Table Of ContentAutomate It
with Zapier
Boost your business productivity using effective
workflow automation techniques
Kelly Goss
BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI
Automate It with Zapier
Copyright © 2021 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without
warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers
and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused
directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the
companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals.
However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Publishing Product Manager: Pavan Ramchandani
Senior Editor: Sofi Rogers
Content Development Editor: Rakhi Patel
Technical Editor: Saurabh Kadave
Copy Editor: Safis Editing
Project Coordinator: Manthan Patel
Proofreader: Safis Editing
Indexer: Manju Arsan
Production Designer: Jyoti Chauhan
First published: July 2021
Production reference: 1230721
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
Livery Place
35 Livery Street
Birmingham
B3 2PB, UK.
ISBN 978-1-80020-897-1
www.packt.com
To my father, Eugene, and in loving memory of my mother, Winnie, for
their love, sacrifice, and wisdom. You taught me to work hard, challenge
myself, and follow my dreams.
To my loving partner, Dawn, for always being present and supportive in our
journey together. You are my rock.
To my mentors, David Feldman, Giuseppe Salvati, and Eric Wood, for their
unwavering guidance, encouragement, clarity, and insight.
To my fellow consultants, contractors, and freelancers, who work tirelessly
to help small businesses succeed and drive our economy.
To women in business, everywhere.
– Kelly Goss
Foreword
Here at Zapier, we're just some humans that think computers should do more work. This
was the founding belief of our software, and today we see millions of people automating
their tedious tasks with Zapier so they can spend more time on what they love.
Just like playing with Lego, Zapier will allow you to create anything. However, sometimes
it is helpful to have a step-by-step guide to ensure you build what you want. That is why
we are so excited about Kelly's book.
As one of our Zapier Certified Experts since 2018, Kelly Goss is at the core of what
automation and process mapping can do for businesses. She makes it easy for readers
to grasp the concepts of process and automation, enabling them to harness the power
of Zapier for their needs. Whether businesses are just starting out or have established
complex operations, this book will guide them through setting up their first "Zaps" all
the way through building advanced workflows.
We appreciate how committed Kelly is to working alongside the Zapier brand and hope
you enjoy her perspective on how to make automation work for you!
Cody Jones
Head of Global Partnerships & Channels at Zapier
Contributors
About the author
Kelly Goss is a business process automation specialist and founder of Solvaa, an agency
that helps businesses systemize and increase productivity with simpler, more efficient
automated processes. She started her process improvement career as a microbiologist
in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, leading projects that contributed
to improving the quality and sterility of blood collection needles, syringes, tubes,
and injectable vaccines. She then co-founded and ran a veterinary practice, and as
managing director was responsible for overseeing marketing, sales, operations, and
finance functions. This role gave her first-hand experience of the efficiency struggles
small businesses can face, and how they can thrive by embracing the right technology.
She thereafter founded Solvaa, and as a passionate advocate of business automation and
continuous improvement, she helps businesses make light work of manual and repetitive
tasks to achieve their productivity goals. Kelly is a Zapier Certified Expert, Pipedrive
CRM Certified Expert, Xero Certified Advisor, speaker, and head trainer of the Solvaa
Automation Academy. She is a self-taught artist, a lover of travel and adventure, animals,
urban art, and ethnic street food.
To the amazing project team at Packt, thank you for
your patience and dedication to make this book possible.
To the technical reviewers, Heather and Sergiy,
thank you for your guidance and input.
To my family and friends, who have shown constant support
during this writing process.
About the reviewers
Sergiy Bondarenko is an experienced marketing and business operations professional.
He has extensive experience in building, operationalizing, and automating processes at
large multinational companies, as well as smaller high-growth start-ups. He is a Zapier
and Adobe Marketo Engage Certified Expert with deep expertise in Salesforce and similar
enterprise platforms.
Heather Satterley is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and founder of Satterley
Accounting Services. She is also the founder of Satterley Training & Consulting,
LLC – a consulting firm focused on helping businesses define, design, and automate
their processes by employing innovative strategy and cloud-based technology. Heather
is an Advanced Certified ProAdvisor, member of the exclusive Intuit Trainer/Writer
Network, and a Zapier Certified Expert. She holds a master's degree in innovation
from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
Heather is also the co-host of the QB Appy Hour with Liz and Heather, a webinar series
devoted to building awareness in the accounting community about the latest technology
trends and best practices in a fun, relaxed environment.
