More than 70% of ERP initiatives fail to fully meet their original business goal. 

A strong alignment between ERP initiatives and CRM is one of the top predictors of successful ERP initiatives, and this alignment is only achievable when ERP leaders proactively create an integration strategy to support the execution. 

When CRM and ERP systems are connected in real-time, it provides a 360-degree view, which means:

  • Sales teams don’t sell in the dark
  • Orders, invoices, and payments sync automatically
  • Operations teams can see upcoming demand
  • One version of truth for revenue, cost, and margin

A solid ERP and CRM integration helps keep data perfectly aligned across systems. APPSeCONNECT’s no-code platform allows users to map CRM and ERP data in less than 30 minutes. 

But many decision makers are not aware of–or have not taken advantage of—the value that CRM ERP automation can create across a growing range of use cases.

This article will explore how businesses can automate their CRM to ERP data in real-time to maximize productivity and achieve measurable results.

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How real-time sync solves challenges & optimizes your workflows

Today, businesses use a variety of applications to streamline workflows. Your finance team uses NetSuite to manage order flows, your sales team relies on CRMs like Salesforce, and your customer support team swears by Zendesk. 

What happens to all this data lying around as islands in these different applications? It’s siloed.

Real-time synchronization ensures data flows seamlessly and instantly between systems. Unlike traditional batch processing, which updates data at scheduled intervals, real-time sync updates change as they happen. 

This immediately offers key benefits:

How real-time sync solves challenges & optimizes your workflows

Operational efficiency 

In many companies, employees spend a huge part of their day doing repetitive tasks like filling out forms, sending follow-up emails, updating spreadsheets or waiting for approvals. 

According to Mckensy, such routine work can take up as much as 60% of an employee’s time. That’s time that could be spent on doing business activities that bring results. 

Through real-time sync, businesses can:

  • Speed up everyday tasks: Tasks that once took days can now be completed in just minutes.
  • Reduce manual effort: No more manually copying data from one tool to another or making updates. 
  • Empower employees: Let team members focus on tasks that truly matter, like strategy, innovation, and customer experience.

For instance, APPSeCONNECT seamlessly integrated WaterTech’s ERP system (SAP Business One) with its e-commerce platforms (Amazon, BigCommerce, Shopify, and others). 

This integration automated order synchronization between the platforms and the ERP system, eliminating the need for manual data entry and dramatically reducing errors in order processing.

Reducing errors and staying compliant

Human errors are inevitable. On average, human errors cost businesses $3.1 trillion annually, and even a small human error can result in blunders. In fact, major businesses that fell victim to phishing attacks were caused by human errors.

Automation can handle both skill-based errors, like mistyping data or missing a step in a process and decision-based errors, such as approving a non-compliant expense or misclassifying an invoice, by ensuring tasks are executed accurately and decisions follow consistent rules.

Real-time automation helps eliminate these errors.

Here’s how:

  • It consistently follows predefined rules, ensuring no step is missed or skipped.
  • It automatically logs every action, update, and approval in real time.
  • It generates a complete digital audit trail, making it simple to trace what happened and when.

Enabling data-driven decisions

One of the biggest benefits of real-time sync is that it creates clean, consistent data every time a process runs. Instead of manually updating spreadsheets and dashboards, every step is tracked and recorded in real-time without any human intervention. 

This gives business leaders clear visibility into:

  • Task completion times and overall process efficiency.
  • Points where delays or bottlenecks occur.
  • How resources (people, time, and tools) are being utilized

With this kind of insight, businesses can spot problems early, improve inefficient processes and make smarter decisions based on real-time, not guesswork. 

Enhancing employee and customer experience

Manual workflows often slow things down. Employees wait for approval, follow up on missing information or search for updates. This can be frustrating and time-consuming. This misalignment is also felt by the customers with delayed responses, inconsistent services or missed deadlines.

APPSeCONNECT automation integration feature can address both issues. Instead of juggling multiple systems, the manager can simply type a request to the platform bot in Slack or Microsoft Teams, such as:

“Update order #4523 to ‘Shipped’ and send the invoice to the customer.”

