---
title: "Design your integration"
description: "Learn about the basic choices to make for your in-person payments integration."
url: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/design-your-integration"
source_url: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/design-your-integration.md"
canonical: "https://docs.adyen.com/point-of-sale/design-your-integration"
last_modified: "2023-12-19T14:09:00+01:00"
language: "en"
---

# Design your integration

Learn about the basic choices to make for your in-person payments integration.

[View source](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration.md)

Before building a point-of-sale integration with Adyen, there are some topics you need to know about so you can make the right choices for your business. This page gives a brief overview of these topics, and indicates for which [integration solution](/point-of-sale/what-we-support/solutions) the topic is relevant.

## Requirements

Before you begin, check if the information on this page applies to you.

| Requirement          | Description                                                                                   |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Integration type** | The information on this page is relevant if you want to set up in-person payments with Adyen. |

## Account structure

Applies to:

All solutions.\
The stores or other physical locations where you take in-person payments must be represented in your Adyen account. You can add stores to a merchant account, or add a merchant account for each store. The choice you make influences the payout of funds and your reconciliation, among other things.

## Terminal models

Applies to:

Terminal API integration and standalone solution with payment terminals.

Does not apply to:

Mobile solutions.\
You can choose from mobile and portable terminals that can be carried around, stationary countertop and multimedia terminals, and unattended terminals for use in self-service situations. The terminals support one or more connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and cellular, and for all use cases there is an Android all-in-one model available.

## Local or cloud communications

Applies to:

Terminal API integration.

Does not apply to:

Standalone solution, Mobile solutions.\
You can let your POS system communicate with the terminals over your local network or through the cloud. Either choice has advantages and disadvantages. For example, cloud communications is a natural choice for mobile or portable terminals. But when the internet connection drops, you cannot process payments unless you have implemented a fallback.

## Network and connectivity configuration

Applies to:

Terminal API integration.

Does not apply to:

Standalone solution, Mobile solutions.\
To enable communications between your POS system, the terminals, and Adyen, you need to configure your network and assign IP addresses to the terminals. It is also good to be aware of the steps to take for various connectivity types.

## Terminal API

Applies to:

Terminal API integration, Mobile solutions.

Does not apply to:

Standalone solution.\
For a Terminal API integration or a mobile integration, you need to become familiar with the general message structure of Terminal API and the structure of specific requests such as payments and refunds.

## Notifications and webhooks

Applies to:

Webhooks: Terminal API integration, Mobile solutions. Terminal notifications: Terminal API integration with terminals.

Does not apply to:

Standalone solution.\
Both the payment terminals and the Adyen payments platform generate transaction updates that can be sent to an endpoint on your POS system. You need to decide if your architecture or use cases require receiving these webhooks.

## Next steps

Select a topic to view an explanation of your options and/or implementation instructions.

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/platforms.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/determine-account-structure)

###### [Account](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/determine-account-structure)

[Determine your Adyen account structure and create stores.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/determine-account-structure)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/pos.svg)](/point-of-sale/what-we-support/select-your-terminals)

###### [Terminals](/point-of-sale/what-we-support/select-your-terminals)

[Choose from various payment terminal models.](/point-of-sale/what-we-support/select-your-terminals)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/acting.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture)

###### [Cloud or local?](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture)

[Decide on the integration architecture.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/ethernet.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/local)

###### [Local integration](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/local)

[Learn how to build an integration with local communications.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/local)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/cloud.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/cloud)

###### [Cloud integration](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/cloud)

[Learn how to build an integration with cloud communications.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/choose-your-architecture/cloud)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/network.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/network-and-connectivity)

###### [Network](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/network-and-connectivity)

[Configure your network and implement connectivity options.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/network-and-connectivity)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/code.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/terminal-api)

###### [Terminal API](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/terminal-api)

[Understand endpoints and message structure.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/terminal-api)

[![](/user/themes/adyen/images/illustrations/monitoring.svg)](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/notifications)

###### [Webhooks](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/notifications)

[Receive transaction updates on your POS system.](/point-of-sale/design-your-integration/notifications)
