This guide is for developers connecting an outside system, such as an ERP, warehouse management system, PIM or custom script, to the Acenda API. It covers where to send requests, how to authenticate, the difference between orders and Ship Advices, and the standard workflow for retrieving, acknowledging and fulfilling Ship Advices.

Before you start: You'll need an Acenda admin login with access to ADMINISTRATION > Users, and someone on your team who can make authenticated HTTP requests and read JSON responses. Don't want to write code? See the no-code option further down.

API endpoint

All requests go to this base URL:

https://api.acenda.io/v1/

The v1 in the URL is the API version. The "v3.2" in this guide's title is the guide's own revision number, not a different API version.

For complete endpoint details, parameters and example responses, see the Acenda API documentation in Postman. Treat Postman as the source of truth for request and response formats.

Authentication

Every request needs these headers:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN
X-Astur-Organization: YOUR_ORG_NAME
Content-Type: application/json

You get the access token through a standard OAuth 2.0 client credentials exchange, using a Client ID and Client Secret (not a username and password). You can create these yourself under ADMINISTRATION > Users, on the API Keys tab:

Click Create New Key.
Enter a Name and Description (for example, which system the key is for). Save.
Copy the Client ID and Client Secret right away. The secret is only shown in full immediately after you create or regenerate a key.

Need a new secret later? Click Regenerate. It keeps the same Client ID but issues a new secret, so update the secret everywhere the key is used. For the exact token request and the full endpoint reference, see How to use the Acenda API.

Tip: If you work with outside contractors, agencies or third-party developers, create a separate API key for each one. That makes it easier to limit, revoke and audit access, and to tell whose integration is calling the API if something goes wrong.

Orders vs. Ship Advices

In Acenda, what many platforms call an "order" is called a Ship Advice. A single customer order can become more than one Ship Advice. For example, if a 3-item order ships two items from Warehouse A and one item from Warehouse B, Acenda creates two Ship Advices so each warehouse gets the correct fulfillment instructions.

See How to add and manage warehouses for how warehouses drive that split. Build your order and fulfillment integration against the Ship Advice endpoints, not a generic order endpoint.

The Ship Advice workflow

Most integrations run the same loop:

Get new Ship Advices.
Send a GET request to the Ship Advice endpoint.
Confirm the current filter parameters in the Postman documentation before you build. Ship Advices carry fields such as fulfillment_provider_id and warehouse_id that you can use to narrow results to your warehouses.
Save what you need from the response in your own system.
Acknowledge each Ship Advice once your system has stored it safely (in the API reference this is POST /acknowledge/ship_advice/{id}). Acknowledging removes it from the unacknowledged queue, so your next poll won't pick it up again. If your system fails to save it, don't acknowledge it yet; leaving it unacknowledged lets you retry.
Fulfill the shipment in your warehouse or fulfillment system.
Send tracking information back to Acenda (carrier, tracking number and ship date) with POST /ship_advice/{id}/fulfillment, so Acenda can pass the update to the connected marketplace or sales channel. How to add tracking information to an order covers the same step in the Acenda admin.
Log the request and response for every call, including the Ship Advice ID, so you can troubleshoot without reprocessing anything.

Important: Sending tracking for a Ship Advice you've already fulfilled can create a second, separate fulfillment rather than updating the first one. To correct a tracking number, update the existing fulfillment instead of submitting a new one, or check with Acenda Support if you're not sure which call to use.

Automating catalog, inventory and pricing updates

The workflow above covers orders and fulfillment. If you're also automating catalog, inventory or pricing updates, such as importing from an ERP or PIM, exporting for a vendor feed or scheduling recurring syncs, see How to automate catalog updates with the Import & Export API. It covers uploading, previewing and finalizing imports, monitoring jobs, downloading error reports and using profiles to map columns.

No code? If you mainly need reporting or quick answers about your account and don't want to write code or manage API keys, you can connect an AI assistant to Acenda with a normal sign-in instead. See How to connect your AI assistant to Acenda.

Best practices

Store your Client ID and Client Secret securely, and never share them by email or chat or commit them to a public code repository.
Use a separate API key for each partner or integration.
Log request IDs, Ship Advice IDs and API responses as you go. It's the fastest way to answer a support question later.
Don't acknowledge a Ship Advice until your system has stored it.
Build retry logic for temporary network or API errors.
Confirm current request and response formats in the Postman documentation before you build. This guide covers the workflow, not the full field reference.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

401 Unauthorized. Your access token has expired or your Client Secret is wrong. Request a fresh token. If that doesn't fix it, regenerate the key under ADMINISTRATION > Users > API Keys and use the new secret.
403 Forbidden. Your token is valid but doesn't have access to that resource, or the X-Astur-Organization header names the wrong organization. Double-check the header value, then contact Acenda Support if it still fails.
The same Ship Advice keeps coming back. It hasn't been acknowledged. Make sure your integration calls the acknowledge step after it saves each Ship Advice, not only reads it.
Tracking isn't showing up on the marketplace. Check that the fulfillment call returned success and that the tracking number and carrier are correct. If it still doesn't show, contact Acenda Support with the Ship Advice ID.

Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and include your Ship Advice ID or a sample request and response (with your secret and token removed) so Acenda support can help faster.

Keywords

API v3.2, API, REST API, API guide, developer, order API, ship advice API, ship advices, orders API, fulfillment API, API keys, Client ID, Client Secret, Create New Key, authentication, 401 Unauthorized, 403 Forbidden, acknowledge ship advice, send tracking via API, catalog inventory pricing API, integration developer, how to use the API, how to authenticate with the API, how to call the Acenda API, how to use the acenda api v3.2

How to use the Acenda API v3.2