The two debuts you don't want
Production debut: the customer's device gets installed on site, the technician waits, and your integration has its first real test right there. Any bug is paid with installation time, customer patience and your reputation.
Hardware-ticket debut: your team asks for a terminal to "test calmly", and the feature waits weeks (and hundreds of dollars) before the first line of code. Half of these projects die right there: the cost kicks in before the validation.
The sandbox breaks both debuts: it gives you a testing environment today, free and risk-free, where making mistakes costs nothing — while iterating, on the other hand, gives you everything.
The 6 reasons to test in the sandbox first
1. Zero cost to start
The API Connect sandbox is included in the 14-day trial: create up to 2 virtual terminals and start developing the same day. No importing, no budget to approve, no local server to set up.
2. Zero risk on real data
In the sandbox there are no customer attendance records or real access events: you can register users, generate events, break and fix things without anyone losing a record. Mistakes — development's most valuable tool — are free.
3. Repeatable edge cases
The scenarios that define your integration's robustness are awkward to trigger with real hardware (who drives to the site to expire a terminal?). In the sandbox they're repeatable in seconds:
- Terminal expiration: how your logic reacts when a device passes its date.
- Inactive terminal: what your SaaS does with a disabled device.
- Duplicate events: terminals resend after reconnecting; validate your deduplication.
- Reconciliation: compare the event stream against the REST report and confirm they match.
- Credential management: enroll with PIN/card, group change, deletion — and the flow back into your SaaS.
4. Sales demo the same day
The sandbox turns "yes, we could integrate it" into a demo with real data: you create the virtual terminal, generate punches and show your SaaS reading them live. To close the deal, the difference between "seeing it" and "trying it" is often the signed contract.
5. Dev onboarding without hardware
Every new developer on the project needs a terminal to work. With the sandbox, the development environment is available instantly — and doesn't depend on the hardware being free, connected or in the office.
6. Transition to production without rewriting
Sandbox and production share the same REST API and the same event channels. What you validated in the sandbox runs the same on physical devices: your code doesn't change, only the real serial gets registered.
How to start: create your account → open the sandbox → create your virtual terminal → simulate punches → consume the events and reports from your backend. All in one working session. If you need to simulate a full fleet, the trial gives you the entire platform.
What the sandbox does NOT cover (and that's information too)
To be precise: the sandbox validates your software, not the physical installation. Real biometric reading, the site's network latency and device installation are certified by the final acceptance test. The difference is that this test is no longer a mystery: you know exactly what to verify, because everything else already works.
And there's a size limit: the sandbox creates up to 2 virtual terminals. If you need to simulate a full fleet (multi-site, dozens of devices), the 14-day trial gives you the entire platform.
Frequently asked questions
Why not test directly on the customer's device?
Because it's the highest-risk debut possible: real data, productive hours and reputation at stake. The sandbox lets you make mistakes for free, as many times as needed.
What edge cases can I simulate?
Terminal expiration, inactive device, duplicates, reconciliation, credentials and multi-site — the ones that with real hardware require going on site to trigger them.
Does it replace testing with real hardware?
It replaces the starting blocker, not the final certification: the physical test on site still exists, once the integration is already proven.
Testing first costs less than debuting in production
Open the sandbox, break whatever you need and arrive on site with the integration ready.