Environments - Smartbills

Overview

Smartbills provides two distinct environments to help you develop and test your integration before going live. Each environment is fully isolated with its own data, API keys, and configuration.

Available Environments

Sandbox Environment

The sandbox environment is a safe space for development and testing. No real data is processed or stored. Base URL:

https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io/v1

Characteristics:

Available immediately to all developer accounts
Uses test API keys (sk_test_...)
Separate test data that does not affect production
Higher rate limits for faster development
Pre-populated with sample data for testing
No real charges or transactions

All developer accounts have immediate access to the sandbox environment. No approval is required.

Production Environment

The production environment is where your live application runs and processes real data. Base URL:

https://api.smartbills.io/v1

Characteristics:

Uses live API keys (sk_live_...)
Real customer and business data
Standard rate limits apply
Processes real expenses and reports
Requires application approval before access

Production API keys are enabled once your application has been reviewed and approved.

Key Differences

Feature	Sandbox	Production
Base URL	`sandbox.api.smartbills.io`	`api.smartbills.io`
API Keys	`sk_test_...`	`sk_live_...`
Data	Test data only	Real customer data
Access	Available immediately	Requires approval
Rate Limits	More lenient	Standard limits
Webhooks	Sent to test URLs	Sent to production URLs
Transactions	Simulated	Real

Switching Between Environments

You can switch between environments by changing the base URL and API key in your application:

# Sandbox
curl --request GET \
  --url https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io/v1/expenses \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer sk_test_1234567890abcdef' \
  --header 'x-tenant-id: 123'

# Production
curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.smartbills.io/v1/expenses \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer sk_live_1234567890abcdef' \
  --header 'x-tenant-id: 123'

import { SmartbillsClient } from '@smartbills/sdk';

// Sandbox
const sandboxClient = new SmartbillsClient({
  accessToken: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
  businessId: 123
});

// Or configure via environment variables
// SMARTBILLS_API_URL=https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io
// SMARTBILLS_API_KEY=sk_test_1234567890abcdef

const client = new SmartbillsClient({
  accessToken: process.env.SMARTBILLS_API_KEY,
  businessId: 123
});

from smartbills import SmartbillsClient
import os

# Sandbox
sandbox_client = SmartbillsClient(
    access_token="sk_test_1234567890abcdef",
    business_id=123
)

# Or configure via environment variables
client = SmartbillsClient(
    access_token=os.environ.get("SMARTBILLS_API_KEY"),
    business_id=123
)

Environment Configuration

Using Environment Variables

Store your API keys and base URLs as environment variables to easily switch between environments:

# .env.development
SMARTBILLS_API_URL=https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io
SMARTBILLS_API_KEY=sk_test_your_sandbox_key

# .env.production
SMARTBILLS_API_URL=https://api.smartbills.io
SMARTBILLS_API_KEY=sk_live_your_production_key

Configuration Example

const config = {
  sandbox: {
    baseUrl: 'https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io/v1',
    apiKey: process.env.SMARTBILLS_TEST_KEY
  },
  production: {
    baseUrl: 'https://api.smartbills.io/v1',
    apiKey: process.env.SMARTBILLS_LIVE_KEY
  }
};

const env = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'production' : 'sandbox';
const { baseUrl, apiKey } = config[env];

import os

config = {
    'sandbox': {
        'base_url': 'https://sandbox.api.smartbills.io/v1',
        'api_key': os.environ.get('SMARTBILLS_TEST_KEY')
    },
    'production': {
        'base_url': 'https://api.smartbills.io/v1',
        'api_key': os.environ.get('SMARTBILLS_LIVE_KEY')
    }
}

env = 'production' if os.environ.get('ENV') == 'production' else 'sandbox'
base_url = config[env]['base_url']
api_key = config[env]['api_key']

Test Data in Sandbox

The sandbox environment comes pre-populated with sample data to help you test your integration:

Sample businesses with pre-configured settings
Sample expenses in various statuses (pending, approved, rejected)
Sample expense reports with complete approval workflows
Sample categories, departments, and locations
Sample vendors with different configurations

You can also create your own test data in the sandbox. All test data is periodically reset.

Data reset: Sandbox data may be periodically reset. Do not rely on sandbox data for long-term storage. Always use production for persistent data.

Data Isolation

Data between environments is completely isolated:

Users created in sandbox do not exist in production
Expenses and reports are environment-specific
Webhooks are sent to different endpoints per environment
API keys only work in their respective environments

This ensures that your testing activities never affect your production data or users.

Getting Access

Sandbox Access

Create a Smartbills account at smartbills.io
Visit the developer portal
Create a new application
Your sandbox API keys will be generated immediately

Production Access

Complete Integration in Sandbox

Build and test your integration using sandbox API keys.

Submit for Review

Submit your application for review through the developer portal.

Review Process

Our team reviews your integration to ensure it meets our guidelines.

Production Keys Activated

Once approved, your production API keys will be activated.

Best Practices

Use Environment Variables

Store API keys and base URLs as environment variables. Never hardcode them.

Test Thoroughly in Sandbox

Always test your integration thoroughly in sandbox before deploying to production. Test all API endpoints, error handling, webhook delivery, and data formats.

Keep Separate API Keys

Use different API keys for each environment and never use production keys in development or testing.

Monitor Both Environments

Set up monitoring and logging for both environments to catch issues early.

API Keys

Create and manage API keys

Authentication

Authentication setup

API Introduction

API overview and getting started

Rate Limits

Environment-specific rate limits

​Overview

​Available Environments

Overview

Available Environments