The most common integrations
Most of the requests we receive come down to a few typical connections:
- a website or online store sends orders to a CRM such as HubSpot or Salesforce;
- an accounting system or ERP (for example, QuickBooks) updates prices and stock levels on the website and receives orders for fulfillment;
- the CRM creates shipping labels with the carrier and sends the customer a tracking number by text message or email;
- products are pushed to marketplaces, and orders from them are collected in one place;
- sales data is sent to Google Analytics and ad accounts so you can see which ads actually make money.
If the exchange spans many departments and touches inventory, finance, and production, the task is broader, and it's worth checking out our ERP solutions page.
When an integration pays off, and when it doesn't
An integration is justified when manual data entry happens every day and takes up a noticeable share of your team's time, or when errors lead to lost orders and unhappy customers.
But if you get only a few orders a week and the data rarely changes, setting up and maintaining the exchange may cost more than it saves. In that case we'll tell you so, and may suggest a simpler solution, such as a scheduled file export.
Three ways to connect systems
Ready-made plugin. Popular connections, such as OpenCart and UPS, already have ready-made plugins. Pro: fast and inexpensive. Con: the plugin does only what its author built in, and it may stop working when one of the systems is updated.
No-code platforms such as Zapier, Make, or n8n. Pro: simple workflows can be built without a developer and changed on your own. Cons: a monthly fee that grows with the number of operations, limits on complex logic, and less control over errors.
Custom development. Pros: any logic, full control, and an operations log and error handling tailored to your process. Con: more upfront work and the need for ongoing support.
These approaches are often combined: standard connections via plugins, business-critical ones via custom development. For example, a ready-made plugin creates shipping labels, while the order and inventory sync with your accounting system, which your sales depend on, is something we write ourselves and fully control.
Exchange rules: direction, frequency, conflicts
Most integration problems come not from the code, but from unclear rules. Before development, we work with you to answer a few questions:
- in which system each field is created and where it can be edited;
- whether the exchange must happen instantly on every event, or a scheduled sync is enough;
- what to do if the same customer or product already exists in another system under a slightly different name;
- which takes priority when data conflicts: the website or the accounting system.
We record the answers in a short document. Later, it helps both when tracking down the cause of failures and when you need to add a new system a year from now.
What happens when something breaks
External services are sometimes unavailable, change their data format, or limit the number of requests. A good integration is prepared for this. We build in:
- automatic retries if the other system is temporarily unresponsive;
- an operations queue, so no order gets lost during an outage;
- a log showing what was sent, when, and with what result;
- alerts to the responsible person about errors that weren't resolved automatically.
For critical data flows, it's worth adding ongoing monitoring so failures are caught before your customers notice.
Automation beyond data exchange
Besides moving data between apps, there's plenty of small routine work that can be eliminated: automatically generating invoices and contracts from templates, reminding customers about unpaid orders, assigning new leads to sales reps by rules, and sending management a short report every morning. Each of these saves only a little, but together they free up a noticeable share of working time.
What to prepare before we start
- A list of the systems your team uses, and who in the company is responsible for each.
- Access to test environments or API keys, if you have them.
- A description of the manual tasks that frustrate your employees the most. These are usually the best place to start.
- Contact details for the vendor who supports your accounting system, if changes are needed on their side.
How to measure the results of automation
Before launch, it's worth recording a few simple numbers: how much time per day your team spends on manual data entry, how many orders get lost or processed late, and how often errors occur in prices and stock levels.
Some time after launch, we compare these numbers. This shows not only the value of a specific integration, but also which operation makes the most sense to automate next. Sometimes it turns out the biggest time sink isn't where it seemed at the start, and the plan should change.
What affects the cost of an integration
- Number of systems and exchange directions: a one-way export is simpler than a two-way sync.
- Whether each system has a documented API. If not, workarounds have to be found.
- Rule complexity: data transformation, merging duplicates, multiple warehouses and price lists.
- Data volume and sync frequency: a few hundred products once a day, or tens of thousands in real time.
- Reliability requirements: logging, retries, alerts, fallback scenarios.
Frequently asked questions
Our accounting software is old. Can it be connected to anything? Almost always, yes: via file exports, the database, or changes on the software's side. We choose the method after a review.
Can you set up an integration on a website you didn't build? Yes. First we look at how the site is built and whether it already has data-exchange plugins installed that would conflict with the new one.
What happens if the shipping carrier or CRM changes its API? The integration will need to be updated. That's why it's worth keeping it on a support plan, so such changes are handled in time.
Is it safe to give you access to our systems? For data exchange, we create separate accounts with the minimum necessary permissions, and we store access keys on the server, not in the website code.
Can we start with just one integration? Yes, and it's a smart move. We start with the most painful operation and work down the list.
Why Promodex
Promodex has been in business since 2015, and data exchange between systems is a routine part of our projects. Integration-related projects in our portfolio include Mamyn Dim, Varvara Home, CRM PX, and TickOps. Integrations are built and supported by our own in-house developers, so you always know who to contact when something needs to change. We clearly explain what we're automating, what it will cost, and what you'll get.
