Exact Accounting vs. M3 (Accounting):
Which Is Right for You?

The Decision

Choosing the right hotel accounting software is a crucial step for your team to improve financial management, streamline operations, and support growth. Exact Accounting and M3 are both tailored to hospitality, but they diverge significantly in terms of maturity, features, and user feedback. Exact offers a broad global presence but lacks recent reviews and a high rating, while M3 stands out with a strong user base, recent positive feedback, and a comprehensive feature set. Which product better suits your hotel's needs?

Is Exact Accounting or M3 Better for Hotels?

Exact Accounting, founded in 1984 and with over 500,000 worldwide users, aims to serve SMEs with cloud-based financial solutions. However, its reviews are nonexistent or outdated, with a rating of 0/5 and no recent feedback, raising questions about current usability and support.

In contrast, M3, established in 1998 and focused solely on hospitality, boasts 477 recent reviews with an impressive 4.19/5 rating. It has a dedicated hotel user base, a higher likelihood to recommend (89%), and recent reviews in the last six months, providing more reliable data on performance and customer satisfaction.

Both platforms address hotel finance management but diverge in credibility and user sentiment. Given the absence of recent feedback for Exact, your confidence should lean towards M3. Are you prioritizing a proven, well-rated solution with recent reviews?

M3 vs Exact: Which Should Your Hotel Choose?

If your hotel requires a comprehensive, hospitality-specific accounting solution with proven user satisfaction, go with M3. Its extensive feature set—such as payroll, financial reporting, PMS mapping, and document imaging—caters directly to hotel needs and is backed by more recent, positive reviews.

If, however, your hotel is part of a larger, multinational organization seeking a broader global presence and a cloud accounting system with limited recent feedback, Exact might seem appealing. But considering the lack of recent reviews and a rating of 0, M3 clearly offers more confidence for hoteliers seeking reliability and industry focus.

In short, for hotels seeking an active, user-reviewed platform with a rich feature set, M3 is the recommended choice. Exact’s global reach doesn't compensate for its outdated feedback and zero current review activity.

Is Exact or M3 Easier to Use?

M3 has a user rating of 4.44/5 for ease of use, with reviews praising its intuitive interface and straightforward operations. Customers highlight how even new staff can quickly adapt, reducing training time, and how the platform simplifies daily financial tasks.

Exact, with a score of 0/5, offers no recent user feedback or ratings on usability. This absence suggests either a lack of active users or insufficient recent updates on user experience, which raises concerns about onboarding and staff adoption.

Edge: M3, with high user ratings and recent positive reviews affirming its ease of use and quick onboarding.

Which Has Better Features: Exact or M3?

M3 offers 23 unique features such as daily reporting, general ledger, accounts payable, budgeting, forecasting, document imaging, and multicurrency accounting—features tailored for hotel back-office needs. Its feature depth supports detailed financial management, automation, and compliance.

Exact provides zero features exclusive to its platform in the available data, implying it may lack the comprehensive tools hotel operators need for daily financial operations. Without specific features listed, M3’s richer functionality clearly gives it an advantage.

Edge: M3, with a broad suite of 23 industry-relevant features that directly support hotel financial workflows.

Which Has Better Customer Support: Exact or M3?

M3 earns a 4.51/5 rating for customer support, with recent reviews emphasizing prompt, efficient service and responsiveness. Users appreciate the help center and how support teams resolve issues swiftly, fostering trust and reducing downtime.

Exact, with no recent reviews or ratings, provides no current data on support quality. This absence suggests uncertain support levels, especially critical when managing hotel finances where timely help is essential.

Edge: M3, with documented high support ratings and recent positive customer feedback.

Which Has More Integrations: Exact or M3?

M3 boasts 39 verified integrations, including popular PMS systems like HotelTime, innRoad, and yield management tools such as STR and yieldPlanet. This extensive network allows smooth data flow across hotel operations, reducing manual entry.

Exact, with only one verified partner (Planergy), offers limited connectivity, which could hinder efficiency in a complex hotel environment. The lack of integrations might force manual data entry, increasing errors and workload.

Edge: M3, with nearly four dozen integrations supporting a seamless back-office ecosystem.

Which Do Hoteliers Rate Higher: Exact or M3?

Given the lack of recent reviews for Exact, it cannot be reliably rated by hoteliers today. M3, on the other hand, has a 4.19/5 rating from 477 reviews, with recent feedback emphasizing usability, support, and feature depth, particularly from mid-size and branded hotels.

While Exact’s historical reputation remains unverified with current users, M3’s active user base and recent positive reviews make it the more trusted choice for hotel managers and finance teams.

Edge: M3, with a proven, current user-rated satisfaction score.

How Much Do Exact and M3 Cost?

Exact’s pricing details are unavailable, implying a possible custom quote or less transparent pricing structure. M3 charges $400 per month, with no mention of setup fees or tiered pricing, making it straightforward to budget.

The lack of transparency in Exact’s pricing can complicate decision-making, whereas M3’s clear monthly fee allows for predictable budgeting, especially for mid-sized hotels.

What Type of Hotel Should Use Exact?

• Hotels that operate in multiple regions and require a cloud platform with global reach.
• Hotel chains looking for solutions that scale across international operations.
• Teams that prefer a cloud-based solution with a broad organizational footprint.
• Not ideal if you need recent reviews, specific industry-focused features, or dedicated hotel support.

What Type of Hotel Should Use M3?

• Hotels of any size seeking a dedicated, hotel-focused accounting solution.
• Branded hotels and management companies that benefit from extensive integrations and detailed financial features.
• Hotels prioritizing recent reviews, high user satisfaction, and responsive support.
• Teams that want a platform with built-in payroll, financial reporting, PMS mapping, and document imaging.
• Not ideal if you are looking for a non-hospitality-specific system or a solution outside North America.

M3 vs Exact: The Bottom Line for Hotels

M3 is the clear leader in current user satisfaction, feature richness, and integration support, making it the more reliable choice for hoteliers today. Its recent reviews and high ratings reflect a product actively maintained and valued by its hotel users.

Exact offers a broad global presence and cloud infrastructure but falls short in recent feedback, usability, and industry-specific features. If you need a tried-and-tested solution with community backing, M3 is the better option.

Hotels requiring a hotel-specific, user-rated system should choose M3 to ensure support, features, and integrations meet today’s operational demands. Exact may appeal if your hotel operates across multiple regions and values global cloud infrastructure, but you should verify its current support and usability directly.

This comprehensive comparison should help your team confidently select a system that supports your hotel’s financial management now and in the future.