Customers can use the YouatWork API free of charge, but they often ask what it can be used for...this guide will give a few case study examples of what our APIs can be used for.

First, let's give some background information on what an API is. Essentially, our API can let you insert, update, read and gather information from our database from another application. You can make two or more systems talk to each other to share data, and save hours of manual administration and therefore costs! You will need to work with the 3rd party system provider, or your internal IT teams to develop your system to use our API. 

It might be worthwhile to remember a few small pieces of technical jargon:

• "POST" request - A POST request is used to create data that doesn't exist on the YouatWork system
• "PUT" request - A PUT request is used to update data that already exists on the YouatWork system
• "GET" request - A GET request is used to read and gather data that already exists on the YouatWork System

YouatWork has an API for Users (aka employees) and another for Selections. 

Case Study 1: Creating and updating user information from an HR or Payroll system

If you have an HR or Payroll system, you could program those systems so when you add a new joiner to them, the information is automatically sent to the YouatWork Users API and it creates a user; this would be a "POST" request.

Likewise, when employee data is amended, or someone is made a leaver, your system could trigger a request to our Users API to update the employee; this would be a "PUT" request.

Rather than program your systems to create or update users on each action individually, you could, depending on the system's capability, create an hourly/daily/weekly process that checks for any new joiners or updates to existing members, then send those updates to YouatWork Users API.

Using the API to create or update users will save a lot of manual administration.

Case Study 2: Get payroll deductions for benefits selected on the YouatWork portal

You can use the API to check each month/week whether there have been any new benefit selections for any of your employees, then automatically put the costs into the employee's Payroll. This would be a "GET" request to our Selections API to attain all selections for your employees, with your teams then programming your payroll system to take that data and put it into employees' payroll automatically.

Using the Selections API in this way will save many hours of manual work for payroll

Case Study 3: Show an employee's benefit selections externally, on an HR system

Using a GET request to our selections API, you could have your team create a nice interface on an HR system that lets an employee see all of their selected benefits.

Great, how can we get started?

Whilst it is free to use, we do need to authorise the use by customers and generate them with an API key and password, plus the technical documentation for your development team to begin. Please contact your account manager to start the process.