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Connect to Chaser using a spreadsheet via Zapier

This article explains how to get started with connecting to Chaser using Zapier, the data requirements and how to complete key actions using Zapier.

Last updated: December 20, 2024

This integration is only available on Standard and Enterprise subscriptions. The Zapier integration is a suitable option for organizations that use a system that Chaser does not integrate with. The connection with Chaser can be established by following the instructions in this article.

This article will specifically detail how to connect using a spreadsheet and this option is recommended if the system that you are connecting does not have a Zapier connection, or the connection it has does not cover all of the data points required by Chaser.

If you do not feel that Zapier is the correct solution for your business, Chase Import and Chaser API options are also available if Chaser does not integrate with your system.

Step-by-step guide: integrating Chaser with Zapier

This section provides a step-by-step guide on setting up four essential Zaps and four optional Zaps in Zapier for effective integration with Chaser. Each set of instructions will clearly explain how to configure these Zaps to trigger the corresponding actions in Chaser.

Creating a zap

Access Zapier dashboard: Log into your Zapier account and navigate to the dashboard.
Initiate a new zap: Click on the ‘Create Zap’ button, located at the top left of the page.
Naming Your Zap: Give your Zap a name that reflects its function, making it easier to identify later. The Zap will be now visible in the Zaps section.

Setting up triggers using online spreadsheets

Download the spreadsheet template: Access and download the online spreadsheet template here.
Open the template in Google Drive or One Drive: Save and open the downloaded template in your preferred cloud storage service, either Google Drive or OneDrive.
Filling the spreadsheet: The spreadsheet contains three tabs: one for customers, one for invoices, and one for credit notes. Fill in each tab with the relevant data, please refer to Chaser's data formatting requirements when inputting your data. See detailed instructions here.
Updating the spreadsheet: Ensure that all the information in the file is complete and up-to-date.
Accessing your created Zap: Go to your Zapier dashboard and open the Zap you have previously created.
Setting up the trigger: Choose 'Trigger' in your Zap setup, and search for either Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel, depending on where your spreadsheet is stored.
Selecting the trigger event: A sidebar will appear with a dropdown menu. Select the event that will act as a trigger, such as 'New Row' or 'Updated Row'.
Connecting to your account: Connect to your Google or Microsoft account through the Zapier interface.
Choosing the spreadsheet and worksheet: Select the specific spreadsheet and the worksheet (tab) you want to use as a trigger. The trigger column can be any column you choose. Click on Continue.
Testing your trigger: Test the trigger to ensure it's working correctly. Zapier will display a list of records from your spreadsheet. Select the most recent one and click on "Continue with Selected Record". Your trigger is now set.

Data formatting requirements

The following tables provide details on the data formatting requirements for customers, invoices and credit notes.

Customers

Column name	Description	Required	Accepted Values	Comments
External ID	Unique identifier in the internal system	Yes
Company	Full name of customer	Yes
First Name	First name of contact person	No
Last Name	Last name of contact person	No
Email	Email Address of contact person	Yes
Phone Number	Phone number of the customer (for customers outside of your regions, include country code to use Chasers calling features)	No		A country code is required if you wish to phone customers outside of your organizations region.
Mobile Number	Mobile number of the customer	No		This is used for SMS and phone calls in app. If using SMS, the mobile number must include the country code (e.g. +44)
Status	Current status of a contact	Yes	ACTIVE, ARCHIVED
AddressLine1	First line of customer address	No
AddressLine2	Second line of customer address	No
County	Customer county	No
PostCode	Customer postcode/zipcode	No
Country	Customer country	No
Tag 1	Group or Category for a specific customer	No
Tag 2	Group or Category for a specific customer	No

Important note on phone numbers: When adding a country code '+' at the beginning of a phone number within a spreadsheet, some sheets will convert this to an equation, to avoid this, add a ' before the +.

