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Before You Begin

What is Zapier?

Zapier is a tool that helps you automate repetitive tasks between two or more apps—no code necessary. Their integrations contain 5,000+ options including Gmail, Slack, Twitter, Outlook, and a lot more!

Look through the apps on Zapier’s site and browse for other apps you might be using: https://zapier.com/apps

When a trigger happens in one app, Zapier can tell another app to perform a particular action. Every Zap has a trigger and one or more actions. Novi can be used as either one!

Zapier is For Advanced Users

Please Note: This is an advanced feature. Implementing Zapier for your Association will require some technical skill on your part or time with a paid consultant.

Looking for a consultant who can help? Misha Getter of 501evolved is proud to support Novi AMS customers in setting up Zaps! Learn more about how Misha and can help you set up zaps here.

What does "advanced feature" mean?

This does not mean you need to know how to code or be a developer. When we say advanced, we just mean that Zapier users will need logic-based knowledge with a technical mindset.

If you're not afraid to dive into Novi's groups or reporting conditions and have time to learn Zapier and practice with trial and error, Zapier may be a great fit!

Should you need setup guidance, Zapier has a robust help center that includes a directory of Zapier experts.

We at Novi are here to help with questions you have within Novi (such as setting up your API key), but please keep in mind that we won’t have access to your Zapier account and therefore are not able to provide specific support or training for the Zapier software.

Keywords

Zap: An automated workflow in Zapier that tells your apps to follow this simple command: "When this happens, do that."
Trigger: An event that starts a Zap.
Action: What your Zap does for you.
Task: When a Zap runs, each action it completes counts as one task.

Zapier Resources

Getting Started

If you're new to Zapier:

Create your Zapier account. They offer a free tier if you want to test it out!
Read through the Zapier Resources above to get familiar with the tool.
Check out Zapier's help section for everything you need to get up and running on Zapier.

To add the Novi App to your account:

Create your API Key. Your API Key will be used to authenticate your connection to Novi when building your Zaps.
- Name your API Key intentionally. Example: "Zapier" or "Zapier Integration". This is the name that is used in the audit log and on the activity timeline.
- When determining the Scope of your API Key, it's recommended to leave the Event Data and Member Data checked ON while leaving Limit Member Data OFF. This will ensure all triggers and actions within Zapier will have access to your data.

Navigate to My Apps within Zapier and Add Connection. From there, you'll be able to search for Novi in their app store and sync your Novi account using your API Key.

Available Novi Triggers

Member Created - Triggers when a member is created.
- Example Use Case: When a new member signup is pending approval, send a message to a Slack channel. (Beginner)
  - Details: Expedient membership and account approvals make for happy members. Get your new members to their benefits faster with this Zap.
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Member Created Trigger > Filter by Zapier: Approved contains false > Slack: Action

Member Updated - Triggers when a member is updated.
- Example Use Case: When a member's name is changed, send a message to a Slack channel. (Beginner)
  - Details: Automatically update your team on member name changes. When an admin changes a member's name, send a message to a group channel to update the whole team at once.
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Member Record Updated, watch field: Name > Slack: Action
- Example Use Case: When a person loses their inheriting member benefits from their company, send a Slack message. (AKA: A person is unlinked from a member parent company.) (Beginner)
  - Details: Trade association company members are so transient it can be difficult to keep up with them. If an individual goes from inheriting their member benefits to becoming a non-member, automatically update the team.
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Member Updated, watch field: Membership Status > Filter by Zapier: Member Status contains non_member > Slack: Action

Member Activity Created - Triggers when an activity is created on the record's Timeline.
- Example Use Case: When a task is assigned to a specific staff member, send them a slack message. (Intermediate/Advanced)
  - Details: Notify your admins immediately when a task is created and assigned to them.
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Member Activity Created > Filter by Zapier: Activity Type contains Task > Slack: Find User by Name > Slack: Action

Event Registration Created - Triggers when an Event Registration is created (with line item support.)
- Example Use Case: When a specific event ticket is purchased, send a Slack message. (Beginner)
  - Details: Keep your team updated when a big-ticket event ticket is purchased, such as the big event sponsorship.
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Event Registration Created Trigger > Filter: Attendee Ticket Name contains "Keyword" > Slack: Action
- Example Use Case: Automate a follow-up action after an event registration. (Advanced)
  - Details: Do your event attendees need access to a third-party platform after they register for your event? If that other platform is also in Zapier, you can automate this process! (For example: GoToTraining, Zoom)
  - Zap Flow: Novi: Event Registration Created > Formatter by Zapier: Text: Split Text: All as Line Items > Looping by Zapier: Create Loop From Text > Final Action(s)

Event Registration Updated - Triggers when an Event Registration is updated (with line item support).
- Clarification: This triggers when an event registration is updated. A group of attendees that are registered together are included in one registration. In this trigger, if a single attendee is updated, the entire registration will trigger in Zapier.

Order Created - Triggers when an order is created (with line item support).
- Example Use Case: Automate order fulfillment. (Beginner)
  - Zap Flow: Order Created > Filter by Zapier: Order Items Name contains "Item Name" > Action

Available Novi Actions

Create & Update Actions

Updates Member - Updates a member.
- Tip: Remember, you'll commonly need to use the Find Member action in conjunction with this action so Zapier will know which record to update.

Create Member Activity - Creates an activity on the record's timeline.
- Example Use Case: Log a SurveyMonkey response on a member's timeline. (Intermediate and requires SurveyMonkey paid account.)
  - Zap Flow: Survey Monkey: New Response Notification with Answers > Novi: Find Member > Novi: Create Activity

Find Actions

A Find action is commonly used in conjunction with an Update action so Zapier knows which record to update.

If you want to update a different record in an app every time your Zap runs, you'll need to use a search step to find that record first. Search steps are a way to find existing data in your apps that later actions in your Zap can reference and use. Read more about search steps.

Find Event Registration - Finds an Event Registration based on unique ID or full name. Optionally by event.
Find Member - Find a member by unique ID, name, parent name, or email address. Optionally, create one if none are found.
- Example Use Case: Search for, and if needed create, a record based on a completed Google Form. Optionally link them to an existing member company too. (Intermediate)
  - Zap Flow: Google Forms: New Response in Spreadsheet > Novi: Find Member & Check: "Create Novi AMS Member if it doesn’t exist yet?"

Example Zap

In the example below, a Trigger in SurveyMonkey is creating an Action in Novi and Slack, and utilizing the Filter and Find actions. In this example, a Zap counts as 4 tasks each time it runs.

Advanced Filters

Sometimes you'll want to filter a Novi trigger by the role of the account that created or updated the member record. You can filter by "User Updated Role" using these keywords as the field value.

Association Admin: An association staff admin account
Limited Association Admin: An association staff limited admin account
Novi Admin: A Novi staff admin account
Novi System: The Novi system
Website User: A regular (non-admin) user account

Tip: Consider filtering using "Exactly matches", "Contains", or "Does not contain" depending on the dataset you'd like to continue through the Zap.