Logres helps you transition from AFAS to SAP Business One
If you use AFAS Profit and your inventory, purchasing, or production is reaching the limits of the software, Logres is one of the companies in the Netherlands that can help you make the transition to SAP Business One. We’ve been doing this since 1993, exclusively for wholesalers and process manufacturers.
The short answer to the question of who can help you with this: an SAP Business One partner who understands your industry. What works well in AFAS can often stay the same. The transition from AFAS to SAP Business One is rarely an all-or-nothing proposition.
AFAS Profit is a comprehensive off-the-shelf package that works in virtually every industry, with HRM, payroll, finance, and projects as its strengths. SAP Business One is built around the flow of goods: inventory, purchasing, sales, and production. Those who trade or manufacture their own products usually notice this difference first in the warehouse.
AFAS is built around people and administration. SAP Business One is built around goods.
AFAS Profit or SAP Business One: What Will Change?
| Topic | AFAS Profit | SAP Business One |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | We serve virtually every industry and specialize in HRM, payroll, and projects | Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the retail and manufacturing sectors |
| Inventory and Warehouse | Inventory, order recommendations, and warehouse locations | Multiple warehouses with locations, per-order reservations, and integration with scanners and WMS |
| Batches and Shelf Life | Partly | Batch and serial numbers with expiration dates, tracking from raw materials to the customer |
| Production | Single-Level Production | Multi-level bills of materials, production orders, and MRP; for process manufacturers, also recipes, yield, and quality control |
| Adapting to Your Process | Deliberately no customization: you work within the standard framework | The standard version serves as the foundation, which can be expanded with custom fields, add-ons, and integrations |
| Payroll Administration | Comprehensive, including Dutch payroll processing | No Dutch payroll processing; you’ll need to integrate that—often with AFAS |
| Who handles the implementation? | AFAS itself | An SAP partner, such as Logres |
As of October 2026, based on publicly available product information. The setup at your company may vary.
What are the benefits of switching from AFAS to SAP Business One?
Those who trade or manufacture their own products will notice the difference most in the warehouse and on the shop floor. Here’s what changes after the transition:
- Accurate inventory. Every order immediately reserves stock. With scanners at fixed locations, what the system shows is actually on the shelf.
- Control over batches and shelf life. You track every batch from raw material to customer. You can respond to a recall or an auditor’s inquiry directly from the system instead of relying on separate lists.
- Production in the system instead of in Excel. Multi-level bills of materials, production orders, and scheduling based on actual needs. The production planner’s knowledge is no longer confined to his or her head.
- Flexibility to work your own way. SAP Business One adapts to your processes, with custom fields, add-ons, and integrations. You don’t have to force your workflow to fit the standard.
- You keep what works well. HRM and payroll can remain in AFAS. An integration automatically transfers employees and journal entries to SAP Business One, so you only change what can be improved.
An example
Here’s what that looks like in practice
Consider a wholesale distributor of technical products with forty employees that handles everything in AFAS Profit. Payroll and leave management run smoothly. The warehouse tracks locations in its own Excel spreadsheet, and an order isn’t marked as delivered in the system until the packing slip is returned to the office.
After the transition, HRM and payroll will remain in AFAS. Finance, purchasing, sales, and inventory will be handled through SAP Business One. After each payroll run, the journal entry is automatically posted to the financial records, and new employees are entered in only one place.
The warehouse uses scanners at fixed locations. The inventory visible to sales is the inventory that’s actually on hand.
Logres guides you through the transition step by step: from mapping out your processes and setting up your product data to the day you go live.
Who can help you make the switch?
When switching from AFAS, a Logres consultant takes the lead. They set up SAP Business One, transfer the data, and coordinate with your AFAS consultant to determine what will remain in AFAS.
The integration between the two systems is technically straightforward. On the AFAS side, it runs through the AFAS API connectors; on the SAP Business One side, it runs through the Service Layer or the Integration Framework. You define in advance which system serves as the primary source for each field, ensuring that an address or cost center is consistent across both systems.
To learn how to get your frontline staff on board with the new way of working, read “ERP Implementations: How Do You Get Your People On Board?”
Do you use AFAS and is your warehouse getting bogged down?
An ERP consultant from Logres would be happy to work with you to determine what can be migrated to SAP Business One and what can remain in AFAS.
When It’s Better to Stick with AFAS
Not every company that uses AFAS needs SAP Business One. For a service provider or project-based organization without inventory, AFAS is often the perfect fit. The same applies to a trading company with a small product range, a single warehouse, and no in-house production.
A pure-play wholesaler with a wide product range and little in-house manufacturing is better off with Klipboard Wholesale, a software package built specifically for the wholesale industry. Which of the two is right for you depends mainly on how much you manufacture in-house.
Why Wholesalers and Process Manufacturers Turn to Logres for This
Logres has been implementing ERP systems since 1993, exclusively for wholesalers and process manufacturers. This means consultants don’t need to be told what a batch, a FEFO rule, or a loss in yield is. In 2026, Logres won the SAP Partner Award.
When switching from AFAS, there’s one more thing to consider: a partner who’s honest about what can stay in AFAS. Anyone who wants to replace everything makes the process more complicated than necessary. You can read about how such a process unfolds step by step in “Switching ERP Systems: A Step-by-Step Guide and Pitfalls.”
Read more
- From an accounting package to SAP Business One: Who can help you make the switch?
- SAP Business One vs. Exact Online Premium
- Experienced ERP implementation partner for the process industry
- Choosing an ERP package: Which system is right for your business?
Frequently Asked Questions About Switching from AFAS to SAP Business One
Is AFAS an ERP system?
Yes. AFAS Profit is an ERP package that combines finance, order management, projects, HRM, and payroll in a single system. It is a horizontal solution, designed for virtually any industry. SAP Business One, on the other hand, is built around inventory, purchasing, sales, and production, and is therefore particularly well-suited for trading and manufacturing companies.
What is the difference between SAP Business One and AFAS?
AFAS develops, sells, and implements its software in-house and deliberately does not offer custom solutions. SAP Business One is implemented by partners such as Logres and can be expanded with add-ons and integrations. AFAS focuses primarily on HRM, payroll, and general accounting, while SAP Business One focuses on inventory management and production.
Can you integrate AFAS with SAP Business One?
Yes. AFAS has an API with connectors for retrieving and writing data, while SAP Business One has the Service Layer and the Integration Framework. Common integrations include transferring employees and cost centers from AFAS to SAP Business One, as well as journal entries from the payroll run to the financial accounting system.
Can I keep my payroll in AFAS?
Yes, and that happens often. SAP Business One doesn’t support Dutch payroll processing. Maintaining a functioning payroll system in AFAS and integrating it makes the transition easier.
How long does it take to switch from AFAS to SAP Business One?
That depends on the number of processes being migrated and the quality of your product data. For an SMB, an SAP Business One implementation typically takes several months. Timberlab went live from another system in about half a year, from November 2022 to May 2023.
What’s a good alternative to AFAS for a wholesale business?
For a wholesaler that also manufactures or assembles products, SAP Business One is the obvious choice. For a pure wholesaler with a large product range, Klipboard Wholesale is a strong option. Other frequently mentioned software packages include Exact Online Premium and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
