Option 1: the built-in connector
Many tools connect to each other out of the box: your shop to your accounting software, your accounting software to your bank. If the built-in connector moves the data you need, in the direction you need, use it. The catch is that it does what it does and no more, and when it can't, there is usually no way to change it.
Xero, for example, has an App Store of apps that connect to it, and a directory of development partners who build custom integrations when no app fits.
Option 2: Zapier or Make
Automation tools like Zapier and Make link apps with rules: when this happens here, do that there. They're quick to set up and good for simple, one-way jobs. The costs grow with use: Zapier counts each successful action as a task and Make counts credits, and both sell monthly plans with an allowance that costs more as it grows. And when a connected app changes, an automation can stop quietly until someone notices.
We use them ourselves where they do the job: a single-system integration can be a lightweight Zapier or Make automation rather than custom code, when that's the right tool.
Option 3: a custom integration
A custom integration is code written for your systems. It's the right choice when the data has to be exact (money, stock, customer records), when it moves both ways, when there's a lot of it, or when one of the systems has no connector at all. It costs more up front, and in return it does exactly what you need and can be monitored like the rest of your software.
What each costs with us
| What | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Connect Blueprint | £1,500 | Integration discovery: we map your systems, the data and the direction, and fix the price. |
| Connect, Single System Integration | £1,950 | One pre-built connector between your app and the system you rely on. one-way, from · bidirectional up to £3,900. |
| Connected Business, Multi-System Package | £6,500–£16,000 | Three to five systems linked into one flow, the single source of truth build. fixed price, scoped via the Connect Blueprint. |
| Custom API Integration | £12,000–£40,000+ | Legacy, in-house, and bespoke systems, or new API powers for your app. fixed after paid discovery · not-to-exceed. |
Prices exclude VAT. UK customers pay 20% VAT at checkout; customers outside the UK pay none. Every connector we build includes 90 days of break-fix: if an API changes underneath you in that window, we fix it.
The question to ask first
What happens if it stops? If the answer is “someone re-types a few orders”, start simple. If the answer is “invoices go out wrong” or “stock goes negative”, it's worth building properly.