API Overview & Authentication

Invision streamlines the invoicing process between P&C carriers and their vendor network, serving as the central repository for vendor activity (fee schedules, invoice review and collaboration, and cross‑carrier reporting/comparisons).

Purpose

This documentation describes the Invision API for integrating external systems.

Summary

• The API is JSON over HTTPS.
• A staging environment is provided for development and testing.

Authentication

The API uses HTTP Basic Authentication (RFC 2617) over TLS 1.2. API credentials are required and must be sent in the HTTP headers on every request.

A .NET (C#) client is provided to handle authentication and expose API methods. Clients for other languages (Ruby, PHP, Java, Python, etc.) can be provided on request.

Using built‑in Basic Auth support

Most HTTP libraries let you pass a username and password; they will encode and add the Authorization: Basic <base64> header automatically.

Creating the header manually (pseudo)

1. Combine user:password.
2. Base64‑encode the string.
3. Add the header: Authorization: Basic dXNlcm5hbWU6cGFzc3dvcmQ=

Note: Always use HTTPS (TLS 1.2+).

Test Accounts

• API credentials are created and issued by a VIP admin in Invision.
• Credentials are created in staging first for development/testing.
• After review and approval, separate production credentials are issued.

API Configuration & Access

The following must be in place to gain API access:

Access Steps

1. Invision Account
2. Contact VIP Software (support@vipsoftware.com) to enable the API module
3. Configure API account in staging
4. Develop/test the integration in staging
5. Review the integration for production approval
6. Enable the API account in production

Method Types

Pull Methods (HTTP GET)

Used by third‑party systems to retrieve data from Invision (e.g., companies, users, claims, invoices, rules, documents, reports).

Push Methods (HTTP POST)

Used by third‑party systems to send data into Invision (e.g., FNOL, invoices, payments, user records, status updates).

Each endpoint article includes Request and Response tables plus example snippets (C#) where applicable.

Content Types

Requests

• Content-Type: application/json
• Request body contains a JSON object

Responses

• Content-Type: application/json
• Response body returns a JSON object (or array)

Files

• Any binary content (e.g., PDFs) is transferred base64‑encoded within JSON.

Error Handling & Support

• Malformed or failing requests may return HTTP 4xx or 5xx.
• If a request is accepted but issues occur, the JSON response includes a top‑level errors array.
• Some endpoints that accept input and do not return a body may respond with HTTP 204 (No Content).
• For assistance or bug reports, contact support@vipsoftware.com.