Invoices

Column name	Description	Required	Accepted Values	Comments
InvoiceID	Unique identifier in the internal system	Yes
Invoice Number	Non-unique alphanumeric code identifying invoice (printable ASCII characters only)	Yes
Status	Current status of an invoice	Yes	DRAFT, SUBMITTED, AUTHORISED, PAID, VOIDED, DELETED	Only AUTHORISED and PAID invoices will be visible in Chaser (paid invoices willl be archived after 6 months)
Currency Code	The currency that invoice has been raised in	Yes	https://www.xe.com/iso4217.php
Amount Due	Amount remaining to be paid on invoice	Yes	>= 0
Amount Paid	Sum of payments received for invoice	Yes	>= 0
Total	Total of Invoice tax inclusive	Yes	>= 0
Issue date	Date invoice was issued	Yes	One of the following date formats must be used: YYYY-MM-DD YYYY/MM/DD YYYY-MM-DDT00:000:000Z
Due date	Date invoice is due	Yes
Fully Paid Date	The date the invoice was fully paid. Only returned on fully paid invoices	No
ContactID	Contact unique identifier in the internal system	Yes		This should match the ID used in your contacts file

Credit notes

Column name	Description	Required	Accepted Values	Comments
Credit Note ID	Unique identifier of the credit note	Yes
Credit Note number	Reference number of the credit note	Yes
Remaining Credit	Unallocated amount of the credit note	Yes
Date	Issue date of the credit note	Yes	One of the following date formats must be used: YYYY-MM-DD YYYY/MM/DD YYYY-MM-DDT00:000:000Z
Status	Current status of the credit note	Yes	DRAFT, SUBMITTED, AUTHORISED, PAID, VOIDED, DELETED
Currency Code	The currency that invoice has been raised in	Yes	https://www.xe.com/iso4217.php
Customer External ID (System Identifier)	Contact unique identifier in the internal system	Yes		This should match the ID used in your customer's tab for the customer that you wish to link the credit note to

Additional contacts

Column name	Description	Required	Accepted Values	Comments
CustomerID (System Identifier)	Customer unique identifier in the internal system	Yes		This should match the ID used in your customer's tab for the customer that you wish to link the additional contact to
ExternalID	Contact ID - Unique identifier of the additional contact record.	Yes
FirstName	First name of contact person	No
LastName	Last name of contact person	No
Email	Email Address of contact person	Yes
Status	Current status of a contact	Yes	ACTIVE, DELETED, ARCHIVED

Creating your Zaps

Zap 1 - Create customer (e.g: Google Sheets)

Setting up the trigger: Select Google Sheets as your trigger app. Choose the trigger event: New or updated spreadsheet row.
Connecting to Google Sheets: Connect your Google account to Zapier.
Selecting the spreadsheet and worksheet: Choose the specific spreadsheet and worksheet (tab) you want to use. Set the trigger column to any column.
Testing the trigger: In the test section, click on Find new records. Select the most recent record and click on Continue with selected record.
Setting up the action: Within the same Zap, click on Action. Search for Chaser in Zapier's app store and select it.
Choosing the action event: Select the event: Create customer.
Connecting to Chaser: Log in to your Chaser account using the API keys. Refer to the guide for assistance.
Matching fields in the action section: Match the following fields from your spreadsheet to Chaser:

External ID	External ID
Company	Company
First Name	First Name
Last Name	Last Name
Email	Email
Phone Number	Phone Number
Mobile Number	Mobile Number
Status	Status (select 'Custom' to match header)
Country	Country
City	City
Postal Code	Postal Code
Address Line 1	Address Line 1
Tag 1	Tags

Additional fields like region, address line 2-4 and tag2 can also be added and linked if necessary.

Testing and publishing the Zap: After configuring, click 'Continue' to move to the test section. Zapier will test the configuration. If successful, you can publish your Zap by clicking the Publish button.

Zap 2 - Update customer (e.g: Google Sheets)

The process for setting up a Zap to update customer information in Chaser is similar to creating a new customer. However, the crucial distinction is in the selection of the action event. For updating customer details, you'll need to choose the Update Customer event in the App & Event section of the Zap setup. This ensures that the Zap modifies existing customer data in Chaser instead of adding new customer records.

