How much does it cost to connect two systems that don't talk to each other?

The cost you are already paying

Start with what the gap costs you today. Someone exports a list here and imports it there. Someone retypes an order from the website into the accounts. Someone copies details out of an email into a spreadsheet. It works, so it hides, but it is hours every week, and it is where mistakes creep in, because people copying data by hand get things wrong.

That wasted time, and the errors it quietly causes, is what an integration is really competing against. Not zero.

What makes it cheap or expensive

Connecting two systems can be an afternoon or a proper project, and the difference comes down to a few things.

• Whether the systems are built to be connected. Modern tools usually offer a proper doorway for this, which makes it quick. Older or closed ones do not, and you have to work harder to get data in and out.
• How much has to flow, and in how many directions. Sending one thing one way is simple. Keeping two systems in step, both updating each other, is more involved.
• How messy the data is. If the two systems describe the same thing in different ways, someone has to translate between them, and that translation is most of the work.

Rough figures

• A clean, one-direction link between two modern tools, using ready-made connectors: often a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds.
• A custom, two-way integration, or one involving an awkward older system: more, from the low thousands, and worth scoping before committing.

There is often a middle path worth knowing about: off-the-shelf plumbing tools that connect popular systems for a small monthly fee, with no custom build at all. If your two systems are both common, that might be all you need, and I will point you at it rather than quote you for work you can avoid.

The running cost to check

If the connection leans on one of those subscription plumbing tools, that is a monthly cost, sometimes priced per task, which adds up at volume. A custom-built connection usually costs very little to run but more to build. Which works out cheaper depends on how much is flowing through it, which is worth a quick sum before you decide.

So what should it cost?

For two common, modern systems: often very little, sometimes just a small monthly fee for a ready-made connector. For anything custom or awkward, a one-off build starting in the low thousands that pays for itself in the hours it hands back. The way to price yours is to show me the two systems and the copy-paste you are sick of.