When the problem is data, not a missing application
Many companies already run an ERP, a CRM, an online store and accounting software, yet someone still exports CSV files every day, retypes orders or merges spreadsheets before the management report. Another application rarely fixes that. What is missing is a connection: an agreed data contract, automatic transfer and a clear signal when something goes wrong.
Typical signs that your project belongs in this category:
- the same customer or product data is typed by hand into two or three systems;
- reports are built from exports that somebody has to remember to run;
- an integration depends on a script on one person's laptop, and nobody knows what it does when it fails;
- partners or customers ask for an API, while data access today means emailing files;
- a key process lives in a spreadsheet that too many people can edit, with no change history;
- a vendor offers an API, but your team has no time to integrate with it.
Five services in this category and how to choose
Each service answers a different need. We start the conversation with one question: who or what will consume the data, a person, another system or an external developer?
API development and system integration
For two or more systems that need to exchange data predictably: store orders into the ERP, warehouse statuses into the CRM, data from your application to a partner. We design the contract (usually REST documented with OpenAPI, sometimes webhooks or queues), authentication, validation and error handling. Indicatively from $1,900.
API as a product
For data or functionality that you intend to sell. Besides the interface itself you need keys and organisation accounts, plans with limits, usage metering for billing, a documentation portal and a change policy customers can rely on. From $1,900 for a commercial layer on top of an existing API.
ETL pipelines and data connectors
For data that must move regularly and in volume into a warehouse, a BI tool or another system, with field mapping, deduplication, retries and a reconciliation report proving that nothing was lost. From $1,900 per connector.
SDK and client library development
For an existing API whose consumers spend days on authentication, pagination and decoding errors. An SDK in the right language (for example TypeScript, Python, PHP or C#) turns that work into a few lines of code and cuts support tickets. From $1,500 per language.
Database applications
For data that people work with directly: entering records, searching, approving, preparing summaries. We replace spreadsheets, Access databases or an old system with no usable interface by a web application with roles, validation and change history. From $4,900.
Common service combinations
Data projects rarely stop at one service, but each should have a single primary goal and one accountable owner on the client side. Everything else is treated as a module with its own acceptance criteria. The most frequent combinations:
- API + SDK: a public or partner API shipped together with a library in the language most of your customers use.
- ETL + dashboard: connectors feed a warehouse, and BI dashboards show metrics management can trust because the figures reconcile with the source.
- Database application + API: your team works in the application while other systems read and write the same data through a documented interface.
- Integration + automation: data flows on its own and exceptions go to the person who approves them, which overlaps with workflow automation.
Engineering principles shared by all data projects
Whatever the service, we apply a handful of rules that separate a maintainable integration from one that breaks after the vendor's first change:
- Contract first, code second. The data schema, error format and versioning are described (for example in OpenAPI or JSON Schema) and approved before implementation starts.
- No silent data loss. A record that cannot be processed goes to an error queue with a reason instead of disappearing.
- Idempotency and retries. Sending the same message twice never creates a duplicate order or a second invoice.
- Observability. Logs, metrics and alerts show what was transferred, how long it took and what failed.
- Least privilege. Every connection has its own narrowly scoped credentials, kept in a secrets manager rather than in code.
- GDPR from day one. We move only the fields the purpose requires, mask personal data in logs and agree up front where data is stored.
For interface security reviews we use, among other references, the OWASP API Security Top 10.
Technology chosen to fit your existing environment
We do not impose a single stack. Backends are most often built in Node.js, .NET, Python or PHP, so that your own team can keep developing the code later. Databases are usually PostgreSQL, MySQL or SQL Server. For asynchronous exchange we use queues (for example RabbitMQ or a cloud provider's queue service) or event streams when volume justifies them. ETL jobs can run on a cloud scheduler (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), in an orchestrator such as Airflow or on a server inside your infrastructure.
If an off-the-shelf integration tool solves the problem more cheaply than custom code, we say so during discovery. Sometimes the best outcome of the analysis is configuring an existing platform and building only the missing piece.
How data and integration projects are priced
Prices in this category are indicative, in USD and excluding VAT; proposals can also be prepared in EUR or GBP.
- SDK or client library: from $1,500;
- API, ETL connector or integration: from $1,900;
- database application (business-software MVP): from $4,900;
- discovery and technical specification: $490–$1,500;
- maintenance: from $249 per month.
The final amount depends mostly on the number of systems and endpoints, the quality of vendors' API documentation, the condition of source data, sync volume and frequency, security requirements and whether historical data has to be migrated. Third-party API fees, integration-platform licences and cloud consumption are excluded unless the proposal says otherwise. We work on a fixed price after discovery, on time and materials, or with dedicated capacity (from $6,500 per month). The details are on the software development pricing page.
How to get started
A short description is enough: which systems need to talk, what data flows in which direction, how often, who does the work manually today and what happens when they make a mistake. If you have vendors' API documentation or sample export files (without personal data), attach them, because they shorten discovery. We reply with a proposed next step, usually a paid discovery that ends with a specification and three scope options: Essential, Recommended and Scale.
We work from Wrocław with clients in the EU, the UK, the USA, Canada and Poland, and communicate in English, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian. Describe your project or go back to the overview of all software services.
Data, API and Integration Development
Frequently asked questions
Can you integrate a system that has no API?
Often, yes. The options are file exchange (for example over SFTP), direct read-only access to the database or, as a last resort, user-interface automation. Each carries different risks and maintenance costs, so the specification explains which one we chose and why.
Will you take over an integration built by another vendor?
Yes, after reviewing the code, configuration, deployment path and access model. The review shows what can be fixed and what is better rewritten, and it becomes the basis for pricing the next steps.
Who owns the code and the data?
The data is always yours. Rights to custom-built code, reusable components and third-party licences are described separately in the contract before work begins.
Where will the solution run?
Ideally in your own cloud account or infrastructure, which keeps access and costs under your control. We can propose hosting as well, but cloud consumption is billed separately.
Do you need access to production data?
Usually not during the build. We work with test environments, samples or anonymised data. Production access is agreed at launch, with the narrowest possible permissions and in line with GDPR.
Can several services be combined in one project?
Yes. The specification names one primary product, and the other parts, such as an SDK for the API or a dashboard for an ETL pipeline, become modules with their own acceptance criteria and a separate line in the quote.