Backend developers for APIs and integrations

Our backend developers build APIs, integrations and data systems that are easy to run and can keep being developed for years. Backend work is rarely about one application on its own. For Norwegian businesses, much of it is getting systems to talk to each other, so the online shop updates the accounts automatically or the customer portal pulls data straight from Altinn, the government's portal for business reporting.

We use mature technology such as Laravel, Node.js, Python and PostgreSQL. We also know the payment, identity, public sector and accounting integrations that almost every Norwegian business needs. Everyone on our team has more than ten years of experience.

When do you need a backend developer?

A typical sign is staff typing the same information into two systems, or someone downloading a report every morning and entering it somewhere else. Another is a new app or partner that needs data which currently only lives in an internal system. That's when you need an API, an integration or both.

Other times the system itself is the problem. The database is slow, nobody dares touch the code, or the person who built it has left. In that case we start with a review before we write any new code.

Sometimes you don't need us at all. If your online shop and accounting system already have a ready-made connector that does what you need, it's often better and cheaper than anything we'd build, and we'll tell you so.

Integrations that cope with failures

Integrations are often what takes longest in a project, and what causes the most trouble in production. You only control one side. The other system can go down, respond slowly, change its format or limit how many calls you're allowed to make.

So we build integrations on the assumption that the other side will fail:

• Queues: calls to external systems run in queues. Users don't have to wait, and a call that fails is retried.
• Duplicate messages: if Vipps or another system sends the same webhook twice, you still only get one order.
• Rate limits: heavy synchronisations are spread out, so we stay within the limits even at month-end.
• Logging and alerts: we can see which calls fail and why, and we're alerted before users notice anything.

Vipps integration

Setting up Vipps, Norway's most widely used mobile payment app, to take payments is easy. The harder part is everything around the payment: abandoned purchases, refunds and partial captures. We build integrations with the Vipps MobilePay APIs for one-off payments and recurring charges, and they handle all of that.

Webhooks from Vipps update stock levels in real time, and every payment is matched to the right order, so the accounts reconcile down to the last krone. If a call fails, the queue tries again, so a temporary error doesn't mean a lost payment.

BankID integration

If you handle sensitive data or sign agreements digitally, we use BankID, the Norwegian electronic ID, with OIDC (OpenID Connect) for sign-in and PAdES for legally binding signatures. We know the pitfalls around session handling and privacy. We make sure the integration meets the assurance level you need, whether that's "substantial" or "high".

We have our own packages for Vipps MobilePay and BankID. The basics are in place from day one, so the time can go into what's specific to your system.

Altinn 3 and Maskinporten

Altinn 3 is the new platform for dealing with the Norwegian public sector. We help businesses automate their reporting and retrieve data through Maskinporten, the government's service for system-to-system access. The system can create forms, prefill them with data you already have and send them for signing. That saves your staff many hours of manual work.

You have to apply for access to Maskinporten and to each individual service, so we send those applications early in the project.

Tripletex, PowerOffice and accounting

The accounting system is the company's single source of truth. We connect your business systems directly to Tripletex and PowerOffice, two widely used Norwegian accounting systems, so nothing has to be entered twice. When an order is completed in your business system, the invoice is created automatically in the accounts.

Accounting system APIs limit how many calls you can make, and a lot of data arrives at once at month-end. We put heavy synchronisations in queues and spread the calls out, so the system holds up when the load is highest. If shipping is part of the same flow, we've also connected systems to Bring, PostNord and Porterbuddy.

API design

An API is a contract with everyone who uses it, whether that's a mobile app, a partner or another system. We build REST and GraphQL APIs with:

• Documentation: an OpenAPI description that always matches the code.
• Versioning: new versions can ship without breaking existing clients.
• Predictable design: the same conventions for names, error messages and pagination across the whole API.
• Access control: each client only gets access to the data it needs.

Choosing backend technology

New backend frameworks keep appearing. We let most of them pass and choose technology that's mature, widely used and still easy to hire developers for in five years.

• PHP and Laravel: for many businesses, getting started quickly matters most. Laravel has ready-made building blocks for authentication, queues, email and database work. In our experience we build secure business applications in about half the time it takes on heavier platforms. Read more about Laravel development.
• Python: when the system has to process large amounts of data, run heavy calculations or use AI, Python is the obvious choice. With FastAPI or Django we build APIs that connect your data to machine learning models.
• Node.js and TypeScript: when your team already works in TypeScript, or the service mostly moves data between systems, we use Node.js with Express or Fastify.

We also have experience with Go and .NET, and we're happy to keep working in what you already have.

PostgreSQL and the data model

Whatever the language, we prefer PostgreSQL as the database. It handles everything from ordinary tables to JSON documents and geographic data, so you don't have to run several databases side by side. Redis takes care of caching and queues, and we bring in Elasticsearch when search has to cover a lot of data.

The data model has a big effect on quality. When the database itself enforces what counts as valid data, the application code gets simpler, and that means fewer bugs and faster systems. We change the database with migrations that are tested against a copy of production data before they run.

Security and privacy by design

GDPR and the Norwegian Data Protection Authority keep raising the bar, so we build every system with privacy by design. In practice we:

• Minimise data: we don't store more than we need.
• Control access: role-based access control means a case worker can't see what only an administrator should see.
• Encrypt: data is encrypted both at rest in the database and in transit over the network.
• Log carefully: we log who does what, but not sensitive personal data, so incidents can be traced.

During development we follow the basic principles for ICT security from NSM, the Norwegian National Security Authority, and OWASP's recommendations. That way the system holds up as threats change. Personal data is stored in the EU/EEA. If you need an outside assessment, our IT security team can help with reviews and testing.

Taking over and modernising backends

Many businesses have a backend whose original developer has left. We start with a technical review of the code, database, integrations and hosting. Then we prioritise what gives you stable operation, better performance and easier development. It's often wise to pay down technical debt before building anything new.

Others have old systems the business depends on, but which are expensive to maintain and hard to change. Replacing everything at once rarely goes well. We often recommend the strangler fig pattern: we build new modules alongside the old system and move functionality across piece by piece. That might mean invoicing first, then order processing and finally the customer register. The new system gradually takes over, and in the end the old one can be switched off. The risk is much lower, the first delivery is already useful, and you don't have to wait two years for one big new system.

What affects the price?

Our hourly rate starts at NOK 1,500, and projects with a clear scope get a fixed price. The cost of backend development depends mostly on:

• The number of integrations: each external system has its own API, its own test environment and its own quirks.
• The quality of the APIs you connect to: a well-documented API is quicker to work with than one we have to explore call by call.
• The data model: lots of roles, rules and relationships mean more work.
• Data that needs migrating: moving data from an existing system takes cleaning and testing.

After a short discovery phase you get an estimate, so you know what you're getting before we start.

How we work

If we see that something can be solved more simply than the requirements suggest, we'll say so.

• Tests: automated tests for every important flow, with Pest and PHPStan in our Laravel projects, run before every deploy.
• Code review: another senior developer reads the code before it goes to production.
• Documentation: we document APIs, integrations and the hosting setup, so the system can be handed over to others.
• Deploys without downtime: new versions roll out on Kubernetes without users noticing. See how we did it for a financial company.

You won't get juniors on the project. We write code that other developers can understand and build on, because we want clients to stay with us because they're happy, not because they're stuck.

Our stack

These are the tools we use in most backend projects, layer by layer.