# Quick Start Guide
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documentation/quick-start-guide/index.md

## Overview {#overview}

Use this guide to go from account setup to your first successful Sandbox request for Small Business Credit Analytics. You will create a project, generate credentials, make a test call, and prepare the same project for Production access.
Tip: If you want the fastest path to a working Sandbox request, start with the [Postman Collections page](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documentation/postman-collection/index.md). It lets you test Sandbox and Production flows without writing code first.

### Before you begin {#before-you-begin}

* Create a [Mastercard Developers](https://developer.mastercard.com/) account.
* Have a secure place to store downloaded OAuth and encryption keys.
* Decide how you want to test: Postman, Insomnia, the reference application, or your own client.

## Step 1: Get access to the API {#step-1-get-access-to-the-api}

1. Go to [Mastercard Developers](https://developer.mastercard.com/) and create an account.
2. Activate your account by opening the link sent to your email address, and log in.
3. Open your [My Projects](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard) page and start a new project. Sandbox access is open, so you can begin testing as soon as your project credentials are generated.

## Step 2: Create a project and generate Sandbox credentials {#step-2-create-a-project-and-generate-sandbox-credentials}

Create a Mastercard Developers project to generate your Sandbox credentials. Sandbox gives you mocked data so you can validate your integration before requesting Production access.

### Create a Project {#create-a-project}

1. You need to have a Mastercard Developers account to create a project. If you do not have a developer account, [Click Here](https://developer.mastercard.com/account/sign-up) to Sign up. Activate your account by following the link sent to your e-mail.
2. To begin you should go to your dashboard, you can do this by clicking on the [My Projects](https://developer.mastercard.com/dashboard) option in the menu.
3. You can create a new project by clicking the **Create New Project** button, in the upper right portion of the screen as shown in the screenshot below. ![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/creating_sandbox_project/create_project.png)

### Add Small Business Credit Analytics API to Your Project {#add-small-business-credit-analytics-api-to-your-project}

4. Enter a descriptive name of your project.
5. Type to search in API service dropdown list and select the **Small Business Credit Analytics API** option.
6. Type to search in Commercial countries dropdown list and select the country/countries to access merchant data.
7. Click **Proceed** to continue to the next step, as shown below. ![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/creating_sandbox_project/select_an_api.png)

### Set Project Credentials {#set-project-credentials}

8. Enter **Key alias** and **Keystore password**.
9. Click **Proceed** to generate keys. ![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/creating_sandbox_project/set_project_credentials.png)

### Download Sandbox Credentials {#download-sandbox-credentials}

10. After the project is successfully created, the Sandbox .p12 access credentials will be available for download as shown in the screenshot below:
11. Click the **Download key file** button to download a zip file containing the .p12 file required for OAuth authentication in Sandbox. Please save this file in a safe place as you won't be able to download it later.
12. Click on **Open project** to start working with the API in Sandbox. Note: You are required to capture the Keystore password and key alias shown on the screen. The Keystore password is used in conjunction with the .p12 file and Client ID for OAuth authentication. ![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/creating_sandbox_project/download_sandbox_credentials.png)

## Step 3: Make your first Sandbox request {#step-3-make-your-first-sandbox-request}

Once you have Sandbox credentials, make a simple GET request to confirm that your project is set up correctly.

Before you run the request, make sure you have:

* Your Sandbox consumer key
* The private key used to sign OAuth requests
* A Mastercard OAuth library or signer that generates `oauth_timestamp`, `oauth_nonce`, and `oauth_signature`

This first-call example uses `GET /matches`, so you can verify access, OAuth signing, and the Sandbox base URL before moving on to encrypted flows.

**Example Request (cURL):**

```bash
curl --request GET \
  --url "https://sandbox.api.mastercard.com/small-business/credit-analytics/locations/matches?country_code=USA&company_name=Artisan+Emporium&street_address=2000+Purchase+St&postal_code=10577&city=Purchase&state_province_region=NY" \
  --header "Authorization: OAuth oauth_consumer_key=\"YOUR_CONSUMER_KEY\", oauth_signature_method=\"RSA-SHA256\", oauth_timestamp=\"1709596800\", oauth_nonce=\"a1b2c3d4e5f6\", oauth_version=\"1.0\", oauth_signature=\"YOUR_COMPUTED_SIGNATURE\""
```

**Expected Response:**

```json
[
  {
    "locationId": "a1b2c3d4-0000-1234-abcd-000000000001",
    "matchRank": 1,
    "merchantName": "Artisan Emporium",
    "streetAddress": "2000 Purchase St",
    "city": "Purchase",
    "state": "NY",
    "postalCode": 10577,
    "countryCode": "USA"
  }
]
```

Note: No test data setup is required once Sandbox keys are downloaded. You can refer to the [Integration and Testing](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/tutorial/api-testing/index.md) section for testing the Small Business Credit Analytics APIs.

## Step 4: Promote the same project to production {#step-4-promote-the-same-project-to-production}

Once your project is working in Sandbox, request Production access for that same project.

### Transition your project from Sandbox to Production {#transition-your-project-from-sandbox-to-production}

1. Navigate to your project under My projects menu.
2. Click the **Request Production Access** button, in the Project APIs section.

![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/moving_to_production/request_production_access.png)
3. Fill in your profile details like Name, Company Info and Legal Business address.
4. Click **Proceed** to go to next step.
![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/moving_to_production/complete_your_profile.png)
5. Enter a descriptive name for the key which identifies its purpose and environment in the `Key Alias` field.
6. Enter a password used to encrypt the keys that the customer will receive in the `Keystore Password` field.
7. Click **Proceed** to generate private key for production access. That will be used for the Small Business Credit Analytics API calls.
![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/moving_to_production/create_production_key.png)
8. Click **Download key file** button to download a zip file containing the .p12 file required for OAuth authentication in Production. Please save this file in a safe place as you won't be able to download it later.
9. Once you complete this process, the Mastercard API Support team will review and approve your request for Production access.
10. You will receive an email from Mastercard Developers to your registered email address, depending upon the outcome of the review.

Note: Typically, it takes 3-5 working days to review and approve the Small Business Credit Analytics APIs Production access request. ![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/small-business-credit-analytics/uploads/tutorials/moving_to_production/confirm_and_download_keys.png)

<br />

11. **Update your application configuration** Switch the base URL from Sandbox to Production:

* Sandbox: `https://sandbox.api.mastercard.com/small-business/credit-analytics/locations`
* Production: `https://api.mastercard.com/small-business/credit-analytics/locations`

Update your application to use the Production consumer key, signing key, and encryption certificates.
Note: OAuth 1.0a authentication and JWE payload encryption work the same way in Sandbox and Production. The main changes are the Production key set, the Production approval state, and the Production base URL.

### Next Steps {#next-steps}

Continue with the documentation that matches your next task:

* [API Reference](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documentation/api-reference/index.md) for endpoint details
* [API Basics](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documenation/api-basics/index.md) for authentication, encryption, and client configuration
* [Reference App](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documentation/reference-app/index.md) application which shows typical usage of the APIs
* [Testing](https://developer.mastercard.com/small-business-credit-analytics/documentation/testing/index.md) for additional request scenarios