Argyle vs Zeal

Argyle

Graded on the REST API. One OpenAPI file covers 91 operations, llms.txt indexes Markdown docs, and a Sandbox with sample users comes with a Console sign-up. Every payroll connection needs the worker to sign in through Link. No prices are published, no idempotency keys were found, and API keys carry no per-key scopes.

Zeal

Graded on the partner REST API at api.zeal.com, which is the only access route. Three OpenAPI specs, llms.txt, a test environment that moves no money, a preview endpoint and a per-cheque approval flag are documented. Access starts with a demo request, prices are not published, each environment has one unscoped key, and no status page or working changelog was found.

Argyle

1. Send HTTP Basic auth with api_key_id as the username and api_key_secret as the password. Sandbox keys fail with 401 on Production and the reverse
2. Create the user with POST /v2/users and an external_id, then look it up by external_id before retrying. No idempotency key was found
3. Do not read data straight after an account connects. Wait for the account and data webhooks, or for the verification status, before fetching records
4. Follow the full URL in next when paging. Do not build cursor values or fetch pages in parallel. limit defaults to 10 and stops at 200
5. Stay under 50 requests a second. On 429, queue the request and retry later, not at once
6. Treat DELETE /v2/users/{id} as permanent. It removes every resource tied to that user, with no confirmation step

Zeal

1. Use the Test API key until a person has approved live payroll. Error code 0 (403) means the account has no production access
2. Send companyID on almost every call and partnerID on partner-level calls, in the body for POST and PATCH and the query for GET
3. Create cheques with approval_required: true, run POST /preview/checks, then PATCH /employeeCheck with approved: true. Without the flag Zeal processes pending cheques automatically
4. Send x-idempotency-key on every create so a retry within 24 hours doesn't pay twice
5. Previews and reports are jobs. Keep the job_id and poll GET /preview or GET /reports, or wait for the Job Queue webhook
6. Check dates must be bank days and submitted before 2 PM Pacific two bank days ahead, or the call fails with code 89