Many cloud based software providers offer add-ons to integrate their applications with other software such as Xero. I have written before about third party providers such as Zapier and OneSaas who also provide these services. With many providers such as Xero offering easily accessible well documented API’s this is a logical progression of the market and is great for SMB’s as it enables them to create powerful integrated systems. When working with a client I will always explore these solutions first with consideration given to the following:
Availability
I am often faced with three scenarios when planning systems, a completely new solution, integrating existing software or a combination of the two. How these will be integrated can have an impact on the chosen solution. For example many CRM systems offer core functions i.e. sales pipeline, task management etc. When choosing a solution the ability to integrate with existing or other proposed software is an important factor. If a suitable add-on or third party solution is not available then the cost/time to produce a custom integration needs to be considered and will be a deciding factor when recommending a provider.
Functionality
Just because an add-on or third party solution exists does not mean it will provide all the functionality required. Most solutions will be developed initially for the core data i.e. customer records, invoice details etc but when you start to add tax rates and multi-currency to the mix, off the shelf can start to struggle.
Support
Software providers are continually developing new functionality or having to keep up with regulatory requirements. Whilst these releases are tested and many of the core API functions will be unaffected there is a potential for this to have an impact on add-ons and third party providers. The same also applies to custom integrations. If there is a problem the confidence needs to be there, that these will be resolved quickly so that the business process is not interrupted (as highlighted before in previous posts).
Cost
Many providers will offer free integration add-ons which is a great plus when recommending a potential solution if the functionality is there. Third party solutions are often priced on a monthly basis based on volume. This pricing model shares the same advantages as the application in that it is scalable with business growth, upfront costs are minimised and there is no tie in. Xero offer their API for free, so although there will often be a higher initial cost to get the custom application written and tested, if the business requirements do not change then there will be no additional ongoing costs.
When an existing solution is not enough
If a decision is made not to upgrade an existing legacy system then the only option will be to look at a custom integration. Xero make their API accessible enough that if you can extract the relevant data out of the legacy database than this can be mapped to Xero. This can involve adding additional tables/fields to the original database or providing an intermediary database to collect and sync the data to Xero. If existing or third party add-ons don’t offer the functionality required they often do offer their own API which can be used in conjunction with Xero’s to get the required data transferred.
Read more Xero related topics here.