APIs that
other people want to use.
Custom REST and GraphQL APIs, authentication, rate limiting, OpenAPI docs, and generated SDKs. Plus help adopting third-party APIs when buying makes more sense than building. We've shipped APIs that handle six-figure call volumes daily.
Everything you need, none of the upsell.
Real deliverables, with the boundaries written down. So you know what you're paying for and what counts as extra.
Predictable and documented.
Resource-oriented design, proper HTTP semantics, versioning, and OpenAPI spec. So your consumers actually use it correctly.
When clients need flexibility.
Schema-first, batched, with proper caching and N+1 protection. Good fit for complex client UIs.
OAuth, API keys, JWT.
Authentication that fits your audience. Internal, partner, or public. Plus rate limiting, abuse detection, and audit logging.
Reference, guides, examples.
API reference auto-generated from spec. Plus hand-written guides for the workflows your consumers actually do.
The order we work in.
A clear sequence so you can budget time, money, and risk against the work.
Design.
Resource model, endpoints, auth, error handling, and versioning. Reviewed before code starts.
Build.
Implementation with tests, observability, and rate limiting. Sandbox available to consumers early.
Document.
OpenAPI spec, hand-written guides, working examples, and SDK generation if needed.
Operate.
Monitoring, deprecation policy, and changelog discipline. So consumers trust the platform.
Get a quote on api development.
Tell us a bit about your environment and we'll come back with a scoped proposal in two business days. No obligation, no pressure.
Request a Quote Back to Custom SoftwareAPIs that let your systems talk to each other without manual work in the middle.
An API (Application Programming Interface) is a defined interface through which two software systems exchange data. When your accounting software automatically receives invoice data from your project management tool, or your website booking form triggers a confirmation email and a calendar entry simultaneously, an API is doing the work in the background. Businesses that do not have APIs connecting their core systems end up with staff manually exporting from one system and importing to another, copying data between spreadsheets, or maintaining duplicate records that drift out of sync. APIs eliminate that manual layer and reduce the error rate that comes with it.
A Fort St. John oilfield services company with a custom work order system that does not communicate with their accounting platform is an example where a custom API saves significant staff time. The work order system captures job details, labour hours, and materials. The accounting system needs that information to generate invoices and job cost reports. A custom API built between the two systems means the data flows automatically: no export, no import, no manual re-entry, no missed entries. North Star designs and builds those integrations, from the data mapping and authentication to the error handling and monitoring that ensures the integration keeps working reliably without someone checking it every day.
API development deliverables.
- API design: data model, endpoint design, authentication scheme (API key, OAuth 2.0, JWT), and rate limiting strategy documented before code is written.
- REST or GraphQL API development: production-grade API built in the appropriate language and framework for your stack. Versioned from day one so future changes do not break existing integrations.
- Authentication and authorization: API key management, OAuth 2.0 flows, scoped permissions, and token refresh handling built securely by default.
- OpenAPI documentation: machine-readable API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger spec) generated from the code, plus a human-readable reference. Other systems can integrate without asking you for a spec every time.
- Webhook support: event-driven notifications pushed to subscriber endpoints when specific events occur, so integrations can react in real time rather than polling.
- Error handling and logging: structured error responses, request logging, and alerting on error rate spikes. You know when an integration is failing before users complain about it.
- Third-party API integration: integration with external APIs (QuickBooks, Salesforce, Shopify, Microsoft Graph, government data feeds) built with retry logic, rate limit handling, and credential management.
- Data residency and privacy compliance: for APIs handling Canadian personal information, we design for BC PIPA and PIPEDA compliance including data residency in Canadian infrastructure where required.
BC and AB businesses with systems that don't talk to each other.
