Simpro API: how to get access, what it covers, and how to fill the gaps

Simpro is a large system, and most owners who ask about its API are really after one of four things: getting accounting to sync automatically, pulling a report the screens don't show, linking Simpro to another tool, or building a dashboard for the owner. This page covers how to actually get access, what each of Simpro's connection options does, and where each one stops, so you don't commission a build for something a free Zapier trigger already covers.

Simpro doesn't publish a price list, so this page names plans and add-ons without dollar figures. For cost, read my Simpro pricing guide.

What is the Simpro API, and how do you actually get access to it?

The Simpro Developer Center (developer.simprogroup.com) is where a developer registers to connect to Simpro. It includes a Getting Started guide, code examples in several languages, a full API documentation index, and a developer forum. The API is organized by area: People (contacts, customers, employees, sites), Projects (jobs, quotes, leads), Materials (catalogs and inventory), Payments and invoicing (invoices, customer payments, credit notes), Setup (accounts, tax codes, teams, zones), Reports (job reports), and a broader "Others" group covering accounting, companies, schedules, tasks and work orders.

To actually get in:

1. Register a developer app in the Developer Center.
2. Pick an authentication flow. Simpro's documentation supports several OAuth-style grant types: Client Credentials (best for a server-to-server integration with no user sitting at a screen), Resource Owner Credentials, Authorization Code (the flow you'd use for something a person logs into), and a simpler API Key option for straightforward scripts. Which one your developer picks depends on whether a human needs to authorize the connection or it's a background job.
3. Read the API Call Limits and Web Hooks pages before planning anything that runs often. The documentation index lists both, but the limit itself is on that dedicated page, not the index, so don't assume a number without checking it directly for your account.
4. Confirm your plan actually includes it. Simpro's pricing page lists "Open API" in its integrations table, and its own FieldPulse comparison page gives Simpro a check mark for "API and accounting automation." Neither one states plainly whether API access is bundled into the Base Plan by default or whether it's something you have to request and possibly pay for. Get this confirmed in writing before a developer starts, including who is billed for it if anyone is.

How does Simpro integrate with QuickBooks and other accounting tools?

Simpro's own site states it connects directly with QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB and Sage, plus payment tools like Stripe, and names suppliers such as ADI Global, Reece and Rexel and marketing tools like Podium, HubSpot and Mailchimp as integrated partners. What isn't spelled out anywhere public is exactly what moves in a QuickBooks sync, in which direction, or how often. Before relying on it, get four things confirmed directly with Simpro:

1. Which records sync: invoices, payments, customers, supplier bills, or all four.
2. Whether job cost and retention values actually reach QuickBooks, or only top-line invoice totals.
3. How often the sync runs (real-time, hourly, nightly).
4. How a failed sync shows up, and who's responsible for fixing it.

Ask for a test month against a copy of your books if that's possible. Simpro's own marketplace lists hundreds of partner integrations, so check there for your specific accounting setup before paying for anything custom. If totals still disagree after a sync, the guide on why job software and QuickBooks numbers disagree explains the usual causes.

Does Simpro work with Zapier?

Yes, Simpro has its own Zapier app. The current trigger list is broader than most write-ups mention: new company customer, new individual customer, new job, new quote, new schedule (covering a job, lead, quote or activity schedule being created), and new site, plus a separate Quote Status Changed trigger (Zapier allows up to a minute for a status change to arrive) and several "Updated" triggers for customers, jobs, quotes and schedules. Actions include creating customers, contacts, leads, sites, service jobs, service quotes and schedule blocks, attaching a file to a job, updating a job, and searching for an existing customer, job, quote, schedule or site.

That covers the common simple workflows well: a web form lead creates a lead in Simpro, a new job adds a row to a spreadsheet, a quote status change pings a sales tool. What it still doesn't have is a trigger for invoices or payments, so for anything involving money moving, you're back to the direct accounting sync or the API.

