Finding that invoices I’ve created through your API aren’t showing a postal
address, for example #9825636 - could you have a look please? 
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your query,
so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable to see
a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that you’ve
created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal address on
the invoice in the app?
Thanks,
-J
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting back to me.
This isn’t really about trust, it’s about data integrity and all that
business-level stuff. From a user’s point of view, they don’t really care
if discrepancies were introduced via the API or not, and even if the user
and the developer are the same person, the application still has to rely on
the data it has access to being consistent. I’m sure you appreciate the
problems that can be caused by having one validation rule in one code path,
and a different rule via another code path 
Anyway, as to your invoice importing tool, is the problem here that the
tool created and reconciled the invoices before importing full details to
the contacts?
-JOn Sunday, 7 September 2014 19:14:48 UTC+1, Wes wrote:
Hi Jonathan, yes - a way to just set/edit the invoice address would be a
big help!I understand the point about protecting users, which your web app should
certainly do, but surely there should be a little more trust that those
using the API are updating an invoice address (and everything else they’ve
access to) with good reason?If it helps at all, my use case is a tool to import invoices into
FreeAgent.Cheers,
WesOn Tuesday, 2 September 2014 17:45:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Ah ok, yes that does help and makes sense thanks.
Great! Glad we got to the bottom of it.
Two things though:
- your documentation doesn’t mention this! :-/
No, you’re right. Our API documentation isn’t great (we know this and
we’re looking to address it), but FreeAgent is a complicated app with many
rich relationships between entities. Documenting “how the app works” in
detail is beyond the scope of the API reference, so we have to rely on some
reasonable familiarity with the app itself among our developers.I do agree, though, that we could and should do more to assist developer
discovery of the “why” when something goes wrong, or doesn’t do what they
expect.
- any suggestions for how I’d (not manually) fix/add the address for
~400 invoices that are already paid and explained?I’ll have a look into this, but honestly not that I can think of off the
top of my head. Invoices are legal documents, and if you’ve had them issued
to clients and then paid, going back and altering what was issued after the
fact is something that FreeAgent actively tries to protect users from doing.The naive version of a fix would be to use the API to grab the invoices,
grab the explanations, store them in memory, delete them, mark the invoices
as draft, mark them back as sent, then re-explain them, but I suspect
you’re looking for a more straightforward way to “just edit the invoice”.Sorry to come back with lots of negativity, here — if there’s anything
else I can help with, let me know.-J
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s address?
-JOn Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes wes@dejumbled.com wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the
postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Hi Jonathan, yes - a way to just set/edit the invoice address would be a
big help!
I understand the point about protecting users, which your web app should
certainly do, but surely there should be a little more trust that those
using the API are updating an invoice address (and everything else they’ve
access to) with good reason?
If it helps at all, my use case is a tool to import invoices into FreeAgent.
Cheers,
WesOn Tuesday, 2 September 2014 17:45:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Ah ok, yes that does help and makes sense thanks.
Great! Glad we got to the bottom of it.
Two things though:
- your documentation doesn’t mention this! :-/
No, you’re right. Our API documentation isn’t great (we know this and
we’re looking to address it), but FreeAgent is a complicated app with many
rich relationships between entities. Documenting “how the app works” in
detail is beyond the scope of the API reference, so we have to rely on some
reasonable familiarity with the app itself among our developers.I do agree, though, that we could and should do more to assist developer
discovery of the “why” when something goes wrong, or doesn’t do what they
expect.
- any suggestions for how I’d (not manually) fix/add the address for
~400 invoices that are already paid and explained?I’ll have a look into this, but honestly not that I can think of off the
top of my head. Invoices are legal documents, and if you’ve had them issued
to clients and then paid, going back and altering what was issued after the
fact is something that FreeAgent actively tries to protect users from doing.The naive version of a fix would be to use the API to grab the invoices,
grab the explanations, store them in memory, delete them, mark the invoices
as draft, mark them back as sent, then re-explain them, but I suspect
you’re looking for a more straightforward way to “just edit the invoice”.Sorry to come back with lots of negativity, here — if there’s anything
else I can help with, let me know.-J
Don’t believe so, but not 100% sure - how does that matter?On Monday, 1 September 2014 13:00:32 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Great, thanks. Taking a quick look, I can see that the contact was updated
after the invoice was created and marked as sent. Can I ask if that update
was to add the postal address to the contact?Cheers,
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 12:57 PM, Wes <w...@dejumbled.com <javascript:>> wrote:
Contact address.
