Business data synchronization services

Aligning systems before sync

1. 01

   Extract

   Records exported from each system.

   Output: Comparable lists

2. 02

   Clean

   Formats standardised; obvious errors fixed.

   Output: Tidy data

3. 03

   Match

   Records paired automatically where confident.

   Output: Matched pairs

4. 04

   Review

   Uncertain matches checked by staff.

   Output: Confirmed links

5. 05

   Link

   Identifiers stored on both sides.

   Output: Ready to sync

People decide the doubtful cases

Automatic matching handles the clear cases, such as identical email addresses or product codes. Others are uncertain: 'J Smith Ltd' and 'John Smith Limited' at similar addresses, or two products with similar names but different pack sizes. These should be listed for review by staff who know the customers or products, with a simple way to confirm, reject or merge. Guessing at scale creates errors that are much harder to unpick later.

Keep a record of decisions, so the same question is not asked twice.

Watching for drift

Common cleaning tasks

Switching sync on carefully

Once records are linked, switch synchronisation on in stages: one record type at a time, first in a test copy, then live with close monitoring. Run the first sync in a report-only mode where possible, listing what would change without changing it, so surprises are caught before they touch live data. After go-live, compare key counts and a sample of records daily for the first weeks.

Agree in advance how to pause synchronisation if something unexpected happens.

Ongoing ownership

Someone in operations should own each record type's quality: reviewing drift reports, resolving uncertain matches and deciding on standards. Without an owner, small inconsistencies build up again, and the next clean-up is as large as the first. Short weekly reviews are usually enough once the initial alignment is done.

Historic records

Decide how far back to align. Active customers and current products matter most; very old records may be archived rather than matched, saving effort.

Surprises alignment often reveals

• Hidden duplicates

  The same customer under several accounts in one system.

• Shared contacts

  One email used by several people or companies.

• Code reuse

  Old product codes reused for new products.

• Missing links

  Orders or invoices with no matching customer record.

Regular reconciliation

Beyond drift reports, a periodic reconciliation compares totals between systems: number of active customers, products listed, open orders, invoice values. Differences point to records that need investigating. Automating the comparison and sending only exceptions to the data owner keeps the effort small while giving confidence that systems still agree.

Monthly reconciliation suits many businesses; weekly or daily may be needed where money or stock depends on it.

When a new system joins

Adding a new product to the set means another alignment: its existing records must be matched and linked before it joins synchronisation. Including this step in the plan for any new system prevents the problem returning. The third-party software pages cover checking a product's integration readiness before buying it.

What you should receive

Expect a matching report, the decisions on uncertain matches, linked identifiers on each system, drift reports set up and a named owner for each record type.

Standards for new data

After alignment, agree simple standards for entering new records, such as how company names, addresses and product codes are written, and add checks in each system where possible. Prevention at entry keeps drift low and future reconciliation light. Briefing the staff who create records most often makes the biggest difference.

Back up first

Take backups of each system before alignment changes are applied.