Resources · Zapier integration

160.com.au Zapier integrationAutomate 160.com.au with Zapier.

The 160.com.au Zapier integration gives you 3 triggers, 12 actions and 2 searches. Enough to text a new contact, catch SMS replies, run one-time passcodes and keep your groups tidy, starting on the free plan, as long as you accept that every trigger here is checked on a timer.

Beta app Zapier still marks this integration as beta.

See the 17 operations

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

Overview

What the 160.com.au Zapier integration actually does

160.com.au is an Australian bulk SMS gateway: you send texts, keep contacts in groups, and receive replies. Plugging it into Zapier means another app can make it send a text, file a contact or check a code, and a fresh contact or reply on 160.com.au can start work somewhere else, without anyone copying numbers by hand.

Three results come up again and again. First, a welcome text that sends itself: New Contact spots the person, Send SMS writes to them. Second, a reply inbox that lands where your team works: New Incoming SMS picks up each answer and the next step drops it into your CRM or your chat tool. Third, a passcode check without code: Send OTP texts a one-time code, Verify OTP tells you whether what the person typed matched, failed, expired or was already used.

Now the part the app page skips. None of the three triggers is instant, so nothing reacts the second a text arrives: on the free plan you wait up to 15 minutes. A reply only reaches Zapier if the first text went out with a reply-to email address or from a 160 virtual number. And Zapier does not go back in time: contacts and messages that existed before you switched the Zap on stay where they are.

If you are still choosing a tool, the Make vs Zapier and n8n vs Zapier comparisons put the three tools side by side.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight words carry the rest of this page. Each one is explained once here, then used as is.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one starting event, then one or more steps that run every single time that event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, like a new contact on 160.com.au. Once the Zap is on, Zapier sits and waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that sends a text, creates a contact or deletes a message on your behalf.
Task
The unit Zapier bills you for: one action that completes successfully. The number on your plan counts exactly those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer and Zapier keeps only what is new. An instant one is pushed by the app the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap carry on only when the incoming data meets your condition, and quietly stops it the rest of the time.
Search step
A step that looks up something that already exists, such as a contact by mobile number, so later steps can reuse what it found.
Connection
Your 160.com.au account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step of every Zap that talks to that app.
Cost

What it really costs you

160.com.au is not a premium app, so it runs on the free plan. Zapier lists it as a beta.

  • Tasks on the free plan100 per month
  • Zaps on the free planUnlimited, two steps each
  • Premium appNo

The trigger never costs a task, and neither does Zapier checking for new contacts or messages, however often it looks. You pay for each action that goes through: a Zap that sends one SMS and then updates a contact burns two tasks per run, and an action that fails is not counted. The free plan stops at two steps, one trigger and one action. Add a filter, a search or a second action and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan.

Connect

Connect your 160.com.au account in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. You need a 160.com.au account first, plus access to anything you do not own and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Find 160.com.au

    Type 160.com.au in the search box of the dialog, pick it from the list, then click Add connection. A new browser tab then opens on the 160.com.au side, ready for you.

  3. 03

    Sign in and allow access

    Log in to 160.com.au in that tab and grant Zapier access to the account. The connection now shows on the Apps page and every Zap you build can reuse it.

First Zap

Your first Zap: welcome every new contact by text

GoalEach new 160.com.au contact in a given group gets one welcome SMS, and nobody else does.

  1. 01

    Create the Zap and pick the trigger

    Start a new Zap, choose 160.com.au as the app, then New Contact as the event. Then select the connection you made earlier.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger on real data

    Run the test: Zapier brings back the three most recent contacts of your account. Pick one that looks like the people you will text.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Click the plus icon, choose Filter, then set the field, the rule and the value. Pick a text rule for a text field, or the filter never passes. This step makes the Zap multi-step.

  4. 04

    Add Send SMS and map the fields

    Add 160.com.au again with Send SMS. Map the contact's phone into Mobile Number and write the Text Message. One number per request only.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Run the action test once and read what came back, then Publish. From now on, only contacts created after this moment get the text.

Triggers

160.com.au triggers on Zapier

3 events start a Zap when something happens in 160.com.au. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

New Contact

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when new contact created.”

Every time someone is added to your 160.com.au contacts, this trigger hands that new contact to the Zap so the steps that follow can work with it. It is the natural start for anything that should happen once per person, such as a welcome text or a copy in your CRM.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
a sales rep adds leads from an event and each one should get a first SMS without anyone remembering to send it.
Watch out
contacts imported in bulk all arrive together, and a very large batch can be held back by Zapier's flood protection.
2

New Incoming SMS

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new SMS reply or inbound message is received on your 160.com.au account. Replies are only received when the original SMS was sent with a reply-to email address or from a 160 virtual number.”

