Plain-language resources
for data-curious business owners.

Data integration, at its most basic, means getting two or more software systems to share information automatically rather than requiring a person to copy data from one to the other.

For a small business, this might look like: your POS system automatically updating your accounting software when a sale occurs. Or your email platform receiving a new contact record every time someone books through your website. Or your CRM showing the purchase history from your online shop alongside the customer's email engagement.

The question of whether your business needs this depends on one thing: are you currently making decisions without information you know exists somewhere in your systems? If the answer is yes, an integration is likely worth exploring.

Signs an integration might help

• You export data from one system and manually paste it into another
• Your accounting records and your sales records regularly disagree
• You cannot easily see which marketing activity drives actual revenue
• Your team opens multiple tabs to answer a single question about the business
• Monthly reporting takes hours of manual compilation

None of these are signs of a poorly run business. They are signs of a business that has grown its tool stack organically without a unifying architecture — which describes most Irish SMEs.

The most common mistake in dashboard design is including too much. A dashboard with twenty metrics is not twice as useful as one with ten — it is usually less useful, because the signal gets lost in the noise.

A good business dashboard for an SME typically answers three to five questions that someone in the business asks on a regular basis. Before building anything, write those questions down. Then build the dashboard to answer only those questions.

Questions worth answering on a daily or weekly dashboard

• What did we sell yesterday / this week, and how does that compare to the same period last year?
• Which products or services are performing above or below expectation?
• How many new customers did we acquire, and through which channel?
• What does our cash position look like right now?
• Are there any anomalies that need attention today?

The tool you use to display this matters less than the discipline of keeping it focused. Looker Studio and Databox are both well-suited to Irish SMEs and have free or low-cost tiers that are sufficient for most needs.

The Monday morning test

A useful heuristic: if your team would not open the dashboard on a Monday morning before doing anything else, it is not yet useful enough. That is the bar to aim for.

There are broadly three ways to connect two business software systems: using a dedicated integration platform (like Zapier or Make), using a native integration built into one of the tools, or building a custom connection using the tools' APIs.

Integration platforms (Zapier, Make)

These are drag-and-drop tools that let you create automated workflows between applications without writing code. They are well-suited to straightforward, event-based integrations — for example, "when a new sale is recorded in Shopify, create a contact in Mailchimp." They have free tiers with limitations and paid tiers from approximately €20–€60 per month for typical SME usage.

Native integrations

Many popular tools have built-in connections to other popular tools. Xero connects natively to Stripe, Shopify, and several POS systems. HubSpot connects natively to Gmail, Mailchimp, and most major CMS platforms. These are worth checking first — they are often free and require no additional tools.

Custom API connections

For more complex requirements — or where integration platforms do not support a particular tool — a developer can build a direct connection using the tools' APIs. This is more expensive to build but more flexible and reliable at scale. For most Irish SMEs, this is not necessary.

The right approach depends on the complexity of your data flows, the tools you are using, and your budget. In many cases, a combination of native integrations and a low-cost platform like Zapier covers most needs.

When you integrate two systems that hold customer data — for example, connecting your CRM to your email platform — you are creating a new data flow. Under GDPR, which applies in Ireland through the Data Protection Act 2018, you need to ensure that this data flow is lawful and documented.

Key considerations

• Lawful basis: Confirm you have a lawful basis for processing customer data in each system and that this basis extends to the integrated use.
• Data minimisation: Only integrate the data fields that are necessary. If your email platform does not need a customer's phone number, do not include it in the integration.
• Processor agreements: If a third-party tool is processing personal data on your behalf, you need a data processing agreement in place. Most major platforms provide these in their terms of service.
• Record of processing: Update your Record of Processing Activities (ROPA) to reflect any new data flows created by integrations.
• Data retention: Ensure that data is not retained in integrated systems beyond its necessary retention period.

This is not legal advice. For specific guidance on your situation, consult a qualified data protection practitioner or the Data Protection Commission's published resources at dataprotection.ie.