Charlie Blomkvist
Visma Administration, the locally installed Windows accounting and business software long used by Swedish small and mid-sized companies, has handled finances, orders and inventory in Swedish companies for many years, and for many it still works. The question we get most often is not whether the program is bad, but what is happening to it, and whether it is time to move to the cloud. This comparison covers Visma Administration 1000 and 2000 versus Visma Net.
First, a word about the names. Visma Spcs has been called Spiris since spring 2025, but the installed programs have kept their names: Visma Administration 200, 500, 1000 and 2000. Visma Net is Visma's cloud ERP for companies that have outgrown their bookkeeping software or ERP.
* Our review of the same workflows: Visma Administration 2000 versus Visma Net as we deliver it, with scheduled runs.
Short answer: Visma Administration or Visma Net?
- the workflows are straightforward
- you have few users
- the server and backups are managed without problems
- you want to get away from the server and remote desktop
- journals and bank files take time every week
- approval should be driven by rules, such as cost center or amount
- orders and inventory run at volume
- you want an AI connection from the vendor itself
Visma Administration vs Visma Net at a glance
When everything is not the same
Visma Administration works best when the work goes the same way every time: the invoice is written, the journal is printed and approved, the payment file is sent. Growing companies rarely look like that. Supplier invoices need to go to different approvers depending on what they relate to, projects and departments need to be followed up separately, and invoices and inventory changes should reach the books without anyone printing and approving journals in between.
Visma Net is built for more complex companies with those kinds of workflows. Approval follows cost center, project or line, the subaccount lets every line be followed up the way you choose, and invoices and inventory transactions are posted to the general ledger when they are released. Whatever is still unique to you, we build on top, via Visma Net's API.
Visma Administration 2000 in the cloud: what happens to the program?
In short: it stays. Spiris states that the locally installed program will remain and that they will continue to maintain and improve it. The latest version came out in February 2026. Downloading it requires an active agreement.
Spiris is also working on Administration in the cloud, but so far it only applies to Visma Administration 2000. The goal is to launch during 2026, and as of the end of September 2026 it has not yet launched. Some features, such as dunning, invoice factoring and an API for integrations, will come later than the launch itself. There is no cloud version for 500 and 1000. Spiris's path to the cloud for those is Bokföring & Fakturering.
The choice is therefore often between three paths: stay where you are, follow Spiris to the cloud, or switch to Visma Net.
The decision is better made before the server needs replacing than after.
Journals are the biggest day-to-day difference
In Visma Administration, an invoice does not reach the books when it is written. First a journal is printed and approved, and this applies to customer invoices, incoming payments, supplier invoices and outgoing payments. Once the journal is approved, the documents on it can no longer be changed. Journals can be printed all at once, but someone has to remember to do it before the reconciliation adds up.
In Visma Net, documents can be posted directly when they are released. There is no journal step between the invoice and the general ledger, and the subledgers and the books show the same thing without anyone having to print anything.
The server, remote desktop and users
Visma Administration is a Windows program with its own database. If you have more than one user, it is installed on a server and then on each workstation, and each additional user costs a license. If the server is located elsewhere, Spiris itself recommends remote desktop, and several hosting providers run the program on remote desktop for their customers. Backups are your responsibility.
Visma Net runs in the cloud. Visma handles updates, backup and operations as part of the service, and there is nothing to install. The license is not counted per user, so project managers, approvers and the accounting firm can get their own logins at no extra cost.
Bank and payments: files or AutoPay
In Visma Administration, payments go via files. The payment file is saved to a folder on the computer, by default C:\SPCSfiler, and then someone logs in to the online bank and completes the payments. In Visma Net, the bank is connected with AutoPay.
Downloaded as a file from the bank, imported and matched against the invoices.
Fetched automatically with AutoPay and matched against the invoices by payment reference.
No automatic matching. Return files are downloaded and imported.
Bank statements are matched automatically, and bank rules post recurring items such as bank fees.
Found and marked as paid by hand.
Shown with suggestions, sorted by how well they fit.
Supplier invoice approval
In Visma Administration, a supplier invoice is approved with the Attesterad (Approved) checkbox, and only approved invoices are included in the journal. There is also simple approval handling where invoices are sent for approval. That is enough as long as approval does not need to be driven by rules, such as cost center or amount.
In Visma Net, approval is handled in Approval. The approver is chosen based on the cost center, the project or the line on the invoice, with amount limits per step. An invoice with costs for three departments can go to three different approvers. Approval per project manager requires project accounting, which is included in the Plus packages. With pre-registration, the invoice is in the books while it is still waiting for approval.