Replies and inbound texts become events you can route. Each answer received on your 160.com.au account starts the Zap, so it can land in a shared inbox, a ticket or a spreadsheet row instead of staying on the gateway.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
a clinic texts appointment reminders and wants every reply posted to the front desk channel.
Watch out
a reply only exists here when the original SMS went out with a reply-to email address or from a 160 virtual number; otherwise nothing arrives.
3

New Message

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new message is sent.”

This one watches the outgoing side. When a message is sent from your account, the Zap starts with its details, which gives you a log of what left the gateway, wherever it was sent from.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
a manager wants every campaign text recorded in a sheet for later checks, including the ones sent straight from 160.com.au.
Watch out
a Zap that starts here and then runs Send SMS creates a new message, which starts the Zap again; keep sending out of this Zap or put a filter in front.
Actions

160.com.au actions on Zapier

160.com.au gives you 12 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Contact

Action

In Zapier“Creates contact in the system.”

Adds a person to 160.com.au from any other app. First Name, Last Name, Phone and Group are all required, so the record lands straight in a group you can text later.

When to use it
a web form collects sign-ups and each one should join your SMS list.
Watch out
a form without a last name field blocks the step; map a fallback value.
2

Delete Contact

Action

In Zapier“Deletes contact from the system.”

Erases a contact from 160.com.au for good, with only the ContactID to supply. A cleaner exit than leaving dead numbers in your groups.

When to use it
someone asks to be forgotten in your help desk and the SMS gateway should follow.
Watch out
map the ID from a Find Contact step, never type it by hand.
3

Delete Message

Action

In Zapier“Deletes message from system.”

Removes a message by its ID, usually mapped from New Message or from a Send SMS step. If the text is still queued or delayed, deleting it also cancels it before it goes out.

When to use it
an appointment gets cancelled after the reminder was scheduled.
4

Send SMS

Action

In Zapier“Sends SMS to specified number.”

Texts one mobile number with the message you write or map. Symbols that are not digits get ignored, and a number starting with 0 is read as Australian.

When to use it
a booking is confirmed in your calendar tool and the client gets a text.
Watch out
one number per request; for international characters, use UTF-8 encoding.
5

Send SMS to Group

Action

In Zapier“Sends SMS to Group. 100 SMS max at once. Put to the queue if all messages are accepted.”

Sends the same message to a whole group in one step, instead of one Send SMS per person. The batch is queued once all messages are accepted.

When to use it
a venue changes an event time and every attendee in that group must know.
Watch out
160.com.au takes 100 SMS at most in one go.
6

Add Contact to Group

Action

In Zapier“Adds an existing contact to a group. The contact keeps its other group memberships.”

Puts a contact who already exists into one more group, while keeping all the groups they belonged to. Contact ID and Group are required; a Find Contact step looks the ID up from a mobile number.

When to use it
a customer buys a second product and should also hear about it.
7

Create Group

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new contact group.”

Opens a new contact group with only a name to give. Handy when each event, branch or campaign deserves its own list rather than one big pile.

When to use it
a new project starts in your project tool and its stakeholders need a dedicated SMS group.
8

Get Account Balance

Action

In Zapier“Returns the current credit balance, registered phone number, approved sender IDs and virtual numbers for the account.”

Reads your account rather than changing it: credit balance, registered phone number, approved sender IDs and virtual numbers come back for the next steps.

When to use it
before a big group send, check the credit and alert finance in your chat tool.
Watch out
it still counts as a task each time it succeeds.
9

Remove Contact From Group

Action

In Zapier“Removes a contact from a group. The contact stays in its other groups. A contact must belong to at least one group, so the last group cannot be removed.”

Takes a contact out of one group and keeps them in the others. Contact ID and Group are both required.

When to use it
a subscription ends in your billing tool and the person should leave the customer list.
Watch out
a contact has to stay in at least one group, so removing the last one fails.
10

Send OTP

Action

In Zapier“Sends a one-time passcode by SMS to a mobile number using one of your OTP configurations. Use Verify OTP to check the code the person enters.”

Texts a one-time passcode using one of your OTP configurations, which set the sender ID, the code length and how long it stays valid. Numbers go in international format without the plus sign; Australian ones starting with 0 are converted for you.

When to use it
a member portal wants a quick phone check before granting access.
11

Update Contact

Action

In Zapier“Updates an existing contact. Only the fields you fill in are changed; the rest are kept as they are.”

Changes an existing contact and leaves untouched every field you keep empty. It needs the 160 contact ID, which you usually get from a Find Contact step placed just before.

When to use it
someone edits their details in your CRM and the SMS list should follow.
Watch out
without that ID the step has nothing to update.
12

Verify OTP

Action

In Zapier“Checks a one-time passcode entered by a person against the code sent with Send OTP. Returns whether it matched, failed, expired or was already used.”

Checks the code a person typed against the one Send OTP delivered, using the same configuration and the same mobile number. The result reads Matched, Failed, Expired or Already used.

When to use it
route people who pass to the next step and send the rest back.
Watch out
the matched field is true only on the first successful match.
Searches

160.com.au searches on Zapier

2 search steps look for data that already exists in 160.com.au, so a later step can use it.

Searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Some fields also offer + Add search step, which inserts the lookup just before and wires its result in. Three settings decide what happens when the answer is not clean.

1

Find Group

SearchFind or create

In Zapier“Finds a contact group by name.”

Looks up a contact group by its name and returns it, so a later step gets the Group ID without you hard-coding it. The editor also shows Find or Create Group: same search, with the create box ticked.

When to use it
a form lets people choose a branch and the contact must join the matching group.
2

Find Contact

SearchFind or create

In Zapier“Finds a contact by mobile number.”

Finds a contact from a mobile number, with partial matches allowed from 5 digits up, digits only. It is the usual way to get the Contact ID that updates, group moves and deletions demand. Find or Create Contact is this same search with creation switched on.

When to use it
an incoming reply should update the sender's record.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, an empty search halts the Zap there and the dependent steps are skipped. Switch it on and the Zap goes on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    Ticking it turns the search into a find-or-create: the setting above disappears and Zapier asks for the fields needed to create the missing item.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first one (the default), stop the Zap, or pass all of them along at once.
When it breaks

When a 160.com.au Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to 160.com.au, so the failures below come from how every Zap behaves.

Most broken Zaps on this app are not bugs: they follow rules nobody read. Four of them cover nearly every case. If a Zap still misbehaves after that, the Zapier troubleshooting guide walks through the checks, and the Zapier agency can take the build off your hands.

  • Old contacts never show up

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Existing contacts and past replies are not picked up; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • The Zap keeps setting itself off

    New Message followed by Send SMS writes the very thing the trigger watches. Each run starts another, and the task count drains fast.

  • A bulk import goes quiet

    Hundreds of contacts arriving at once can be held back by Zapier's flood protection, so the welcome texts do not all go out by themselves.

  • Nothing fires twice, by design

    On a polling trigger Zapier remembers what it already saw. An edited contact will not restart New Contact, which only looks for new ones.
Need help

Need help automating 160.com.au with Zapier?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

160.com.au and Zapier: common questions

01Is the 160.com.au Zapier integration free?
Yes, on Zapier's side it is. 160.com.au is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan, which gives you 100 tasks a month and as many Zaps as you like. The catch is size: a free Zap holds two steps, one trigger and one action. As soon as you add a filter, a search like Find Contact or a second action, the Zap becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan. Zapier also flags the app as a beta, so check the editor before relying on it.
02How many Zapier tasks does a 160.com.au Zap use?
One per action that succeeds, nothing for the trigger. Zapier never bills the checks it runs to look for new contacts or messages, however often they happen. So a Zap that spots a new contact and sends one SMS costs one task per contact. Add Update Contact after it and each run costs two. An action that fails is not counted, which helps, but a loop that runs successfully keeps eating tasks until you switch it off.
03Does 160.com.au trigger Zaps in real time?
No. All three triggers, New Contact, New Incoming SMS and New Message, are polling triggers: Zapier asks 160.com.au for new items at a fixed interval. That interval depends on your plan: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. On paid plans you can also run a check by hand from the editor. The type is set by the app itself and nothing in the editor turns these triggers into instant ones, so a reply can wait several minutes before your team sees it.
04What is required to connect a 160.com.au account to Zapier?
A working 160.com.au account and a Zapier account. From the Apps page you click + Add connection, search for 160.com.au, click Add connection, sign in in the tab that opens and allow access. If the Zap touches anything you do not own yourself, you also need read or write access on it. For the passcode actions, one more thing must exist beforehand: an OTP configuration created under OTP in your 160.com.au account, because Send OTP and Verify OTP both require one and Zapier cannot create it.
05Why does New Incoming SMS miss some replies?
Because 160.com.au only receives a reply when the original text was sent with a reply-to email address or from a 160 virtual number. A message sent any other way can be answered on the phone, but that answer never reaches your account, so the trigger has nothing to pick up. Before you build a reply flow, check how your outgoing texts are sent. Get Account Balance can list the virtual numbers on your account if you are not sure which ones you have.
06What if the operation you need is not on the list?
Then the editor will not show it, and no setting will add it. The 17 operations on this page are everything Zapier currently offers for 160.com.au. Often a combination covers the gap: a Find Contact search followed by Update Contact, or New Message paired with Delete Message to cancel a queued text. When no combination works, the honest answer is that Zapier cannot do it for this app today, and the comparison pages on this site help you weigh another tool.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for 160.com.au?
It depends on three criteria rather than on a winner. Readiness: on Zapier the 160.com.au app already exists, with 17 operations, a three-step connection and a free plan that runs a two-step Zap. Timing: all three triggers here are polling, so check whether the delay of your plan suits the replies you handle. Ownership: decide who will maintain the flow and how much branching it needs. Then compare the same criteria on Make and n8n, where you should first check that a ready 160.com.au module exists before assuming it does.
Same platform

Other docs you might need on this stack.

Browse all integrations