Introducing the Pancake CRM API — Position in the Pancake Ecosystem, api_key Setup, Endpoint Overview

TL;DR: Pancake CRM is one product within the Pancake ecosystem — alongside Pancake's multi-channel chat (managing FB/IG/Zalo conversations), the CRM serves a completely different domain: sales pipeline + customer management. Base URL https://crm.pancake.vn/api, authenticated by api_key passed as a query param (NOT a Bearer header, NOT the chat product's page_access_token). Multi-tenant by workspace. Provides 6 endpoint groups: Records (lead/account/contact), Orders, Tickets, Sources, Tags (CRM-scoped), and Webhook for realtime record events. This is the first pillar of the Pancake CRM cluster — later posts will dive into each endpoint in depth.

The Pancake ecosystem includes multiple specialized products for different business operations — multi-channel chat (Pancake chat — see the 6-post API cluster), Pancake POS, Pancake CRM, and others. Each product has its own API + token but shares the "page/workspace + admin dashboard" concept.

This article opens a new pillar on Pancake CRM — a product whose functionality is completely different from chat (entities are lead/contact/order/ticket instead of conversation/message). Many developers integrating Pancake for the first time conflate the two products and end up calling the wrong endpoints with the wrong token. This guide draws a clear line and walks through the first connection.

1. Where the CRM sits in the Pancake ecosystem

Pancake isn't a single product — it's a suite for running shops/businesses, where each product is separated by data and API:

This article focuses on CRM — a product whose function and data model are completely different from chat:

Which product should you use?

• Pancake chat only — small shops that just need to reply to customer chats, no complex sales pipeline yet
• Pancake CRM only — B2B sales teams working with leads/deals/orders, no direct chat flow with customers
• Both together — the most common setup for Vietnamese shops: Pancake chat handles realtime conversations, CRM tracks orders + lead funnel + reports. You can build a custom integration pushing chat data → CRM (there will be a dedicated tutorial in this cluster).

2. Pancake CRM key features

Before diving into the API, understanding what the product does helps you map endpoints to real-world use cases:

2.1. Centralizing multi-channel customer data

Pancake CRM collects leads from Facebook, Instagram, Zalo, TikTok, Website, Shopee, Google Ads... into a single platform. Each lead/contact has a pipeline status (New lead → Contacting → Nurturing → Closed deal), with source attribution, tags, and priority so the sales team can follow up in the right order.

→ Related APIs: Records (lead/account/contact), Sources (channel attribution), Tags (categorization). The Records CRUD post will dive deeper into the pattern of syncing leads from landing page forms into CRM.

2.2. Care automation + Conversion API for ads

The CRM has no-code workflow automation in the dashboard: triggers when a customer takes an action → automatically sends email/SMS/ZNS/staff notification. It also includes Conversion API to push conversion events from CRM back to Facebook/TikTok Ads → optimize cost-per-conversion (lower ad spend).

→ Related APIs: Webhook (triggering on record change events), Records (reading state to fire automation). Note: the no-code automation dashboard is not fully exposed via API — only the event triggers are.

2.3. Fits multiple industries

Pancake CRM is used across many verticals: Real estate (viewing-appointment management), E-commerce (purchase history, personalized offers), Healthcare (reducing patient no-show rates), Travel (booking lifecycle + post-tour care).

→ Related APIs: Orders (orders / bookings), Tickets (care tasks / callbacks), Records (customer info storage).

3. Workspace — Pancake CRM's multi-tenant concept

Unlike Pancake chat (1 token = 1 fanpage), Pancake CRM is organized by workspace:

• Workspace = 1 isolation unit. Each workspace has its own: users, records, orders, tickets, tags, settings, api_key.
• 1 user can be invited to multiple workspaces with different roles (admin / member).
• All endpoint URLs follow the pattern /workspaces/{workspace_id}/{resource}/... → workspace_id is a required path param.

Real-world example:

• Company ABC has 1 workspace for the VN sales team and 1 separate workspace for an overseas branch
• Each workspace has its own lead pipeline + order pipeline
• Reports don't cross between workspaces

Finding workspace_id: open the CRM dashboard → the URL bar shows crm.pancake.vn/workspaces/{workspace_id}/... — copy that ID.

4. Generating the api_key

api_key is a per-workspace auth key. How to generate one:

1. Open the Pancake CRM dashboard → the workspace you want to integrate with
2. Settings → Tools → API key section (requires admin privileges)
3. Click Create new API key → give it a memorable name (e.g. "n8n integration", "Internal sync script")
4. Copy it immediately — Pancake may not show the token again after closing the modal
5. Store it in a secret manager (1Password, Bitwarden, .env)

How to use — query param

?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

5. Test connection — your first request

Verify your api_key + workspace_id work by calling the simplest list records endpoint:

curl -G "https://crm.pancake.vn/api/workspaces/$WORKSPACE_ID/lead/records" \
  --data-urlencode "api_key=$API_KEY"

Successful response (HTTP 200)

{
  "cursor": "eyJwYWdlIjoxfQ==",
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "lead_uuid_1",
      "name": "John Doe",
      "phone": "+1234567890",
      "email": "john@example.com",
      "created_at": "2026-06-15T10:30:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

Common errors during first-time setup

6. Overview of the 6 endpoint groups

3 record types are supported by the Records API: lead, account, contact — standard CRM concepts (lead = not yet qualified, contact = verified individual, account = company/organization).

