Direct API links
Where both systems offer an interface, we connect them properly, with error handling rather than a hopeful script.
IT Projects
System Integration
When the same information lives in three systems, somebody is paid to retype it. We connect the systems so the data moves itself, with checks so nothing goes missing along the way.
The cost of double entry
A typical small business runs an accounting package, a CRM, an email platform, a quoting tool and something bespoke from 2014. Each one was bought to solve a problem. None of them were bought to talk to each other.
So somebody senior spends two hours a day copying records across, and when they are on holiday the process stops. Integration removes that labour and, more usefully, removes the transcription errors that come with it.
How we join systems up
File and data import
For older systems, scheduled exports and imports with validation, so a bad row is rejected and reported rather than half-loaded.
Scheduled syncs
Contacts, invoices and stock levels refreshed on a timetable that suits the workload and the close of business.
Validation and alerts
Records are checked before they land. Anything that fails raises an alert rather than vanishing quietly.
Secure credentials
Service accounts and keys stored safely, with the least access needed to do the job.
Monitoring and reports
A simple view of what moved, when, and what failed, so a broken link is noticed the same day.
Where integration projects go wrong
- Two systems both own the customer record, and each overwrites the other in a loop
- A script from a previous provider runs under a personal login that eventually expires, and the sync stops without telling anyone
- An import maps the wrong field and puts phone numbers into the notes column for three weeks before anyone spots it
- The vendor changes their API and the connection breaks silently overnight
- Duplicates build up until the CRM is less trustworthy than the spreadsheet it replaced
- Nobody owns the integration, so it fails quietly and the manual work quietly returns
How we approach a job like this
We agree the rules before writing anything: which system owns which field, what happens when a record conflicts, and who is told when something fails. Getting that wrong is where most of the pain lives, not in the code.
Then we build it, run it alongside the old manual process for a fortnight, and only switch the manual step off once the numbers agree.
What we need from you
- Access and credentials for each system, with permission to connect them
- A clear owner for the data in each system
- The rule for which system wins when records disagree
- A test period alongside the existing process
Questions we get asked about System Integration
Can you connect systems that were never designed to talk?
Often, using exports, imports or a middleware layer. It is sometimes slower and less tidy than an API, but for an older package it is frequently the only sensible path.
What happens when a sync fails?
It raises an alert. Silent failure is the thing we design against, because a broken integration nobody notices is worse than no integration at all.
Which system should be the master record?
Whichever matches how the business actually works. We agree that before building, because two systems fighting over the same record causes more mess than the manual process it replaced.
Will this work with our existing software?
Usually, if the software has an API, a data export or a database we can read. We check compatibility before quoting.
How do you handle problems after go-live?
The integration comes with monitoring and a support route. If a vendor changes something, we would rather hear it from our own alert than from you.
Not sure whether you need system integration?
Book a free 60-minute health check. We will tell you what you actually need, including when the answer is nothing.