How-To Guide December 10, 2024 12 min read

Setting Up Your First Business Integration: A Step-by-Step Guide

Transform your business operations in under 30 minutes. This guide walks you through connecting Stripe, your CRM, and calendar for complete voice-controlled automation.

Ready to experience the magic of voice-controlled business automation? In this guide, we'll walk through setting up your first three integrations: Stripe for payments, a CRM system for customer management, and Google Calendar for scheduling. By the end, you'll be able to manage these systems entirely through voice commands.

⚠️ Before We Start

Make sure you have admin access to your business systems and about 30 minutes to complete the setup. We'll be generating API keys, so ensure you can access your account settings.

Integration #1: Stripe Payment Processing

Stripe integration enables voice commands like "Send an invoice to John Smith for $2,500" or "Show me this week's revenue." Here's how to set it up:

1 Get Your Stripe API Keys
  1. Log into your Stripe Dashboard
  2. Navigate to Developers → API keys
  3. Copy your "Publishable key" and "Secret key"
  4. For testing, use the test keys first
2 Configure Webhook Endpoints

Webhooks let Stripe notify our system about payment events in real-time:

  1. Go to Developers → Webhooks
  2. Click "Add endpoint"
  3. Enter: https://your-domain.com/webhooks/stripe
  4. Select events: payment_intent.succeeded, invoice.paid, customer.created
3 Connect to AI Business Assistant
  1. Open AI Business Assistant
  2. Go to Settings → Integrations
  3. Click "Add Stripe Integration"
  4. Paste your API keys when prompted
  5. Test with: "Create a test invoice for $100"
✅ Stripe Integration Complete!

Try these voice commands: "What's my revenue this month?", "Send an invoice to [customer] for $[amount]", or "Show me unpaid invoices."

Integration #2: CRM System (HubSpot Example)

CRM integration enables commands like "Add new contact Sarah Johnson with email sarah@company.com" or "Show me all deals closing this week."

1 Generate HubSpot Private App Token
  1. In HubSpot, go to Settings → Integrations → Private Apps
  2. Click "Create a private app"
  3. Name it "AI Business Assistant"
  4. In Scopes, select: contacts, deals, companies, tickets
  5. Copy the generated access token
2 Set Permissions

Ensure your private app has these permissions:

  • Contacts: Read, Write (for managing customer data)
  • Deals: Read, Write (for sales pipeline management)
  • Companies: Read, Write (for account management)
  • Tickets: Read, Write (for support requests)
3 Connect Your CRM
  1. In AI Business Assistant, go to Integrations
  2. Select "Add CRM" → "HubSpot"
  3. Enter your HubSpot domain (e.g., mycompany.hubspot.com)
  4. Paste the private app token
  5. Test with: "Show me my recent contacts"
✅ CRM Integration Complete!

Voice commands now available: "Add contact [name]", "Update deal [name] to closed-won", "Show deals closing this week"

Integration #3: Google Calendar

Calendar integration is powerful for scheduling: "Block 2 hours tomorrow morning for project work" or "Schedule a call with John next Tuesday at 3 PM."

1 Enable Google Calendar API
  1. Go to Google Cloud Console
  2. Create a new project or select existing
  3. Enable the Calendar API
  4. Go to Credentials → Create Credentials → OAuth 2.0
  5. Download the credentials JSON file
2 Set OAuth Redirect URLs

Configure these redirect URLs in your OAuth consent screen:

https://aibusinessassistant.com/auth/google/callback http://localhost:3000/auth/google/callback
3 Authorize Calendar Access
  1. In AI Business Assistant, go to Integrations
  2. Click "Add Calendar" → "Google Calendar"
  3. Upload your credentials JSON file
  4. Complete the OAuth flow
  5. Select which calendars to sync
  6. Test with: "What's on my calendar today?"
✅ Calendar Integration Complete!

Now try: "Schedule a meeting with [person] next [day] at [time]", "Block 3 hours for deep work Friday morning"

Testing Your Complete Setup

Now that all three integrations are connected, let's test the full workflow with a realistic business scenario:

4 End-to-End Workflow Test

Try this complete business workflow:

  1. Voice: "Add Sarah Johnson from TechCorp as a new contact with email sarah@techcorp.com"
  2. Voice: "Schedule a discovery call with Sarah next Wednesday at 2 PM"
  3. Voice: "Create a $5000 proposal for TechCorp website redesign project"
  4. Voice: "Send the proposal invoice to Sarah"

This workflow should create a contact, schedule the meeting, generate an invoice, and send it—all through voice commands.

Advanced Tips for Power Users

Custom Voice Commands

Create shortcuts for complex operations:

  • "New client onboarding for [name]" → Creates contact, schedules welcome call, sends contract
  • "Monthly revenue report" → Pulls Stripe data, formats report, emails to team
  • "Follow up on overdue invoices" → Identifies late payments, sends reminders

Multi-System Commands

Combine data across systems:

  • "Show deals with payments this week" → Cross-references CRM deals with Stripe transactions
  • "Calendar report for client meetings" → Pulls calendar events, matches to CRM contacts
  • "Revenue by customer this quarter" → Combines Stripe payment data with CRM customer info
🔒 Security Best Practices
  • Use environment variables for API keys, never hardcode them
  • Enable two-factor authentication on all integrated accounts
  • Regularly rotate API keys and tokens
  • Monitor integration logs for unusual activity
  • Use the principle of least privilege—only grant necessary permissions

Troubleshooting Common Issues

API Key Errors

Problem: "Invalid API key" or authentication failures

Solution: Double-check you're using the correct keys for your environment (test vs. live), ensure keys have proper permissions, and verify they haven't expired.

Webhook Failures

Problem: Real-time updates not working

Solution: Check webhook URLs are accessible, verify SSL certificates are valid, and confirm you're handling the correct event types.

Permission Denied

Problem: "Insufficient permissions" errors

Solution: Review OAuth scopes, ensure your API keys have write permissions where needed, and check if admin approval is required.

What's Next?

With these three core integrations, you've built the foundation of a voice-controlled business. Consider adding:

  • Slack/Teams: Send notifications and updates
  • QuickBooks: Advanced accounting and reporting
  • Email Marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit integration
  • Project Management: Asana, Trello, Monday.com
  • E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce integration

Each additional integration exponentially increases the power of your voice-controlled business ecosystem. The goal is to reach the point where you can run your entire operation through natural conversation.

Ready to take the next step? Explore our advanced automation guides or contact our integration specialists for custom system connections.