Preparing your custom CRM

This guide is for providers using a custom, in-house or less common CRM. It gives your marketing team the big picture and your technical team what they need to prepare.

Why we ask

We connect to your CRM to deliver leads, update information and sync opt-outs. This checklist helps us confirm what's possible and spot gaps early, so onboarding isn't delayed.

1. Access and authentication

• Is an API available (REST, SOAP or GraphQL)?
• Which authentication methods are supported: API key, OAuth 2.0 or basic authentication?
• Can read and write API credentials be created?
• Are there rate limits?

2. Receiving leads

• How are new leads created in your CRM?
• Can we push new leads in, and can your CRM send us webhooks?
• Are updates near real time or batched?
• Which data formats are supported (JSON, XML or CSV)?

3. Lead fields

Your CRM needs fields, or equivalents, for: first name, last name, email, phone, course of interest, source and enquiry date. Lead status is also useful. Different field names are fine, because you map them in onboarding.

• Can custom fields be created, and by whom?
• Can custom fields be read and written through the API?

4. Updates and write-back

• Can lead status values be updated through the API?
• Can notes or conversation summaries be written?
• Are there restrictions on automated updates?

5. Opt-outs and consent

• Does your CRM support opt-out or unsubscribe flags, and can we write them?
• Can it suppress future messages once a student opts out?
• Does it store consent or communication preferences?

6. Bookings

• Does your CRM have its own calendar or booking system?
• Are there webhooks or API events for booked, cancelled and rescheduled appointments?
• Can bookings be linked to a lead record?

7. Webhooks

Which events are available: lead created, lead updated, status changed, booking events or others?

8. Testing

• Is there a sandbox or staging environment?
• Can test credentials and test leads be created without affecting live data?

9. Documentation and support

• Is API documentation available, and can you share it?
• Is there a technical contact we can work with?

What happens next

Once we have this information, our team will confirm what's possible, outline the integration approach and guide you through the next steps.