Introduction

We have some exciting features in the pipeline for this year! Our current roadmap can be viewed below.

Current roadmap

Introduction

This page includes video demonstrations showing different aspects of the Patchworks platform.

What is Patchworks?

Watch our two-minute explainer video for Patchworks!

Integrating 5 Systems in Under 10 Minutes

Our CTO, Conor Barr, demonstrates using our pre-built Blueprints , Connector Builder Postman Importer & no-code/low-code canvas with ready-to-use process flows, how quickly and easily you can cut down on implementation time and get your systems connected.

Connector builder in 5 minutes

Our CEO, Jim Herbert, shows how easy it is to build your own custom connector with the Patchworks connector builder in just 5 minutes!

Cache & flow control in process flows

Our CTO, Conor Barr, demonstrates the power of flow control and cache shapes in Patchworks process flows.

Introduction

Patchworks is an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS).

Our secure, multi-language, cloud-based platform automates the flow of data between your company’s business-critical systems/applications in a smart, intuitive way.

In today's market, businesses can pick and mix from best-of-breed applications to tackle specific goals...perhaps an eCommerce application for sales order processing; an ERP system for records management; a warehouse management system to maintain inventory and a CRM for relationship management and marketing.

On their own, these applications fulfil their individual requirements perfectly. However, the key to real strategic advantage is integration - establishing a frictionless exchange of data between all of your applications, in a smart way.

Video explainer

Watch our two-minute explainer video for Patchworks!

Your centralised systems hub

Historically, many businesses have gone down the API route to integrate systems - building and maintaining direct APIs in-house. This can be a costly exercise carrying an administrative burden, and a potential drain on resources - assuming you have the resources in the first place.

In contrast, Patchworks provides a cost-efficient way to streamline your operations via one, centralised platform - your integrations hub, if you will. Using our intuitive dashboard, you can add, manage and orchestrate your integrations with complete peace of mind when it comes to security and scalability.

Self-serve integrations with process flows

Patchworks is an incredibly powerful no-code/low-code platform with everything you need to add and manage your integrations.

We know that integration requirements are often highly complex and a real challenge for customers - but we don't think the solution should be. A huge amount of thought has gone into making our no-code/low-code dashboard as smart and user-friendly as we can.

Using click-and-drop process flows with automated shapes and an impressive library of prebuilt connectors (in the Patchworks marketplace) and blueprints (from the Patchworks website), you can create powerful data flows, in a matter of minutes. You can adjust default field mappings and transformations as needed, trigger syncs, watch syncs run in real-time, view historical data, and troubleshoot issues - all without a single line of code.

Connector builder

With Patchworks, you can configure and connect any of our prebuilt connectors in process flows.

But what if we don't have a prebuilt connector for an application that you need to sync? Maybe you have a bespoke, in-house system - or perhaps you want to integrate an application that's completely outside of the eCommerce arena. No problem - the Patchworks connector builder is your new best friend!

If you have technical knowledge of APIs and working with data structures, you can use the connector builder to integrate any application with REST or SOAP APIs.

Developer hub

Speaking of technical expertise...

'Out of the box', Patchworks includes everything you need to manipulate and then exchange data securely between different third-party applications, securely and intuitively. However, for users with in-house development expertise and more complex requirements, advanced tools are available that you can use to take your integrations to the next level:

• Use the Patchworks API to build against Patchworks from third-party systems and interact with your Patchworks process flows or services.

• Custom scripting can be used at the field level (to build highly complex transformations for mapping individual fields) and at the payload level, so you can manipulate an entire payload before it is sent to the next element of your process flow.

Certifications

Patchworks is proud to be a member of the MACH Alliance, and certified for ISO/IEC 27001:2022.

About this section

If you're new to Patchworks and want to find out more before you get started, take a look through this section for background information and demo videos.

In this section

• What is Patchworks?

• Patchworks demos

• Product roadmap

Blueprint

A Patchworks blueprint contains everything you need to perform a specific task - for example, to sync orders from TikTok Shop to Shopify; to sync customers from Shopify to HubSpot, etc.

Canvas

See process flow canvas.

Dashboard

Having registered for a Patchworks account, use your credentials to log in to the Patchworks dashboard. This is where you can access everything you need to set up and manage data exchanges between third-party applications.

Connector

The meaning of connector varies, depending on whether you are using process flows or services to sync data in Patchworks. Please expand the appropriate definition below.

Connector builder

If you need to integrate a third-party application that doesn't have a prebuilt connector in the Patchworks marketplace - and if you have technical knowledge of APIs and working with data structures - you can use the connector builder to integrate any application with REST or SOAP APIs.

Instance

An instance is the mechanism that Patchworks uses to configure a connector for use in process flows - it's how we store your system credentials for a given connector in a single, easy-to-manage place.

You can add as many instances of a single connector as you need. For example, if you've installed the Shopify connector, you would go on to add one instance of this connector for every Shopify store that you need to sync using process flows.

