---
title: "Exact Online invalid VAT code for Administrators - Payhawk Help Center"
slug: "failed-to-export-into-exact-online-invalid-expense-vat-code-specified"
description: "Fix the \"Invalid Expense VAT code specified\" export error. Re-sync VAT codes from Exact Online, then check that the VAT code exists there and is not blocked."
updated: 2026-10-27T15:08:15Z
published: 2026-10-27T15:08:15Z
canonical: "payhawk.com/failed-to-export-into-exact-online-invalid-expense-vat-code-specified"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://payhawk.com/help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Failed to export into Exact Online. Invalid Expense VAT code specified.

## Error message

```plaintext
Invalid Expense VAT code specified.
```

## Affected ERP integrations

- Exact Online

## Cause

This error occurs when the VAT code selected for an expense in Payhawk is not considered valid by Exact Online. This can happen for several reasons:

- The selected VAT code exists in Exact Online but has been marked as **Blocked**, preventing its use in transactions.
- The VAT code that was available when custom fields were synced to Payhawk has since been deleted from Exact Online.
- The VAT code can have other configuration issues in Exact Online that prevent its use.

## Solution

To resolve this issue:

1. Re-sync VAT codes from Exact Online:
  1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), go to **Settings** > **Integrations** > **Exact Online**.
  2. Click on its three-dot menu and select **Manually sync** to trigger a re-sync of the VAT codes from Exact Online.
2. Verify the VAT code in Exact Online, if the error persists:
  1. Log in to your Exact Online account.
  2. Navigate to **Master Data** > **Tax** > **VAT Codes**.
  3. Locate the VAT code that Payhawk is attempting to use.
  4. Ensure that the VAT code is not marked as **Blocked** and that all its settings are correctly configured.
  5. If the VAT code is missing or blocked, you need to either unblock it, recreate it, or select an alternative, active VAT code.
3. Update the expense in Payhawk:
  1. In the [Payhawk Web Portal](https://portal.payhawk.com), go to **Spend** and open the expense in Payhawk that failed to export by clicking on it.
  2. Select a valid, unblocked VAT code from the refreshed list.
  3. Save the expense and attempt to export it again.