and each client business authorizes it itself, choosing which modules are allowed. The catalogue covers accounts, customers and their transactions (quote, order, invoice, credit), vendors, items, warehouses, journal entries, receipts and payments. There are no notifications: the application queries the API by modification date. ACCEO states that ACCEO Connect is not offered to Acomba GO clients who keep their accounting in the desktop Acomba software.

For desktop Acomba, there are two official routes: the SDK, included in the paid plans of the Acomba Developers Program, and the ODBC module, which gives read and write access to most tables. Acomba’s import formats are offered at every level of the program. The documentation is reserved for members; for Acomba Online, confirm with ACCEO that the route you choose works.

QuickBooks: the most open API, online only

QuickBooks Online offers the most complete API of the three vendors: customers, items, invoices, payments, batch requests, retrieval of recent changes and notifications on every change. Intuit limits each company to 500 requests per minute, enough for a small business. Since November 2025, its partner program has kept writes free (creating an invoice, a customer) and meters reads beyond a monthly quota; according to its FAQ, this program covers Canada, Quebec excluded.

The plan matters: in Canada, inventory, purchase orders and sales orders are part of the QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced plans, not EasyStart. A production application that reads inventory therefore needs the right plan.

QuickBooks Desktop connects through the Desktop SDK, which works on the same computer or the same network as QuickBooks, and through the Web Connector, a Windows application that initiates the exchanges itself. But Intuit has stopped selling Desktop Pro, Premier and payroll to new Canadian subscribers, and older versions lose their online services at the end of their life cycle: Desktop 2023 lost its own after May 31, 2026. For a new project, it is better to start from QuickBooks Online.

How to choose the connection method

1. Note the exact software: the name, the edition, the version, and whether it is installed on a workstation or used online.
2. Decide which way the data flows. Most often, the application reads customers and items, then sends completed orders or invoices to accounting.
3. Choose the most robust route available: the web API first, then the SDK or ODBC, and import files for a small volume.
4. For desktop software, plan for the computer or server that will handle the connection, and who has to keep it running.
5. Budget for the vendor’s fees: developer program, ODBC module or billed reads.
6. Test on a copy of your data before connecting your real accounting.

Changing accounting software for an application is rarely necessary. The question mainly comes up when the software offers no way to connect for the volume involved, or is no longer sold or updated. Our guide ERP or custom software for a small manufacturer compares the solutions that replace your accounting and the ones that connect to it.