Marketplace

With Patchworks, you can install and then use instances of a range of curated, prebuilt connectors which are available from the Patchworks marketplace.

Patchworks

Typically, when we talk about Patchworks in this documentation set, we're referring to the Patchworks Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), which is accessed via the Patchworks dashboard.

Process flow

Introduced in June 2023, the process flow feature is a completely new way to define if, when, what, and how data is synced between your third-party applications.

Process flows are built by dragging and dropping automated shapes onto a canvas, and then configuring them as required.

Process flow canvas

The canvas includes everything you need to build a process flow. Here, you drag shapes from the shapes tray, drop them onto the canvas, and then configure settings and relationships as required.

Process flow shapes

When you add/edit a process flow, a set of shapes is available from the canvas. Each shape performs a specific task - for example, the trigger (schedule) shape is used to define a schedule upon which the process flow runs. Having dropped a shape onto the canvas, you can configure it with the required settings for that process flow.

Services

Process flows include all the functionality of services and much more. You can continue to use services but if you'd like to try process flows, please contact your Customer Success Manager, or reach out to [email protected].

Shapes

See process flow shapes.

System

When working with services to sync data in Patchworks, a system is a Patchworks integration for a third-party business system - for example, Shopify.

Introduction

You can work with the Patchworks dashboard in your preferred language, using the language switcher in the top information bar - for example:

When you switch languages, the dashboard fields, labels, buttons, and options are translated.

Supported languages

The following languages are currently supported:

• English

• French

• German

• Italian

• Japanese

• Netherlands

• Portuguese

• Serbian

• Spanish

Dashboard guides

Developer hub

Patchworks bolt-ons

Introduction

A cutting-edge iPaaS platform requires a robust, versatile infrastructure that scales with its customers. The Patchworks infrastructure is built on Kubernetes, a technology that has revolutionised how we deploy, manage, and scale our applications:

MACH

Performance & scalability

Issue identification & resolution

Removal of complexity

Multi-tenancy

Robust processes for assured uptime

Infrastructure security

Platform account security

Introduction

Flexible auto-scaling is a significant advantage for Patchworks users - it means you don't pay for a predetermined capacity that might only be required during peak periods, such as Black Friday.

Our flexible, auto-scaling architecture gives peace of mind by allowing you to start on your preferred plan, with the ability to exceed soft limits as needed. If you require more resources, you can transition to a higher tier seamlessly, or manage overages with ease.

Auto-scaling adjusts computing resources dynamically, based on demand - ensuring efficient, cost-effective resource management that's always aligned with real-time demand. The auto-scaling process breaks down into four stages:

Kubernetes pods & nodes

At Patchworks, every process flow shape has its own microservice and its own Kubernetes pod(s). The diagram below shows how this works:

Kubernetes pod auto-scaling

Metrics for Kubernetes pods are scraped from Horizon using Prometheus. These metrics are queried by KEDA and - when the given threshold is reached - auto-scaling takes place. This process is shown below:

1. Prometheus JSON exporter scrapes Horizon metrics for each Core microservice count.

2. Prometheus scrapes metrics from the JSON exporter.

3. KEDA queries Prometheus, checking if any Core microservice has reached the process threshold (set to 8).

4. If the process threshold is reached, KEDA scales the Core microservice pod.

Kubernetes node auto-scaling

The Kubernetes cluster auto-scaler monitors pods and decides when a node needs to be added. A node is added if a pod needs to be scheduled and there aren't sufficient resources to fulfill the request. This process is shown below:

1. The Kubernetes scheduler reads the resource request for a pod and decides if there are enough resources on an existing node. If yes, the pod is assigned to the node. If no, the pod is set to a pending state and cannot start.

2. The Kubernetes auto-scaler detects that a pod cannot schedule due to a lack of resources.

3. The Kubernetes auto-scaler adds a new node to the cluster node pool - at which point, the Kubernetes scheduler detects the new node and schedules the pod on the new node.

Introduction

With customers worldwide relying on Patchworks to sync data between numerous systems, we understand just how vital data security and integrity are throughout our operations. Patchworks is committed to implementing and promoting Information Security best practices at every level of our organisation.

Following rigorous audits by an accredited certification body, we are delighted to see this reflected in our certification for compliance with ISO/IEC 27001:2022.

ISO/IEC 27001:2022 @ Patchworks

is the most recent update of the international standard for managing information security.

Published by the , it provides a framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). This defines how Patchworks manages security in a holistic, comprehensive manner.

To confirm our certification, scan the QR code above, or check the link below!

Introduction

Having registered for a Patchworks account and logged into the dashboard, you're all set to start syncing data between your business-critical systems. There are two ways to approach this:

Process flows

Process flows are a new, incredibly powerful tool that you can use to define smart, flexible flows to exchange data between connector instances. Process flows are built by dragging and dropping shapes onto a canvas, and then configuring those shapes to work in the way you need. Please take a look at our Patchworks quickstart guide to get your bearings, and then navigate to the process flows section of this documentation for more detailed information.

