API
An API (application programming interface) is the defined gateway through which one program reads or changes another program's data.
Updated:
What does API mean?
Through a CRM's REST API, an accounting program or an in-house tool can fetch customers or create a new contact, for example.
An API needs a key; it is good practice to give the key only the permission (scope) it needs.
Why does it matter to a small business?
A small business rarely uses only one program: there is a shop, an accounting program, perhaps a spreadsheet or an in-house tool. Through the API they talk to each other without copying by hand, so the same data is not entered twice in different forms. With a scoped key, an integration reaches only what it really needs.
What does it look like in practice?
Details
Suppose a language school in Győr uses its own enrolment system. Its developer creates a contact in the CRM for every new applicant through the API, with a key limited to reading and writing. The key only works from the school server's address, so if someone got hold of it, they could do nothing with it from anywhere else.
How does HelloCRM handle it?
Details
HelloCRM's REST API uses scoped keys (read, write, quotes, invoices, form submission), an IP allow-list and a documented OpenAPI description (/api/v1/openapi.json). The event feed endpoint returns recent events with a cursor, thirty days back. API keys come with a paid plan; the free plan has none.
A CRM for small businesses in Hungary
HelloCRM is an online CRM made in Hungary for small and mid-sized businesses there, in Hungarian and English: the core CRM is free for good, with no time limit and no card, and it can be tried without signing up in a demo company full of example data.
Questions
What is API, in one sentence?
An API (application programming interface) is the defined gateway through which one program reads or changes another program's data.