AFAS integration

With the AFAS integration, OWNER automatically sends your sales invoices and relations to your AFAS administration, and the payment status automatically comes back to OWNER. In this article, you'll read how to set up the integration and how to work with it day to day, and you'll find answers to the questions we get most often.

What does the integration do?

Section	Direction	How often
Sales invoices	OWNER → AFAS	Every 15 minutes (automatically) or when you submit them
Relations (debtors)	OWNER → AFAS	With the first sales invoice, then daily at 12:00 UTC
Payment status	AFAS → OWNER	Every 15 minutes
Units and projects (as cost center or cost unit)	OWNER → AFAS	When changes are made in OWNER
Payment method (direct debit or transfer)	OWNER → AFAS	Along with the sales invoice

Before you start

• Access to AFAS with a user who won't be deleted or blocked any time soon; the integration is tied to that user.
• General ledger accounts and VAT codes are already set up in AFAS. You decide which account belongs to which sales item, on your own or together with your accountant.
• The connectors Profit_Debtor_Invoices and KnSubject are turned on in AFAS.
• Complete addresses for your relations, including city and house number. AFAS rejects debtors without an address.
• Be logged out of AFAS Online in your browser, or work in a private window.

How to set up the integration

Step 1 – Install AFAS in OWNER

1. Go to Settings and, in the environment settings, open Connected apps.
2. In the marketplace, choose AFAS and click Install.
3. Log in to AFAS with the user from Before you start.

Step 2 – Link owners to administrations

1. Assign each owner in OWNER to the right administration in AFAS.
2. Multiple owners? Link an extra administration at the top, next to the AFAS logo, via Connect administration.
3. Check that the connectors Profit_Debtor_Invoices and KnSubject are turned on in AFAS.

Step 3 – Choose your settings per administration

In the integration, open Settings at the top.

General tab

Setting	What it does
Owner	The owner you're setting up now.
Administration	The AFAS administration this owner is linked to.
Sales journal	The sales journal in which the sales invoices are posted. Tip: create a separate sales journal for OWNER in AFAS.
Book invoices automatically	On: all sales invoices for this owner are sent to AFAS automatically. Off: you choose which sales invoices to submit.
Deferred revenue	Passes on the period of the invoice lines for deferred revenue. Turn this option on in AFAS too.
Cost Centers	Links a cost center (project or unit) to the invoice lines.
Cost Units	Links a cost unit (project or unit) to the invoice lines.

Other tabs

Tab	What you link here
Debtors	Debtors in OWNER to existing debtors in AFAS. OWNER automatically creates unlinked debtors with the first sales invoice.
Ledger Accounts	Sales items in OWNER to general ledger accounts in AFAS. Required for every sales item you use in this administration.
Vat Codes	VAT codes in OWNER to VAT codes in AFAS, both debit (positive lines) and credit (negative lines). In Belgium, these are often separate codes.
Payment Conditions	Payment terms in OWNER to those in AFAS. The due date is always passed on correctly; linking ensures consistency.
Cost Centers / Cost Units	Appear when you turn them on under General. Link existing cost centers and cost units to prevent duplicates from being created in AFAS.

Done? Then the integration works right away.

Working with the integration day to day

In the integration, you'll find Invoices at the top. There you work with two overviews:

• Unsynced – sales invoices that haven't been sent to AFAS yet. Select them and click the Play icon to submit them manually.
• Failed – sales invoices that got stuck because of an error message. Check here regularly. You'll find the solution for each error message under Error messages and solutions.

Note: if you turn on Book invoices automatically later, all sales invoices still under Unsynced are also sent to AFAS immediately.

Frequently asked questions

Connecting and setting up

Which connectors need to be turned on in AFAS?

Profit_Debtor_Invoices and KnSubject. Without these connectors, OWNER can't send sales invoices and relations to AFAS.

Which VAT codes do I link?

On the Vat Codes tab, you link both debit VAT codes (positive invoice lines) and credit VAT codes (negative invoice lines). They're often the same, but in Belgium they're usually separate codes.

