> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.zwapgrid.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.zwapgrid.com/get-started/how-the-platform-works.md).

# How the platform works

This page gives you one place to see how the Zwapgrid platform fits together: who does what, in what order, and where to find the details.

### Actors

* **You (The Client)** – You build or run the product that needs Your Customer's accounting data. You create consents, invite Your Customer to the Onboarding Flow, and call API.1 to read data.
* **Your Customer** – The end user who connects their Accounting System and grants Consent so you can access their data.
* **Zwapgrid** – The platform that provides the Consent API, Accounting API, Onboarding Flow, and Client Portal. Zwapgrid connects to Your Customer's Accounting System and normalizes data for you.

### Ordered sequence

1. **Get an API key** from the [Client Portal](https://clients.zwapgrid.com/).
2. **Create a consent** via the Consent API and get a **Consent ID**.
3. **Generate a One-Time Code (OTC)** via the Consent API.
4. **Build the onboarding URL** with the Consent ID and OTC, and send Your Customer to the Onboarding Flow.
5. **Your Customer completes the Onboarding Flow** and connects their Accounting System (or uploads files via File.1).
6. **Consent status becomes Accepted** once they have finished.
7. **You call the Accounting API** with the Consent ID and your API key to read their data (invoices, company info, and more).

### Implementation checklist

| Step | What to do                                      | Where to read more                                                                                                |
| ---- | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1    | Get API key from Client Portal                  | [Get Started overview](/get-started/get-started.md), [API Keys](/client-portal/api-keys.md)                       |
| 2    | Create consent (Consent API) and get Consent ID | [Create Consent](/client-portal/consents/create-consent.md)                                                       |
| 3    | Generate One-Time Code (Consent API)            | [One-Time Code](/onboarding-flow/one-time-code.md)                                                                |
| 4    | Build onboarding URL with Consent ID + OTC      | [URL and parameters](/onboarding-flow/url-and-parameters.md)                                                      |
| 5    | Your Customer completes Onboarding Flow         | [Onboarding Flow](/onboarding-flow/onboarding-flow.md), [Grant Consent](/client-portal/consents/grant-consent.md) |
| 6    | Check consent status until Accepted             | [Consent Status](/client-portal/consents/consent-status.md)                                                       |
| 7    | Call Accounting API with Consent ID + API key   | [Access Your Customer Data](/get-started/access-your-customer-data.md)                                            |

For full endpoint details and URL structure, see the [API Reference](https://apidocs.zwapgrid.com/).


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