Services

In this section

• Core subscription tiers

• Key concepts & terminology

• Multi-language support

• Patchworks quickstart guide​

• Patchworks infrastructure

​

Introduction

The Patchworks infrastructure is designed for resilience and scalability - utilising cutting-edge technologies and best practices to ensure your data flows securely, efficiently, and reliably.

Leveraging a combination of proven technologies and innovative solutions, our tech stack is curated to provide a comprehensive, flexible environment for developing, deploying, and managing our Core product.

In this section

• Patchworks infrastructure

• ISO certification

• Tech stack

• Patchworks IPs

Introduction

There are two possible paths for new clients to get up and running with Patchworks:

• Custom integrations, with help from the Patchworks team

• Self-serve integrations, via the Patchworks dashboard

If yours is a custom integration, you're in safe hands! Our teams will work with you to gather requirements and implement a tailor-made solution to meet your exact needs. However, with the launch of the new Patchworks dashboard, self-serve onboarding is now possible.

In this guide, we summarise the key steps required to get up and running, with links to relevant articles to help you complete each one.

Where to start?

Key steps from initial registration through to putting process flows live are summarised in the illustration below:

Step 1: Registration

To register your company for a Patchworks account so you can access the Patchworks dashboard, use our registration link below:

Step 2: Company setup

If your company is standalone and you don't need to manage other (linked) companies, you won't need to complete any further company setup.

Step 3: User setup

Having registered for a Patchworks account, a user account is created with the credentials you provided. By default, this is an admin account.

Step 4: Flow setup

Auto setup via blueprints

Manual setup

Step 5: Day-to-day-management

Introduction

Different organisations have different needs when it comes to utilising the Patchworks dashboard - from minimal features required to perform specific tasks, all the way through to advanced functionality for building complex data flows in-house.

Our Core subscription tiers ensure that there's something to suit everyone. Information on this page details available subscription tiers and associated information.

Available core subscription tiers

The table below summarises available dashboard features and feature allowances for each Core subscription tier.

Core subscription tier allowances

The table below summarises feature access and allowances for each Core subscription tier.

Blueprint store tier summary

Advanced features

Core subscription tier bolt-ons

About the partner features bolt-on

How do I purchase a subscription tier or bolt-on?

If you have come to Patchworks via an agency/partner, please contact them to arrange your preferred subscription.

How can I check the status of my subscription allowances?

Subscription tiers are associated with different allowances for the number of deployed connectors, and the number of deployed process flows.

To view the number of 'deployed' connectors and the number remaining in your subscription tier allowance, select connectors and instances from the left-hand navigation menu - your allowance status is shown in the header of the manage connectors page:

To view the number of 'deployed' process flows and the number remaining in your subscription tier allowance, select process flows from the left-hand navigation menu - your allowance status is shown in the header of the manage your flows page:

Introduction

Leveraging a combination of proven technologies and innovative solutions, our tech stack is curated to provide a comprehensive, flexible environment for developing, deploying, and managing our products.

Overview

Presentation Layer

Our user interface combines the power of PrimeVue for feature-rich UI components, Tailwind for styling, and Vue.js for building a progressive and interactive user experience.

Business Logic

Laravel is a PHP framework known for its elegant syntax and robust features. Combined with Nuxt - an open source framework based on Vue.js, Nitro, and Vite - we have a solid foundation for server-side rendering and seamless navigation.

DevOps & Deployment

We leverage the agility and scalability of Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud infrastructure, Vercel for seamless deployment and hosting, Kubernetes for container orchestration, and Argo for managing and automating workflows.

Development Tools

Our development process utilises TypeScript for type safety, PHPUnit for comprehensive testing, NPM for efficient package management, and Docker for containerisation.

Data Management

We use MariaDB and MySQL for relational database management, Elasticsearch for powerful search and analytics, and Redis for high-performance caching and data storage.

Introduction

For simple registration, you provide an email address and a password to use as login credentials for the Patchworks dashboard, followed by a few company details.

Your account is then created with immediate access to a free trial which runs for 15 full days (ending at midnight on the 15th day).

The steps

Step 1 Access the and click the register option:

Step 2 Complete user details for the admin user to be associated with this account, then click continue:

Step 3 Complete company details for the admin user to be associated with this account, then click continue:

Step 4 Read and accept the Patchworks terms & conditions, then click create Patchworks account:

Introduction

Password requirements

When setting a password for , the following rules apply:

• A minimum length of 8 characters

• At least 1 lowercase letter (a - z)

• At least 1 uppercase letter (A - Z)

• At least 1 number (0 - 9)

• At least 1 special character (!, $, #, or %)

Password expiry

Patchworks passwords do not expire.

Users who sign in via Patchworks can choose to any time, from the Patchworks sign-in page. Alternatively, users with a Client Admin role can .

Password storage

Patchworks passwords are stored in an encrypted AWS database.

