- Data, Magento
Which system is correct: the question behind the AFAS and Magento integration
A customer orders four items. Your online store says there are eight in stock, AFAS says two, and the warehouse indicates that there is no stock left. Someone resolves this with a phone call and a manual correction, and the following week it happens again.
Almost every question about an integration between AFAS and Magento ultimately boils down to the same question: which system is correct? As long as that hasn’t been agreed upon, an integration remains a source of surprises.
This article explains what flows back and forth between AFAS and Magento , which choices determine quality, and when it’s better not to build a link.
What goes back and forth
In virtually every AFAS-Magento integration, two data streams run in parallel.
Data originating from AFAS is transferred to the online store. This includes products with their basic information and product numbers. Prices, including price agreements and volume discounts per customer. Inventory. Customers with their addresses and payment terms. And often also the credit limit and the balance of outstanding invoices.
The items generated in the online store are transferred to AFAS: orders with line items, discounts, and shipping costs; new customers who register; and payment details from the online payment method, so that the order can be marked as paid.
What almost never fits well in practice is the middle ground. Product descriptions, images, categories, filters, and specifications are rarely fully present in AFAS. They belong in your online store or in a PIM. If you try to force them into AFAS anyway, you’ll turn your accounting software into a content management system—and nobody likes that.
How AFAS Integrates with Other Systems
AFAS works with connectors. A GetConnector retrieves data from Profit, an UpdateConnector writes data back, and an App connector handles the two-way connection with an external application. This is explained in AFAS’s documentation on connectors.
In practice, this means two things. Within AFAS itself, the correct connectors must be configured and authorized, with exactly the fields the online store needs. And you determine the content of a GetConnector yourself, which is precisely where most of the time is spent. You can almost always tell that a connection won’t work by a GetConnector that’s missing the field the shop actually needed.
The rest of the technical aspects are less interesting than they seem. What determines whether it will work are the four choices listed below.
The four choices that determine whether it works
You determine which system takes precedence on a per-data-point basis, not per system. Price comes from AFAS. Inventory comes from AFAS or your WMS. Product descriptions and images come from the online store or your PIM. Customer data is the most challenging, because customers change their addresses online and your back office does the same. Specify for each field which system takes precedence. That is the document that will still be read two years from now.
You also choose the synchronization frequency per data stream. Inventory that refreshes only once a night is insufficient for a wholesaler with fast-moving items. Orders that don’t appear in AFAS until an hour later cause your warehouse unnecessary downtime. Prices, on the other hand, can easily be synchronized a few times a day. Synchronizing everything continuously is expensive and rarely necessary.
Error handling is the component most often missing. A link that stops working without anyone noticing is worse than no link at all. There must be a place where you can see which requests failed, why, and how to resubmit them. Also, agree on who will monitor this and within what timeframe.
The final decision concerns whether to connect directly or via an integration platform. A direct connection is cheaper to build but more expensive to maintain, especially once a third-party system is added.
An integration platform incurs a monthly fee but provides a single place to monitor what’s happening, plus the ability to connect a PIM, WMS, or marketplace later on without having to rebuild everything from scratch. If you only use AFAS and Magento and don’t expect to add anything else in the coming years, then a direct connection is a viable option.
When it’s better not to create a link
There are situations in which the link costs more than it yields.
If you process fewer than ten orders per week, manual data entry is cheaper than any form of automation.
If your product data isn’t in order—with duplicate product numbers or incorrect units—the link will expose that issue in your online store.
If an ERP migration is planned, you should not build an integration with a system that will be phased out next year. Wait or choose an interim solution.
If your online store is primarily a digital brochure without an ordering function, then you don’t need inventory and pricing data from AFAS at all.
What it costs
The one-time costs are determined by three factors: the number of data streams you connect, how many fields they contain, and how many exceptions you need to handle. A connection limited to products, inventory, and orders is a straightforward process that takes a few weeks. As soon as customer-specific prices, credit limits, returns, and partial deliveries come into play, it will take a little longer.
In addition, there are two ongoing costs: the licensing fee for an integration platform, if you choose to use one; and management costs, since a connection requires maintenance whenever AFAS or Magento receives an update.
We deliberately do not mention a standard price for development. Two companies with the same systems rarely have the same AFAS configuration and processes, and it is that configuration that determines the scope of work and, therefore, the rate. We do, however, provide an estimate of the data integration costs.
How you can tell it’s done right
You can recognize a good integration by the mundane details. No one has to retype orders. The shop’s inventory differs from AFAS by no more than a few minutes. After logging in, a customer sees the price agreed upon by their account manager without anyone having to enter that price twice. And if something goes wrong, someone notices it before the customer calls.
Can you integrate AFAS with Magento?
Yes. AFAS Profit connects to Magento 2 via connectors: a GetConnector retrieves data from AFAS, and an UpdateConnector writes data back. This can be done via a direct connection or through an integration platform.
What data is synchronized between AFAS and Magento?
Data typically transferred from AFAS to Magento includes items, prices, and price agreements per customer, inventory, accounts receivable, and credit limits. Data transferred from Magento to AFAS includes orders, new customers, and payment details. Product descriptions, images, and categories are kept outside of AFAS.
How much does an AFAS-Magento integration cost?
That depends on the number of data streams, the number of fields, and the exceptions you need to handle. Integrating with products, inventory, and orders is a process that takes weeks; integrating with customer-specific prices and credit limits takes even longer. In addition, you’ll pay ongoing fees for management and for the license of an integration platform, if you use one.
What is a GetConnector in AFAS?
A GetConnector is the way AFAS Profit makes data available to an external system. You decide which fields are included, and by doing so, you also determine what your online store can and cannot display.
How often should inventory be synchronized between AFAS and Magento?
For fast-moving items, once a night is not enough. Choose a frequency for each data stream: inventory frequently, prices a few times a day, product data less often. Synchronizing everything continuously is expensive and rarely necessary.
Do I need an integration platform to connect AFAS to Magento ?
A direct link is also possible. An integration platform becomes attractive as soon as a third-party system is involved—such as a PIM, WMS, or marketplaces—and when you want to be able to see which tasks have failed.
What usually goes wrong with an AFAS integration?
The three most common causes are a GetConnector missing a required field, uncertainty about which system is the primary source for a given piece of data, and the lack of error handling, which means a failed connection is not noticed until a customer calls.
Not sure if a data connection is worth it in your situation? Share your AFAS setup with us: which data flows you want to connect, how many orders go through per week, and what processes are currently done manually. We’ll run the numbers and give you an honest assessment of whether it’s worth it or not.
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