Custom API development is most useful for businesses that have outgrown manual data transfer between systems, are building a new software product that needs to expose data to customers or partners, or need to integrate with a specific third-party platform that does not have a pre-built connector. In BC and Alberta, the industries where custom API work has the highest impact are resource-industry services (connecting field data collection tools to back-office systems), professional services (integrating practice management with accounting and client portals), and retail and distribution (connecting inventory management, e-commerce, and logistics systems).
Software companies building a SaaS product for other businesses need a well-designed API from the start, not bolted on later when enterprise clients ask for it. An API built with proper authentication, versioning, rate limiting, and documentation is a product asset that can be marketed to technical buyers as a sign of maturity. North Star has shipped APIs handling high call volumes and we know where the design decisions made in month one create production problems in month twelve.
Businesses evaluating whether to build a custom API or use a middleware platform like Zapier, Make, or Microsoft Power Automate for their integration needs should consider the operational cost of the middleware subscription over time, the limitations of low-code platforms for complex transformations, and the data residency implications of routing business data through third-party platforms. North Star can advise on the right approach for your specific integration scenario before committing to a development project.
Fixed-price project scoped after requirements definition.
API development projects are scoped and priced as fixed-price engagements after a requirements definition phase. The price depends on the complexity of the data model, the number of endpoints, the authentication requirements, and whether third-party API integration is included. Documentation and a defined handoff are included in every project. Ongoing maintenance (API monitoring, version updates, new endpoint additions) can be scoped as a retainer after project completion. Contact North Star for a discovery call and a project proposal.
What clients ask before starting.
Should we build a custom API or use Zapier?
Zapier, Make, and similar middleware platforms work well for simple, linear integrations between popular SaaS tools where data transformation is minimal and volume is low. They are faster to set up and require no development work. Custom APIs are appropriate when you need complex data transformations, high-volume throughput, error handling logic that middleware cannot express, or when you need the integration to be a private, secure channel that does not route data through a third-party platform. The right answer depends on your specific integration scenario. North Star will assess both options and recommend honestly before scoping a development project.
How do you secure the API?
API security is designed before any code is written. For external-facing APIs, we implement OAuth 2.0 or API key authentication with scoped permissions, rate limiting to prevent abuse, HTTPS enforcement, and input validation to prevent injection attacks. API keys are never embedded in client-side code. Secrets are managed with a secrets manager (Azure Key Vault or equivalent) rather than environment variables in plaintext. For APIs handling personal information under BC PIPA or PIPEDA, we document the security controls as part of the privacy assessment for the integration.
What happens when the API breaks?
Production API failures are detected through structured logging and alerting. North Star sets up monitoring on error rate and latency as part of every API project, with alerts to the appropriate channel (email, Slack, Teams) when thresholds are exceeded. Error responses are structured to give integrating systems enough information to handle failures gracefully rather than silently dropping data. For integrations where data loss is a business risk, we implement queue-based retry logic so that a temporary downstream failure does not lose the triggering event.
Can you integrate with QuickBooks, Shopify, or Microsoft 365?
Yes. North Star has built integrations with QuickBooks Online (accounting data, invoices, customers), Shopify (orders, inventory, customers), Microsoft Graph (Calendar, Teams, SharePoint, Entra ID), and various Canadian government data feeds. Third-party API integrations require handling rate limits, authentication token refresh, API versioning differences, and sometimes inconsistent data quality from the source system. We build retry logic and error handling for all of these edge cases rather than assuming the third-party API is always reliable.
APIs built to last, with documentation that other developers can actually use.
North Star is based in Prince George and serves BC, Alberta, and the Yukon. We design APIs with maintainability in mind: proper versioning so future changes do not break existing integrations, complete OpenAPI documentation so other developers can integrate without asking you for a spec, and monitoring that tells you when something fails before it becomes a support incident. We use AI-assisted tooling to accelerate the code generation and documentation phases, but every API is reviewed by a senior developer before deployment. We build Canadian data residency into API design by default for integrations handling personal information, and we stay accountable for the API as part of an ongoing maintenance agreement after the project closes.