Custom API Integration: Connecting Chargebee and Close CRM for Seamless Management

In the fast-paced world of digital business, managing customer relationships and subscription billing can be challenging, especially when dealing with multiple platforms that do not natively integrate. At Amwhiz, we recently completed a project that bridged this gap by developing a custom API integration between Chargebee, a leading subscription management platform, and Close CRM, a powerful sales relationship management tool. This integration has not only streamlined our client's operations but also significantly reduced manual effort and improved data accuracy.

Chargebee: Simplifying Complex Subscription Management

Chargebee is a cloud-based platform that automates recurring billing and subscription management for businesses of all sizes. It supports a variety of subscription models and pricing structures, from simple monthly plans to more complex tiered pricing. Key features include:

• Flexible Subscription Plans: Manage diverse subscription plans tailored to different pricing models and durations.
• Prorations and Refunds: Automatically calculate prorated charges and handle refunds, ensuring accurate billing and customer satisfaction.
• Overage Fees: Implement overage charges for customers exceeding their subscription limits, providing additional revenue streams.

Chargebee's flexibility and automation capabilities allow businesses to manage their subscriptions efficiently, focusing more on growth and customer retention.

Close CRM: Optimizing Sales and Customer Relationship Management

Close CRM is a comprehensive sales relationship management software designed to streamline sales processes and enhance customer engagement. It offers a suite of tools for lead management, sales pipeline tracking, performance metrics, and integrated communication channels. With Close CRM, sales teams can efficiently manage workflows, resulting in better sales outcomes and stronger customer relationships.

The Challenge: Bridging the Gap Between Chargebee and Close CRM

While Chargebee and Close CRM offer robust capabilities, they do not provide direct integration. This posed a challenge for our client, who needed a solution to synchronize data between the two platforms seamlessly. The use of traditional integration platforms (iPaaS) was considered, but these solutions often require data to be processed through third-party servers, which raises concerns about data control and flexibility.

Challenges with iPaaS Solutions:

• Data Control: With iPaaS, data is processed on third-party servers, which can be a concern for businesses needing strict data governance and security.
• Limited Customization: iPaaS solutions often come with predefined templates that may not accommodate all unique business needs and use cases.

By opting for a custom API integration, Amwhiz was able to retain full control over the data and build a solution that precisely matched the client's unique requirements, handling every specific use case internally.

The Solution: Custom API Integration Using AWS Serverless Architecture

To address the challenge, Amwhiz developed a custom API integration using a serverless architecture on AWS. This solution leveraged AWS Lambda, Amazon SQS, and a worker to handle the integration seamlessly and efficiently.

Technical Implementation:

• AWS Lambda: We used AWS Lambda functions to implement serverless computing, allowing us to run code in response to events without the need for server management. Whenever a subscription event occurred in Chargebee, such as a new subscription, update, or cancellation, a Lambda function was triggered to process the event data.
• Amazon SQS (Simple Queue Service): To ensure reliable and scalable processing, we used Amazon SQS to queue events from Chargebee. This allowed us to handle high volumes of subscription events asynchronously, maintaining system performance and reliability.
• Worker Process: A dedicated worker process pulled messages from the SQS queue and communicated with Close CRM's API to update contact information, subscription status, and log activities. This design ensured that all updates were processed in order and with data integrity, providing a seamless experience for the client’s support and sales teams.

This serverless architecture not only reduced operational costs but also provided a highly scalable and reliable solution that could grow with the client’s business needs. The same is used for the integration from Chargebee to Close CRM.

The solution implementation:

• Subscription Event Triggers: We utilized Chargebee’s webhook functionality to capture events such as new subscriptions, updates, and cancellations. These events trigger a serverless function hosted on AWS, which processes the data.
• Contact Synchronization: When a subscription event is detected, the serverless function uses the Close CRM API to create or update the corresponding contact. This includes updating all relevant subscription details and status.
• Activity Logging: Each change or update is logged as an activity in Close CRM against the relevant contact. This provides a clear, chronological history of all interactions and changes, helping maintain a clean log for reference and audit purposes.
• Bidirectional Communication: The integration allows the support team to manage subscriptions directly from Close CRM. Actions such as canceling or modifying a subscription in Chargebee can be initiated from Close CRM, with changes seamlessly synchronized back to Chargebee.

Key Benefits of the Custom Integration

The custom API integration delivered several advantages:

• Reduced Manual Work: Automating the synchronization of subscription data and actions between Chargebee and Close CRM saved the client’s team several hours of manual work each week.
• Full Data Control: This solution ensured that all data remained within the client's control, enhancing security and compliance.
• Customization Flexibility: The integration was tailored to handle specific business needs and use cases, something off-the-shelf solutions couldn’t provide.
• Scalable Solution: The serverless architecture allowed for a scalable solution that could easily handle increasing volumes of subscription data without requiring significant infrastructure investment.
• Real-Time Data Accuracy: Real-time synchronization ensured that both platforms always had the most current data, reducing errors and improving decision-making.
• Enhanced Customer Support: The ability to manage subscriptions directly from Close CRM, without logging into Chargebee, streamlined the support process and improved customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

By developing a custom API integration using AWS serverless architecture, Amwhiz provided a scalable and efficient solution that significantly improved our client's subscription management and sales processes. This project highlights the value of custom integrations in enhancing operational efficiency, data accuracy, and customer satisfaction. If you want to optimize your business processes with a tailored solution, Amwhiz is here to help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your growth.