The information shared between the accounting system and the website can often overlap. Integration is about making your applications work together and automating the sharing of information.
Integration is a process that takes information from your accounting or stock management system and displays it on your website and vice versa. For example, products from your stock management system can be displayed on the website and stock levels are updated in real time so that when a product runs out, the website reflects this.
Data can be integrated from your stock management system, database or accountancy system automatically into your shopping cart. Integration saves on double data entry, enables customers to get the latest up-to-date information and gets your products and services advertised on other websites (such as Trade Me and Autopoint) and out to a wider audience.
A company's shopping cart should connect to the accounting system to ensure orders made online are captured. Most accounting systems have the ability to import order information from external sources. Datum Connect has integrated with many accounting systems such as MYOB, Exonet and Sage. This process can be automated so information is sent to the accounting system on a timely basis to allow users to act upon this (automation depends on the capability of the financial system to import orders automatically).
"When we update our system the website is updated too. It is easy to use and saves the company a lot of time."
Nathan Thorowgood - Saddlery Warehouse
Datum Connect has integrated with the following accounting applications:
Features & Benefits
- Saves time by eliminating double data entry
Having systems talk to each other saves on the frustrating and error-prone job of entering the same information in multiple locations.
- Eliminating manual data entry helps to ensure accuracy of information and orders
- Automated updating of information across different websites and application software
Automating updates also means a person does not have to remember to do this task, further reducing reliance on manual human intervention.
- Get your website products and services advertised on other websites and out to a larger viewing public
Many websites like PriceSpy.co.nz and TradeMe.co.nz can increase your exposure and increase the likelihood of people viewing your product.
- More timely and frequent updates help customers to get the latest up-to-date information
It is critical that customers and staff can trust the accuracy and timeliness of information.
- Improved workflow information between sales, accounts, production and dispatch
Multiple systems are required to capture and fulfil a product or service. It is important these systems talk to each other to ensure seamless delivery.
- Extends the useful life of existing software and systems
Many large legacy systems lack the functionality that is available online. Integration allows information to be exported from legacy systems and imported into online systems to provide additional functionality.
Return on Investment
Of all the services offered by Datum Connect, integration can provide the best return on investment. The benefits are instant and the ROI can be clearly calculated even before the project begins.
| ROI scenarios |
| Automatically updating 3,000 products (prices, stock, images and descriptions) saves one full time job and increases online sales by 250% in the first year. |
| Importing website orders into the accounting systems saves 35% of an accounts person's time manually entering orders. |
| Automatically updating supplier stock and price information saves 2 hours per day updating supplier information on the website. |
| Automatically exporting products and images to Trade Me increases online orders by 20% and saves 1 hour manually entering information. |
| Receiving reseller orders automatically enables preferential supplier relationships and accounts for 10 additional orders per day from a large reseller. |
| Reps on the road can see stock levels and create orders online, saving numerous calls to customer services each day. Orders can be dispatched as soon as they are entered, saving a half day lag between the rep getting the order and faxing or emailing it later. |
| Customer services staff can view the customer account balances on the CRM system and deal with accounts enquiries instantly, saving 1 hour of the accounts person's time each day and reducing customer accounts enquiry time by 50%. |
Common business problems / challenges and solutions
My marketing database is in 3 to 4 different places.
Customer information will always be in multiple places as different systems doing different jobs. Accounting systems to keep payments, eCommerce systems to take online orders, email marketing platforms to send marketing messages, online banking to receive payments, email client to send and receive daily emails etc. The best method to centralise marketing information is through a CRMs and choosing supporting systems that can talk to your CRM.
There are so many options to choose from, which system do I use for what?
The team at Datum Connect has dealt with more than 1,000 companies and have integrated into many systems and in many cases advise on which online systems will suit your requirements.
I'm spending half of my time entering website orders into our accounting package!
Depending on your accounting package, website orders can be directly imported into your accounting system.
Stock and prices on the website are always out-of-date!
Depending on your accounting package, product stock levels and prices can be automatically updated to your website.
Is there any way for the website to generate invoices and receipts automatically?
Once an eCommerce order is created, a receipt or invoice can be generated online. The invoice number and reference can both be generated by the website.
How can I get orders actioned as soon as they are accepted?
Depending on your delivery software package, orders can be automatically inserted into this package so your fulfilment process can begin. The best approach is to use the Datum Connect Workflow System and keep all the fulfilment and delivery processes online saving time and money.
We are so bogged down in customer support that we don't get anything done!
The team at Datum Connect are a small team of 10 supporting over 800 live customers, working on over 100 customer website projects and constantly developing their service levels and products. Having one central online integrated system is the key to getting things done quickly and efficiently. Datum Connect Cloud is the new product that was developed to help companies to support existing customers and complete existing agreements while attracting new customers.
What if the online stock does not reflect what is in the warehouse?
Depending on your accounting/stock system, stock levels on the website can be automatically updated. If stock is less than three or another predefined amount, a message can be posted on the website directing customers to call to confirm if stock is available.
Questions and Answers
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How often will the website be updated?
Brent - Technical - Publishing |
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That depends on what type of information is being updated. Product descriptions and images should be updated once a day while stock information may require updating 4 to 5 times a day.
Danny - Founder - Datum Connect |
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How do we get the information from our MYOB accounting system on to the website?
Paul - Director - Importer |
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There are 6 main ways to transfer data. 1. Manual data entry, 2. Exporting and Importing, 3. FTP, 4. HTTP request (Website to Website), 5. Email attachments or 6. Using our specially developed Datum Connect integration tool. We will install the Datum Connect integration tool on to your computer and this will automatically extract product information from MYOB and push it to the website. However, you will need MYOB Premier edition 14 or above.
Jon - Web Developer - Datum Connect |
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Can you Integrate into Xero?
Bill - Director - Business Coaching |
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Xero does not have a stock system therefore you can't use it to keep track of stock. However, you can automatically import website orders. The recent upgrade to the integration interface allows customers to check their past invoices.
Danny - Founder - Datum Connect |
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I have a time clocking system in my factory. Can I get orders imported directly into this system as soon as it is accepted?
Greg - Director - Home Heating |
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We would need to talk to the developers of your time clocking system. They will let us know if it is possible and if so, how we can interface with it.
Danny - Founder - Datum Connect |
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