One workspace on iPhone, iPad and Mac: keeping data in sync

Swiftly Workspace keeps your company's records on its server, and the iPhone, iPad and Mac apps all read from it. Sign in with the same account on each device to see the same customers and invoices; a change saved on one shows on the others when they next load it.

For a small business, the phone in your pocket, the iPad on the counter and the Mac on the desk are all the same office. A customer added at your desk should be there when you open the app in the parking lot, and an invoice corrected on the iPad should not come back wrong on the Mac.

Three ways apps keep devices in sync

Approach	How it works	Good for	Watch out for
The vendor's server	Records live on the vendor's server; every device reads and writes there	Teams sharing one set of records	Ask how the vendor protects and backs up your data
Each person's iCloud	The app stores records in the user's own iCloud and syncs them across that person's devices	Personal and single-user apps	Sharing with colleagues can be limited, and each person's data sits in their own account
Shared files	A document or database file is kept in a shared folder	Simple setups and small files	Two people editing at once, and conflicting copies

None of these is wrong. A notes app for one person suits iCloud well. Business software that a team shares generally works better with records kept in one place that everyone reads from.

How it works in Swiftly Workspace

• One set of records per company. Customers, invoices and your other business records are kept on the server, not on each device. Your records do not travel through each person's iCloud.
• The same account everywhere. Sign in on iPhone, iPad and Mac with the same account to reach the same company.
• Changes show where you look next. Save a change on one device, and the other devices show it the next time they load that list or record. On iPhone and iPad, pull down on the customer list to load the latest.
• Apps built for each device. One app covers iPhone and iPad, and the Mac app is a separate app built for macOS. All of them need iOS or iPadOS 26 or later, or macOS 26 or later.

On the Mac, records also open in windows of their own, so you can keep several side by side; the guide to working in multiple windows on a Mac shows how. To see why that Mac app is built for the Mac rather than being the iPad app running on it, read what "Designed for iPad" means on the Mac App Store.

Setting up another device

Because the records are kept on the server, a new device has nothing to copy across. Install the app on the iPhone, iPad or Mac, sign in with the same account, and your company's customers and invoices load from the server. The same goes for a replacement device after a repair or an upgrade: sign in, and the records are where you left them.

The flip side is worth planning for too. When a colleague leaves or a device is lost, what matters is removing that person's access to the account, because the company's records live on the server, not in a copy on each device.

Sync is not the same as picking up where you left off

Keeping records in sync means every device sees the same data. Apple also has a separate system feature for carrying an open task from one nearby device to another, such as a half-written email; it is explained in a guide to continuing a task on another Apple device. The two solve different problems: one is about the data, the other about the screen you were on.

Questions to ask before your team relies on sync

1. Where do the records live? On a server the vendor runs, in each person's cloud account, or in files you manage.
2. Who sees a change, and when? Everyone in the company, once their app loads the record, or each person on their own devices.
3. What happens when two people edit the same record? Ask how the app handles it, and try it during a trial.
4. Which devices are supported? Check the operating system versions your team actually runs.
5. How do new colleagues get access? Inviting someone into a shared company is different from sharing a file.

For more on choosing between kinds of business software, see native and web apps for business, and for using an iPad as a work device, running a business from an iPad.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need iCloud to sync business data between devices?

Not always. Apps that keep records on their own server sync through your account with the vendor, not through iCloud. Apps built on iCloud sync through each person's Apple Account instead.

Is the iPad app the same as the iPhone app?

For Swiftly Workspace, yes: one app runs on both iPhone and iPad. The Mac has its own app, built for macOS.

Why don't I see a change from my other device yet?

The other device shows the change the next time it loads the list or record. On iPhone and iPad, pull down on the customer list to load the latest.

Which devices does Swiftly Workspace run on?

iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 26 or later, and Macs with macOS 26 or later.