On Monday, 1 September 2014 12:56:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s address?
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see
the postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Makes sense, thanks!
Yes - that’s exactly the problem - was hoping for a simple solution, but
will be looking at workarounds and your suggestion later today :)On Monday, 8 September 2014 14:35:14 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting back to me.
This isn’t really about trust, it’s about data integrity and all that
business-level stuff. From a user’s point of view, they don’t really care
if discrepancies were introduced via the API or not, and even if the user
and the developer are the same person, the application still has to rely on
the data it has access to being consistent. I’m sure you appreciate the
problems that can be caused by having one validation rule in one code path,
and a different rule via another code pathAnyway, as to your invoice importing tool, is the problem here that the
tool created and reconciled the invoices before importing full details to
the contacts?-J
On Sunday, 7 September 2014 19:14:48 UTC+1, Wes wrote:
Hi Jonathan, yes - a way to just set/edit the invoice address would be a
big help!I understand the point about protecting users, which your web app should
certainly do, but surely there should be a little more trust that those
using the API are updating an invoice address (and everything else they’ve
access to) with good reason?If it helps at all, my use case is a tool to import invoices into
FreeAgent.Cheers,
WesOn Tuesday, 2 September 2014 17:45:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Ah ok, yes that does help and makes sense thanks.
Great! Glad we got to the bottom of it.
Two things though:
- your documentation doesn’t mention this! :-/
No, you’re right. Our API documentation isn’t great (we know this and
we’re looking to address it), but FreeAgent is a complicated app with many
rich relationships between entities. Documenting “how the app works” in
detail is beyond the scope of the API reference, so we have to rely on some
reasonable familiarity with the app itself among our developers.I do agree, though, that we could and should do more to assist developer
discovery of the “why” when something goes wrong, or doesn’t do what they
expect.
- any suggestions for how I’d (not manually) fix/add the address for
~400 invoices that are already paid and explained?I’ll have a look into this, but honestly not that I can think of off the
top of my head. Invoices are legal documents, and if you’ve had them issued
to clients and then paid, going back and altering what was issued after the
fact is something that FreeAgent actively tries to protect users from doing.The naive version of a fix would be to use the API to grab the invoices,
grab the explanations, store them in memory, delete them, mark the invoices
as draft, mark them back as sent, then re-explain them, but I suspect
you’re looking for a more straightforward way to “just edit the invoice”.Sorry to come back with lots of negativity, here — if there’s anything
else I can help with, let me know.-J
Contact address.On Monday, 1 September 2014 12:56:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s address?
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes <w...@dejumbled.com <javascript:>> wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the
postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Hi Wes,
Great, thanks. Taking a quick look, I can see that the contact was updated
after the invoice was created and marked as sent. Can I ask if that update
was to add the postal address to the contact?
Cheers,
-JOn Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 12:57 PM, Wes wes@dejumbled.com wrote:
Contact address.
On Monday, 1 September 2014 12:56:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s address?
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see
the postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Hi Wes,
Thanks for that. The reason I’m asking is that the invoice will store the
address of the contact at the time it is marked as sent. This is so that,
if you sent an invoice last year (say), and the contact changes address,
the old invoice will still correctly show where they were sent to, while
newly sent ones will show the new address.
In your case, if the invoice was created, marked it as sent, and then the
contact had its postal address added, the invoice would still show the
contact’s address as it was when it was marked as sent (i.e. empty).
If this is indeed the problem, you should be able to have the invoice show
the new address details by marking it as draft and then marking it as sent
again. New invoices should also pick up the correct contact address.
