Who integrations are for
Most businesses that look for a Xero integration developer have the same problem: good systems that do not talk to each other. Each one works, but people are the glue between them, retyping invoices, exporting spreadsheets and fixing the mismatches at month end.
- A wholesaler whose online orders are typed by hand into the accounting system, then again into the warehouse list.
- A trades business where the scheduling tool knows the job is finished but accounts does not, so invoices go out late.
- A professional practice with client details in a CRM and different details in the billing system.
- A retailer whose shelf stock, online stock and accounting stock never agree.
- A growing business moving from accounting software alone to an ERP, and needing its history and daily flows carried across.
We build and look after the links: Xero and MYOB integration, CRM and ERP connections, inventory, scheduling and payments. Where no product fills a gap, we can build the missing piece as custom software. If you are unsure which systems to keep at all, digital transformation starts with that question.
Problems an integration solves
Connecting systems is worth doing when it ends problems like these:
- Orders, customers and payments entered twice, and the typing errors that follow
- Invoices raised late because finished work is not passed to accounts
- Stock sold online that the warehouse does not have
- Month end spent hunting for mismatches between systems
- Spreadsheet exports emailed around as the only link between departments
- One accounting login shared with outside tools or with staff who should not see the whole ledger
What is included
An integration is software that notices an event in one system, such as a paid online order, and makes the matching change in another, such as an invoice in Xero. Each one we build includes:
- A process map showing which system is the source of truth for customers, products, prices and stock
- Field-by-field mapping, including tax codes, account codes and tracking categories
- The integration itself: one-way or two-way, in real time or on a schedule
- Duplicate prevention, so a retry never creates a second invoice or contact
- Error handling with alerts, a retry queue and a log your bookkeeper can read
- A one-off migration or clean-up of existing records where needed
- GST treatment and rounding checked with your bookkeeper, for prices that include or exclude tax
- A test run against demo or sandbox files before anything touches your live books
- Monitoring after go-live, and updates when a connected system changes its API
What you hold at the end
- Source code for each integration, in a repository you control
- A data-flow diagram and a field mapping document
- Connections authorised under your own Xero, MYOB and other accounts, which you can revoke at any time
- An error log and alert set-up, with named contacts
- A list of the permissions each connection holds, and the steps to revoke them
- A runbook for common exceptions, written for your bookkeeper or office manager
- Test results, including a reconciliation of the first live sync
- A training session for the staff who rely on the connected systems
Technologies we use and why
APIs
An API is a documented doorway a system provides so other software can read and write its data in a controlled way, with no shared passwords and no file exports. Because the doorway is official, the link keeps working when the product redesigns its screens.
Xero
We build on Xero's public developer platform. Its Accounting API covers transactions such as invoices and credit notes, through to reports. Your accountant keeps working in the Xero they know.
MYOB
MYOB's Business API works with AccountRight, Essentials and MYOB Business files, with endpoints for contacts, sales, purchases, inventory, banking and payroll. You keep the accounting product you already use.
Secure authorisation (OAuth)
The sign-in standard both platforms use. You approve the connection on Xero's or MYOB's own screen, and we never see your password.
Webhooks
Messages a system sends the moment something changes, such as a new invoice, so the other side updates promptly instead of waiting for a nightly run. Staff see current figures without pressing a sync button.
Node.js and TypeScript
The integration code runs as a small service on Google Cloud, AWS or Azure, with a queue so nothing is lost if one system is briefly unavailable.
How we deliver an integration
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Discovery call | A free conversation about which systems you use, where the double entry happens and what a mistake costs you. Your bookkeeper or accountant is welcome to join. |
| 2. Plan and quote | We check each system's API documentation, draw the data flow, list what will and will not sync, and give you a written fixed or staged quote. |
| 3. Build and test | We build one flow at a time against test data and demonstrate each: an order becoming an invoice, a payment marking it paid. Automated tests cover the awkward cases, such as refunds and part payments. |
| 4. Launch and train | We connect your live files with your authorisation, run the first sync alongside your staff, reconcile the results and show them how to read the log and handle exceptions. |
| 5. Ongoing support | Connected systems change. A monthly plan covers monitoring, failed-sync alerts, API changes and new flows as you add tools. |
Engagement options
| Option | Suits | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed quote | One defined connection, such as an online store to Xero | After checking both APIs we agree the flows in writing and quote a single price for build, testing and go-live. |
| Staged pricing | Several systems, or a CRM or ERP rollout | One flow or system per stage, most valuable first. Each stage is quoted, demonstrated and approved before the next. |
| Monthly plan | Integrations your business depends on daily | Monitoring, alerts, fixes when a connected system changes, and small additions. |
Subscription fees for Xero, MYOB and other connected products are separate and paid to those providers.