7. Webhook overview

Pancake CRM offers a realtime webhook that POSTs to your configured endpoint whenever a record changes. Setup:

1. Workspace → Settings → Tools → Webhook - API tab
2. Enter your endpoint URL (must be HTTPS public)
3. Pancake test-verifies the URL; if OK → save

Event types

Currently there's a single event: record — fires whenever any record (lead/account/contact/order/ticket) is CRUD'd.

Suspend policy ⚠

Pancake CRM automatically suspends the webhook if within 30 minutes there are:

• An error rate over 80% (non-2xx responses), AND
• 300 or more failed requests

While suspended, the webhook stops pushing events until you re-enable it manually in the dashboard.

Best practices (mirror the Pancake chat webhook pattern)

• Return HTTP 200 fast (under 5 seconds) after receiving the request
• Process asynchronously via a queue (Redis/SQS) — don't process inside the handler
• Idempotent processing — Pancake may retry, so design code that tolerates duplicates
• Monitor uptime + error rate on the endpoint → alert early before suspension

For production-grade webhook patterns, see the Pancake chat Webhook & Send Message guide — the same patterns apply to the CRM webhook.

8. CRM tags vs Pancake chat tags

Both products have a "tag" concept but they're entirely different in scope and schema:

No automatic cross-sync between the two tag systems — because the two products are data-isolated. If you need the "Orders" tag to appear in both Pancake chat and CRM, you must build a sync layer yourself (typically via webhook → middleware).

9. Common pitfalls for new integrators

10. FAQ

Q: Can Pancake chat and Pancake CRM share the same API/token?

A: No. They're two different products in the Pancake ecosystem, each with its own auth: chat uses page_access_token (per-page), CRM uses api_key (per-workspace). You need two separate tokens if you want to integrate both.

Q: Do I need a separate subscription for CRM?

A: Yes. Pancake CRM requires a separate subscription plan — it's not bundled with the Pancake chat plan or other products in the ecosystem. Contact Pancake support for plan recommendations based on team size + needs before building your integration.

Q: Does Pancake CRM support migration from HubSpot/Salesforce?

A: There's currently no official connector for HubSpot/Salesforce. You'd build it yourself (export CSV from HubSpot/Salesforce → format for Pancake → POST upserts via the Records API). The upcoming Records post will cover bulk import patterns in detail.

Q: What's the Pancake CRM API rate limit?

A: The official docs don't currently state a specific number. Recommended conservative throttle: 5-10 req/sec/workspace, with exponential backoff on 429. Test with production-like volume before going live.

Q: Does the webhook have HMAC signature verification?

A: The current webhook docs don't document a signature mechanism. As a workaround: use a secret token in the URL path (e.g. /webhook/pancake/<random_secret>) and verify the path before processing. Contact Pancake support if you need official HMAC.

Q: Is there a separate sandbox / test environment?

A: No dedicated sandbox. Best practice: create a separate test workspace with synthetic data, generate a separate api_key for it, and switch to the production workspace at go-live.

Q: Are custom fields supported (user-defined fields on lead/contact)?

A: Yes, Pancake CRM supports custom fields configured in the dashboard. When calling the Records API, custom fields appear in the response like any other field. The Records CRUD post will cover schema details.

11. Summary

• Pancake CRM is one product within the Pancake ecosystem, with completely different functionality from Pancake chat — separate auth (api_key vs page_access_token), separate base URL (crm.pancake.vn vs pages.fm).
• Workspace is the isolation unit — workspace_id is a required path param in every endpoint.
• api_key is passed as a query param — be careful about log leakage; rotate periodically; one api_key per integration.
• 6 endpoint groups: Records (lead/account/contact), Orders, Tickets, Sources, Tags, Webhook.
• record webhook event + strict suspend policy (80% error / 300 fails in 30 min).
• Production-grade webhook pattern: return 200 fast, async queue, idempotent — same as the Pancake chat webhook.

The next post in the cluster will dive into Records CRUD (lead/account/contact) — the most-used endpoint.

Related posts

Pancake CRM cluster (new)

• This post — Introducing the Pancake CRM API (pillar)
• Roadmap: Records CRUD, Orders, Tickets, Webhook setup, Pancake chat ↔ CRM integration tutorial

Pancake chat cluster (existing)

• Introducing Pancake — Multi-channel Chat Management Platform — chat product overview
• Pancake Webhook & API Send Message Guide — base on Page Access Token + webhooks
• Get Pancake Conversations List API
• Pancake Page Customers API — Sync customers into your CRM
• 3 Ways to Extract Pancake Data into Your CRM
• Pancake Conversation Workflow API — Tags, Assign, Mark Read/Unread

Official documentation

• Pancake CRM Developer Docs — full OpenAPI spec
• Pancake chat Developer Docs — chat cluster

Last updated: 2026-06-17. API version: Pancake CRM 2.0.0. Check the OpenAPI spec to verify any changes.