What is Simpro Data Feed?

The name is misleading. Data Feed does not send data out of Simpro to a report; it's a rules-based tool that pulls data in, from emails, attachments, website forms, Simpro Digital Forms and other integrations, then creates or updates records inside Simpro, such as new leads, quote updates, job changes or generated invoices. The Base Plan includes three data feeds, with additional feeds sold as a paid add-on, and Simpro's own Professional Services team helps set them up.

Use Data Feed to cut down on retyping information from an inbox into Simpro. Don't expect it to build you a dashboard; that's a different tool entirely.

What reports does Simpro have, and where do they stop?

Simpro's pricing page lists reporting and business intelligence as part of the Base Plan, across profit and loss summaries, technician activity, stock value, work in progress, customer service, automated reports and customized reports. There's also a separate BI Reporting Premium option listed with no price and no clear statement of what it adds over the base reports.

Can I use Power BI with Simpro?

Yes, through two marketplace partner apps, not a Simpro-built connector. SyncEzy's Power BI integration extracts data from Simpro into Power BI so dashboards update automatically, and the listing claims it reaches all 510+ data tables in Simpro, more than Simpro's own API or any other method. Tugger offers pre-built Simpro reports for Power BI that you can customize, and can also pull in data from other sources like Xero. Both are available in the US, UK and Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and neither publishes a price.

That SyncEzy claim is worth taking seriously if you're scoping a custom build: it means the documented API, built for apps and integrations, may genuinely expose less data than a connector working at a lower level. If a report you want seems impossible through the API, a Power BI connector might reach it when the API can't, so check that route before assuming a custom build is the only option.

What is a retention report in Simpro?

Simpro's own site describes financial progress billing and retention tracking against contract terms, but doesn't name one single built-in retention report. Retention is the share of an invoice held back until the contract says it's due. Ask your Simpro contact specifically which report shows retention held versus retention due on active projects, or plan to build that view from invoice data through the API if nothing built-in covers it.

Which option should I pick?

What you want	Start with
Accounting to flow automatically	The direct QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB or Sage link
Simple tasks between apps	Zapier
Less manual typing from emails and forms	Data Feed
Owner-facing dashboards	A Power BI connector from the marketplace (SyncEzy or Tugger)
A custom view, portal or AI workflow	The API

Start at the top of that list and stop as soon as the problem is actually solved. Most owners who contact a developer about "the Simpro API" really just need Zapier or a Power BI connector, and I'll tell you that plainly if it's true for you.

When is a custom build on the API worth it?

A custom build earns its cost when the report mixes data that no partner app joins together, for example job profit by crew combined with lead source from a separate CRM, or a weekly owner summary emailed automatically, or a customer-facing page showing live quote and job status. A developer reads jobs, quotes and invoices through the API, joins them with your other systems, and puts the result wherever you actually look, a dashboard, a scheduled email, or a portal.

Your office keeps using Simpro exactly as before. This route is usually cheaper than moving to a different platform, and it skips a new training cycle entirely. If you're still deciding whether to stay on Simpro at all rather than just filling a gap, that's a different question covered in my Simpro alternatives guide.

My suggested order: try the built-in reports first, test one Power BI connector for a month, and only then ask a developer to scope a small, specific build on the API if a view still doesn't exist anywhere.

How I'd approach this

When someone comes to me saying they need "the Simpro API," I usually find they need one specific report or one specific sync, not a general-purpose integration layer. I start by confirming with Simpro, in writing, that the account actually has API access and who's responsible for that access, since the pricing page is genuinely ambiguous on this point.

From there, the build itself is usually small: read the handful of record types that matter (jobs, quotes, invoices, retention), join them with whatever else you run, QuickBooks or a CRM most often, and put the result where the owner will actually look at it. I'd rather tell you a Power BI connector or Zapier already does the job than quote a custom build you don't need. The Service Fusion API guide walks through the same access and integration questions for a different trade system.