The bot instantly checks inventory, updates the CRM, and triggers the invoice in the accounting app—all through one conversational interface. This saves time, reduces manual errors, and lets the manager focus on serving customers rather than navigating multiple tools.

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The benefits of real-time sync in CRM-ERP integration

CRM and ERP integration is the process of connecting the two systems to enable a seamless two-way, bi-directional data exchange between both systems. It delivers transformative results beyond the IT department:

Eliminate data siloes 

Simply put, data siloes happen when data is locked in specific applications that are not easily or fully accessible by other team members in the same organization. For instance, the finance team won’t automatically see when a deal closes in the CRM, and the sales team won’t know if the invoice has been paid.

When businesses integrate their ERP and CRM, much crucial information can be synced:

  • Customer data sync: Customer information such as purchase history, contact details and communication logs are synced for real-time updates. 
  • Sales order sync: Sales orders created in the CRM are automatically transferred to the ERP for processing, eliminating the need for manual updates. 
  • Quotations Sync: Quotes generated in the CRM are seamlessly synced with the ERP.
  • Invoice/Payment Sync: Invoices and payment details are synchronized between the CRM and ERP.

So, when data is kept together, teams get a clear, unified view of business operations, customer interactions, or any other area of business.

Scaling becomes easier 

As your business grows, the complexity multiplies exponentially. What worked when you had 50 employees and three systems becomes unmanageable with 500 employees and 30 systems. Without orchestration, scaling means hiring more people to handle the increased manual work between systems.

For instance, APPSeCONNECT helped its client, Josie Maran Cosmetics, efficiently manage thousands of orders per week. It provided a robust, low-code integration between its ERP (SAP B1) and ecommerce (Shopify) to automate order management at scale and eliminate the need for manual handling.

Enhanced data analysis

APPSeCONNECT does more than just integrate ERP and CRM; it significantly improves the data analysis capabilities for businesses. 

By consolidating information from multiple systems into a single dashboard, APPSeCONNECT provides a holistic view that allows businesses to:

  • Uncover Trends and Insights: When data is unified, businesses can analyze it holistically to reveal trends, patterns, and insights that would otherwise stay hidden in disconnected systems.
  • Make Smarter Decisions: Centralized and comprehensive data analysis empowers leaders to make informed, evidence-based decisions that strengthen business strategies.
  • Enhance Performance: With a clear view of how different departments and processes influence one another, companies can streamline operations and drive higher overall performance.

APPSeCONNECT provides you with reports and analytics that help you get a proper understanding of the integration. Every morning, you will receive a detailed execution report across various dashboards, which helps in getting insights on the platform whenever required.

Top-notch data security 

While the security teams work to secure their networks, attackers find their way through back doors–exploiting third-party integrations to infiltrate organizations without ever touching their carefully monitored perimeters. 

All communication in the APPSeCONNECT follows a centralized security system, which encrypts data and uses a protected plug for communication. That means you can seamlessly integrate information without having to worry about security issues. 

APPSeCONNECT’s Enhanced Security & Compliance Measures:

  • Role-based access
  • 2-Factor authentication
  • SOC2-level monitoring
  • Secure authentication
  • GDPR and CCPA compliance
  • APPSeCONNECT also provides HIPAA and CLOUD ACT-compliant integration solutions for handling sensitive data in the US.
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How Real-Time Sync Works

Real-time synchronization ensures that data across systems stays consistent immediately or within milliseconds of a change. Unlike batch or scheduled syncs, which operate at fixed intervals, real-time sync reacts instantly to events as they occur. 

Achieving this requires a combination of event-driven architectures, webhooks, API triggers, and listener mechanisms.

Event-Driven Architecture

At the core of real-time sync is an event-driven architecture (EDA). In EDA, changes in a system (like a new order, inventory update, or payment confirmation) generate events. Each event is a discrete data payload describing what changed and how.

Example: A product’s stock drops from 100 to 90 units. This triggers a “stock_update” event with details of the SKU, timestamp, and new quantity.

Systems subscribing to this event can immediately act, updating inventory in an eCommerce platform, notifying warehouses, or adjusting analytics dashboards.

