I read the reviews, forum threads, and job postings your industry already left behind, then build the narrow tool that fixes exactly what they describe. No platform replacement, no dashboard nobody asked for.
Search reviews, support forums, and complaints for the same problem, described independently by more than one business.
Verify the technical cause before writing a line of code, including whether the obvious fix is even possible.
Ship the smallest tool that closes the gap, tested against real scenarios before it touches a live account.
Case notes from three independent merchants: a refund processed correctly in the storefront but reported nowhere else, and days later the buyer receives a collections notice for an order they already returned. One case: a €63.72 order, refunded in full, followed by a €78.72 dispute, an amount larger than the sale itself.
Buy-now-pay-later providers don't learn about a return unless it's reported to them separately. Most storefronts don't do that automatically, and stores using the provider through their payment platform often can't, because they were never given direct API access.
A watcher that tracks every refund the moment it's processed and flags anything unconfirmed within hours. Where the merchant holds direct API access, it reports the return automatically.
A recurring line across operations job listings at manufacturers and distributors: someone spends part of every week validating data by hand between the ERP and a separate planning or storefront tool, reconciling the gaps no one automated.
Off-the-shelf connectors sync the easy 80% and leave exceptions to a person. Support for those connectors is often a chatbot, so the gap goes unnoticed until the books don't close.
A read-only reconciliation layer that runs alongside the existing connector, compares both systems daily, and surfaces only what doesn't match, instead of asking anyone to trust a black box.
Every case here started the same way: a specific, documented problem, not a sales pitch. If something above sounds like your Tuesday, I'd like to hear the details.