Password control

Passwords can never be viewed or accessed by users, irrespective of their role.

Managing your own password

Managing passwords for other users

Forgotten passwords

Users can reset their password via a forgot your password link - this link is always available at the bottom of the sign in to Patchworks page:

Selecting this option displays a reset password page, where the user can enter their email address and trigger a password reset email:

The password reset email includes a link for the user to follow and reset their password.

Google sign-in passwords

However, if a password reset is triggered for a Google sign-In user, they still receive a password reset email, which can be used to set a Patchworks password.

External access

However, OAuth2 is also used for clients who wish to access Patchworks services via a Patchworks API endpoint. In this scenario, Patchworks provides an access token to clients, which is used to authenticate API requests.

About this section

This section includes guidance about the different paths available to register your company for a Patchworks account.

In this section

Introduction

Two registration paths are available for Patchworks - whichever you choose determines how users access the platform:

Simple sign-in

Users . Thereafter, these credentials are used to sign into Patchworks:

Google sign-in

OAuth

Google Sign-In is implemented using the OAuth (Open Authorisation) protocol.

OAuth enables users to log into an application/website (the Client/Consumer - in this case, Patchworks) using account information from another application/website (the Service Provider - in this case, Google) without ever sharing the user’s password. This is known as Secure Delegated Access.

To achieve this, OAuth uses a system of access tokens. An access token authorises temporary access to specific account information - Patchworks requests and stores the following details from Google:

• UserID

• Name

• Email address

• Avatar URL

User journey

The Google sign-in flow for a user is summarised below:

2. The user selects Sign in with Google.

3. Patchworks redirects the user to the Google Sign-In page. Here, the user is informed what information they will share with Patchworks by signing in to Google.

4. The user enters their Google account credentials. If sign-in is successful: - The Google Authorisation Server issues an access token to Patchworks. - Patchworks requests required data from Google, presenting the access token for authentication. - Google returns the requested resources (provided that the access token is valid).

5. The user is returned to Patchworks and is logged into the dashboard.

User roles & permissions

Password control

Passwords can never be viewed or accessed by users, irrespective of their role.

Managing your own password

Any logged-in user can change their password by selecting the Change password option associated with their avatar (in the top right-hand corner of the dashboard).

Managing passwords for other users

Forgotten passwords

Users can reset their password via a Forgot your password link - this link is always available at the bottom of the Sign in to Patchworks page:

Selecting this option displays a Reset Password page, where the user can enter their email address and trigger a password reset email:

The password reset email includes a link for the user to follow and reset their password.

Google sign-in passwords

However, if a password reset is triggered for a Google sign-In user, they still receive a password reset email, which can be used to set a Patchworks password.

Password requirements

• A minimum length of 8 characters

• At least 1 lowercase letter (a - z)

• At least 1 uppercase letter (A - Z)

• At least 1 number (0 - 9)

• At least 1 special character (!, $, #, or %)

Password expiry

Patchworks passwords do not expire.

Password storage

Patchworks passwords are stored in an encrypted AWS database.

External access

However, OAuth2 is also used for clients who wish to access Patchworks services via a Patchworks API endpoint. In this scenario, Patchworks provides an access token to clients, which is used to authenticate API requests.

Introduction

Two registration paths are available for Patchworks:

This section includes information to help with whichever registration path you choose.

Patchworks partners

If you are a Patchworks partner managing , you can add linked company profiles after your own company is set up.

About this section

Having registered for a Patchworks account, a company profile is created for your organisation. From here you can view/update basic details for your organisation (name and contact information) and manage users.

In this section

• Accessing your company profile

• Adding & managing company profile banners

• Multi-company profiles

• Company insights

Introduction

For Google account registration, you are directed to Google for authentication. Your account is then created with immediate access to a free trial which runs for 15 full days (ending at midnight on the 15th day).

The steps

Step 1 Access the Patchworks login page and click the register option:

Step 2 Enter your email address and click accept.

Step 3 Check your emails - you should receive a message from Patchworks almost immediately, containing a link to complete the registration process. Click this link:

...the Patchworks registration page is displayed:

Step 4 Click the sign in with Google button:

Step 5 Select the Google account that you want to use - for example:

Step 6 Check confirmation details and click continue:

Step 7 When the first Patchworks registration page is displayed, confirm/change your name and click continue:

Step 8 Complete the second part of your registration (company details) - then click continue:

Step 9 Read and accept terms and conditions, then click the create Patchworks account button:

Step 10 You are directed back to the Patchworks login page, where you can log in with the sign in with Google button:

Introduction

Having registered from a Patchworks account, a company profile is added for the company that you registered. You'll need to access this profile to update company details or to view/manage users. Follow the steps below to access your company profile.

The steps

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard. and select settings from the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar.

Step 2 Select my company profile:

...the manage profile page is displayed with general details at the top, and extra information in the lower pane:

From here you can:

• Update general details, including company name, website, telephone and email address

• View users associated with this company profile

Introduction

The steps detailed on this page show how to switch into a linked company that you manage and - when you've finished working with that company - how to switch back to your own company.