Webhooks

Webhooks are lightweight HTTP callbacks that enable systems to push events to another system in real-time. Instead of a receiving system constantly polling an API for changes, the source system sends an HTTP POST request to a preconfigured endpoint when an event occurs.

  • Advantages: Near-instant updates, lower resource usage, and reduced latency.
  • Flow:
    • System A generates an event.
    • A webhook POST sends the event payload to System B’s endpoint.
    • System B receives, validates, and applies the update.
  • Example: When an order is placed, Shopify can immediately notify your ERP via a webhook, updating inventory and order records instantly.

API Triggers

APIs can also be leveraged for real-time sync through triggers or subscriptions. Many modern SaaS platforms offer event subscription endpoints where clients can register for certain events. When the event occurs, the API responds with the relevant payload.

Example: Salesforce allows subscribing to object changes. When a record is updated, Salesforce triggers a callback to your integration layer, which then synchronizes the change with other systems.

This is similar to webhooks but often involves authenticated, structured API calls that include richer metadata, error handling, and retry logic.

Listener Architecture

To process incoming events efficiently, real-time sync systems use a listener or consumer layer. A listener continuously monitors an endpoint, message queue, or event stream, and then executes the necessary business logic.

  • Common patterns:
    • Message queues / brokers: Kafka, RabbitMQ, or AWS SQS can buffer events, guaranteeing delivery even during spikes.
    • Event listeners: Small services or microservices constantly “listening” for webhook POSTs or API-triggered messages.
    • Processing & validation: Listeners parse event payloads, validate it, transform data formats if needed, and push updates to target systems.
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Setting Up Two-Way Sync Between Your CRM and ERP Using APPSeCONNECT

Integrating your CRM and ERP with APPSeCONNECT ensures your sales, finance, and operations teams always have access to consistent, real-time data.
Follow these six steps to establish a robust two-way sync that keeps both systems perfectly aligned.

Step 1: Evaluate and Document Integration Requirements

Before you start configuring, define exactly what data should move between your CRM and ERP, and how it should move. Create a clear integration map that includes:

  • Which entities should sync (e.g., customers, products, orders, invoices).
  • Direction of data flow — which fields sync both ways and which are one-way only.
  • Frequency of sync (real-time, scheduled, or event-based).
  • Business rules, such as conflict handling or record ownership.

For instance, you might want customer details to sync both ways, but let ERP remain the master for inventory and pricing data.

Documenting these rules prevents inconsistencies and costly rework later. APPSeCONNECT’s implementation experts can help you define these requirements following best practices for Sage 100 and leading CRMs.

Step 2: Set Up Secure Connections

After finalizing requirements, establish secure and authenticated connections between your CRM and ERP systems within APPSeCONNECT.

Connect your CRM (like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Zoho) and ERP (like Sage 100, SAP, or NetSuite) using their API credentials or APPSeCONNECT’s pre-built connectors.

  • Validate the connection to confirm that both systems can exchange data through the platform.

At this point, APPSeCONNECT acts as a middleware bridge, enabling secure, real-time communication between the two applications while maintaining compliance with data security standards.

Step 3: Configure Data Mapping

Data mapping ensures both systems “speak the same language.” Here, you’ll define which fields in the CRM correspond to those in your ERP.

For example:

  • CRM → Customer Name = ERP → Client_Name
  • CRM → Order Amount = ERP → Total_Value

APPSeCONNECT’s visual interface simplifies mapping standard and custom fields. However, accuracy here is crucial — a missed or incorrectly mapped field can cause sync failures or incomplete data transfer.

Take time to review:

  • Field names, types, and formats.
  • Any required transformations (like date or currency formats).
  • Handling of custom fields specific to your workflows.

Step 4: Define Rules, Triggers, and Conflict Management

Next, set how and when data syncs between systems. APPSeCONNECT allows flexible configurations based on your business needs:

  • Triggers: Define whether updates happen in real-time (e.g., new orders) or on a schedule (e.g., nightly pricing updates).
  • Filters: Limit syncs to relevant data — e.g., only active customers or finalized sales orders.
  • Conflict Resolution: Decide which system has priority when both update the same record. Typically, the ERP is the source of truth for financials and inventory, while the CRM leads for customer and opportunity data.