Hope this helps!
-JOn Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 10:25 AM, Wes wes@dejumbled.com wrote:
Don’t believe so, but not 100% sure - how does that matter?
On Monday, 1 September 2014 13:00:32 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Great, thanks. Taking a quick look, I can see that the contact was
updated after the invoice was created and marked as sent. Can I ask if that
update was to add the postal address to the contact?Cheers,
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 12:57 PM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Contact address.
On Monday, 1 September 2014 12:56:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s address?
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see
the postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Ah ok, yes that does help and makes sense thanks.
Two things though:
- your documentation doesn’t mention this! :-/
- any suggestions for how I’d (not manually) fix/add the address for ~400
invoices that are already paid and explained?
Cheers,
WesOn Tuesday, 2 September 2014 11:11:07 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for that. The reason I’m asking is that the invoice will store the
address of the contact at the time it is marked as sent. This is so that,
if you sent an invoice last year (say), and the contact changes address,
the old invoice will still correctly show where they were sent to, while
newly sent ones will show the new address.In your case, if the invoice was created, marked it as sent, and then
the contact had its postal address added, the invoice would still show the
contact’s address as it was when it was marked as sent (i.e. empty).If this is indeed the problem, you should be able to have the invoice show
the new address details by marking it as draft and then marking it as sent
again. New invoices should also pick up the correct contact address.Hope this helps!
-J
On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 10:25 AM, Wes <w...@dejumbled.com <javascript:>> wrote:
Don’t believe so, but not 100% sure - how does that matter?
On Monday, 1 September 2014 13:00:32 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Great, thanks. Taking a quick look, I can see that the contact was
updated after the invoice was created and marked as sent. Can I ask if that
update was to add the postal address to the contact?Cheers,
-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 12:57 PM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Contact address.
On Monday, 1 September 2014 12:56:50 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Can I check if you mean the contact address, or your business’s
address?-J
On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Wes w...@dejumbled.com wrote:
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see
the postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your
query, so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable
to see a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that
you’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal
address on the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774–
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Jonathan Barrett, Senior Engineer
FreeAgent: Accounting software, simplified
www.freeagent.com+44 (0)131 447 0011
Follow us on Twitter: @freeagent https://twitter.com/freeagent
FreeAgent Central Ltd, 40 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh EH3 8JB
Registered in Scotland SC316774
Ah ok, yes that does help and makes sense thanks.
Great! Glad we got to the bottom of it.
Two things though:
- your documentation doesn’t mention this! :-/
No, you’re right. Our API documentation isn’t great (we know this and we’re
looking to address it), but FreeAgent is a complicated app with many rich
relationships between entities. Documenting “how the app works” in detail
is beyond the scope of the API reference, so we have to rely on some
reasonable familiarity with the app itself among our developers.
I do agree, though, that we could and should do more to assist developer
discovery of the “why” when something goes wrong, or doesn’t do what they
expect.
- any suggestions for how I’d (not manually) fix/add the address for ~400
invoices that are already paid and explained?
I’ll have a look into this, but honestly not that I can think of off the
top of my head. Invoices are legal documents, and if you’ve had them issued
to clients and then paid, going back and altering what was issued after the
fact is something that FreeAgent actively tries to protect users from doing.
The naive version of a fix would be to use the API to grab the invoices,
grab the explanations, store them in memory, delete them, mark the invoices
as draft, mark them back as sent, then re-explain them, but I suspect
you’re looking for a more straightforward way to “just edit the invoice”.
Sorry to come back with lots of negativity, here — if there’s anything else
I can help with, let me know.
-J
Hi Jonathan, I’ve created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the
postal address on the invoice in the app.On Monday, 1 September 2014 11:06:40 UTC+1, Jonathan Barrett wrote:
Hi Wes,
Thanks for getting in touch. There are a few ways I could read your query,
so could I ask you to confirm if this is a case of you being unable to see
a postal address via a request to the API, or if it’s a case that you’ve
created an invoice via the API, and then can’t see the postal address on
the invoice in the app?Thanks,
-J