Why Some Firms Integrate Directly With Transact

Most Transact advisers use software solutions to help them with their “back-office”/administration functions. The majority of Transact advisers are happy with the systems they use – be that intelliflo, Xplan, Curo, Plannr, etc. These systems connect to Transact’s APIs to collect Transact valuation, transaction and remuneration data on the adviser’s behalf. However, recently we have observed a small number of advisers enquiring about connecting directly to Transact’s APIs, allowing them to collect the Transact data without the need for a third party. Some of these advisers have built connections to our APIs and are delighted with the impact they have had on their business. Others tried and decided it wasn’t for them.

We thought you may be interested to hear some of the reasons why some adviser firms took the plunge, what they thought about the process and the reasons why they continue to integrate with the Transact APIs.

Why did you decide to build your own connection to Transact’s APIs?
• One North-East English adviser firm said “We were frustrated with the information we were getting out of our back-office system and wanted to start integrating the data from Transact into our processes. We built a data warehouse and were able to get much better insights into our clients and their assets by manipulating the data ourselves.” • One Scottish adviser firm said “We were keen to improve our own inhouse report generation capacity, part of that was the data stream from all the actions taken on Transact so creating our own connections was vital to getting all the data needed to make the reports possible.” • One South-West English adviser firm said “To enable centralised data aggregation to aid greater efficiency in preparing and reporting to clients. [and] To reduce the reliance on users having to log in to the platform as often.” • One West Midlands adviser firm said “First and foremost, so that we could control our data – our data is everything. Secondly, so that we could create business systems that worked for us, rather than having to put up with someone else’s ideas about how we should work.”

Why did you decide to build your own connection to Transact’s APIs?

• One North-East English adviser firm said “We were frustrated with the information we were getting out of our back-office system and wanted to start integrating the data from Transact into our processes. We built a data warehouse and were able to get much better insights into our clients and their assets by manipulating the data ourselves.”

• One Scottish adviser firm said “We were keen to improve our own inhouse report generation capacity, part of that was the data stream from all the actions taken on Transact so creating our own connections was vital to getting all the data needed to make the reports possible.”

• One South-West English adviser firm said “To enable centralised data aggregation to aid greater efficiency in preparing and reporting to clients. [and] To reduce the reliance on users having to log in to the platform as often.”

• One West Midlands adviser firm said “First and foremost, so that we could control our data – our data is everything. Secondly, so that we could create business systems that worked for us, rather than having to put up with someone else’s ideas about how we should work.”

Was the exercise as daunting as you thought?
• The North-East English adviser firm said “Not if you have someone with the right skills in-house.” • The Scottish adviser firm said “Honestly no, the documentation was really detailed and well written.”

Have you saved money?
• The South-West English adviser firm said "Undoubtedly, but difficult to quantify." • One adviser firm in the West Midlands said "Significant money – tens of thousands a year."

Why was it the right decision for your firm?
• The Scottish adviser firm said “The data we are pulling is the core of some of the reports we are looking to automatically generate from the Transact data and it really wouldn't be possible to process the raw data manually through exporting it and processing it. It allows us to pull what data we need when we need it for our reports.” • The South-West English adviser firm said “Definitely, the right decision. Improved efficiency. Facilitates data interrogation and MI reporting without being constrained by data existing within Transact in isolation; data can be joined with our data sources providing greater overall insight.”

Why was it the right decision for your firm?

• The Scottish adviser firm said “The data we are pulling is the core of some of the reports we are looking to automatically generate from the Transact data and it really wouldn't be possible to process the raw data manually through exporting it and processing it. It allows us to pull what data we need when we need it for our reports.”

• The South-West English adviser firm said “Definitely, the right decision. Improved efficiency. Facilitates data interrogation and MI reporting without being constrained by data existing within Transact in isolation; data can be joined with our data sources providing greater overall insight.”

Would you recommend this approach to other adviser firms?
• The West Midlands adviser firm said “It depends if you have the skills or need to buy them in. If we didn’t have the skills it would have cost a lot.” • The Scottish adviser firm said “I would, yes. I think a lot of these systems seem to sit unused in the background sometimes and not having more control and precise use of the data is just missing a trick. With how clear the documentation is and how readily helpful the Transact team has been, it’s a job that is possible with the help of someone with some expertise in backend development.” • The North-East English adviser firm said “Small firms, no. Leverage what you already have, unless you have a keen interest and will commit to the ongoing maintenance. If you’re a larger firm and have the internal resource - I’d definitely recommend it.”

Would you recommend this approach to other adviser firms?

• The West Midlands adviser firm said “It depends if you have the skills or need to buy them in. If we didn’t have the skills it would have cost a lot.”

• The Scottish adviser firm said “I would, yes. I think a lot of these systems seem to sit unused in the background sometimes and not having more control and precise use of the data is just missing a trick. With how clear the documentation is and how readily helpful the Transact team has been, it’s a job that is possible with the help of someone with some expertise in backend development.”

• The North-East English adviser firm said “Small firms, no. Leverage what you already have, unless you have a keen interest and will commit to the ongoing maintenance. If you’re a larger firm and have the internal resource - I’d definitely recommend it.”

That was some of the feedback from adviser firms who have taken the plunge. But there are challenges. If you don’t have the inhouse technical skills it can be an expensive exercise. For all the positive comments there are adviser firms who have dipped their toe in these waters only to find it not to their liking. We aren’t advocating the do-it-yourself route for everyone, but it has worked for some.

The technical details for connecting are shared here:

Remuneration API: https://documenter.getpostman.com/view/31078349/2sA3s3Jri2
Valuation & Transaction APIs: Transact Remote Data Service (TRDS) Valuation and Transition Feeds

Please contact our Integrations Manager tphillips@integrafin.co.uk if you would like to discuss any aspects of the above.

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