Zap 3 - Create invoice (e.g: Google Sheets)

Creating a new Zap: Go to your Zapier dashboard and create a new Zap.
Setting up the trigger: Choose Google Sheets as your trigger app.
Select the trigger event: New or updated spreadsheet row.
Connecting to Google Sheets: Connect your Google account to Zapier.
Selecting the spreadsheet and worksheet: Choose the specific spreadsheet and worksheet (tab) for invoices. Set the trigger column to any column.
Testing the trigger: In the test section, click on Find new records. Select the most recent record and click on Continue with selected record.
Setting up the action: Within the same Zap, click on Action. Search for Chaser in Zapier's app store and select it.
Choosing the action event: Select the event: Create Invoice.
Connecting to Chaser: Log in to your Chaser account using the API keys. Refer to the guide for assistance.
Matching fields in the action section: Match the following fields from your spreadsheet to Chaser:

Invoice ID	Invoice ID
Invoice Number	Invoice Number
Status	Status (select 'Custom')
Currency Code	Currency Code
Amount Due	Amount Due
Amount Paid	Amount Paid
Total	Total - This must always equal the sum of Amount Due and Amount Paid.
Date	Issue Date (Format YYYY-MM-DD)
Due Date	Due Date (Format YYYY-MM-DD)
Customer	Customer ID (select 'Custom')
Fully Paid Date	Fully Paid Date

Testing and publishing the Zap: After configuring, click Continue to move to the test section. Zapier will test the configuration. If successful, you can publish your Zap by clicking the Publish button.

Zap 4 - Update invoice (e.g: Google Sheets)

The process for setting up a Zap to update invoice information in Chaser is similar to creating a new invoice. However, the crucial distinction is in the selection of the action event. For updating invoice details, you'll need to choose the Update Invoices event in the App & Event section of the Zap setup. This ensures that the Zap modifies existing invoice data in Chaser instead of adding new invoice records.

Note on updating invoices in the spreadsheet
Please note that for changes made to invoices in the spreadsheet to be accurately reflected in Chaser, it’s essential to update the following headers appropriately:

Status	Modify to reflect the current status (e.g., change to 'PAID')
Amount Due	Adjust as needed (e.g., set to 0 if the invoice is paid)
Amount Paid	Update this field to reflect the amount that has been paid
Total	Ensure this is the sum of the Amount Due and the Amount Paid
Fully Paid Date	It's critical to update this field with the date the invoice was fully paid, as this information is key for accurate reporting in Chaser.

Zap 5 - Create credit notes (e.g: Google Sheets)

Creating a new Zap: Go to your Zapier dashboard and create a new Zap.
Setting up the trigger: Choose 'Google Sheets' as your trigger app. Select the trigger event: New or updated spreadsheet row.
Connecting to Google Sheets: Connect your Google account to Zapier.
Selecting the spreadsheet and worksheet: Choose the specific spreadsheet and worksheet (tab) for credit notes. Set the trigger column to any column.
Testing the trigger: In the test section, click on "Find new records". Select the most recent record and click "Continue with selected record".
Setting up the action: Within the same Zap, click on Action. Search for Chaser in Zapier's app store and select it.
Choosing the action event: Select the event: Create Credit Note.
Connecting to Chaser: Log in to your Chaser account using the API keys. Refer to the guide for assistance.
Matching fields in the action section: Match the following fields from your spreadsheet to Chaser:

Credit Note ID	Credit Note ID
Credit Note Number	Credit Note Number
Remaining Credit	Remaining Credit
Date	Date (Format YYYY-MM-DD)
Status	Status (select 'Custom')
Total	Total
Currency Code	Currency Code
Customer ID	Customer External ID (select 'Custom')

Testing and publishing the Zap: After configuring, click Continue to move to the test section. Zapier will test the configuration. If successful, you can publish your Zap by clicking the Publish button.

Zap 6 - Update credit notes (e.g: Google Sheets)

The process for setting up a Zap to update credit note information in Chaser is similar to creating a new credit note. However, the crucial distinction is in the selection of the action event. For updating credit note details, you'll need to choose the "Update Credit Note" event in the "App & Event" section of the Zap setup. This ensures that the Zap modifies existing credit note data in Chaser instead of adding new credit note records.

