01303 883111 Request a scope

How we deliver an integration

Four stages. The scope and the price are agreed in writing before any code is written, and the acceptance criteria are defined at the same time as the estimate.

Typical delivery for a single-direction integration between two systems is two to four weeks. Larger programmes are phased so the first flow is live and paying for itself before the next begins.

Stage one · 3–5 days

Discovery and data mapping

We establish exactly what is being connected, in which direction, and which fields must move. Most failed integrations fail here rather than in the code.

What happens
  • →A working session with the people who use both systems
  • →Review of API documentation, rate limits and authentication for each platform
  • →Field-by-field mapping, including tax, discounts, currency and rounding
  • →Agreement on which system is the source of truth for each record type
You receive A written integration specification you can hand to any developer.
Stage two · 2–3 days

Fixed scope and estimate

The specification becomes a costed proposal with a delivery schedule and defined acceptance criteria, so that completion is a matter of fact rather than opinion.

What happens
  • →Fixed price for the build, with any assumptions stated explicitly
  • →Delivery schedule with your own dependencies identified
  • →Acceptance criteria written as testable statements
  • →Options for anything out of scope, priced separately
You receive A fixed-price proposal for sign-off.
Stage three · 2–4 weeks

Build and acceptance testing

Development takes place against sandbox environments, never your live data. You test with records you recognise before anything is switched on.

What happens
  • →Build against a development store and a sandbox of the destination system
  • →Error handling, retries, alerting and transaction logging built in from the start
  • →Acceptance testing using a sample of your own historic records
  • →Test evidence supplied against each acceptance criterion
You receive A tested integration and the evidence that it works.
Stage four · 1 week + hypercare

Go-live and handover

A controlled cutover at a time that suits your operation, followed by a period of close monitoring and then a clean handover.

What happens
  • →Cutover plan with a documented rollback position
  • →Monitoring and alerting live from the first transaction
  • →Two weeks of hypercare support at no additional cost
  • →Handover of source code, credentials, configuration and documentation
You receive A live integration that you own outright.

What every integration includes

These are not optional extras. An integration without error handling and an audit trail is a liability rather than an asset.

Error handling and alerting

Failures are caught, categorised and notified to a named inbox or channel rather than disappearing silently.

Rate-limit aware retries

Automatic back-off and retry that respects each platform's published limits, so a busy hour does not become lost data.

Full transaction log

Every record that crosses the join is logged with its payload, so a disputed order can be traced end to end months later.

Idempotency

A repeated webhook or a re-run job cannot duplicate an order, an invoice or a stock movement.

Staging environment

A mirror of production for testing future changes without touching live trading.

Written documentation

Field mappings, environment configuration and dependencies, in a form your own team or a future supplier can pick up.

How we charge

Discovery is charged separately and is deducted from the build cost if you proceed. Nothing is billed on a day rate without your agreement in advance.

Discovery

A fixed fee for the specification and mapping work. You keep the document whether or not you proceed with us.

Credited in full against the build cost.

Fixed-price build

One price for the agreed scope, invoiced in two stages: on sign-off and on acceptance.

No day rates, no variation without written agreement.

Support and monitoring

Optional monthly agreement covering monitoring, error resolution, API version migrations and a small change allowance.

Cancellable with 30 days' notice.

Describe the two systems and what needs to move between them. We will come back with an outline scope within one working day.

Start with discovery

Discuss your integration

Call 01303 883111 or email hello@api-integrations.co.uk. We will tell you honestly whether an integration is the right answer to the problem you have described.

Request a scope 01303 883111