Need to know

• You can only switch into companies that you have been granted explicit permission to manage.

• Your Patchworks account must have the manager role in order to view linked companies for your organisation.

Switching into a linked company

Step 1 Click the arrow associated with your current company name and select the switch companies option:

The managed companies page is shown, listing all companies that are linked to your organisation (i.e. all companies that can be managed by your team):

If you have been granted permission to manage a company, you'll see an icon in the switch column:

Step 2 Click the ‘switch’ icon to the right of the required company profile:

Step 3 You are switched into this company profile:

Notice that the company name has changed at the top of your window - if you click the associated arrow, you'll find quick access to profile settings for this company, should you need to change general details or manage company users:

Step 4 You can now proceed to complete any required setup for this company (for example, add and manage users, add connectors, process flows, etc.).

Step 5 When you've finished working with this company, you should switch back to your own company to ensure that you don't make any subsequent updates in error.

Switching back to your own company

When you've finished working with a managed company, follow the steps below to your own (i.e. original) company.

Step 1 Click the arrow associated with your current company name and select the switch companies option:

Step 2 The managed companies page is shown.

Step 3 Click the switch to original company button:

Step 4 You are switched back to your own profile and the managed companies page updates to show all companies that your team can manage:

Introduction

If your Patchworks account is associated with an admin role, you can add a message to be displayed as a dashboard banner. All users associated with your company profile will see this banner when they access the dashboard:

Message text is added and managed via your company profile page.

Need to know

• Only admin role users can add/manage message text.

• Banner text persists until the message is removed from your company profile.

Adding a banner message

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard and access your company profile.

Step 2 In the top general section, add required message text to the banner field:

Step 3 Save changes. Your banner is displayed immediately.

Managing an existing banner

• To amend the text displayed in a current banner, simply change the banner field text as needed and save changes. The banner updates as soon your updates are saved.

• To remove a banner, clear all text from the banner field and save changes. The banner is cleared as soon as this change is saved.

Introduction

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a subset of multifactor authentication (MFA). It typically uses a one-time time-based passcode (TOTP) to add an extra layer of security to the user’s account.

How it works - technical

Generally, 2FA works as follows:

1. A secure string of letters and numbers (known as a secret key) is generated.

2. This string is shared with an authenticator app on the user’s mobile device - usually by scanning a QR code.

3. The authenticator app uses the secret key, along with the current date/time to generate a code. These codes expire after a short period of time and a new one is generated.

4. When authenticating with an application, the user is prompted to retrieve the current code from their authenticator app and input it into the application. If the code matches what the application has generated, the user is authenticated.

How it works - user journey

When 2FA is enabled for your Patchworks account, you will log into the dashboard as normal with your username and password. Having entered your credentials, you are prompted to enter an authentication code, which you obtain from your authenticator app:

Need to know

To enable 2FA for your Patchworks login, you will need an authenticator app - for example (but not limited to Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Duo, Authy).

Enabling 2FA for your Patchworks login

To enable 2FA for Patchworks, follow the steps below:

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard.

Step 2 Select settings (from the bottom of the left-hand navigation menu):

Step 3 Select my account settings:

Step 4 Select the multi-factor authentication tab:

Step 5 Click the enable button:

...setup information is displayed with a QR code:

Step 6 Open your preferred authenticator app and scan the QR code.

Step 7 Your authenticator app will generate a 2FA code, which you should enter in the Patchworks multi-factor authentication tab, then click confirm::

Step 8 A set of recovery codes is displayed, which can be used in the event that you can't access your authenticator app for any reason. Copy these codes somewhere secure (such as a password manager).

Step 9 Click the copied button to confirm that you've copied recovery codes - the setup is now complete:

The next time that you log into Patchworks, you'll be prompted to enter a 2FA code (generated by your authenticator app) before you can access the dashboard:

Disabling 2FA for your Patchworks login

To disable 2FA for Patchworks, follow the steps below:

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard.

Step 2 Select settings (from the bottom of the left-hand navigation menu):

Step 3 Select my account settings:

Step 4 Select the multi-factor authentication tab:

Step 5 Click the disable MFA button:

Step 6 When prompted, confirm your decision:

Introduction

There are two ways to access your company insights page:

The left-hand navigation menu

The quickest way to access your company insights page is via the account summary link in the left-hand navigation bar:

Notice that you can also see a quick preview of your CPU and data usage for the current month:

General settings

Your company insights page can be accessed in settings - select the settings option (from the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar), then choose company insights:

Related information

Introduction

If you need to 'un-link' a managed company from your profile, please contact your Patchworks Partner Manager.

What next?

Once a company has been removed from your profile, it's no longer shown in your - none of your team members will have access from this point forward.

However, any 'native' users associated with the company can continue to log into the Patchworks dashboard with their own credentials and manage their own company as required.