Zap 7 - Create Additional Contacts

Creating a new Zap: Go to your Zapier dashboard and create a new Zap.
Setting up the trigger: Choose Google Sheets as your trigger app. Select the trigger event: New or updated spreadsheet row.
Connecting to Google Sheets: Connect your Google account to Zapier.
Selecting the spreadsheet and worksheet: Choose the specific spreadsheet and worksheet (tab) for additional contacts. Set the trigger column to 'any column'.
Testing the trigger: In the test section, click on Find new records. Select the most recent record and click Continue with selected record.
Setting up the action: Within the same Zap, click on Action. Search for Chaser in Zapier's app store and select it.
Choosing the action event: Select the event:'Create Additional Contact.
Connecting to Chaser: Log in to your Chaser account using the API keys. Refer to the guide for assistance.
Matching fields in the action section: Match the following fields from your spreadsheet to Chaser:

Customer ID	Customer ID (select 'Custom')
Contact ID	External ID
First Name	First Name
Last Name	Last Name
Email	Email
Status	Status (select Custom)

Testing and publishing the Zap: After configuring, click Continue to move to the test section. Zapier will test the configuration. If successful, you can publish your Zap by clicking the Publish button.

Zap 8 - Update additional contacts (e.g: Google Sheets)

The process for setting up a Zap to update additional contact information in Chaser is similar to creating additional contacts. However, the crucial distinction is in the selection of the action event. For updating/deleting additional contact details, you'll need to choose the Update Additional Contact event in the App & Event section of the Zap setup. This ensures that the Zap modifies existing additional contact data in Chaser instead of adding new additional contact records.

Zap 9 - Upload invoice PDF (e.g: Google Drive)

To upload a PDF invoice to Chaser, a multi-step Zap is required, which involves an additional third step in the Zap creation process. Note that multi-step Zaps are available only for premium Zapier users.

Google Drive Setup: Create a new folder in Google Drive to store the invoices. Upload the PDF invoices here, naming each file following the format [InvoiceNumber].pdf (e.g. GS08.pdf).
Creating the Zap: In Zapier, create a new Zap and name it Upload Invoice PDF.
Setting Up the Trigger: Search for Google Drive in the Zapier apps and select it. Choose New File in Folder as the event and continue.
Google Drive Connection: Connect to your Google account; if already connected, proceed by clicking continue.
Configure Trigger Details: In trigger settings, select the drive and then the specific folder for invoices.
Testing the Trigger: Click on Find new records, select the latest records, and continue.
Adding an Additional Step: Click on + between the trigger and action steps in the Zap.
Search and select Formatter by Zapier, then choose Text.
Configuring Formatter: For the event, select Text and continue. In action settings, choose Split Text. For input, select 'Title', use 'pdf' as the separator, choose First for Segment Index, then continue.
Setting Up the Action with Chaser: Select Chaser from Zapier's app store. Choose Upload Invoice PDF as the event and continue.
Chaser Account Connection: Log in to Chaser using API keys; if already connected, proceed.
Configuring Action Fields: Under Invoice ID, select the output from the formatter. For PDF File, select file from Google Drive.
Testing the Zap: Test the setup to ensure the data correctly transfers to Chaser.
Publishing the Zap: After successful testing, click Publish to activate the Zap.

Transfer data to your Chaser organization

Verify Zap activation: Navigate to the Zaps section in your Zapier dashboard. Here, you will find all your created Zaps. Ensure that each Zap is switched to the On position. This step is crucial as it allows the Zaps to actively monitor for triggers and perform their designated actions.
Triggering the Zaps: The Zaps will run automatically when a trigger is detected by Zapier. Triggers are based on the conditions you set up, like new or updated rows in a Google Sheets document. Upon triggering, the Zaps will process the data and transfer the necessary information from the source (e.g., Google Sheets, another app) to Chaser.
Synchronizing with Chaser: Log into your Chaser account and sync your organization to ensure Chaser updates with the latest data received from Zapier.
Reviewing updated data in Chaser: Once the synchronization is complete, you can review the updates in Chaser. All new or updated items, as transferred by the Zaps, should now be reflected in your Chaser account.