Resources · Make integration

Cflow Make integrationAutomate Cflow with Make.

Can Make keep your Cflow processes moving without copy and paste? The Cflow Make integration gives you 5 modules: 2 scheduled triggers and 3 actions. This guide is for ops teams who run approvals in Cflow, and it walks you from the connection to a first working scenario.

Try the Cflow integration on MakeSee the 5 modules

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What you can automate

What does the Cflow Make integration do?

The Cflow Make integration links your Cflow account to Make, a no-code tool where you build a scenario (the automation you build in Make: a chain of modules). Each module is one brick of that chain. Cflow brings two scheduled triggers and three actions, so Make can watch your processes and write records for you.

Requests that land straight in Cflow. A purchase request typed into a form in another app can become a Cflow entry through Create a Record, so nobody retypes it before the approval chain starts.

Approvals that reach the rest of your stack. With Watch Process Approval at the start of a scenario, an approved expense or contract can be pushed to your accounting tool, your chat or a spreadsheet. Watch Process Initiate does the same job one step earlier, when a process is launched.

Records kept up to date. Update a Record writes changes from another tool back into an existing Cflow record, and Make an API Call reaches any Cflow endpoint with the same connection when the listed modules stop short.

One honest limit: Make's own documentation for Cflow is flagged as limited, because little public information exists about the app. Expect to test each module with Run once before you trust it. If you want a second opinion on the platform, read our Make review, and if you hesitate between the two tools, the n8n vs Make comparison lays out the criteria. Cflow may also have an n8n node, which that comparison helps you weigh.

Connect

How do you connect Cflow to Make?

  1. 01

    Add a Cflow module

    In your scenario, click the + and search for Cflow. Pick any of its modules, then click Create a connection. A connection is your Cflow account linked to Make once, and every Cflow module reuses it afterwards.

  2. 02

    Name it and authorize

    Give the connection a name if you like, which helps when several teams share one Make account. Then either approve Make on the Cflow page that opens, or paste the key Cflow gives you, depending on what the window asks for.

  3. 03

    Save and check

    Click Save. Make returns to the module, and the connection now appears in its dropdown. If Make can read your Cflow data, the module fields start offering choices instead of empty boxes.

First scenario

Your first scenario with Cflow

GoalWhen a new request arrives in another app, Make creates the matching record in Cflow.

  1. 01

    Create the scenario

    On the Scenarios page, create a new scenario and click the big + to place the first module. This first module is the app where your requests arrive, such as a form tool.

  2. 02

    Set up the source

    Search that app, choose its trigger, click Create a connection and fill the fields. Make lists what it can read once the account is linked, so you pick rather than type.

  3. 03

    Add Create a Record

    Click the + on the right of the first module, search Cflow and choose Create a Record. Connect your Cflow account, then map each value from the request into the record.

  4. 04

    Test with Run once

    Send one test request, then click Run once. Open each module to read the bundles it received (a bundle is one item passing between modules) and check the new record in Cflow.

  5. 05

    Schedule and switch on

    Click the clock on the first module to set the schedule, every 15 minutes by default, then turn the scenario on. Each module run on one bundle counts as one operation on your plan.

Triggers

What starts a Cflow scenario

2 modules start a scenario when something happens in Cflow. A scheduled trigger is checked by Make on the scenario's schedule; an instant one is called by Cflow as soon as it happens.

Cflow1Watch Process Approval

Watch Process Approval

triggerIn the docs only

Going by its name, this trigger starts your scenario from Cflow approvals, so a decision taken in a workflow can reach other tools without anyone forwarding it. Make lists it without a description, so what it returns is best confirmed with a test.

How it fires
scheduled, Make checks Cflow on the scenario's schedule, every 15 minutes by default and never faster than that on the Free plan.
When to use it
when an approved request must trigger the next move elsewhere, such as posting to your finance channel.
Watch out
Cflow's documentation on Make is limited, so run the scenario once on a real approval before switching it on.
Cflow2Watch Process Initiate

Watch Process Initiate

triggerIn the docs only

Here the scenario wakes up earlier in the life of a request, when a Cflow process is started, going by the module's name. It suits teams that want to react before any approver has looked at the file.

How it fires
scheduled, Make checks Cflow on the scenario's schedule rather than being called by Cflow, so events reach Make at the next check.
When to use it
when a new request should open a matching task or row in another tool.
Watch out
Make gives no official description of this module, so read the bundles of a Run once before you map anything.
Modules

What the Cflow modules can do

Cflow gives you 3 modules. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Cflow1

Create a Record

ActionIn the docs only

You get a new Cflow record filled from data another module brought in, which saves retyping requests that start outside Cflow. Once the connection works, Make shows the fields it can write.

When to use it
whenever the source of a request lives in another app, such as a form or a spreadsheet row.
Watch out
each run creates a new record, so a test repeated several times leaves duplicates to clean up.
Cflow2

Make an API Call

ActionIn the docs only

Need a Cflow action that has no module of its own? This one sends any request the Cflow API accepts, with the connection you already set up.

When to use it
when Create a Record and Update a Record are not enough for what your process needs, and you know which request to send.
Watch out
Make's Cflow documentation is limited, so read Cflow's own API reference and test the call with Run once.
Cflow3

Update a Record

ActionIn the docs only

Changes made in another tool flow back into a Cflow record that already exists, so the two sides stop drifting apart. It acts on one record per bundle it receives.

When to use it
when a status, an amount or a contact changes elsewhere and Cflow must show the same value.
Watch out
the module most likely needs to know which record to change, so bring its identifier from an earlier module before mapping the new values.
Need help

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FAQ

Cflow and Make: common questions

01Is the Cflow Make integration free?
Yes, on the Make side. Cflow is a standard app, so its modules are available from the Free plan. That plan allows 2 active scenarios, a minimum of 15 minutes between two scheduled runs, 5 minutes of execution per run, files up to 5 MB and 512 MB of data transfer. Paid plans (Core, Pro, Teams and Enterprise) drop the interval to 1 minute and lift the active scenario cap. Your Cflow subscription is a separate matter that this page does not cover.
02What do you need to connect Cflow to Make?
A Cflow account and a Make account. Make's documentation lists no specific prerequisite for Cflow and no official connection steps, so the generic flow applies: add a Cflow module, click Create a connection, optionally name it, then authorize Make on Cflow's page or paste the key Cflow gives you, and save. If the window asks for access you do not have, your Cflow admin is the person to ask. Once saved, the same connection serves all five Cflow modules.
03Do the Cflow triggers in Make react in real time?
No. Both Cflow triggers, Watch Process Approval and Watch Process Initiate, are scheduled triggers: Make checks Cflow on the scenario's schedule instead of receiving a call from the app. A new scenario checks every 15 minutes by default, and 15 minutes is also the fastest interval on the Free plan. Paid plans can go down to 1 minute, which shortens the wait without making it instant. Pick the schedule based on how quickly the next team needs to know about a new approval.
04What if a Cflow module is missing in Make?
Use Make an API Call. It sends any request the Cflow API accepts, with the connection you already created, so you are not limited to Create a Record and Update a Record. Keep in mind that Make flags its Cflow documentation as limited because little public information exists about the app, so test every call with Run once and check the result in Cflow before switching the scenario on. Start with a single call and read its bundle before building on it.
05Should you use Make or n8n for Cflow?
It depends on the tool your team already works in. On Make, Cflow offers 5 modules: 2 scheduled triggers and 3 actions, plus Make an API Call for the rest, available from the Free plan. The same app often has an n8n node as well. Compare both on the modules you need for your process and on how comfortable your team feels in each editor, then build a test scenario in the one that fits.
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