Knowify Integration
Technology has seeped into every corner and crevice of our lives – both personal and professional. It’s made us more productive and more connected, with more information available to us than ever before. But it has certainly brought challenges, too. Despite Google/Amazon/Apple’s best efforts, we do not yet run our lives or businesses using only one single platform; rather, most of us use many different tools, and frequently these tools overlap in ways that can make integrating them quite beneficial. This post is going to look at two levels of integration, and hopefully help you make better decisions when you’re looking to add features/functionality to your tech stack.
Core features
In your business’s tech stack, you probably have one or two pieces that you would consider “core” – these are the things that are central to the way you operate, and are your reference point for your base-level of functionality. In the software space, examples might be QuickBooks, or your preferred business management or CRM tool. If you already have these in place, and you’re not going to switch, feel free to skip to the next section! If you’re thinking about adding new ‘core’ technology to replace paper/Excel based processes, or perhaps because you’re starting a new business, then here’s something to keep in mind: integrated features will never work as seamlessly as built-in features. It’s a bummer, we know. There are some mitigating factors, which I explain in detail below. But when you go out into the marketplace to find a ‘core’ piece of software that is going to be at the heart of your business, make sure you know what the most important things to you are. If it’s comprehensive time tracking combined with scheduling so that you can understand how long jobs actually took, and compare productivity across your guys or crews, great: there are many packages that can do that for you. It would be a mistake however to find separate packages for each one – while you may find the BEST time tracker and the BEST scheduler, if they’re separate pieces of software you will invariably lose the most valuable pieces of all: the ability of the time tracker to reflect the schedule, and the schedule to reflect the time!
Integration level 1: Native/Deep integration
Leaving the ‘core features’ warning aside, integrations can work well if two key criteria are met: (1) the push/pull of data can be episodic – i.e., not real time; and (2) you’re comfortable with the receiving software having fewer resolved data than the originating one. (2) sounds scary, but it doesn’t have to be.
In our time tracking example above, an integration between QuickBooks and that time tracker/scheduler would result in QBO having less information about scheduling than the time tracker/scheduler software. But, so what? Your accounting software doesn’t need scheduling information. (Note: I’ve seen several cases where the accountant demands data that he/she doesn’t really need in QuickBooks. Be realistic about what you need, and don’t be an impediment to your Company’s or client’s productivity!) But since time is essential data for many companies, having a really rich integration with QuickBooks probably makes sense. You probably want to make sure that time, when pushed to QuickBooks, is appropriately marked with the client/job or split out for OT/DT. That level of depth will require a purpose-built integration rather than a third-party integration; you’ll want to make sure that the developers of the software package you’re looking to add have built that integration already. This is especially true if you need a bi-directional sync, where both packages are sending data to each other. For instance, if you use a separate contract management/invoicing package, a direct, custom-built integration will ensure that you get appropriate line-item resolution in QuickBooks, as well as pass payment information seamlessly back from QuickBooks to your other software.
Integration level 2: Third-party integration
There are a number of services that provide quick and easy ‘recipe’-based integrations. These tools are awesome: they’re easy to use, provide rapid ways to stitch software packages together, and are generally inexpensive (or even free!). As noted above, however, they can’t provide a really rich integration. Here are some rules of thumb for when you can use a Zapier-like service:
The data only need to flow in ONE direction.
- There is a clear trigger for the data push from package A to package B.
- There is considerable overlap in the data object between the two packages – i.e., a ‘Client’ in one contains the same sort of information as a ‘Client’ in another. This is not always the case! An ‘estimate’ in QuickBooks is quite different from an ‘estimate’ or ‘contract’ in many other packages!
A good example of a third-party integration using Zapier that can work is between your CRM and your accounting or project management system. You can use the CRM to manage your marketing campaigns and track leads through your funnel. Has one advanced far enough to make an estimate? Make the “Ready for Estimate” (or equivalent) stage a trigger for your CRM to send the client’s info to your project management software, and then manage the estimate/job from there. It’s a seamless, one-time pass off of data between the packages, and lets each focus on what it’s made for: the CRM on the marketing/lead tracking, the business software on the operations/execution phase. You should NOT use Zapier to try to integrate QuickBooks with another piece of software involving core accounting functions, like a contract management/invoicing package or a purchasing/bill management package – you will probably have a bad time. There’s too much data lost with a simple integration for that to be effective, and you’ll probably find yourself manually double-entering information – ouch!
Author Bio: Dan de Roulet is co-founder of Knowify. de Roulet, who has a long history as an entrepreneur and business developer, strongly believes in the potential of the Knowify software to significantly streamline construction company operations.