How integration works
This page describes the integration architecture shared by OrderBridge and Nudge: who calls whom, where credentials live, and what each side does.
The middleware model
Alderstone does not connect to your ERP directly when you use a REST integration. You deploy middleware, a small HTTPS service between Alderstone and your ERP:
This split keeps responsibilities clean:
- Alderstone decides when to call and what data it needs. It sends JSON over POST and authenticates every request with an Alderstone-generated API key.
- Your middleware decides how to answer. It validates the Bearer token, translates each request into your ERP's native APIs, and returns the response shape defined in the contract.
- Your ERP credentials are stored only in your middleware. Alderstone never sees them.
You can build middleware on any platform that can receive HTTPS POST requests. Workato, Make, n8n, or a custom service. The Quickstart walks through each option.
Transports
Each company configures one active integration transport per app in Settings:
- Native: a built-in, direct connection to a supported ERP. Alderstone manages the vendor API calls itself; you configure credentials and go. No middleware needed.
- REST: Alderstone calls your middleware over HTTPS using the published contract. Works with any ERP, because your middleware does the translation.
The two apps configure transports independently, so a company can run a native connector for one app and REST middleware for the other. See Choose your integration path for guidance on picking a transport.
What each app asks for
The contract is different per app because each app needs different data:
| Capability | App | REST endpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and product search | OrderBridge | POST /catalog/* |
| Unit pricing | OrderBridge | POST /pricing/resolve |
| Credit snapshot | OrderBridge | POST /credit/customer |
| Historical order usage | OrderBridge | POST /sales-orders/usage |
| PO / SO lists | OrderBridge | POST /*-orders/list |
| Draft sales order creation | OrderBridge | POST /sale-draft |
| Debtor / invoice / payment sync | Nudge | POST /debtors/list, /invoices/list, /payments/list |
| Outbound invoice and payment push | Nudge | POST /invoices/push, /payments/push |
The full request and response shapes are documented in the OrderBridge REST API and the Nudge REST API.
Where the calls come from
Alderstone calls your middleware in response to user actions and scheduled jobs. There are no inbound webhooks from your side today:
- OrderBridge calls during the PO workflow: when an operator matches a customer or product, when prices are checked, and when a draft sales order is submitted. See the PO workflow for the exact sequence.
- Nudge calls during sync (manual or nightly) and when invoices are dispatched or cash applications approved. See Sync & push flows.
Shared conventions
Every endpoint across both apps follows the same rules:
- POST + JSON only. There are no GET query APIs.
- Bearer authentication on every request. Reject missing or invalid tokens with
401. See Authentication. schemaVersion: "1"in every body. Requests include it; your success responses must echo it. See Schema versioning.- One standard error shape for all 4xx/5xx responses. See Errors.
Next steps
- New to the platform? Start with the Quickstart.
- Deciding between native and REST? Read Choose your integration path.
- Ready to build? Open the OrderBridge REST API or Nudge REST API.