API & third party integrations
Modern businesses depend on a growing number of software platforms. Your accounting system, your ERP, your website, your CRM, your payment processor, your shipping provider, your marketplace listings, each one holds a piece of your business data. When these platforms work in isolation, your team becomes the glue that holds them together, manually copying information from one screen to another.
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), are the standard way for software systems to communicate with each other. If a platform has an API, it can be connected to your other systems so that data flows automatically between them. At Solweb, we specialise in building these connections, whether you need to pull data from a third party service into your internal systems, push information from your applications out to external platforms, or create your own API so that partners and customers can interact with your data.
What is an API and why does it matter?
An API is essentially a set of rules that allows one piece of software to talk to another. When you place an order on a website and your payment is processed, your delivery is booked and a confirmation email is sent, all of that is happening through APIs working behind the scenes.
For businesses, APIs are what make integration possible. Most modern software platforms, from accounting packages and CRM tools to e-commerce marketplaces and courier services, provide APIs that allow other systems to connect to them. The challenge is building those connections properly, handling the data accurately, managing errors gracefully and ensuring the integration is reliable enough to run your business on.
That is where we come in. We have been building API integrations for over two decades and we understand both the technical complexities and the practical business requirements that make an integration successful.
Connecting to third party APIs
The most common scenario is connecting your internal systems with a third party platform through its API. This allows data to flow automatically between your business and the external service without manual intervention. Common examples include:
E-commerce and marketplace platforms — pulling orders from your website, Amazon, eBay, or other marketplaces directly into your ERP or accounting system. Product data, pricing, and stock levels can be pushed back out to keep your listings accurate and up to date.
Payment processors — integrating with Stripe, PayPal, SagePay, or other payment gateways so that transactions are recorded in your systems automatically, with no manual reconciliation required.
Shipping and logistics providers — connecting your order management or ERP system with courier APIs to automate despatch booking, label generation, and tracking number retrieval. Customers receive shipping updates without your team lifting a finger.
CRM and marketing platforms — synchronising customer data between your internal systems and tools like Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, Mailchimp, or other CRM and marketing automation platforms.
Accounting and financial services — connecting with banking APIs, expense management tools, or financial reporting services to automate reconciliation and reporting.
Industry specific platforms — whether it is a trade portal, a regulatory reporting system, a supply chain platform, or a sector specific application, if it has an API we can integrate with it.
Cloud services and SaaS applications — connecting your on premise systems with cloud based tools, ensuring data flows between your local infrastructure and the cloud platforms your business relies on.
Building your own API
Not every integration involves connecting to someone else’s API. Sometimes you need to create your own. If you want to allow partners, customers, or other systems to interact with your data in a controlled, secure way, a custom API is the answer.
This is exactly what we built with Accounts Gateway®, a Web API that allows multiple systems to read from and write to accounting platforms through a standardised interface. The same approach can be applied to any of your business data.
Common reasons for building a custom API include:
Giving partners access to your data
Allowing trusted partners or suppliers to query stock levels, submit orders, or retrieve pricing information directly from your systems through a secure, documented API.
Powering mobile or web applications
Providing the data layer for a customer facing app, an internal mobile tool, or a web portal that needs to read from and write to your central database.
Enabling future integrations
Building an API layer over your existing systems so that new integrations can be added in the future without modifying the underlying applications. This creates a flexible, future proof architecture.
Connecting legacy systems
Wrapping an older system that does not have a modern API in a new API layer, allowing it to communicate with current platforms without being replaced.
How we build API integrations
Every API integration project starts with understanding what you need to achieve. We review the platforms involved, assess the available APIs and their documentation, identify the data that needs to flow and in which direction, and design an integration architecture that is reliable, performant, and maintainable.
1. API Assessment
We review the third party API documentation to understand its capabilities, limitations, authentication requirements, rate limits and data formats. Not all APIs are created equal and understanding the constraints upfront avoids problems later.
2. Integration Design
We map out which data needs to move, how often, in which direction and what should happen when something goes wrong. This design phase is critical for building robust integrations that do not fail silently.
3. Development and Testing
We build the integration using proven technologies and test it thoroughly in a safe environment before connecting it to your live systems. We test not just the happy path but also error scenarios, network failures and edge cases.
4. Error Handling and Monitoring
A good integration needs to handle errors gracefully. We build in comprehensive error handling, logging and alerting so that if something does go wrong, it is detected immediately and can be resolved quickly. Our proactive monitoring systems, the same technology that powers The Data Bridge®, ensure issues are often caught before they affect your business.
5. Documentation and Handover
We provide clear documentation of the integration, including what data flows where, how authentication works and what to do if issues arise. If we are building an API for you, we provide full API documentation so that developers on your side or at partner organisations can work with it confidently.
The benefits of API integration
Automate manual processes
Every time your team manually copies data between platforms, there is an opportunity for automation. API integrations replace these manual touchpoints with automated data flows, freeing your team to focus on work that actually requires human judgement and expertise.
