(abridged) Context: Both observations and simulations of embedded protostars have progressed rapidly in recent years. Bringing them together is an important step in advancing our knowledge about the earliest phases of star formation. Aims: To compare synthetic continuum images and SEDs, created from large-scale numerical simulations, to observational studies - thereby aiding both in the interpretation of observations and test the fidelity of the simulations. Methods: The radiative transfer code RADMC-3D is used to create synthetic continuum images and SEDs of protostellar systems in a large numerical simulation of a molecular cloud. More than 13000 unique radiative transfer models are produced of a variety of different protostellar systems. Results: Over the course of 0.76 Myr more than 500 protostars are formed in the simulation - primarily within two sub-clusters. Synthetic SEDs are used to calculate evolutionary tracers Tbol and Lsmm/Lbol. It is shown that, while the observed distributions of tracers are well matched by the simulation, they generally do a poor job of tracking the protostellar ages. Disks form early in the simulation, with 40 % of Class 0 objects containing one. The flux emission from the simulated disks is found to be approximately a factor of 6 too low when comparing to real observations; an issue that can be traced back to numerical effects on the smallest scales in the simulation. The luminosity distribution of the protostars in the simulation spans three order of magnitudes similar to the observed distribution. Cores and protostars are found to be closely associated with one-another, with the distance distribution between them being in excellent agreement with observations. Conclusions: The analysis and statistical comparison of synthetic observations to real ones is established as a powerful tool in the interpretation of observational results.