Integrations and automation

System integration is the automatic transfer of data between two applications, replacing manual retyping. Business process automation goes a step further: it removes the task itself, with the system doing by rule what a person used to do.

The most common connections

• Accounting and custom CRM: clients, invoices and payment statuses, one-way or two-way.
• Online store and accounting: orders flow into accounting, stock levels flow back to the store.
• Online store and courier services: shipment creation and tracking numbers without a separate system.
• CRM with email and calendar: correspondence and meetings attached to the client record.
• Warehouse system and online store: real-time stock reservations.
• Internal system and bank: payment import and automatic reconciliation.

Why it pays to start with an integration

An integration is the smallest project that delivers a visible result. It does not require changing any of your existing systems, and it saves manual work from day one. Often it is only after the first connection that it becomes clear which area deserves a larger investment in a system.

Automation and AI

Not every process needs artificial intelligence. Tasks that can be described by rules are cheaper and more reliable to automate with conventional code. AI is useful where data is unstructured: reading invoices and documents, classifying emails, summarising texts. In these solutions we always keep a human approval step. When automation calls for a solution that acts on its own, we build AI agents.

How the work is done

We start with a short analysis: what data, in which direction, how often, and what happens in case of a conflict. Then we build the connection with an error log and retries, test it with real data and launch it while monitoring the first weeks. More about our process.

How we maintain integrations

An integration is not finished when data moves for the first time. It has to keep working when the other system does not respond, changes its format or sends the same record twice. So every integration has:

• a log - what was sent, when and with what result;
• retries - a failed transfer is attempted again, not forgotten;
• duplicate control - the same order or invoice is not recorded twice;
• monitoring - we find out about a stopped integration, not your accounting team at month end.

How long it takes

A single integration is often live within a few weeks, while a larger system connection is planned in stages, starting with the link that saves the most manual work.

• Stock and price sync - one way from accounting, roughly 1-2 weeks.
• Orders to accounting - with invoice numbers sent back, roughly 2-4 weeks.
• Two-way connection - customers, balances and payments in both directions, roughly 4-8 weeks.

Every stage ends with a result you can assess before moving on. More on this on our process page.

Public sector

Institutional systems often need to exchange data with state registers or other institutions. Such integrations carry additional security and documentation requirements.

• A technical specification for the tender, based on the discovery results.
• WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility checks during testing.
• GDPR requirements and data retention rules from the start of the project.
• SLA-based support with an agreed response time and a monthly report.

How we work with public institutions is described on the public sector solutions page.

What drives the cost

• How many systems are connected and the quality of their APIs.
• Whether the vendor provides a test environment.
• Error scenarios: retries, duplicates, an unavailable system.
• Data flow directions, frequency and monitoring.

Each integration is estimated separately: one with a well documented API and a test environment costs far less than one without. We cover market data and how to calculate the total cost of ownership in our article on custom software development cost.