Real time data across platforms
With API integrations, changes in one system can be reflected in another within seconds. When a customer places an order on your marketplace, it appears in your ERP immediately. When stock levels change, your website updates automatically. This real-time data synchronisation means everyone in your team, your customers, your partners are always working with current information.
Scale without adding headcount
As your business grows, transaction volumes increase. Without automation, that means more manual processing and more staff to handle it. API integrations allow you to scale your operations without proportionally increasing your administrative overhead. The systems handle the volume; your team handles the exceptions.
Reduce errors and improve accuracy
Automated data transfer through APIs is consistent and precise. The same data is transmitted the same way every time, without the risk of typos, transposed figures, or missed entries that come with manual processing. For financial data, order processing, and stock management, this level of accuracy is critical.
Future proof your systems
An API-based integration architecture is inherently flexible. When you adopt a new platform, enter a new marketplace, or onboard a new partner, adding a new connection to an API-enabled system is far simpler than rebuilding point-to-point integrations from scratch. Investing in APIs now creates the foundation for easy expansion later.
Technologies and Protocols
We work with the full range of API technologies and protocols used in modern business integrations, including RESTful APIs, SOAP web services, JSON and XML data formats, OAuth and API key authentication, and webhook-based event-driven integrations. We also have extensive experience with The Data Bridge®’s own integration capabilities, which support direct database connections, ODBC, file based transfers and API calls as part of automated workflows.
Our development team builds integrations in C#, .NET, PHP and JavaScript, choosing the most appropriate technology for each project based on your existing infrastructure and the requirements of the third-party platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if a platform has an API we can integrate with?
Most modern business software platforms provide APIs. If you are unsure, we can check for you. Send us the name of the platform and we will review its API documentation and let you know what is possible. Even if a platform does not have a traditional API, there are often alternative methods of integration such as database connections, file exports, or webhooks that we can work with.
Can you integrate with a website built by another developer?
Yes. We regularly integrate with websites and applications built by third parties. As long as the platform provides an API or database access, we can connect it to your internal systems. The Painthouse project is a good example of this, their website was built by another provider and we connected it seamlessly to their back office systems through The Data Bridge®.
What happens when a third-party API changes?
Third party API's do get updated from time to time and these changes can affect integrations. Our monitoring systems detect issues quickly, and we can update the integration to accommodate API changes. For clients on support contracts, this is handled as part of the ongoing service. We also design integrations with resilience in mind, so that minor API changes do not cause immediate failures.
How secure are API integrations?
Security is a core consideration in every integration we build. We use industry standard authentication methods including OAuth and API keys, transmit data securely and follow the security requirements specified by each third party platform. For your own custom APIs, we implement appropriate authentication, rate limiting and access controls to protect your data.
Can you build an API for our legacy system?
Yes. One of the most valuable things we do is wrap older systems in a modern API layer. This allows a legacy application that was never designed for integration to communicate with current platforms. It is often a far more cost effective approach than replacing the legacy system entirely and it extends the useful life of software that still serves your business well.
How long does an API integration take to build?
It depends on the complexity of the integration, the quality of the third party API documentation and how many systems are involved. A straightforward connection between two well documented APIs might take a few weeks. A more complex multi platform integration with custom data transformation and error handling could take longer. We provide a clear timeline and transparent pricing during the proposal stage.
API integration in practice
A good example of our API integration work is the project we delivered for Painthouse, a contemporary paint brand. Their bespoke e-commerce website was built by a third party provider and they needed orders placed online to flow automatically into their accounting and stock management systems. We configured The Data Bridge® to connect to the website’s custom API, monitor for new completed orders, extract customer and order data, create the corresponding records in their internal systems and update the website once each order had been processed. The result was a fully automated order pipeline with no manual data entry required.
This project demonstrates a common pattern in our API work, connecting a third party platform with your internal systems through a reliable, monitored, automated integration.
Electronic Data Interchange
Discover the transformative power of our bespoke EDI solutions, designed specifically for Advanced Plastics to revolutionise their order and despatch processes.
Custom Website Integration
Connected a third-party e-commerce website with the client’s accounting and stock management systems through The Data Bridge®, automating the entire order pipeline.
Powered by The Data Bridge
Our journey with Spire Technology is a prime example of how the right solution can transform a company’s online presence and operational efficiency.
API integration specialists in Dorset
Based at our offices in Ferndown, Dorset, Solweb has been building API integrations and custom connectivity solutions for over 25 years. We work with businesses across Bournemouth, Poole, the South Coast, and throughout the UK. Whether you need to connect your systems with a single third-party platform or build a comprehensive integration layer across multiple services, we have the technical expertise and practical experience to deliver.
If it has an API, we can connect it
Whether you need to connect with a marketplace, automate your order processing, build your own API for partners, or wrap a legacy system in a modern interface, we can help. Get in touch to discuss your integration requirements.