PortalHQ integrates with the school’s other major systems so the people, classes, fees and timetables in PortalHQ stay aligned with what’s in your Student Information System (SIS) and other platforms. The integrations module is where these connections are configured, monitored and troubleshot.
What we integrate with
| System | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| TASS | SIS | Most common Australian K-12 SIS. PortalHQ pulls students, parents, staff, classes and timetables; writes back co-curricular activity enrolments. |
| Synergetic | SIS | Common Australian K-12 SIS. Similar data flow to TASS. |
| Edumate | SIS | Common Australian K-12 SIS. |
| Sentral | SIS | Common Australian K-12 SIS, also handles attendance and behaviour. |
| Edge (NZ) | SIS | New Zealand K-12 SIS. |
| Wonde | SIS aggregator | UK and Australian SIS data via a single API — useful for schools with non-standard SIS. |
| Compass | SIS | Common Australian K-12 SIS. |
| Identity providers and SSO | Authentication | SAML-based single sign-on so staff, parents and students use their existing school credentials. |
| PortalHQ APIs | Outbound | REST APIs that let other school systems (LMS, finance, reporting tools) read PortalHQ data. |
See the article for each integration for details on what data syncs and how to set it up.
What syncs
Most SIS integrations are mostly one-way — PortalHQ reads from the SIS:
- Students — name, year level, parents, contact info, medical alerts.
- Parents — name, contact info, relationship to children.
- Staff — name, email, role.
- Classes / Courses — class lists, teachers, period structure.
- Timetables — period times, room allocations.
- Calendar terms — term start/end dates.
- Enrolments — when a student starts and leaves.
Some integrations support write-back — PortalHQ pushes data into the SIS:
- Co-curricular activity enrolments — visible on the student’s SIS record.
- Pastoral notes — sometimes pushed back as comments.
- Attendance — for modules that mark attendance (ASC, Co-curricular).
The exact data direction depends on the SIS — check the article for your SIS.
How often it syncs
Most syncs run on a schedule:
- Daily full sync — overnight, refreshes everything.
- Hourly delta sync — picks up changes during the day for the data that matters most (timetable changes, new enrolments).
Schedules are configurable. Schools with tight data-freshness requirements can run delta syncs more frequently; schools where the SIS is the source of truth and PortalHQ data lags slightly can run less often.
Setting up an integration
Integration setup is typically done by the PortalHQ team in collaboration with your IT or business office. The high-level steps:
- Provision credentials — your SIS vendor gives you API keys or service-account access.
- Configure the connector in PortalHQ — paste the credentials, pick which data to sync.
- Run a test sync — confirm a small batch of data comes across correctly.
- Schedule the full sync — turn on the daily and delta sync schedules.
- Monitor for a week — check sync logs for errors, validate the imported data.
Contact your PortalHQ representative to start the setup process for any of these integrations.
Monitoring
The integrations dashboard shows:
- Last sync time for each integration.
- Sync status (success, partial, failed).
- Error log if any records didn’t sync.
- Record counts — number of students, parents, staff, etc. imported in the last run.
Check this weekly. A sync that’s been failing for days needs attention — the data in PortalHQ drifts further from the SIS the longer it goes unfixed.
Identity providers and SSO
Authentication is a separate kind of integration. Instead of users having a PortalHQ-specific password, they log in with their school identity (Microsoft, Google, or your school’s identity provider). See Identity providers and SSO.
PortalHQ APIs
If you want to pull data out of PortalHQ into another system (a reporting tool, a finance system, an LMS), the PortalHQ APIs let you do that. See PortalHQ APIs.
Where to start
- Setting up a new SIS integration: find your SIS in the list above and read its article.
- Adding SSO: Identity providers and SSO.
- Pulling data out for an external system: PortalHQ APIs.
- Diagnosing a sync issue: check the integrations dashboard for the sync log, then contact PortalHQ support if the error isn’t self-explanatory.