Zapier Integration

Zapier makes it easy for various web apps you're using to pass data to each other automatically. You can use Zapier to automate certain DEAR Inventory activities through so-called Zaps, as the sets of triggers and actions that are defined within Zapier are called. In the context of Zapier, triggers mark the start of a Zap, and actions are the events that occur after triggers are started. For example, you can have DEAR Inventory's New Customer/Updated Customer trigger perform an action that adds a New Customer to a MailChimp mailing list.

Zaps can only have one trigger, but may have one or more actions. For example, a Zap may be triggered in DEAR, the resulting data sent to a third-party application, then some other info can be sent back to DEAR. Zaps can also be triggered from a third-party application, which then leads to an action that updates DEAR Inventory. 

Actions can be any of three types: app actions and search actions. App actions are actions performed by an app while app searches are used to look up information that can then be used in another action. In this article, we refer to app actions and app searches as just actions and searches, respectively.

For more information on Zapier, you may want to check out their comprehensive help documentation at https://zapier.com/help/. The following link may be particularly helpful when creating Zaps: https://zapier.com/help/creating-zap/.

Prerequisites

• Purchase DEAR API and Notifications Module (required)
• A registered Zapier account. On the Zapier Apps page, you can find DEAR Inventory here.
• Users will need the Settings: DEAR API Setup permission to generate API keys from DEAR.

Table of Contents

• DEAR API Integration
• Creating Zaps
  • DEAR to Third-Party App
  • Third-Party App to DEAR
• List of Triggers, App Actions, and App Searches in DEAR

DEAR API Integration

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To start using Zapier with DEAR, you need to generate an API channel in DEAR.

1. In DEAR, go to Integrations → API.
2. On the API Integration page, click the + icon on the top right, enter a name for the API (for easy identification, you might want to use Zapier as the API name), and click Create button to generate an API channel.
   
3. DEAR then creates the API account ID and key under the Setup tab of the API Integration page. You will need both pieces of information to connect DEAR to Zapier.
   
4. Click Save.
    

Creating Zaps

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There are two ways to set up Zaps in Zapier:

• Set up a DEAR trigger, then set up an action for a third-party app
• Set up a trigger in a third-party app, then set up an action in DEAR

DEAR to Third-Party App

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As an example, we will set up a Zap that is triggered when customers are created in DEAR, then subscribes the new customer to a mailing list in MailChimp.

Set up the trigger:

1. In Zapier, click the Make a Zap! button.
2. Enter a name for the Zap.
3. Select or search for DEAR from the list of apps.
4. Select the DEAR trigger type from the dropdown list. For example, New Customer / Updated Customer, which will be triggered when customers are created or updated.
   
5. Click Continue.
6. On the next page, click Sign in to DEAR Inventory.
7. In the sign in window, enter the Account ID and API Key that you generated in DEAR API Integration, then click Continue.
8. Customise the Customer value - we select New customers.
   
9. On the next page, click either Test Trigger to test your Zap is pulling in the right data or Skip this step to skip the test.

Set up an action:

1. Select or search for MailChimp from the list of apps.
2. Select a MailChimp action from the list. For example, Add / Update Subscriber, which adds a subscriber to a MailChimp mailing list.
   
3. Click Continue.
4. On the next page, click Sign in to MailChimp. 
5. Enter your MailChimp account name and password, then log on to your MailChimp account, then click Continue. 
6. Back in Zapier, set up the template for the action by selecting the MailChimp mailing list to which you want the add the new customer. You will also need to select the new customer's email address from DEAR, which should already have been retrieved because of the trigger you set up earlier.
7. Click Continue.
8. On the next page, you may either test the zap or skip the test altogether.
9. Click Finish.
10. Turn on the Zap.
    
    

Third-Party App to Dear

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As another example, we will set up a Zap that is triggered when a new row is added to a spreadsheet in Google Sheets, then inserts the row as a new customer in DEAR.

Set up a Trigger:

1. In Zapier, click the Make a Zap! button.
2. Enter a name for the Zap.
3. Select or search for Google Sheets from the list of third-party apps.
4. Select a trigger type from the list. For this example, we will select New or Updated Spreadsheet Row, which is triggered when a new row is added or modified in a spreadsheet.
5. Click Continue.
6. On the next page, sign in to your google account then click Allow to connect Zapier with your Google account. If you're already logged on to your Google account, just select the account, then click Allow on the next page.
7. Back in Zapier, set up the template for the trigger by selecting the spreadsheet and worksheet from where data will be taken and push to DEAR. Optionally, you can select a trigger column, which means that only changes in this particular column will trigger the zap and push information to DEAR.
   
8. Click Continue.
9. On the next page, Zapier will connect to Google Sheets and select sample spreadsheets from your account to test. Select a sample spreadsheet from the list, then click Continue.

Set up an Action

1. Select DEAR.
2. Select the type of action, then click Continue. For this example, we will select Create Customer, which will create a new customer in DEAR.
   
3. Click Continue. 
4. Next, choose your DEAR account and Continue. 
5. Enter the Account ID and API Key that you generated in DEAR API Integration, then click Yes, Continue.
6. Map the spreadsheet information to the DEAR customer fields.
7. Click Continue.
8. On the next page, you may either test the zap or skip the test altogether.
9. Click Finish.
10. Turn on the Zap.

List of Triggers, Actions, and Searches in DEAR

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For your reference, a list of DEAR triggers, actions, and searches that you can use in your Zaps are shown in the table below.