CRM & Integrations

Handshake · Guides

Implementation guides for CRM integration work

Guides you can work through with an API console or a migration spreadsheet open. Each one lists its steps before it starts, explains the decision behind each step, and ends with what to check before go-live.

  1. GUIDE 01 · CRM APIs & sync · 12 min

    How to Build a CRM API Integration That Survives Production

    A step-by-step guide to building a CRM API integration: service authentication, incremental sync, idempotent writes, webhooks, rate limits and testing.

    You leave with A working design for a CRM connector: auth, incremental reads, safe writes, verified webhooks, rate-aware retries, tests and run-time checks.

    1. 01Scope the integration before you open the API docs
    2. 02Authenticate as a service, not as a person
    3. 03Model the remote API behind one client
    4. 04Read incrementally with a cursor you control
    5. 05Make every write safe to retry
    6. 06Receive webhooks without trusting them
    7. 07Respect rate limits by design
    8. 08Test against contracts and a sandbox
    9. 09Operate it: logs, metrics, replay and reconciliation

  2. GUIDE 02 · CRM data & migration · 8 min

    How to Migrate CRM Data: A Step-by-Step Plan With Reconciliation

    How to migrate data from one CRM to another: inventory, mapping spec, deduplication, load order with external IDs, trial loads, reconciliation and cutover.

    You leave with A migration plan with a mapping spec, dedup rules, a dependency-ordered load, reconciliation checks and a cutover sequence with a rollback point.

    1. 01Inventory what you are actually moving
    2. 02Decide what not to migrate
    3. 03Write the mapping specification
    4. 04Clean and deduplicate before the load
    5. 05Load in dependency order with external IDs
    6. 06Run trial loads and reconcile
    7. 07Plan the cutover and the freeze
    8. 08Verify after go-live

Read in order

Reading paths that include these guides

Designing reliable CRM integrations

Decide which system owns what, choose how the integration is built, then build a connector that survives failures.

  1. Draw the boundaryERP vs CRM: What Each System Owns and How to Connect Them
  2. Choose the approachIntegration Platforms vs Custom Integration: How to Choose for CRM Data Flows
  3. Build the connectorHow to Build a CRM API Integration That Survives Production

From CRM API to production integration

Learn the mechanics on a neutral CRM API, see how one large platform shapes them, then decide what to run yourself.

  1. Learn the mechanicsHow to Build a CRM API Integration That Survives Production
  2. Apply them to a platformSalesforce Integration Patterns: APIs, Events and Architecture Decisions
  3. Decide what to operateIntegration Platforms vs Custom Integration: How to Choose for CRM Data Flows

Planning a CRM data migration

Understand the data model you are moving, plan and reconcile the migration, then keep the systems in step after cutover.

  1. Know the modelWhat Is a CRM Database? Objects, Relationships and Identifiers Explained
  2. Move the dataHow to Migrate CRM Data: A Step-by-Step Plan With Reconciliation
  3. Keep it in syncHow to Build a CRM API Integration That Survives Production