Need Help?
  • Application Remote Support
  • Infrastructure Remote Support
  • Sage HRMS Remote Support
  • Helpdesk
  • General Inquiry
1-800-719-3307
Net at Work Net at Work
  • Solutions & Services
    • ERP/Accounting

      ERP Services
      Acumatica
      NetSuite
      Sage X3
      Sage Intacct
      Sage 100 ERP
      Sage 300 ERP
      Sage 500 ERP

      CRM

      Strategic Advisory Services
      Digital Marketing Solutions
      CRM Training Camp
      Salesforce
      Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM
      Sage CRM
      Infor CRM (formerly Saleslogix)

      Employer Solutions

      Sage HRMS
      Sage People
      Criterion
      Miviva

      Enterprise Content Management

      Imaging / Scanning
      Document Management
      Workflow Automation
      Solutions

      Nonprofit Solutions

      Abila by Community Brands
      NetSuite
      Sage
      Salesforce

      IT and Security Services

      Managed IT Services
      Fractional CIO Services
      Cloud Services
      Cloud at Work
      DR/Business Continuity Planning
      Compliance & Security
      Storage & Recovery
      Networking
      IT Security Services
      Communications

      Web Solutions

      Services Overview
      B2B Technology Suite
      Magento eCommerce
      WordPress CMS
      Systems Integration
      Website Managed Services
      Online Marketing & SEO
      ERP eCommerce Integration

      Additional Solutions

      Enterprise Business Intelligence
      Avalara Automated Tax Solutions
      Fortis Payments
      LeaseQuery Lease Accounting
      Sage Fixed Assets
      Vertex SMB Sales and Use Tax
  • Industries
    • Industries

      Healthcare
      Chemicals
      Food & Beverage
      Medical Devices
  • Learning Center
    • Online Resources

      Recorded Webinars
      Whitepapers
      Ebooks

      Upcoming Events

      Live Webinars
      Seminars
      Virtual Training Courses

      Training Courses

      View all available training course options
  • Company
    • Why Us

      Who We Are
      Management
      Our Partners
      Locations
      Careers

      News

      Press Releases
      Success Stories
      Net at Work Blog

      Contact Us

      1.800.719.3307
      Email Us

      Programs

      Alliance Partnership Program
      Women at Work
      Diversity and Inclusion
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Us

Home » Newsletters » Sage 300 Newsletter – February 2016 » A Perspective on Integrating with Sage 300

Sage 300 Newsletter – February 2016

Keeping You Up-To-Date With Information About Sage 300

A Perspective on Integrating with Sage 300

By: Ronnie Burle, Senior Technical Architect

IntegratingwithSage300When designing an integration to Sage 300, it usually boils down to two basic decisions when it comes to writing data: Direct database access or API? As with any approach, there are advantages and disadvantages but from my perspective, there is one concept that holds the highest priority: data integrity. Without data integrity, your Sage 300 system is open to corruption and may display inconsistent or incorrect results. Upgrades to future releases may not be possible. There may also be performance issues related to data that the system does not expect. The cost of correcting such issues as well as the cost of the misleading data in your system can be high. So how can we protect against such issues? When writing to Sage 300 always use the Sage 300 API.

So what is the Sage 300 API? Let’s start by defining what API stands for: Application Programming Interface. In layman’s terms, it’s a way to “talk” to the Sage 300 system using sets of commands and data that is specific to Sage 300. It provides consistency not only in the way you communicate with Sage 300, but consistency in the way data is validated and saved. The Sage 300 API is a layer that is exposed to any outside system. This layer communicates with the business logic layer of Sage 300 and communicates with the database layer as well. This means that when you use the API, you don’t necessarily need to know the specifics of the rules or how to write to the database. As long as you use the API, all the “heavy lifting” is done for you. The API allows you to extend the functionality of the Sage 300 system. For example, if you need to add an extra set of validations or go to another system for information before you allow an operation to happen, you can use the API to do so. The API also preserves the security around the information that a particular user has access to. For example, let’s say you have built a custom screen and each user will log into Sage 300 using their own login. That user will not have the ability to write or see data from modules that they were not given access to. This eliminates the need to write your own security around your application (as it pertains to Sage 300) as everything is centralized in Sage 300.

