The Integration Only Half Works
When a connector syncs some things but not others, and someone fixes the rest by hand
- 20+ years connecting business systems
- Works with the accounting, job and CRM systems you already use
- Fixed quote after a free chat
Short answer: when an integration only half works, the connector is usually doing what it was built to do, and your business needs a bit more. Invoices sync, but credit notes, part payments, tracking categories or deleted records don't, and the errors fail quietly. The fix is to list exactly what should move, find the gaps, then close each one in the simplest way: a setting, a mapping change, an alert, or a small custom connection for the records the connector can't carry.
You installed the connector to stop the retyping, and for the most part it did. But someone still spends part of every week comparing the two systems, re-entering the records that didn't come across and explaining the differences at month-end. That checking has quietly become part of somebody's job, and the integration you paid for is only doing half of it.
Signs Your Integration Only Half Works
- Invoices sync, but credit notes or refunds have to be entered again by hand
- Part payments or deposits don’t come across, or come across as the full amount
- Tracking categories, cost codes or job numbers are blank in Xero or MYOB
- Records deleted or changed in one system stay as they were in the other
- The connector says it is running, but some records never arrive and nobody is told
- Someone spends time every week checking the two systems and fixing the differences
- Only one person really knows what the integration does and doesn’t do
Why Integrations Only Half Work
To be fair to standard connectors: many work well, are cheap to run and are maintained by people who know both systems. The gaps tend to appear in the same places.
It was built for the common case
Standard connectors are designed around the records most businesses use: new invoices, new contacts, new payments. Credit notes, part payments, deposits, retentions and multi-currency items are where coverage often thins out.
Changes and deletions are harder than new records
Sending a new invoice is simple. Noticing that an invoice was edited or voided after it synced, and updating the other system to match, is much harder. Some connectors only send records once.
The mapping no longer fits
Accounts, tracking categories, tax codes and items were mapped when the connector was set up. Since then you’ve added jobs, divisions or products, and the new ones aren’t mapped, so they land in a default account or fail.
Errors fail quietly
When a record fails, the connector logs it somewhere and moves on. Nobody is alerted, so the gap is found weeks later during a reconciliation.
Both systems can edit the same thing
If customers, items or prices can be changed in either system, the connector has to decide which change wins. When it guesses wrong, information is quietly overwritten.
The process changed, the integration didn’t
The way you quote, invoice or take deposits has moved on since the connector was set up. Nobody went back to check whether the integration still matches.
What Fixing It Looks Like
Start with the simplest fix and stop when the manual checking stops. You often don't need to throw the connector away.
- List what should move, and what actually does. Every record type, every change and every deletion. Compare a month of records in both systems to see where they part ways.
- Check the settings and the mapping. Many gaps are options that were never switched on, or accounts, tax codes and tracking categories that were never mapped for new jobs and products.
- Make failures visible. Set up an alert or a simple daily check so that a record that fails to sync is seen the same day, not at month-end.
- Fill only the gaps. Keep the connector for what it does well, and add a small custom connection for the records it can't carry, such as credit notes or part payments. Xero and MYOB integration repair
- Replace it only if the gaps are the main job. When the connector can't support how you work at all, a properly built integration is cheaper over time than the weekly workaround. Xero API integration or MYOB API integration
When a simple fix is enough
If the gap is one record type or one missing mapping, fix that and move on. A setting change or a tidy-up of the mapping is often all it takes. The bigger work only makes sense when the gaps are many, keep reappearing, or sit at the centre of how you bill and get paid.
If the result is that your systems disagree, read why our systems give different numbers. For the wider picture, see our Xero and MYOB guide, or go back to other signs your systems are costing you time.
Half-Working Integration FAQs
Is the connector app we bought the problem?
Often not. Most standard connectors do what they were designed to do, and for many businesses that is enough. The trouble starts when your process needs something the connector doesn’t cover, such as tracking categories, credit notes or part payments, or when it was set up quickly and the mapping no longer matches how you work. Check the settings and the connector’s documentation before you replace it.
Why don’t we see the errors?
Many connectors log a failed record in a screen nobody checks, or skip it and carry on. The sync still shows as running, so everyone assumes it worked. The first sign is usually a difference at month-end, or a customer asking about an invoice that never reached the accounts.
Should we build a custom integration instead?
Only for the gaps that matter. If the standard connector handles most records well, keep it and fill the specific gaps, either with its settings, a small add-on or a narrow custom connection for the records it can’t carry. A full custom integration makes sense when the connector can’t support your process at all, or when the workarounds cost more than building it properly.
How do we know what the integration is missing?
Make a list of every type of record that should move: invoices, credit notes, payments, part payments, customers, items, tracking categories, changes and deletions. For each one, check what the connector actually does with it. Then compare a month of records in both systems. The gaps usually show up quickly.
Where should we start?
Write down what your team checks or fixes by hand each week because of the integration. That list is the specification for the fix. If you want help working through it, start with a free initial chat.
Want to talk it through? Book a free initial chat.
Integration Only Doing Half the Job?
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