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UKG Pro API Essential Guide

Aug 11, 20246 minute read

What type of API does UKG Pro provide?

UKG Pro offers both SOAP and REST APIs:

Key Points:

  1. UKG Pro provides both SOAP-based and REST-based web services.

  2. The UKG Pro API enables integration with UKG Pro data through these web service interfaces.

  3. For REST APIs:

    • UKG Pro core REST APIs use Basic Authentication
    • UKG Pro onboarding and recruiting REST APIs require an Authorization Token
  4. For SOAP APIs:

    • UKG Pro offers SOAP 1.2 services
    • Tutorials are available for all SOAP services
  5. The API supports both JSON and XML formats for REST services.

Summary:

UKG Pro provides a dual API approach, offering both SOAP and REST interfaces to access and integrate with UKG Pro data. This allows developers flexibility in choosing the API style that best fits their needs and existing systems. The REST APIs use modern authentication methods like Basic Auth and tokens, while the SOAP APIs follow SOAP 1.2 specifications. Both API types enable programmatic access to UKG Pro data for various integration scenarios.

Does the UKG Pro API have webhooks?

Yes, the official UKG Pro API does have webhooks. UKG Webhooks allows you to subscribe to specific events and receive near real-time notifications when those events occur in your UKG Pro solution.

UKG Webhooks supports a wide range of events that you can subscribe to, including:

  1. Employee-related events:

    • Employee creation
    • Employee profile changes
  2. Document-related events:

    • Document creation
    • E-signature of documents
  3. Signature-related events:

    • Signature tasks being signed
  4. Other HR-related events:

    • Address changes
    • Marital status changes
    • Emergency contact updates

UKG Webhooks supports wildcards, allowing you to subscribe to a group of events from a specific event category.

Key features of UKG Webhooks include:

  1. Near real-time notifications
  2. Customizable subscriptions
  3. Security features, such as Hash-Based Message Authentication Codes (HMAC) and HMAC secret for webhook message verification
  4. Flexible configuration, including adding, editing, testing, deactivating, and reactivating subscriptions, and supporting custom headers for webhook requests
  5. Role-based access control with different roles (Admin, Editor, Viewer) and varying levels of access and permissions

The benefits of using UKG Webhooks include:

  1. Timely decision-making
  2. Better data synchronization
  3. Efficient HR processes
  4. Improved data accuracy and compliance

To start using UKG Webhooks, you need to configure your webhook by specifying the callback URL, the events you want to subscribe to, and other relevant details. UKG Pro provides an API for creating and managing webhooks.

Rate Limits and other limitations

Here are the key points about the API Rate Limits for the UKG Pro API:

API Rate Limiting

  • UKG Pro employs an API gateway to manage quotas and rate limits for API calls.

  • The rate limit is typically set for how many API calls a client can make over a 1 minute period.

  • If the rate of requests is too high, the server will return an HTTP 429 status code.

  • Receiving a 429 response is not an error, but a request to reduce the rate of API calls.

Handling Rate Limits

  • Applications should respect the 429 response and not try to circumvent it.

  • UKG is considering implementing a "Retry-after" header in the future with 429 responses.

  • Until then, a default delay of 1 second should be used before retrying after receiving a 429.

  • Optionally, an exponentially increasing delay can be used when retrying.

Best Practices

  • Do not attempt to bypass rate limits or spoof IP addresses.

  • Implement proper handling of 429 responses in your code.

  • Be prepared to add logic to check for and respect a "Retry-after" header in the future.

  • Consider using an exponential backoff strategy when retrying after rate limit errors.

In summary, the UKG Pro API implements rate limiting on a per-minute basis, returning 429 status codes when limits are exceeded. Proper handling of these responses is critical for applications integrating with the API. While specific numeric limits are not provided, the documentation emphasizes respecting the rate limits and implementing appropriate retry logic.

Latest API Version

Based on the search results provided, here is the answer to your question about the most recent version of the UKG Pro API:

Current Version

The search results do not explicitly state a specific version number for the most recent UKG Pro API. However, they do mention that the Pro 2024.R1 APIs are now available, which appears to be the latest release [2][3].

Key Points

  • The UKG Pro API enables programmatic access to UKG Pro data via SOAP-based and REST-based web services [1].

  • UKG regularly updates their APIs with new features and enhancements. The most recent major update mentioned is the Pro 2024.R1 release [2][3].

  • The API specifications and version history can be found on the UKG Developer Hub website [1].

