The expected handoff
Received. Recorded. Assigned.
Check each step separately. Show the visitor a truthful confirmation of what the website accepted; give the team a way to see whether the customer-system handoff completed.
API & Third-Party Integrations
Your next enquiry should move the work forward.
When your website and business systems do not talk, your team becomes the connection. We build integrations around the information you need to move, who needs it next and what should happen if something goes wrong.
On this page
One enquiry. A clear next step.
From a website form to someone ready to help.
Imagine a service business that copies every website enquiry into its customer system. Here is the handoff we would agree before building a connection.
Worked example · website enquiry to customer system
- 01
Your website
Capture the request
A visitor sends their name, email and what they need help with. The form checks the required details before accepting it.
Owns the original request
Keep the submitted message and a unique reference so the handoff can be traced.
- 02
Your customer system (CRM)
Put it in the right place
Create an enquiry linked to the right contact, using agreed rules to check whether that contact already exists.
Owns the customer record
Match approved fields. An existing customer’s details are only updated under agreed rules.
- 03
Your team
Make follow-up someone’s job
Assign the enquiry to the agreed team or person, with the original message and a visible next action.
Owns the response
A record arriving successfully does not mean a person has replied. Keep those statuses separate.
The part that is easy to overlook
What if the next system is unavailable?
A connection is only useful when your team can tell what happened. We agree the response to everyday exceptions as part of the build.
An interrupted handoff
Hold it. Retry safely. Flag what needs attention.
Where the systems support it, retain the accepted request and try again within agreed limits. Reuse its reference to avoid creating the same enquiry twice. If it still cannot move, notify the nominated owner with a useful next step.
- The same request arrives twice
- Agree what counts as a repeat submission. Check its reference before creating another enquiry; a second, different request from the same person may still be valid.
- A required field is missing
- Identify the missing detail and route the request for correction. Do not silently fill it with guessed information.
- An access permission changes
- Make the failed handoff visible to the support owner. Agree who restores access and who checks waiting requests afterwards.
These are proposed behaviours for this example. The available interfaces and project requirements determine what can be implemented.
Build the connection your team will actually use
Tell us where the copying, checking or chasing happens.
Enquiries are one starting point. The same questions apply to orders, bookings and other information moving between your website and business systems.
First, check what is possible
We review the systems, the information they allow us to access and any account or plan requirements. An existing connector may be enough; a custom connection needs a clear reason.
Then, agree the rules
Define the fields, direction of travel, timing and which system owns each value. Include duplicates, rejected records and access to personal information in that agreement.
Build, test and hand it over
Implement the agreed connection and test representative records, failed handoffs and recovery. Provide a record of the mapping and explain how your nominated team checks and escalates issues.
Your questions
Before we connect anything.
Can you connect our existing systems?
Send the system names, your account plans and what you want to move between them. We check available connections, access restrictions and requirements before confirming feasibility. Not every platform exposes the information or actions a workflow needs.
Do we need a custom API integration?
Not always. A supported connector may meet the need with less development. We assess it against your fields, workflow, running costs and exception handling before recommending a custom build.
What should we include in an enquiry?
Name the systems, describe one task your team repeats and tell us what a successful handoff would look like. A simple example is enough to start. Please do not send passwords, access tokens or customer records through the enquiry form.
What happens if a connected system becomes unavailable?
The integration needs an agreed failure path. Depending on the workflow, that may include recording the failed operation, retrying safely and making the problem visible to someone who can resolve it.
How do you avoid creating duplicate records when a request is retried?
Define a stable way to identify the operation and check whether it has already succeeded. The exact approach depends on the systems involved, but duplicate prevention should be considered before automating a business-critical workflow.
Can you integrate systems that do not have a public API?
We first assess the supported connection methods and the vendor's constraints. A public API is not always available, and a reliable alternative may require vendor support or a different workflow. Feasibility needs confirming before delivery is promised.
Your next step
Which task should your team stop copying by hand?
Tell us what starts the work, where the information needs to go and where it gets stuck. We can help turn that into a clear integration brief.