Which direction does data move between Exact Online and UKG?

The main flow is UKG into Exact Online. Payroll GL postings and employee records move from UKG into Exact Online, while cost centers are aligned in both directions to ensure payroll allocations reference valid Exact Online GL accounts. Exact Online GL accounts are read-only for the integration.

How does ml-connector handle UKG's two authentication mechanisms?

UKG supports HTTP Basic Auth with API keys for core REST endpoints and OAuth 2.0 client credentials for platform APIs and webhooks. ml-connector stores both credential sets encrypted and uses the appropriate mechanism for each endpoint type. OAuth tokens expire in 1 hour and are refreshed automatically.

How does the integration handle Exact Online's division-specific URLs and short token lifetime?

ml-connector accepts the division ID per customer and constructs the correct region-specific base URL for each division. Because Exact Online access tokens expire in 10 minutes, the integration refreshes the token proactively before each API call to avoid rate limiting and retry overhead.

Exact OnlineUKG

Exact Online and UKG integration

Exact Online runs your accounting and supply chain. UKG runs your payroll and HR. When these are connected, payroll GL postings flow from UKG into Exact Online's general ledger automatically after each pay run, and employee data stays aligned between systems. ml-connector bridges the two authentication schemes and moves the records on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar. Month-end close starts with your labor accounts already reconciled.

How Exact Online works

Exact Online is a cloud ERP for SMEs covering accounting, purchasing, sales, inventory, HR, and project management. It exposes suppliers, customers, GL accounts, cost centers, purchase invoices, sales invoices, purchase orders, and journal entries through a REST API with OData v3 query syntax. Authentication is OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Grant with a 10-minute access token lifetime and 30-day refresh token lifetime. Exact Online supports webhooks for a wide range of resources including Accounts, SalesOrders, PurchaseOrders, and GLAccounts, with HMAC-SHA256 signature verification. Each customer is identified by a division ID, which must be included in every API call. Related entity data is not expanded in a single call and must be fetched in separate requests.

How UKG works

UKG is a workforce management platform offering HRIS, payroll processing, and time and attendance. It exposes employee master data, compensation details, pay statements, direct deposit information, cost centers, and GL payroll journal exports through REST APIs. UKG supports two authentication mechanisms: HTTP Basic Auth with username, password, and two custom API key headers for core REST endpoints, or OAuth 2.0 client credentials grant for platform APIs and webhooks. UKG also supports webhooks for employee, document, and HR events with HMAC SHA-256 signing. Some payroll GL data is exposed through a third-party pay endpoint with GL account segments and debit/credit amounts. Initial employee syncs require a two-pass fetch because the employee ID endpoint returns only internal UUIDs.

What moves between them

Payroll GL postings and employee data flow from UKG into Exact Online. After each payroll run, ml-connector reads UKG's payroll GL exports and posts the labor cost journals into Exact Online's transaction ledger, mapped to matching GL accounts and cost centers in Exact Online. Employee master data flows from UKG into Exact Online so headcount records reflect hires, terminations, and rehires. Cost centers are read from both systems so payroll allocations land on valid Exact Online GL dimensions. The integration polls UKG for payroll and employee changes on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar and can also receive UKG webhook notifications where enabled.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores UKG Basic Auth credentials and API keys encrypted and presents them on every REST call. For UKG OAuth 2.0 flows, it manages the token lifecycle and refreshes on expiry. On the Exact Online side, it manages OAuth 2.0 token refresh every 10 minutes and accepts the division ID per customer. Payroll GL data is fetched from UKG's third-party pay endpoint and mapped to Exact Online GL accounts and cost centers before posting into the transaction ledger. Because UKG webhooks have 14-day retention, ml-connector also polls the UKG delta endpoint for zero-tolerance integrations. Cost centers and GL accounts are aligned first, so every payroll line references valid Exact Online dimensions. The integration retries on rate limits and tracks failed records in an audit log for replay if a downstream call fails.

A real-world example

A mid-sized trading company runs Exact Online for purchasing, sales, and accounting across two regional offices, and uses UKG for payroll and HR across both locations. Before the integration, the finance team exported payroll registers from UKG every pay period and manually re-entered the labor totals into Exact Online's general ledger, then spent the first days of month-end close reconciling differences between UKG headcount and the labor accounts in the ledger. With Exact Online and UKG connected, each payroll run's GL export flows into Exact Online automatically, allocated to the cost center for each office, and employee records stay synchronized between systems. Month-end close starts with the labor accounts already reconciled and the manual re-keying step is eliminated.

What you can do

Post UKG payroll GL data into Exact Online's transaction ledger after every pay run, allocated to the correct cost centers and GL accounts.
Keep Exact Online employee headcount aligned with UKG hires, terminations, and rehires.
Map UKG cost centers to Exact Online cost centers and GL accounts so payroll allocations land on valid dimensions.
Authenticate UKG with HTTP Basic Auth and API keys, and Exact Online with OAuth 2.0, managing token refresh every 10 minutes.
Poll on a schedule tied to your payroll calendar, with audit logging and replay capability for every record.

Questions

Which direction does data move between Exact Online and UKG?: The main flow is UKG into Exact Online. Payroll GL postings and employee records move from UKG into Exact Online, while cost centers are aligned in both directions to ensure payroll allocations reference valid Exact Online GL accounts. Exact Online GL accounts are read-only for the integration.
How does ml-connector handle UKG's two authentication mechanisms?: UKG supports HTTP Basic Auth with API keys for core REST endpoints and OAuth 2.0 client credentials for platform APIs and webhooks. ml-connector stores both credential sets encrypted and uses the appropriate mechanism for each endpoint type. OAuth tokens expire in 1 hour and are refreshed automatically.
How does the integration handle Exact Online's division-specific URLs and short token lifetime?: ml-connector accepts the division ID per customer and constructs the correct region-specific base URL for each division. Because Exact Online access tokens expire in 10 minutes, the integration refreshes the token proactively before each API call to avoid rate limiting and retry overhead.

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