  • UKG provides both REST and SOAP APIs for different functionalities within the UKG Pro system [1].

Recent Updates

Some of the recent updates and changes to the UKG Pro API include:

  1. Introduction of UKG Webhooks, allowing subscription to specific events [3].

  2. Addition of a full suite of Recruiting API resources and operations (over 100 in total) [3].

  3. Enhancement of the Payroll Earnings Import resource [3].

  4. Updates to the Employee New Hire API, including new fields for Iowa locations [3].

  5. Introduction of a new top-level domain for the Universal Device Manager API [3].

  6. Removal of the requirement for an AppKey in API calls [2].

Best Practices

  • Regularly check the UKG Developer Hub and the Version History for each API to stay updated on the latest changes and additions [2][3].

  • Use the provided API specifications to input appropriate authorization values and create example API requests [3].

  • Subscribe to the What's New RSS feed to receive updates about API changes and new features [3].

  • For any issues with API calls, check the UKG Pro status page in the UKG Community [3].

In conclusion, while there isn't a specific version number mentioned, the most recent version of the UKG Pro API appears to be associated with the Pro 2024.R1 release. It's recommended to refer to the official UKG Developer Hub for the most up-to-date information on API versions and changes.

How to get a UKG Pro developer account and API Keys?

To get a developer account for UKG Pro to create an API integration, you need to follow these steps:

1. Obtain UKG Pro Access

First, you need to have access to UKG Pro as a customer. UKG Pro is an enterprise-level human capital management (HCM) system, so you or your organization must be a UKG Pro customer to access its API.

2. Get System Administrator Rights

You'll need system administrator rights within your UKG Pro account. This is necessary to create and manage web service accounts.

3. Create a Web Service Account

UKG Pro APIs using Basic Authentication are only accessible with a web service account. To create one:

  • Navigate to System Configuration > Security > Service Account Administration in UKG Pro
  • Create a new web service account with a unique username and password
  • Grant appropriate permissions to the account for the specific services you need to access

4. Obtain API Keys

You'll need two API keys:

  • Customer API key: Available from the UKG Pro Web Service administrative page
  • User API key:
    • For a Service Account: Available from the Service Account administrative page
    • For a Web User account: Available from the Web Service administrative page

5. Access Developer Resources

Once you have your account and API keys:

  • Visit the UKG Developer Portal (https://developer.ukg.com/) to access API documentation, specifications, and other resources.
  • Review the REST API specifications and SOAP service tutorials available in the documentation.

What can you do with the UKG Pro API?

Based on the search results provided, here is a list of data models that can be interacted with using the UKG Pro API, along with what is possible for each:

Employee Data

  • Retrieve and update employee information [1]
  • Access global employee localization fields [1]

Organizational Data

  • Access company property configurations [1]
  • Manage job families [1]
  • Handle employee types [1]

Payroll Data

  • Retrieve payroll information (implied by the API's capabilities) [1][4]

Benefits Data

  • Manage COBRA statuses [1]
  • Handle child support types [1]

Time and Attendance

  • Interact with workforce management data (through a separate API) [2]

Recruiting and Onboarding

  • Access recruiting data (requires separate authentication) [1]

Learning and Development

  • Manage course categories and subcategories [1]
  • Handle course delivery methods [1]
  • Manage skills and skill proficiency levels [1]

Performance Management

  • Manage awards and award types [1]

Compensation

  • Handle loan types [1]

Personal Information

  • Manage allergies [1]
  • Handle disability configurations [1]
  • Manage marital status [1]
  • Handle military information (branches, eras) [1]
  • Manage name prefixes [1]

Career Development

  • Handle career providers [1]
  • Manage schools [1]
  • Handle projects [1]

Device Management

  • Manage device groups and devices (through Universal Device Manager) [2]

General Capabilities

  • Perform CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) on various data models [1][2]
  • Search for UKG Pro data using multiple filter criteria [1]
  • Access all data the user is authorized to see for a given service [1]
  • Update one or more employees at a time [1]

Key Points to Consider:

  • The UKG Pro API is divided into core REST APIs and separate APIs for onboarding, recruiting, and workforce management [1][2]
  • Authentication methods vary depending on the specific API being used (Basic Authentication for core APIs, Authorization Token for onboarding and recruiting) [1]
  • The API supports both SOAP and REST protocols [1]
  • Data can be retrieved in JSON or XML formats [1]

It's important to note that the exact capabilities and data models available may depend on the specific permissions granted to the API user and the modules implemented by the organization using UKG Pro.