Introduction

If you are a Patchworks partner and you have the associated with your subscription, you can create new companies that are linked to your own profile. Having created a new linked company profile, you can go on to manage , , and .

Need to know

• Your is associated with an allowance for the number of companies that can be created in each subscription tier.

• If you don't have the but require new linked companies to be added, please contact your Patchworks Partner Manager.

The steps

The steps to add a new, linked company profile are summarised below:

Stage 1: Create a new company profile

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard using your own Patchworks credentials and ensure that you are .

Step 2 In the top-left corner, click the arrow associated with your current company name and select the switch companies option:

Step 3 Click the create company button at the top of your managed companies page:

Step 4 Complete general details for this company:

Step 5 Save the company profile to exit back to the mange companies list.

Step 6 Refresh/reload the browser page.

Step 7 Go the the next stage.

Stage 2: Set subscription details

Step 1 Use the 'switch' icon associated with the new company, to switch into that profile - for example:

Step 2 In the top-left corner, click the arrow associated with the new company name and select the [[company]] profile option:

Step 3 Scroll down to the extra panel at the bottom of the company profile page, then select the [[company]] subscriptions tab:

...you'll see that the existing subscription is set to trial, by default:

Step 4 Use the core subscription tier dropdown field to select the required subscription for this company - for example:

Step 5 Save the profile:

Stage 3: Add users & grant team member access

Having created a linked company and saved subscription details, you can go on to:

Introduction

When you choose to you will see a managed companies list which shows all companies that are linked to your profile.

However, if your user account has not been granted explicit access to manage companies, the 'switch' option won't be available for you to use. In this case, you can access the managed companies list via Patchworks settings, as shown below.

Need to know

• The fact that a company is does not necessarily mean that you or anyone else in your team has the ability to manage it. Linked companies can only be managed by users in your team who have been .

• Your Patchworks account must have the in order to view linked companies for your organisation.

The steps

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard using your own Patchworks credentials and ensure that you are .

Step 2 Click the settings option at the bottom of the left-hand navigation bar:

Step 3 Select the managed companies option:

Step 4 All linked companies for your organisation are shown:

Introduction

You can download summary details for all of your linked companies via the managed companies page - for example:

The following details are provided for each of your linked companies:

Need to know

The steps

Step 3 Click the download button:

Step 4 The CSV file is generated and saved to the default downloads folder for your browser.

Introduction

Company insights can help you understand how your process flows are performing, and your resource usage.

With the ability to view details for all process flows that run in a given month, and drill down to the performance of individual shapes, this is a powerful tool to help you identify any areas that could be optimised to ensure maximum efficiency.

Pages in this section

Related pages

About this section

This section includes guidance for administrators to add and manage user accounts via your company profile. It also includes guidance for all users wishing to access and manage their own user details, together with general information about passwords, roles and permissions.

In this section

• Viewing all users for a company profile

• Adding a company user

• Updating general details for a user account

• Updating the role for a user account

• Triggering a password reset for another user

• Managing your own user account

• About passwords, roles & permissions

Introduction

As a multi-company profile user with appropriate access to manage a linked company, you will encounter two different types of user when you switch into that company:

• Native company users. These users are directly associated with the linked company. They can log into their Patchworks dashboard with their own credentials.

• Team members with access. These users are directly associated with your company - they have (or can be given) permission to manage all aspects of a linked company.

Criteria for accessing linked company users

The following criteria must be met for someone to access and manage linked company users. You must be:

• A user associated with a multi-company profile AND

• Your multi-company profile is associated with linked companies. AND

• Your user account has a manager or administrator role. AND

• You have been granted permission to manage the linked company in question.

What next?

If you meet this criteria then you can switch into a company that you manage and:

• Work with company users

• Work with your team members

Related information

• Managing linked company profiles

• Duplicating a process flow between company profiles

Introduction

In Patchworks, an operation is counted whenever a request is made to send or receive a payload to/from an endpoint.

Crucially, we're not concerned with the number of items in the payload - we simply count the number of times a process flow requests to send or receive a payload. This might happen in several ways:

Considerations for your operations count

The number of payloads that a process flow sends or receives correlates to the number of operations logged. In the most straightforward case, you might create a process flow that always receives a single, unpaginated payload from one system and then sends a single, unpaginated payload to another system - this would be an operations count of 2.

However, as the complexity of process flows increases, so does the possibility that the number of payloads can increase during a process flow run. The most likely ways that this can happen are:

Paginated data. If you receive paginated data, you receive 1 payload for each page of data - so each page represents 1 receive operation. In short, an initial data pull can result in multiple receive operations. And if you receive multiple pages, it follows that multiple pages continue through the flow - which means (potentially) multiple pages will be sent into your destination system, resulting in multiple send operations.

Flow control. The flow control shape is typically used to batch an incoming payload into multiple, smaller payloads for onward processing. So, even if you start by receiving 1 payload, it's likely that you will be sending multiple payloads at the end of the flow.