When writing data to Sage 300, you must always use the API. Data integrity is important to any system and in an ERP, it is critical. If you use direct database access to write data (i.e. writing directly to the tables), then you are risking compromising the system in various ways. Take this example: you create a program to import OE Orders into Sage 300. This program will write to the various tables that would create the sales order. Not only do you have to make sure the internal IDs are unique (and incremented), you have to be aware of all the business rules around creating an order. For example, did the customer already reach its credit limit? Does the system allow for out of stock items to be ordered? Do the items even exist in Sage 300? There is a tremendous amount of overhead to include in a custom program that does not use the API. In addition to the business logic overhead, there is overhead associated with the security aspect. You would need to store database credentials in a file or somewhere else where your program can read from. These credentials may or may not be kept in a secure place or may not be stored using best practices. For example, the user name and password could be stored in clear text which could easily be read by someone. These database credentials can also supersede the security within Sage 300 that was placed by the Sage 300 administrator. So if your program is writing to the PO tables and the user who is running the program is set up to just have access to AR, then the program is breaking the integrity of Sage 300’s security.

Using the API can also allow you to automate certain processes within Sage 300. You can run the Inventory Control day end processing using the API. You can also post batches. Automation, preservation of the business rules & security, and most importantly, data integrity are the reasons you should always use the Sage 300 API when writing data. Yes, there is a performance hit when you use the API (due to the various rules and layers involved), but isn’t your data worth it?

Net at Work has been writing custom integrations to Sage 300 for many years. We also provide training and mentoring for customers that want to write integrations on their own. Have an integration need? Our staff is ready to support you in any capacity that is needed from designing, building and implementing a solution.

« Return to Newsletter

In This Issue
  • From the Desk of the Sage 300 Practice Director
  • A Perspective on Integrating with Sage 300
  • UI Profile Maintenance in Sage 300 – Why this can save you time and trouble!
  • Sage Alerts and Workflow for Sage 300
  • PrintBoss for Sage 300 – Check Printing Software Solution
  • Sage 300 Tips & Tricks: Steps to Configure Inventory Control Lot Tracking
  • Project Management – Overhead or Asset?
  • What is Your HR Priority #1?
  • Sage 300 Support

    Helpdesk:
    P: 888.494.9479
    E: helpdesk@netatwork.com

    Sage 300 Webinar Series

    Tips for Sage Users to Improve Data-Driven Decision-Making
    March 28 | 2pm ET
    Register Here

    Recruiting & Quiet Hiring: What Quiet Quitting / Hiring Means for 2023 & How Technology Can Help
    March 28 | 2pm ET
    Register Here

    Sage-Integrated Document Management: From Chaos to Control
    April 7 | 2pm ET
    Register Here

    Sage Intacct Overview Demo
    April 7 | 2pm ET
    Register Here

    Popular Recorded Webinars

    Sage Cloud Hosting: Moving On-Premise Sage 300 to the Cloud

    Building a Next Generation Finance Organization with Next Gen ERP Tools

    Reducing Manual Tasks in Your Sage Accounting & Shipping Processes

    Bridge Your Sage 300 Gaps

    Sage 300 Webinar Archive

    View our library of on-demand recorded webinars.

    Newsletter Archive

    Read our previous Sage 300 Newsletters here

    Connect With Us

    Business Applications

    • Overview
    • ERP/Accounting
    • Cloud ERP
    • CRM
    • Employer Solutions
    • ECM
    • Nonprofit Solutions

    Learning Center

    • White Papers & Guides
    • Ebooks
    • Training Courses
    • Virtual Training Courses
    • Success Stories
    • Live Webinars
    • Recorded Webinars
    • Trials

    Infrastructure Solutions

    • Overview
    • Solutions
    • Managed IT Services
    • Fractional CIO & Advisory Services
    • Cloud Services
    • Cloud at Work
    • Compliance & Security
    • DR/Business Continuity

    Support

    • Application Remote Support
    • Infrastructure Remote Support
    • Sage HRMS Remote Support
    • General Inquiry
    • Helpdesk

    Web Development

    • Services Overview
    • Magento eCommerce
    • WordPress CMS
    • Systems Integration
    • Website Managed Services
    • ERP eCommerce Integration

    Company Information

    • Why Us
    • Alliance Partnership Program
    • Women at Work
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • Partners
    • Careers
    • News
    • Blog
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

    Additional Solutions

    • Enterprise Business Intelligence
    • Avalara Automated Tax Solutions
    • Fortis Payments
    • LeaseQuery Lease Accounting
    • Sage Fixed Assets (Sage FAS)
    • Vertex SMB Sales and Use Tax

    Industries

    • Healthcare
    • Chemicals
    • Food & Beverage
    • Medical Devices
    Net at Work
    Net at Work (HQ)
    575 8th Ave
    New York, NY 10018

    P: (800) 719-3307
    info@netatwork.com
    Locations Across North America »
    Visit our sister companies:
    Cloud at Work - Sage Application Hosting
    Pixafy - An eCommerce Agency
    Docutrend
    WordPress Image Lightbox Plugin