Orders and inventory management
Visma Administration 1000 has orders and inventory, and 2000 has full logistics with quotes, back orders, picking lists and purchasing. It works, but invoices, payments and inventory changes only reach the books when the journals are approved.
We mapped the same workflows in both systems, step by step from Spiris's and Visma's documentation, with Visma Net set up the way we deliver it, with scheduled runs. For a wholesale company with orders, purchasing, inventory and finance, it came to 36 manual steps in Visma Administration 2000 and 29 in Visma Net, roughly a fifth fewer. For a company with finance only, without orders and inventory, it was 24 versus 19. The proportion is about the same, but with logistics seven steps disappear instead of five. Read more about logistics in Visma Net.
Ready for AI: AI Connect and custom agents
An AI assistant or an agent needs a way into the ERP. For Visma Administration, that path goes via Visma Integration to the installed program, and in Administration in the cloud the API only comes after the launch.
- Claude or Copilot
- AI Connect
- You approve the change
- Visma Net
The assistant reads and works within the user's permissions. Deletion is blocked.
- Your systems and email
- Agent via Visma Net's API
- Suggestion
- You approve
- Posted in Visma Net
The agent suggests, and you always approve before anything is posted.
Visma Net has AI Connect, Visma's own connection to AI assistants such as Claude and Microsoft Copilot, generally available since June 2026.
The assistant can read and work in the general ledger, subledgers, sales orders, inventory, projects and time, within the logged-in user's permissions. Deletion is permanently blocked, and a change is only made once the user has approved it. On Visma Net's API we build our own agents, for example:
An agent that reads reports from your other systems and suggests the journal transaction.
An agent that matches bank transactions and suggests the reconciliation.
Documents from email are interpreted and presented for approval.
The agent suggests, and you always approve before anything is written to Visma Net. Read more about AI agents.
Frequently asked questions
Is Visma Administration being discontinued?
No, not according to Spiris. No phase-out has been announced, and Spiris states that the program remains and that they will continue to maintain it.
Is Visma Administration 2000 available in the cloud?
Not yet. Spiris is working on Administration in the cloud, which so far only applies to 2000 and is targeted to launch during 2026. As of the end of September 2026 it has not launched. If the server is located elsewhere, Spiris recommends remote desktop, and several hosting providers run the program that way for their customers.
Does Visma Administration 2000 have an API?
The installed program has Visma Integration, which connects custom programs to Visma Administration 500, 1000 and 2000. Administration in the cloud will have no API at launch. According to Spiris, it will come later. Visma Net has an open API and AI Connect, Visma's connection to AI assistants such as Claude and Microsoft Copilot.
What is the difference between Visma Administration and Visma Net?
Visma Administration is an installed program from Spiris, formerly Visma Spcs, where posting goes via journals. Visma Net is Visma's cloud ERP, where documents can be posted directly when they are released, the bank is connected and the license is not counted per user.
Does our data come along to Visma Net?
Chart of accounts, customers, suppliers and items are converted through our own conversion tool, Straviont Cloud Bridge, where they are cleaned and validated before they land in Visma Net. The conversion is included in the price. How the history should come along is something we decide together in the workshop.
How long does a switch take, and what does it cost?
With us it takes from four weeks to go-live, depending on the scope. The standard setup Visma Net Core costs SEK 75,000, or SEK 125,000 with logistics, excluding VAT and for one company. The license is a separate agreement with Visma: from SEK 2,744 a month plus transaction volume, with unlimited users.
Should we switch to Spiris or Fortnox instead?
Spiris Bokföring & Fakturering is Spiris's own path to the cloud for 500 and 1000, and Fortnox, the widely used Swedish cloud accounting software, is another alternative for the smaller company. If you have orders and inventory, several people working in the system, workflows with many exceptions or a need to follow up per project and cost center, compare with Visma Net before you decide.
How to move forward
We never start with the choice of system. We start with your workflows: how orders, invoices and payments move today, where time goes and where the friction is. We do that in a free 45-minute workshop, and the review is yours whatever you choose afterwards. If you are on Fortnox instead, read the alternative to Fortnox for growing companies, and if you run Spiris Bokföring & Fakturering, read Visma Net vs Spiris. If you are comparing with Business Central, read Visma Net vs Business Central. If you have already decided, read how the move from Visma Administration to Visma Net works and what Visma Net costs.