These rules ensure your sync stays intelligent — exchanging only the data that matters, when it matters, without overwriting critical information.

Step 5: Test and Validate Integration

Before you roll out the integration organization-wide, perform end-to-end testing to verify that your sync works as intended.

  • Create test records in both CRM and ERP systems.
  • Confirm that customer, product, and order data move accurately in both directions.
  • Test real business scenarios such as:
    • Creating a new customer in CRM and verifying its appearance in ERP.
    • Updating an order in ERP and checking its reflection in CRM.
    • Handling error cases (e.g., missing fields or duplicate entries).

Testing helps uncover gaps in mapping, rules, or connectivity and ensures data reliability before live deployment.

Step 6: Go Live, Monitor, and Optimize

Once testing is successful, deploy your integration in production. Begin with a limited dataset or small user group to validate performance under real conditions.

After go-live:

  • Monitor sync logs and dashboards via APPSeCONNECT to ensure data is flowing smoothly.
  • Track and resolve any errors or failed transactions promptly.
  • Gather user feedback to identify areas for improvement.

As your business processes evolve, revisit your integration periodically to add new entities, adjust mappings, or refine rules. APPSeCONNECT’s flexible configuration makes ongoing optimization simple without heavy development work.

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Real-world scenarios where real-time syncs make a difference

APPSeCONNECT is your #1 iPaaS provider for integrating your SAP B1 with Shopify. Don’t just trust our words, see what our clients have achieved with this integration. 

Marble Trend: Increased automation and improved efficiency with CRM ERP integration 

Marble Trend has emerged as the leading importer of high-quality natural stone and porcelain products. To streamline operations, they had implemented SAP Business One as their comprehensive ERP solution, while Zoho CRM and Zoho Books were utilized for their customer relationship and accounting solutions, respectively.

Challenges: 

The lack of integration between SAP Business One, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Books hindered critical business workflows such as:

  • Lack of integration disrupted key business workflows.
  • Manual data entry is needed for orders and inventory.
  • Product, account, and warehouse syncs caused inefficiencies.
  • A highly customized Zoho setup increased integration complexity.

Result:

Marble Trend achieved its end-to-end integration success and business automation through APPSeCONNECT’s SAP Business One + Zoho CRM and SAP Business One + Zoho Books connectors.

APPSeCONNECT automated workflows ensure:

  • Pre-configured packages ensured seamless integration for Marble Trend.
  • Enabled business process optimization and reduced manual intervention.
  • Improved overall system stability and operational efficiency.
  • Automated workflows between SAP, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Books.
  • Delivered comprehensive analytics for better automation and insights.
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Industrial Refrigerator Manufacturer: Revolutionized Order Management and Workflow Automation with Seamless ERP and CRM Integration

Based out of Rottenmann, Austria, the company has been a prominent global leader in manufacturing appliances in the field of commercial refrigeration for over 3 decades.

To enhance efficiency, they adopted SAP ECC as their all-inclusive ERP solution, alongside Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk for managing their customer relationships. 

Challenge:

Even though the application provided best-in-class solutions, it did not have the ability to transfer data between them, causing operational limitations throughout the entire organization. 

Without integration between SAP ECC, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Desk, the business faced difficulties with:

  • Managing multiple customer addresses under a single customer record
  • Synchronization of all addresses accordingly.

Result:

By leveraging APPSeCONNECT’s connectors for Zoho Desk, SAP ECC, and Zoho CRM, the brand achieved complete data integration and business process automation, reducing days of work into just hour-long configurations.

  • Orders created in Zoho CRM were automatically synced with SAP ECC, ensuring accurate line-item updates without manual input.
  • Integration eliminated manual entry by auto-filling address data for Notifications and Work Orders created in Zoho Desk.
  • APPSeCONNECT enabled sequential synchronization of Notifications, maintaining data accuracy and workflow consistency.
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Get started with CRM and ERP Integration using APPSeCONNECT

Every business wants to grow, but the load of manual tasks continuously tries to slow it down. Keeping track of inventory, customer information, and order fulfillment is rough when your ERP and CRM are not connected. That’s why the need for CRM and ERP integration is growing. 

