Integrations and automation for your shop, accounts, stock and CRM

First check: is there already an app?

For common pairs there is often a ready-made connection. Xero lists its own Shopify integration, free on all Xero plans, which syncs sales, payouts, fees and taxes. A2X summarises Shopify payouts for Xero or QuickBooks Online; its Shopify App Store page listed plans from $29 to $115 a month by order volume (checked 18 October 2026).

A custom integration makes sense when several shops or marketplaces come together, when your accounts expect something the app does not deliver, or when your systems are less common. If an app is enough, we recommend it, even though we then build nothing.

Demo: orders that process themselves (in German)

In the order automation demo a test order from Nordlicht, a fictional coffee roaster, runs through six stations: shop, checks, accounts, stock, shipping and a confirmation email.

Four scenarios show the exceptions: an item out of stock triggers a reorder, a missing house number sends the order to manual review, and an order above the approval limit waits for a person. You change the limit and minimum stock yourself, and an event log shows every step. The demo is a simulation; no real systems are connected.

Shop and accounts

Orders, payments, refunds and fees should reach your accounts without retyping. What matters:

• VAT per line: a basket with standard-rated and zero-rated items has to be split correctly.
• Refunds and credit notes: partial refunds and cancellations need their own route.
• Payouts and fees: each payout has to match the orders and fees behind it.
• Route: a CSV file for your bookkeeper, or a direct connection through your accounting software's API.

Making Tax Digital and digital links

Making Tax Digital for VAT requires digital links between the software you use. HMRC's VAT Notice 700/22 (section 3.2.1) lists examples such as CSV import and export, automated data transfer and API transfer, and states that HMRC does not consider ‘copy and paste’ a digital link.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords according to their qualifying income in an earlier tax year: above £50,000 from 6 April 2026, above £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and above £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Whether your setup meets the rules is a question for your accountant.

Shop and stock, forms and CRM

When shop and stock system count separately, sooner or later you sell something that is gone. An integration matches stock and reserves goods on order. Key questions: which system leads, how often data is matched, and what happens with variants and bundles.

Enquiries and applications from your website can go straight into the CRM, with duplicate checks and a confirmation email. Our reference, an online application assistant for a German federal funding agency, includes export into the agency's existing systems; see online grant application forms.

Ready-made app, workflow tool or custom integration?

Data protection

Check where a workflow tool processes your data; n8n, for example, can also run on your own server. If personal data goes to the US, the ICO describes partial adequacy for the US, covering only transfers under the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. A custom integration that we host runs on servers in Germany (Hetzner, Nuremberg) with a data processing agreement; the EEA, including Germany, has full UK adequacy. Take advice for your case.

Errors and monitoring

• Retry instead of lose: if a system is unavailable, the transaction is stored and tried again later.
• Nothing twice: each transaction has a unique ID, so a retry does not create a second invoice.
• Exceptions in one place: what cannot run automatically goes into a review list, and a named person is alerted.
• API limits: many APIs cap requests per second; we plan for that, especially when moving old data.
• Monitoring: a status page shows whether everything runs, like our own with real measurements every 5 minutes.

How your integration is built

1. 1Intro call: you tell us which programs you use and which tasks keep repeating.
2. 2Data flow and fixed price: which data moves when and where, which system leads, what happens on errors; with a fixed price for each stage.
3. 3Delivery in stages: the normal case first, then the exceptions. You test after each stage.
4. 4Hosting or handover: we host and monitor the integration on servers in Germany, or hand it over to your IT with documentation.