The error message refers to a setting in my AFAS administration.

Then it's a local AFAS setting, for example for a credit note. Ask AFAS support where to change it.

Which other accounting packages can I connect?

Exact Online, AFAS, Twinfield, SnelStart and Multivers. See Which accounting packages can you connect to OWNER?

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Exchanging sales invoices

How long does it take for a sales invoice to appear in AFAS?

If Book invoices automatically is on, sales invoices are sent to AFAS every 15 minutes, at fixed times such as 10:00, 10:15, 10:30 and 10:45. If the option is off, you submit them yourself via Invoices → Unsynced and the Play icon.

A sales invoice isn't being exchanged. How do I fix that?

Do you see the message “This sales invoice could not be exchanged with the accounting package”? Open the integration, check under Invoices → Failed which error message is shown and look it up in Error messages and solutions. The most common cause is a sales item without a ledger account (see the next question). Still stuck? Send support the exact text of the error message.

Why is a sales invoice stuck because of a missing ledger account?

A sales invoice is only sent to AFAS if every sales item on it is linked to a ledger account.

1. Open the integration, click Settings and go to Ledger Accounts.
2. Find the sales item without a ledger account and link the right account.
3. Submit the sales invoice again via Invoices → Failed.

Tips for creating a sales invoice:

• Always choose a real sales item, such as base rent, with a linked ledger account.
• Is it a credit, refund or down payment? Put that in the title or subject, not in the sales item.
• Manual sales invoice for a rent discount? Choose Rent as the sales item.

Can I create a sales invoice with an invoice date in the past?

No. This is deliberately not supported, because the financial period in your accounting package may already be closed.

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Relations and debtors

How often are relations updated in AFAS?

Once a day, at 12:00 UTC (14:00 Dutch summer time, 13:00 winter time). The update goes from OWNER to AFAS, so always change the name, email address and phone number in OWNER.

Why isn't a tenant listed as a debtor in AFAS yet?

A tenant is only created as a debtor with their first sales invoice. You don't need to do anything for this. If creating the debtor fails, check the error message under Invoices → Failed.

Why does AFAS reject a relation's city?

AFAS requires a city and checks it itself. If AFAS rejects an existing place, OWNER can't get around that; contact AFAS. Entering a different address might make the exchange succeed, but it puts an incorrect address on the sales invoice.

Why isn't the VAT number being updated in AFAS?

AFAS checks VAT numbers before they're saved. A number with, for example, one digit too many is rejected. Correct the VAT number in OWNER; it will come through with the next update.

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Payments

How does a payment from AFAS come back to OWNER?

In AFAS, match the payment to the sales invoice. Within 15 minutes, the integration picks this up and OWNER marks the sales invoice as paid (for a full payment). Only payments matched to the sales invoice in AFAS come back.

Can I record a partial payment or a payment outside AFAS?

You don't record partial payments manually in OWNER; they come in via the integration. Was a sales invoice paid outside OWNER and outside AFAS? Open the sales invoice and choose Actions → Change status → Change payment status → Paid outside OWNER. See also How do I manually mark a sales invoice as paid?

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Error messages and solutions

You'll find the error message in the integration under Invoices → Failed. Fix the cause and then submit the sales invoice again.

Error message	Cause and solution
Debtor XXX is not mapped	The debtor in OWNER doesn't have a complete address. AFAS requires an address with a house number. Complete the address in OWNER.
Land wordt niet herkend (Country not recognized)	The debtor has a country that AFAS doesn't recognize. Send a message to support@owner.app.
De ingevulde waarde bij Rekeningnummer bestaat niet (The value entered for Account number does not exist)	In AFAS, check whether the general ledger account number still exists and isn't blocked, and whether the ‘Is debtor’ field is checked for the debtor.

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Still need help?

Contact support:

• Chat: via the help center (chat button in the bottom right)
• Email: support@owner.app
• Call or WhatsApp: +31 591 799 602