Table of Contents
Preface
Section 1: Getting Started with Zapier
1
Introduction to Business Process Automation with Zapier
Technical requirements 4 What is a formatter? 12
How process automation What are paths? 12
helps businesses to increase What is a multi-step Zap? 13
productivity 4 What is Zap history? 13
What is Autoreplay? 13
Introducing business process automation 5
How your business applications Choosing the right Zapier plan 13
communicate with each other 7
Which is the right Zapier plan to use
The options available for businesses to
for your business? 15
connect
their tools 8 Creating a Zapier account 17
The "no-code revolution" and Familiarizing yourself with
workflow automation with Zapier 9 navigation on the Zapier
platform 20
Understanding the key terms
used by Zapier 10 Icons in the left sidebar 21
Icons on the top right 23
What is an app? 10
Footer menu 23
What is a Zap? 10
What is a trigger? 11 Changing your settings and
What is an action? 11 preferences 23
What is a task? 11
My Profile 24
What is the Zap editor? 11
Important settings to customize in My
What is the update time/syncing Profile 25
interval? 12
Email Notifications 26
What is a filter? 12
Advanced 28
viii Table of Contents
Data Management 28 Members 29
Account 29
Summary 29
Billing and Usage 29
2
Preparing to Automate Your Processes
Technical requirements 32 apps integrate with Zapier 42
Searching for your app 42
Simplifying your processes
Reviewing information on the app
and assessing what can be
profile page 43
automated 32
Assessing how to use your app with
Assessing your top-level management
Zapier 48
goals 33
Involving your team 34 Getting the most out of the
Brainstorming your processes and Zapier app ecosystem directory 49
prioritizing them 34 Navigating the app ecosystem directory 50
Analyzing and simplifying your A brief guide to choosing new apps for
processes 37 your business 54
Identifying what can be automated 39
Summary 57
Documenting your processes 40
Establishing how your business
3
Building Your First Automated Workflow (Zap)
Technical requirements 60 Setting up your trigger step 73
Setting up your action step 77
Strategizing your first workflow 60
Naming your Zap and turning it "On" 84
Reviewing your process and app
Using Zapier's guided workflows (Zap
information 61
templates) 84
Creating a step-by-step workflow plan 61
Understanding field data types 87
Connecting your apps to Zapier 66
Date/time 88
Connecting your apps in My Apps 67
Number (integer) 89
How to create your first Zap in Boolean (true/false) 89
the Zap editor 70 File 90
Decimal 91
Navigating in the Zap editor 70
Table of Contents ix
Ensuring your processes and stay current 91
automations Summary 92
4
Managing Your Zaps
Technical requirements 94 Zap editor 107
Keeping your Zaps organized 94 Understanding Zap statuses 109
Labeling your Zaps adequately 94 Managing your connected apps
Using folders in the Zap management 111
area 96
Sharing your connected apps 114
Managing your Zaps 100
Sharing your Zaps and folders 117
Managing your Zaps using the top
Sharing a copy of your Zap 117
navigation bar 101
Sharing Zaps and folders in your Team
Managing your Zaps from within their
or Company account 120
specific
Zap boxes 102 Summary 123
Utilizing the Zap Settings tab in the
5
Troubleshooting and Handling Zap Errors
Technical requirements 126 Understanding the Zap history page 136
Understanding task statuses 141
Managing Zap error alerts 126
Viewing detailed Zap run information 143
Adjusting your email notification
Managing Zap history data 146
settings 127
Setting up an error alert workflow with Finding help: help center,
the Zapier Manager built-in app 127 customer support, community,
and experts 149
Managing app status alerts 130
Finding app-specific help in app
Monitoring the Zapier Status page 130
profiles 150
Setting up an app status alert
Utilizing the Zapier help center 150
workflow with the App Status by
Engaging with the Zapier community 151
Zapier built-in app 133
Reaching out to Zapier customer
Utilizing Zap history support 152
information for troubleshooting Hiring a Zapier Certified Expert 152
136
Summary 153
