BambooHR technical integration

Integration options

BambooHR provides REST APIs with webhook support. Their API uses simple API key authentication and supports SHA-256 HMAC webhook signatures.

REST API integration

Use BambooHR’s REST API to fetch employee data and trigger Tallyfy workflows:

const handleBambooHREmployee = async (employeeId) => {
  const employee = await fetch(
    `https://api.bamboohr.com/api/gateway.php/${subdomain}/v1/employees/${employeeId}`,
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Basic ${Buffer.from(apiKey + ':x').toString('base64')}`,
        'Accept': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  ).then(res => res.json());

  const workflow = await fetch('https://api.tallyfy.com/v1/workflows', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_TALLYFY_KEY',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      template_id: 'employee_onboarding',
      name: `Onboarding - ${employee.firstName} ${employee.lastName}`,
      data: {
        employee_id: employee.id,
        full_name: `${employee.firstName} ${employee.lastName}`,
        email: employee.workEmail,
        department: employee.department,
        location: employee.location,
        job_title: employee.jobTitle,
        manager: employee.supervisor,
        start_date: employee.hireDate
      }
    })
  });

  return workflow.json();
};

Webhook integration

BambooHR webhooks use SHA-256 HMAC signatures for verification:

const express = require('express');
const crypto = require('crypto');

const app = express();

app.post('/bamboohr-webhook', express.raw({ type: '*/*' }), async (req, res) => {
  // Verify webhook signature using SHA-256 HMAC
  const signature = req.headers['x-bamboohr-signature'];
  const expectedSignature = crypto
    .createHmac('sha256', process.env.BAMBOOHR_WEBHOOK_SECRET)
    .update(req.body)
    .digest('hex');

  if (signature !== expectedSignature) {
    return res.status(401).send('Invalid signature');
  }

  const payload = JSON.parse(req.body);
  const { type, employees } = payload;

  for (const employeeId of employees) {
    switch (type) {
      case 'employee':
        await launchOnboardingWorkflow(employeeId);
        break;
      case 'job_information':
        await launchRoleChangeWorkflow(employeeId);
        break;
      case 'employment_status':
        await handleStatusChange(employeeId);
        break;
    }
  }

  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

Polling for changes

BambooHR also supports change reports for systems that cannot receive webhooks:

const pollBambooHRChanges = async () => {
  const since = new Date(Date.now() - 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000).toISOString();

  const changes = await fetch(
    `https://api.bamboohr.com/api/gateway.php/${subdomain}/v1/employees/changed?since=${since}`,
    {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Basic ${Buffer.from(apiKey + ':x').toString('base64')}`,
        'Accept': 'application/json'
      }
    }
  ).then(res => res.json());

  for (const employee of changes.employees) {
    await processEmployeeChange(employee.id, employee.action);
  }
};

Data mapping

Common BambooHR fields to map to Tallyfy workflow variables:

BambooHR Field	Tallyfy Variable	Description
id	employee_id	Employee record ID
firstName + lastName	full_name	Employee name
workEmail	email	Work email address
department	department	Department name
division	division	Division name
location	location	Work location
jobTitle	job_title	Job title
supervisor	manager	Direct supervisor name
supervisorEmail	manager_email	Supervisor email
hireDate	start_date	Hire date
employmentHistoryStatus	status	Current employment status

Authentication

BambooHR uses API key authentication with HTTP Basic auth. The API key is the username and ‘x’ is the password.

const getBambooHRHeaders = () => ({
  'Authorization': `Basic ${Buffer.from(process.env.BAMBOOHR_API_KEY + ':x').toString('base64')}`,
  'Accept': 'application/json'
});

Available webhook events

BambooHR webhooks can trigger on various field changes:

• Employee created - New employee added
• Job information - Title, department, or location changed
• Employment status - Status changed (active, terminated, on leave)
• Compensation - Salary or pay rate changed
• Time off - Time off requests or balances changed

iPaaS alternatives

If direct API development is not available:

• Merge API: Unified HRIS API with BambooHR support
• Finch: Employment system API
• Zapier: Pre-built BambooHR triggers and actions
• Make: Visual workflow builder with BambooHR connector

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