Examples

The examples below show the impact that these scenarios can have on operation counts:

Introduction

Existing users can access their company profile and view all associated user accounts. If you are a user with an administrator or manager role, you can also access options to create and manage user accounts.

The steps

Follow the steps below to access the user list.

Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard using your own Patchworks credentials.

Step 2 Log into the Patchworks dashboard, then select settings | my company profile to access your profile page - for example:

...your company profile page is displayed with general details at the top and additional information in an extra panel below:

Step 3 Move down to the extra panel, where the users tab is displayed by default and any existing users are shown.

Introduction

The company insights page is designed to help you understand how your process flows are performing, and resource usage. At a glance you can see which process flows are most heavy on resources, drilling down to performance for connectors and shapes that are included within those process flows:

Need to know

• Company insights data is loaded at 1 a.m. every morning. This means that data for the current day will not be fully populated until 1 a.m. the following day.

Understanding the company insights page

There are five key areas to consider on the company insights page:

Performance snapshot panel

The snapshot panel provides summary metrics for the overall performance of your company's process flows, connectors used in process flows, and shapes used in process flows, for the selected month.

These metrics are summarised below:

Data selectors

You can view insights for process flows, connectors used in process flows, and shapes used in process flows (for the selected month) - click the required selector tab for whichever of these you want to view:

Changing the selection here updates all metrics and analysis for the new data type.

Combination chart

The combination chart shows aggregated CPU usage (line) and payload size (bars) by day, for the selected month:

You can interact with this chart in several ways:

Data breakdown panel

Beneath the combination chart, you'll find a breakdown of items (process flows, connectors, or shapes) included in summary metrics.

Process flow data

When process flow data is selected, you'll see a list of process flows that have been run within the selected month:

For each entry you can see the process flow name, CPU time used, the number of times used (i.e. run); data usage, operations usage, and score. If your overall score is low, this is a great place to pinpoint particular process flows with a low score and may benefit from a review.

To view more details for an entry, click the associated 'view' icon - here you'll see a breakdown for each version of the process flow that has been run (in the selected month):

Connector data

When connector data is selected, you'll see a list of connectors that have been used within the selected month:

For each entry you can see the connector name, CPU time used, the number of times used; data usage, operations usage, and score. If your overall score is low, this is a great place to pinpoint particular connectors with a low score and may benefit from a review.

To view more details for an entry, click the associated 'view' icon - here you'll see a breakdown of the specific connector endpoints and instances that were used (in the selected month):

Shape data

When shape data is selected, you'll see a list of shapes that have been used in process flows, within the selected month:

For each entry you can see the shape name, CPU time used, the number of times used; data usage, operation usage, and score. If your overall score is low, this is a great place to pinpoint a particular shape with a low score and may benefit from a review.

For script shapes, click the associated 'view' icon - here you'll see a breakdown for all scripts (and versions) that were used in the selected month:

Managed company insights

If you manage multiple linked companies (using our partner features bolt-on), you can choose to view aggregated insights for all your managed companies:

After selecting this option, you'll see a snapshot panel with aggregated totals for your linked/managed companies.

Related information

• Viewing logs

Introduction

If you are a user with an administrator or manager role, you can create new user accounts for your company profile. These users will be able to log into the dashboard for your company - the level of access that they have will depend on the role that you grant during the account creation process.

By default, new users are created with a user role. Provided that you have an administrator or manager role, you can change this if required - the following rules apply:

The steps

Step 1 Access the user list for your company profile.

Step 2 Move down to the extra section - you'll see a [company] users tab showing all existing user accounts. At a glance you can see each user's name, email address and role - for example:

Step 3 Click the create user button:

Step 4 Enter the person's name and email address:

Step 5 Click the save button. The user account is saved and an email is sent to the given address, with a link for the user to set their password.

Step 6 The user roles tab is displayed and you'll see that the new account is created - by default, new accounts are created with a user role:

If required, you can assign an alternative role by clicking the appropriate button.

Step 7 Save changes. Once the user has set their password (via the link provided in an email triggered in step 6) they can access the Patchworks dashboard for their own company.

Introduction

Data usage is calculated by aggregating the size of payloads that leave each shape in a process flow - these are known as payloads out.

In any process flow, data is received and passed from one shape to the next. Different shapes handle their incoming payload(s) in different ways - in some cases, data simply passes through (data in is the same as data out) but in others, data is manipulated and changed.

Understanding how these payloads are aggregated provides a clearer picture of your overall data usage.

What is a payload out?

A payload is the data generated/processed during the execution of any shapes within a flow. We refer to the payload out when it leaves that shape. This could be via any of the mechanisms below:

How data usage is calculated

To calculate data usage, all payload out sizes (from each shape in a process flow) are aggregated. Here's how this works:

Considerations for your data usage

Typically, the size of a payload that goes into a process flow shape is the same as the payload out size - payloads are not modified unless your flow includes actions that are designed to do this.

