ConnectWise PSA
The industry-leading professional services automation (PSA) software for MSPs
What ConnectWise PSA does
ConnectWise PSA (formerly Manage) is the central operating system for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT businesses. It handles helpdesk ticketing, technician dispatching, CRM, project management, and billing in one unified platform.
Where ConnectWise PSA falls short
While it includes a CRM module, ConnectWise PSA is fundamentally an operations and ticketing tool, not a top-of-funnel marketing platform. It lacks the modern front-end features needed to build highly converting landing pages, process complex pre-sales qualification forms natively, or track marketing attribution.
How we set ConnectWise PSA up
When a prospective client visits an MSP's website and fills out a 'Request an IT Assessment' form, a custom application captures the data and authenticates with the ConnectWise PSA REST API. The integration first searches the database to check if the business already exists; if not, it creates a new Company and Contact record. It then instantly generates a Sales Opportunity assigned to the business development team's service board. This ensures the sales team can work the lead entirely within their PSA dashboard without manually copying data from an email notification.
Integration method: rest-api
What ConnectWise PSA already owns
ConnectWise PSA (formerly Manage) is the central operating system for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT businesses. It handles helpdesk ticketing, technician dispatching, CRM, project management, and billing in one unified platform.
Primary users: MSP owners, helpdesk dispatchers, IT technicians, and account managers
Typical fit: IT service providers and MSPs ranging from small 5-person shops to enterprise IT service organizations
Core functions
- Manage IT helpdesk tickets and service boards
- Dispatch field technicians and schedule resources
- Track billable time, materials, and expenses
- Manage customer relationships and sales pipelines
- Automate billing and recurring service agreements
- Track SLAs and perform procurement workflows
What still has to happen around ConnectWise PSA
While it includes a CRM module, ConnectWise PSA is fundamentally an operations and ticketing tool, not a top-of-funnel marketing platform. It lacks the modern front-end features needed to build highly converting landing pages, process complex pre-sales qualification forms natively, or track marketing attribution.
No built-in website builder or modern CMS functionality for marketing teams.
Native web-to-lead and web-to-ticket HTML forms are visually outdated and difficult to style.
Cannot natively handle complex conditional logic or multi-step flows in public-facing intake forms.
Lacks native SEO management or digital marketing attribution tracking capabilities.
Advanced marketing automation features require a separate product or third-party CRM integration.
Website and CRM integration surface
Native website path
ConnectWise PSA can generate basic HTML snippet code for Web-to-Lead and Web-to-Ticket forms. These snippets can be pasted into a website to push basic form submissions directly into the PSA, though they offer limited customization and no native spam protection out of the box.
Developer surface
- Public API
- Yes
- API style
- rest-v2
- Auth
- basic-auth
- Webhooks
- Yes
- Rate limits
- Documented
- Sandbox
- Yes
Rate limits vary by cloud environment and server resources, typically returning an HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) response when thresholds are exceeded.
Integration patterns that make sense
Native First
LimitedUse the native Web-to-Lead or Web-to-Ticket HTML snippets only when the MSP needs a very basic contact form and does not require conditional logic, deduplication, or modern styling.
The website embeds raw HTML provided by the PSA; when a user submits the form, a POST request is sent directly to the PSA to create a ticket or sales opportunity.
Api First
FitUse the API path when building a modern, brand-aligned website that requires dynamic lead qualification, intelligent routing, or custom client portal functionality.
A custom website backend captures the lead, searches for existing matches to prevent duplicates, and uses the REST API to securely create a Contact, Company, and Ticket or Opportunity.
Hybrid
FitUse a hybrid approach when an MSP uses a dedicated marketing automation platform to nurture leads before passing qualified deals to ConnectWise PSA.
The website pushes leads to the marketing CRM for top-of-funnel nurturing. Once a deal is marked 'won' or an IT assessment is requested, the CRM uses the ConnectWise API to push the record into the PSA.
Data objects your stack has to preserve
Create
Company, Contact, Ticket, Opportunity, Activity, Time Entry, Schedule Entry
Read
Company, Contact, Ticket, Agreement, Invoice, Configuration, Board
Update
Company, Contact, Ticket, Opportunity
Webhooks
Ticket Created, Ticket Updated, Company Updated, Opportunity Updated, Contact Created
Who usually fits a ConnectWise PSA-centered website rebuild
Use this section to decide when ConnectWise PSA's Web-to-Lead Forms path is enough and when the website should qualify harder before it hands off through the REST API.
Best fit
- - Teams already running ConnectWise PSA as the system of record
- - Operators who need stronger qualification before data reaches ConnectWise PSA
- - Businesses that need a public site and intake flow shaped around field service demand
What operators complain about
- We struggle to make the out-of-the-box web-to-ticket forms look professional on our new website, so we end up just parsing inbound emails instead.
- My team gets stuck cleaning up duplicate companies and contacts because our basic website forms don't search for existing records before creating new ones.
- We lose visibility into our marketing attribution because ConnectWise PSA doesn't natively track where our website leads came from before they submitted a ticket.
- Our sales team complains that web leads lack context because we can't build complex conditional logic into the native ConnectWise forms.
- I get frustrated by how cumbersome the API authentication process is, requiring both a Client ID and a uniquely formatted Base64 key just to post a simple contact form.
- We are frustrated that ConnectWise PSA is stronger in operations than in website conversion.
Technical trust before you connect the stack
Native path
Web-to-Lead Forms
The website should only promise the ConnectWise PSA handoff paths that are publicly documented.
Auth model
Basic Auth
If a custom handoff is needed, authorization into ConnectWise PSA has to stay explicit and documented.
API surface
REST V2
ConnectWise PSA still has to compete with Autotask PSA, HaloPSA, Syncro while keeping the website handoff cleaner.
Auth: Authentication requires a specific Client ID (obtained from the ConnectWise Developer Network) and a Base64-encoded basic authentication string composed of your Company ID, a Public API Key, and a Private API Key formatted as 'CompanyId+PublicKey:PrivateKey'.
Data flow: Data flows securely via JSON over HTTPS. Endpoints are heavily modularized (e.g., /company/companies, /service/tickets), meaning custom website integrations must often chain multiple API requests to fully provision a new client, contact, and ticket.
Webhooks: ConnectWise PSA uses an event-driven webhook system called 'Callbacks'. Integrations can register specific callback URLs for events (like a ticket status changing), and the PSA will push an HTTP POST payload containing the updated record data to that endpoint.
Security: API members should be strictly configured using ConnectWise Security Roles to follow the principle of least privilege. Never use a super-admin account for website integrations; create a dedicated API member restricted only to the necessary modules (like Sales or Service Desk).
Also in the evaluation set
If ConnectWise PSA is on the table, these adjacent systems usually come up too. Use the CRM Scorecard to decide whether you need a horizontal CRM, a vertical operating system, or a cleaner connection between both.
ConnectWise PSA by industry
How ConnectWise PSA gets configured for specific operating patterns.
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