Integrations
Connecting a web shop to ERP
A web shop that is not connected to your ERP means retyping orders and stock that lags behind. An integration does that work: orders go into the ERP, stock and prices go out to the shop. This is how it works with WooCommerce, Shopify and packages like Business Central, and how you prevent duplicate orders.
What goes back and forth
- From shop to ERP: orders, new customers, payments and returns.
- From ERP to shop: stock, prices, item data and the status of an order.
- Two directions means two sources of truth. Agree per data item which system leads.
Webhooks instead of polling
WooCommerce and Shopify report themselves that something happened, through webhooks: a new order, a payment, a change. Your integration receives the message and processes it. That is faster than asking every quarter of an hour whether there is anything new, and it saves requests. WooCommerce also offers a REST API for orders, products and customers, with keys per integration.
The ERP side
Business Central has a REST API for exactly this kind of integration, with customers, sales invoices and items. There are limits: per user 6,000 requests per five minutes, and at most 200 webhook subscriptions per environment. An integration that makes ten requests per order hits that limit during a promotion in the shop. So batching and queues are part of it.
Preventing duplicate orders
A webhook can arrive twice, and a request can fail halfway. The integration must cope with that.
- Every order gets one key, the shop's order number. If it arrives again, nothing happens.
- Store first, then process. A message you received must not be lost when the ERP does not answer for a moment.
- A log where you see per order what happened, including what was skipped.
Where the money is
Not in the webhooks. In the translation: VAT rates, shipping costs, discounts and variants that are named differently in the shop than in the ERP. Whoever budgets the integration, budgets mostly that, plus the exceptions you only discover after the first week.
Frequently asked questions
Which web shops can we connect?
WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, Lightspeed and most other platforms with an API. For a custom web shop we read the database or build an API.
Does stock have to be accurate to the second?
For most shops every few minutes is enough. To the second is possible, but costs more requests and more infrastructure. That is a choice per item group.
What if an order is rejected in the ERP?
Then the integration should report that to a person, with the reason, and set the order aside. Letting it disappear silently is the mistake that costs the most money.
Sources
Where every figure on this page comes from.
- WooCommerce REST API documentation · Orders, producten, klanten en webhooks
- Shopify: Webhooks · Onderwerpen, abonnementen en aflevering
- Microsoft: API v2.0 for Dynamics 365 Business Central · REST-API voor Connect apps
- Microsoft: Operational limits in Business Central online · Verzoeken per gebruiker per 5 minuten, webhookabonnementen
Our approach
From advice to management, with one partner
The same rhythm for every project.
Advice
We start with a conversation, not with code. First clarity on what you need and what you do not.
Build
We build and integrate to measure, with technology that fits you. You own your data and your code.
Manage
We stay involved: monitoring, adjusting and growing with your business.
Which shop and which ERP?
Name both, and in one conversation we tell you what the integration needs and where the exceptions are.
Call 085 083 5775A 30-minute intake