The table below summarises process flow shapes and their ability to change the size of incoming payloads:

Examples

The examples below show how data usage can be affected by different process flow shapes.

Introduction

This page details roles and permissions for key areas of the Patchworks platform. User accounts can be associated with one of four possible roles:

• Administrator

• Manager

• User

• Read-only

The tables below summarise dashboard access by role. It's important to be aware that available features are determined by your core subscription tier. So, although a user's role might be associated with permissions to access a given feature, that feature is only available if it's included in the active subscription tier - think of it as 'tier trumps role'. For example:

How are roles assigned to users?

When someone registers for a Patchworks account, they are assigned to the administrator role, automatically. This user can go on to create additional users and/or assign roles to other users as needed.

Roles & permissions summary

The tables below summarise access by role for key tasks within the Patchworks dashboard:

• Company permissions

• Company users

• Linked companies

• Marketplace

• Private marketplaces

• Connectors

• Connector instances

• Process flows

• Run logs

• General settings

• Custom scripts

• Cross-reference lookups

• Caches

• Inbound API

Company permissions

Company permissions refer to features that are available from settings > my company profile.

Company users

Company user permissions refer to features that are available from settings > my company profile > extra > users.

Company insights

Company insights refers to your account summary company insights page.

Linked companies

Permissions in this section are only relevant if you use Patchworks to manage multiple companies - i.e. you have a multi-company profile with one or more linked companies.

Marketplace

Marketplace permissions refer to features that are available from the marketplace page.

Private marketplaces

Private marketplace permissions refer to features available to work with private marketplace resources.

Connectors

Connector permissions refer to features that are available from the my connectors page.

Connector instances

Connector instance permissions refer to features that are available from the my connectors page.

Process flows

Process flow permissions refer to features that are available from the process flows page.

Run logs

Run logs permissions refer to features that are available from the run logs page.

General settings

General settings permissions refer to features that are available from the settings page.

Custom scripts

Custom script permissions refer to features that are available from the scripts page.

Cross-reference lookups

Cross-reference lookup permissions refer to features that are available from the cross-reference lookups page.

Caches

Cache permissions refer to features that are available from the data caches page.

Inbound API

Introduction

Having registered from a Patchworks account - or having been added to a company profile as a user - a user account is created for you. If required, you can access your account settings and:

• Update your name and/or email address

• Enable/disable two-factor authentication

• Change your password

Accessing your account settings

To access your account settings, click your login name in the top, right-hand corner of the dashboard, then select the account settings option:

Changing your account name or email address

Step 1 Access your account settings page.

Step 2 Update information in the general panel as needed:

Step 3 Click the save button.

Enabling/disabling two-factor authentication

If you want to enable/disable two-factor authentication for your account, move down to the extra panel and select the multi-factor authentication tab:

For more information please see our two-factor authentication (2FA) page.

Changing your password

Step 1 Click your login name in the top, right-hand corner of the dashboard, then select the change password option:

Step 2 Complete the change password form by entering your existing password, followed by the new password required and confirmation of this:

Step 3 Click the submit button to save changes.

Introduction

If you are a user with an administrator or manager role, you can trigger a password reset email for other users in your company.

When this is done, a reset email is sent to the email address for the user, containing a reset link. Password reset links are valid for 24 hours. After this, another password reset must be triggered so a new link is emailed.

The steps

Step 1 Access the user list for your company profile.

Step 2 Move down to the extra section - you'll see a [company] users tab showing all existing user accounts. At a glance you can see each user's name, email address and role - click the name of the user requiring a password reset:

Step 3 Click the reset password button at the top of the page:

Step 4 The user will receive an email from Patchworks which includes a link to change their password.

Introduction

When a new user account is created, assigning them a role is part of the initial account creation process. If you are a user with an administrator or manager role, you can change the role(s) for an existing user account - the following rules apply:

The steps

Step 1 Access the user list for your company profile.

Step 2 Move down to the extra section - you'll see a [company] users tab showing all existing user accounts. At a glance you can see each user's name, email address and role - click the name of the user that you want to update:

Step 3 Move down to the roles tab and assign (and/or remove) roles as needed using the appropriate assign role / remove role buttons:

Step 4 Save changes.

Introduction

You can trigger a password reset email for another team member in your organisation, from your own company profile.

The steps

Step 1 that you want to update and .

Step 2 Click the name of the user that requires a password reset:

Step 3 Click the password reset option at the top of the page:

Step 4 This user will receive a Patchworks email containing instructions to reset their own password.

Introduction

If your user account is associated with a , you can remove other team member accounts from your company profile.

The steps

Step 1 .

Step 2 Click the name of the user account that you want to remove:

Step 3 Click the 'delete' icon at the top of the page:

Step 4 When prompted, confirm this removal.

Introduction

If your Patchworks user account is associated with a multi-company profile and you have been , you are a team member with access.

As such you can perform the following tasks for other team members (i.e. other users associated with your agency/partner profile):