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    DIY Developer Guide: Building Custom Integrations for Epicor

    Overview

    Our DIY Developer Guide for Epicor offers a comprehensive roadmap for building secure and scalable custom integrations. Epicor ERP systems, including Epicor Kinetic and Epicor ERP 10, feature RESTful and SOAP-based APIs that are perfect for connecting with eCommerce platforms, CRMs, inventory management solutions, and financial applications.

    Setting Up the Development Environment

    Setting up your Epicor development environment correctly ensures you become productive quickly. Say goodbye to compatibility issues and endless searches for documentation. Begin with Visual Studio for coding and debugging, supplement with investigative tools designed for on-premise environments, and explore Epicor’s business object documentation on Epicweb, along with the crucial BPM cookbooks and programming guides found in the application help. A smart setup now means fewer headaches down the line.

    Prerequisites for Epicor Integrations

    • Access to Epicor ERP system with API access enabled (Epicor REST Services)
    • API keys, client credentials, and instance URL
    • Familiarity with:
      • REST and SOAP APIs
      • OData queries (for REST services)
      • JSON and XML payload structures
    • Tools: Postman, Epicor REST API Help Pages, Epicor Service Connect (for older versions), APIWORX (for eCommerce integration)

    Epicor Development Tools and Software

    Epicor equips software engineers with the essential tools they need. No more struggling with complicated customizations—Intellisense helpers make form adjustments quick and easy. No more sifting through endless logs—trace viewers help identify issues in moments. Want to see how Epicor operates behind the scenes? Advanced utilities like DnSpy and .NET Reflector allow you to explore, learn, and build superior solutions. Developers can also craft custom code, scripts, and configurations using Epicor’s tools to tailor the system precisely to their requirements. These tools aren’t just for development—they’re problem solvers that enable engineers to concentrate on innovation instead of frustration.

    Step 1: Authentication for Epicor Integrations

    Epicor uses Basic Authentication or OAuth 2.0 depending on system configuration.

    Authentication Example (Basic Auth):

    Authorization: Basic base64(username:password)

    Authentication Example (OAuth 2.0):

    POST https://{epicor-server}/Token
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

grant_type=password&username=yourUsername&password=yourPassword

    Step 2: Endpoint Discovery and Data Mapping for Epicor Integrations

    Common API Resources:

    • Customers and Suppliers
    • Sales Orders and Purchase Orders
    • Inventory Items
    • Invoices and Payments
    • Manufacturing Jobs and Work Orders

    Process:

    • Explore the Epicor REST API Help Pages or Epicor ICE tools.
    • Map external system fields precisely to Epicor business objects.

    Important considerations:

    • Required vs. optional fields
    • Handling relational links (e.g., Sales Orders linked to Customers)
    • Proper formatting for numeric, date, and lookup fields

    Step 3: Building Integration Flows for Epicor

    Integration Patterns:

    • Inbound (to Epicor): Use POST, PATCH, and PUT for data creation and updates
    • Outbound (from Epicor): Use GET or OData queries for data retrieval

    Example: Creating a Customer Record:

    POST /api/v1/Erp.BO.CustomerSvc/Customers
{
  "Name": "Contoso Ltd",
  "Address1": "123 Main St",
  "City": "Seattle",
  "Country": "USA"
}

    Example: Retrieving Open Sales Orders:

    GET /api/v1/Erp.BO.SalesOrderSvc/SalesOrders?$filter=OrderHeld eq false

    Epicor Development Best Practices

    Effective Epicor development focuses on creating solutions that truly work, not just those that function. Keep business logic out of the user interface and place it within BPMs or functions to ensure uniformity across all data entry points. UI customizations should prioritize enhancing user experience and responsiveness. Complex backend operations, such as handling General Ledger transactions, should be managed through C# code and REST services. This approach safeguards data integrity and maintains optimal system performance.

    Step 4: Error Handling and Pagination for Epicor Integrations

    Error Handling:

    • Capture HTTP error codes and Epicor error responses.
    • Implement retries for transient errors (429, 503 errors).

    Pagination:

    • Use $skip and $top parameters to handle large datasets.

    Example:

    GET /api/v1/Erp.BO.CustomerSvc/Customers?$top=50&$skip=50

    Troubleshooting and Debugging

    Efficient troubleshooting keeps your Epicor development on track and minimizes downtime. Instead of endless debugging sessions, use Visual Studio for in-depth code analysis. Utilize trace viewers to swiftly pinpoint errors within logs. Rapidly growing development teams benefit from streamlined workflows that truly function. The Epicor User Help Forum connects you with fellow developers who have overcome similar challenges. Genuine collaboration leads to real solutions—no more isolated problem-solving when you can tap into proven best practices from experienced developers.

    Step 5: Testing and Validation for Epicor Integrations

    • Test authentication and endpoint responses with Postman.
    • Validate field mappings, object relationships, and record creation.
    • Perform bulk and load testing to ensure scalability.

    Step 6: Deployment and Security of Epicor Integrations

    • Host integrations securely (AWS, Azure, private cloud)
    • Store API credentials securely using Key Vaults
    • Enforce HTTPS/TLS for secure data transfer
    • Implement detailed logging and error tracking

    It is crucial to manage credentials responsibly and maintain data security throughout the deployment process.

    Step 7: Maintenance and Monitoring for Epicor Integrations

    • Monitor API versions and endpoint updates
    • Enable system health checks and real-time error notifications
    • Track API call volumes and performance metrics

    Summary

    Building a reliable Epicor integration enables businesses to automate processes, improve data management, and increase operational capabilities. This DIY Developer Guide for Epicor offers a straightforward, actionable plan for developing secure, efficient, and scalable integrations. Utilizing Epicor integrations helps businesses establish themselves as essential partners in their industry, promoting stronger collaboration and driving mutual success.

    Apiworx is dedicated to helping eCommerce businesses scale faster than ever possible before by streamlining and managing complex OmniChannel data flows, we save our customers time and money, allowing them to scale their businesses faster and more effectively. We focus on automation and integration of often-overlooked back-office systems and processes such as order and inventory management. We work with major partners in the industry and build best-in-breed automation and integration solutions.

    Rather not build and run it yourself?

    A custom Epicor integration is more than the first build. Authentication changes, API versions move, and error handling never stops. APIWORX builds, monitors and maintains Epicor integrations for you, with our ops team on every flow.

    See Epicor integrations · Book a free integration assessment