Security and data handling
- Least privilege. Xero's developer documentation says an app should request the minimum scopes required, and that the scopes are displayed to the user when the connection is approved. We ask for read-only access where a flow only reads, and nothing beyond the agreed flows.
- No shared passwords. Connections use OAuth. Access tokens are stored encrypted in the cloud platform's secret store, never in code or a spreadsheet.
- Minimal copies. Records pass between systems and are not kept. The log holds only what is needed to trace and retry a record.
- Encryption and location. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and the service runs in a cloud account in your name, in the region you choose.
- Named access. The people who can read the log are named, sign in with multi-factor authentication and are removed when they leave. The OAIC's Guide to securing personal information asks exactly this: is access revoked promptly when no longer required?
Multi-factor authentication and restricting administrative privileges are both among the Australian Signals Directorate's Essential Eight strategies. We apply them to the integration service and recommend them on every connected account.
Support after launch
An integration can fail without anyone noticing, so it has to be watched. On a monthly plan we follow the failed-sync alerts, clear the retry queue, and update the code when a connected product changes its API. Xero, for example, is replacing its broad permission scopes with granular ones, and connected apps have to move across. New flows are quoted in writing before work starts.
Your bookkeeper or office manager can reach us by email at hello@comingwave.com.au, by phone or through the enquiry form, and we reply within one business day.
Industries this suits
Retail and e-commerce
Online store, point of sale and stock kept in step, with sales and payments posted to accounts.
Trades and construction
Finished jobs in the scheduling tool become invoices without a second round of typing.
Professional services
Client details and time records flow from the CRM or practice system into billing.
Recruitment
Placements and approved timesheets pass from the recruitment CRM to payroll and invoicing.
Import and export
Purchase orders, incoming stock and customer invoices stay aligned between the warehouse and accounts.
Australian context: Xero, MYOB and Single Touch Payroll
What the platforms document. Xero describes its Accounting API as exposing accounting and related functions of the main Xero application, from creating transactions like invoices and credit notes through to extracting accounting data via reports. Access uses OAuth 2.0, which Xero explains lets an app access a user's account without accessing their password. Xero also provides webhooks for events such as new or updated contacts and invoices, and publishes API rate limits that a well-built integration has to respect. MYOB's Business API covers AccountRight, Essentials and MYOB Business, and MYOB states that it uses OAuth 2.0 for online company files.
Single Touch Payroll. The ATO explains that with STP you report employees' payroll information each time you pay them, through STP-enabled software. That information includes salaries and wages, pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and superannuation liability information. The ATO's page on how to report says you can report from your existing payroll or accounting software if it is STP-enabled. So we leave STP reporting with your STP-enabled payroll product and connect around it, for example sending approved timesheets from a rostering tool into payroll. Ask your accountant or BAS agent how any payroll change affects your reporting.
Independence. We are an independent developer working from the public documentation. We hold no partner or certification status with Xero or MYOB.
Integration questions
Are you a Xero or MYOB partner?
No. We are an independent developer and hold no partner, certification or reseller status with Xero or MYOB. We build against the public APIs both companies document for developers, and each connection runs under your own account.
Is there already an app that connects our systems, or do we need a custom integration?
Check first. Many common pairings have a ready-made connector, and if one fits we will say so. Custom work is for when the connector cannot handle your tax codes, pricing, locations or volume, or when none exists. Tell us the systems and we will look.
Can you connect a system that has no API?
Sometimes. Options include scheduled file imports and exports, a direct database connection if you host the system, or replacing it. We assess this during planning and tell you plainly if the result would be fragile.
What happens when an integration fails or one system is offline?
The message waits in a queue and is retried, and nothing is posted twice. If it still fails, the people you nominate get an alert and the log shows which record needs attention.
Will an integration affect our Single Touch Payroll reporting?
It should not. STP reporting stays inside your STP-enabled payroll software; an integration only supplies inputs such as timesheets or new employee details. We agree any payroll-related flow with your accountant or BAS agent before it goes live.
Who can see our accounting data once the systems are connected?
Only the connection you approve, with the permissions shown on the Xero or MYOB approval screen, and the named people who can read the error log. We do not use your login, and you can revoke the connection from your own account at any time.
Can you move us from MYOB to Xero, or onto an ERP?
Yes. We plan which history to bring across, map the chart of accounts, contacts and items, run a trial migration and reconcile balances before cut-over. Reporting across the combined data afterwards is covered under data and dashboards.
