> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://elastly.io/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ingest overview

> Push your catalog, customers, quotes, and orders to Elastly from a homegrown ERP or storefront, in batches you control.

If you don't run one of the systems Elastly connects to directly, you push your data to it instead.
You send Elastly your products, customers, quotes, and orders over the Ingest API, and it prices from
them the same way it prices from a native connector. This is what the SDK's connector framework uses
under the hood.

<Info>
  Ingest pushes data **into** Elastly. To pull approved prices back out and apply them in your own
  system, see [Write-backs](/docs/api/writebacks). To have the SDK run the whole flow for you, see
  [Build your own connector](/docs/sdks/build-a-connector).
</Info>

## Before you start

1. In the dashboard, open [Integrations](https://app.elastly.io/integrations) and connect **Custom ERP** or **Custom Storefront**. There
   are no credentials to paste. Custom ERP accepts quotes; Custom Storefront is catalog and orders
   only.
2. Under [Settings → API keys](https://app.elastly.io/settings), create a key with the **Connector** scope, and send it as a bearer
   token on every request.

<Warning>
  **One connector per workspace.** A workspace holds a single connector at a time. You cannot push
  data to a workspace already connected to NetSuite, Shopify, or another provider.
</Warning>

## How a batch works

You group records into a **batch**, stage them entity by entity, then commit. Committing hands the
batch to Elastly, which drains it into your workspace in the background and folds the outcomes into
pricing. Until you commit, a batch holds nothing that affects pricing, so you can build it up over as
many requests as you need.

<Steps titleSize="h3">
  <Step title="Open a batch">
    [Open a batch](/docs/api/endpoints/create-ingest-batch) to get an id to stage against.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stage your records">
    [Stage](/docs/api/endpoints/stage-ingest-records) up to 1000 records of one entity at a time. Products
    first, then customers, then quotes and orders.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Commit">
    [Commit](/docs/api/endpoints/commit-ingest-batch) to seal the batch and let Elastly drain it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check status">
    [Poll the batch](/docs/api/endpoints/get-ingest-batch-status) until the drain finishes, then read what
    landed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  **Stage in dependency order.** Send products first, then customers, then the quotes and orders that
  reference them. Elastly resolves each quote and order line back to the customer and product you sent
  by their `externalId`, so those have to exist in the batch first.
</Note>

## What each entity carries

The full field list for each entity is on the [stage records](/docs/api/endpoints/stage-ingest-records)
page, generated from the API contract. The essentials:

* **Product.** `sku`, `name`, `category`, `costCents`, and `currentPriceCents` are required. Cost is
  the margin basis, so it is never optional. Optional `mapCents`, `floorCents`, and `ceilingCents`
  carry per-product guardrails in.
* **Customer.** `externalId` and `name` are required. `segment` is your own label, and Elastly derives
  its segment from it.
* **Quote.** Carries its `outcome` (`open`, `won`, `lost`) so Elastly can learn. Each line must echo
  the `pricingDecisionId` from the price Elastly gave you, so a won or lost line ties back to the exact
  recommendation.
* **Order.** Realized, line-level sales with `soldPriceCents`. Link an order to the quote it closed
  with `sourceQuoteExternalId`.

## When you're over the SKU cap

If a product batch would push you past your plan's SKU cap, Elastly ingests up to the cap and reports
the remainder as `skippedOverCap` on the batch status, rather than failing the whole batch. Nothing is
dropped without telling you.