With APPSeCONNECT’s CRM and ERP integration, you can streamline orders, inventory, customers, and invoices in less than 30 minutes—no coding required.

APPSeCONNECT’s CRM and ERP integration empowers CEOs and IT leaders to eliminate manual bottlenecks, unify data across systems, and make real-time decisions with confidence.

Enjoy real-time, two-way synchronization, an intuitive drag-and-drop setup, and robust error handling from day one—all at $99/month.

  • Prebuilt Connectors & Workflows – Speed up integration with ready-to-use templates, reducing time-to-market.
  • AI-Powered IntelliFlow – Automates complex workflows intelligently, ensuring smarter data orchestration.
  • Scalable & Flexible – Grows with your business, supporting simple two-app syncs and enterprise-grade multi-app ecosystems.
  • Enterprise-Grade Security – Ensures compliance and data protection with secure protocols and governance controls. For instance, role-based access, 2-Factor authentication, SOC2-level monitoring, GDPR, and CCPA compliance.
  • 24/7 Support & Monitoring – Provides robust monitoring, error handling, and customer support for uninterrupted operations.
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Competitive advantage: Why APPSeCONNECT stands out

95% of enterprises using APPSeCONNECT report full ROI within 6 months. 

APPSeCONNECT truly understood our needs and delivered a seamless integration between CRM and ERP. It empowers bidirectional data exchange between systems to eliminate manual data entry and synchronize everything. 

Trusted by 1,250+ businesses worldwide, APPSeCONNECT’s unique approach to iPaaS integration and highly advanced features distinguish it from competitors such as Workato, Jitterbit, Celigo, and SnapLogic.

Here’s a look at a detailed comparison between the top iPaaS vendors:

 

Feature CategoryAPPSeCONNECTWorkatoJitterbitCeligoSnapLogic
Pricing & TCO
(Total Cost of Ownership)		★★★★★
Lowest TCO with flexible pricing		★★☆☆☆
High-cost enterprise pricing		★★★☆☆
Mid-range with add-on costs		★★★☆☆
Tiered pricing, can become costly		★★☆☆☆
Premium pricing, high volume costs
Implementation Time★★★★★
Rapid Deployment
(2-3 weeks typical)		★★★☆☆
1-3 months typical timeline		★★★☆☆
1-2 months with expert help		★★★★☆
Fast for NetSuite, slower for other		★★☆☆☆
3+ months complex setup
Pre-built Connectors★★★★★
300+ with business process templates		★★★★☆
400+ but less industry-specific		★★★☆☆
200+ connectors basic templates		★★★☆☆
Strong NetSuite limited elsewhere		★★★★☆
500+ connectors lack depth
Ease of Use★★★★★
Intuitive interface, no coding required		★★★★☆
Good UI but steeper learning		★★★☆☆
Developer-oriented, less intuitive		★★★★☆
Simple for basics, complex for custom		★★★☆☆
Pipeline UI, technical learning
Technical Support★★★★★
Direct developer access, 24/7		★★★☆☆
Tiered support, premium costs		★★★☆☆
Good but slow response		★★★★☆
Responsive for paid accounts		★★★☆☆
Limited to business hours
Scalability★★★★★
High throughput, auto-scaling		★★★★☆
Good enterprise scalability		★★★★☆
Handles high transaction volume		★★★☆☆
Mid-level performance		★★★★☆
Large-scale data handling
Industry-Specific Features★★★★★
Deep Vertical specialization		★★★☆☆
Generic workflows, less specialized		★★★☆☆
Limited industry specialization		★★★☆☆
Strong NetSuite focus only		★★☆☆☆
Generic approach, not specialized

You can now easily spot differences between its competitors. APPSeCONNECT’s main differentiators are its ease of use, implementation time, customer support, and integration flexibility. 

While MuleSoft, Workato, and Celigo provide built-in security features and meet various compliance standards, APPSeCONNECT further distinguishes itself with role-based access controls, encrypted data transfers, and secure authentication, ensuring adherence to ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC II requirements.

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Frequently Asked Questions