Flatly is a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) that replicates business data as flat files (CSV, XLSX, or Sheets) in cloud storage. The service can be configured through a set of "jobs" or "job settings" which control the replication and syncing of data. Once a job is set to run, Flatly runs as an invisible background service.

Flatly is a web application you log in to using your browser. It provides a simple graphical interface that lets you create connections to your apps — permission grants that allow data to move between them securely — and set up sync jobs that specify which datasets to sync, what to name them, how often to run, which columns to include or exclude, and what format to output (CSV, JSON, etc.). Once your connections and jobs are configured, Flatly runs automatically on schedule — fetching and replicating your data according to your instructions. You get real-time status visibility down to the second, plus full historical logs.

A job is a small group of settings that determine (1) which data will be synced, (2) how often the data will be synced, (3) to which cloud storage destination the data will be synced, and (4) in which format the data should be packaged. A job can be executed or "run" either manually by a button click, or automatically, on a schedule.

A data source is a web app that houses business data. It could be CRM, Support software, a financial institution or even a database. This app provides Flatly access to its data through an Application Programming Interface, or API, which is a secure channel for reading data.

A data destination is an online service that stores data securely. The most popular data destinations are Google Sheets (Google Drive) and Excel Online (OneDrive). Flatly automatically uploads data from data sources to these data destinations on a recurring basis.

No, Flatly does not store your business data. Flatly is a conduit architecture which means your data passes through Flatly briefly before it is replicated in your data destination. Your apps' connection information is stored securely in an encrypted database.

No, Flatly exports and flattens full data sets (GET /LIST ALL) from data sources, as opposed to just single rows.

No, generally triggers are an unnecessary headache for data integration, but make sense for app integration.

Flatly offers many pre-blended combo data sets like Deals+Products, but does not offer advanced custom blending features yet, but they are coming soon. Many Business Intelligence apps, to which you can sync data using Flatly, do offer blending though.

Flatly is built for small, non-technical teams who want data syncing to just work. No flowcharts, no coding, no jargon. There's no "University" or "Academy" to get through — because you won't need one. Most clients have multi-dataset sync jobs running in under five minutes. Flatly is also unusually generous on data limits — large datasets and fast sync frequencies at prices that don't punish growth. Connection management is a particular strength. Flatly's connection manager handles multiple accounts per integration and even multiple sub-accounts within a single connection. Connection health is monitored continuously and can be restored in a few clicks.

Occasionally a third-party app requires a specific input, and Flatly has to surface a form field to collect it — this can feel unfamiliar. A quick message to our support bot or a brief AI search usually resolves it in seconds. More commonly, users accustomed to complex tools expect more options than Flatly presents. That's by design. Flatly shows one or two choices at a time, deliberately. If it feels sparse, that's the point.

Capterra is the best place to read independent reviews of Flatly.

The term "flat" refers to the tabular layout, consisting of row and columns, of data common in flat files. This format contrasts with the more complex multi-dimensional format that data can manifest in while it is housed in applications or in heavy duty databases. Flat files essentially mean simplicity and versatility.

If you are using a popular app like Google Sheets, Excel Online, Smartsheet or Dropbox then you will not need any technical knowledge beyond what is required to use those clouds. Some clouds like Google BigQuery, Amazon S3 or Azure Storage will require familiarity with basic cloud infrastructure navigation.

Data integration and app integration are two different models. Flatly excels at replicating bulk data as opposed to individual snapshots of data triggered at some point in time in the past. Since records constantly change (example: a support ticket's urgency or assigned agent might change several times over the course of a week) it is essential to frequently re-check and re-replicate the data for analytics. Flatly is specialized purely for the flat file format in conjunction with cloud storage and spreadsheet apps.

Flatly is based in California and runs on Google Cloud - US Central.

A cell is one value of one field in a record. For example cell A1 in a spreadsheet is a cell.

Usually between 10 and 100 cells are in a single row. You can easily exclude unwanted columns to reduce your cell count.

No, for example you can run an 8 million cell job thousands of times and it will not exceed a 10 million cell limit.

Test run a sync job and your cell count will be logged for you.

An example of a subconnection is 1 account within 1 financial institution. Or 1 tenant within a Xero connection.

Yes, you can try Flatly for free for 14 days, no credit card required. During your free trial your replicated data is limited to the first 100 rows.

Yes, with Lawnroller or higher plans product support is available via in-app chat (Intercom) or email.

Flatly offers Steamroller plans for large data volumes and high frequency syncs. Check your Account page to see high volume plans.

A sync is a one-time replication and upload of data from your data source to your data destination.

Flatly is a single-user system.

Flatly was made to be very intuitive. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that a self-guided free trial is even better than a demo. You can also see many demos on our YouTube channel.

Flatly is a well-tested, reliable service that transforms significant volumes of data 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our pricing enables us to invest in the improvement of the service and provide great client support.

Flatly is a subscription-based service with annual or monthly options and billing powered by Stripe. Stripe collects and stores credit card information and handles invoice emails and subscription management.

Flatly's sync success rate has been above 99% since 2019. The most common cause of failed syncs is outages outside of Flatly.

Flatly has implemented a high security architecture on par with that of online banking, including AES 256 encryption at-rest and in-transit, HTTPS TLS 1.3 and Two-Factor Authentication.

Connection information is encrypted using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES 256) and stored in an encrypted database (Firebase) operated by Google. Flatly operates mostly server-side, with a minimal amount of information available client-side. Flatly relies on Cloudflare to protect client-side infrastructure. Flatly supports 2FA with an Authenticator App in addition to a proprietary secret-based Connection Lock system that goes beyond industry standards.

No. Unlike many other online services, Flatly does not store business data (examples: CRM opportunities, banking transactions, etc.) on any of our infrastructure. Flatly is a Conduit Architecture which means your data passes through Flatly infrastructure temporarily, but is not persisted.

A conduit architecture is one through which data passes but is not stored or persisted for ongoing processing.

Flatly staff do not access your business data unless (a) you explicitly request such access via a support ticket, or (b) your business data causes infrastructure outages or stability issues.

Flatly is not SOC certified, but it runs on Google Cloud which is SOC certified. Flatly has only 1 system admin, our CEO, which means far less surface area compared to large organizations with multiple staff having access to your data. Also, Flatly does not persist replicated business data on our own system.

Read online resources about (a) Google Security, (b) Firebase Security, (c) client versus server architecture, (d) Cloudflare (e) AES 256 and (f) TLS 1.3

From the moment you authorize a new connection, your credentials are encrypted using AES 256 and stored in a secure database in Google Cloud. Flatly then uses your credentials to fetch, transform and replicate your business data to a cloud that you control. As soon as the replication is complete, Flatly permanently deletes the copy of your data from our cache. This is called no-persistence and it means that Flatly is a conduit system -one that processes but does not store, or "persist", your data in its own infrastructure. Unlike other companies, Flatly's infrastructure is only accessed by one single human administrator, our CEO.