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NorthGRC Zapier integrationAutomate NorthGRC with Zapier.

NorthGRC Zapier integration: 8 triggers, 8 actions and 4 searches covering incidents, tasks, assets and vendors. Zapier can pass a new incident to your team, open follow-up tasks or keep your vendor register in step with the tools around it.

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Overview

What the NorthGRC Zapier integration does for a compliance team

The NorthGRC Zapier integration links NorthGRC, a platform for governance, risk and compliance work, to Zapier, a tool that chains apps together without code. Incidents, tasks, assets and vendors can then move between NorthGRC and the rest of your tools, in both directions, without copying them by hand.

Three results justify the setup. First, no incident left without an owner: New Incident can open a task with Create Task, or warn the security lead in a chat tool. Second, a vendor register that stays current: when procurement adds a supplier elsewhere, Create Vendor records it in NorthGRC, and Update Vendor keeps its details aligned. Third, an asset inventory fed from the field: a form or a spreadsheet can feed Create Asset, and Updated Asset tells the IT team what changed.

Now the limits. All 8 triggers work by polling: Zapier checks NorthGRC on a timer, every 15 minutes on the free plan. Each operation works inside one workbench, which you must pick in every step. The update actions need the exact ID of the record, and some ask for many required fields, so a partial update is not possible. There is no delete action either.

Before choosing a platform, read our n8n vs Zapier comparison. For a rollout across several workbenches, talk to our Zapier agency team.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary for this page

Eight terms come back across the page. Each one in a single line.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap, such as a new NorthGRC incident. Once the Zap is on, Zapier watches for it.
Action
What the Zap does once started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you, such as creating a task.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. Not to be confused with a NorthGRC task.
Polling trigger
A trigger Zapier checks on a timer, keeping only what it has not seen yet. All 8 NorthGRC triggers work this way.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when the incoming data meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up a record that already exists, such as a vendor, so the next steps can use what it found.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A filter, a search or a second action makes it one, and it then needs a paid plan.
Cost

What a NorthGRC Zap costs

Zapier bills tasks, meaning successful actions. The NorthGRC trigger and Zapier's regular checks cost nothing.

  • Trigger0 tasks
  • Successful action1 task each
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, 2-step Zaps
  • Premium appNo, works on the free plan

Each action that goes through counts once; one that fails is not counted. A Zap that turns each incident into a NorthGRC task uses one task per incident. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps and checks every 15 minutes, but each Zap stops at two steps: one trigger, one action. NorthGRC is not a premium app, so that simple Zap works for free. As soon as you add a filter (only severe incidents) or a search (find the vendor first), the Zap becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan, which also checks more often.

Connect

Connect NorthGRC to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. Search for NorthGRC in the dialog and pick it. You need a NorthGRC account before you start.

  2. 02

    Sign in to NorthGRC

    Click Add connection. A tab opens on NorthGRC: sign in with the account that has access to the workbenches you want to automate, with read rights for triggers and write rights for actions.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier to use the account. The connection then appears on the Apps page, and every NorthGRC step of your Zaps reuses it without asking for a new sign-in.

First Zap

Your first NorthGRC Zap: severe incidents become tasks

GoalEach time a severe incident is logged in a NorthGRC workbench, create a follow-up task in that workbench so someone owns the response.

  1. 01

    Create the Zap

    In Zapier, start a new Zap. The editor opens on an empty trigger card waiting for an app and an event. This Zap has a filter, so it needs a paid plan.

  2. 02

    Set the trigger

    Choose NorthGRC, then New Incident, the connection and the workbench to watch. Test it: Zapier brings back the three most recent incidents, so you map fields on a real one.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Add a Filter step from the plus icon. Pick the severity field, the rule that matches that field's type, and the level that should open a task. Other incidents stop here.

  4. 04

    Add the action

    Add Create Task. Pick the same workbench, a phase, then map the incident name into the task name and fill the description, dates and estimated hours, which are all required.

  5. 05

    Test and publish

    Run each step once and open the task in NorthGRC to check it. Then click Publish. Each matching incident now costs one task.

Triggers

The 8 NorthGRC triggers

8 events start a Zap when something happens in NorthGRC. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

New Asset

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new asset is created in the selected workbench.”

Starts the Zap when someone adds an asset to the workbench you pick, whether it is a laptop, an application or a data store. The new entry can then reach your IT inventory or a review queue.

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
the IT lead wants each new asset posted in the team channel so its owner and classification get checked.
Watch out
it watches one workbench at a time; assets added to another workbench need their own Zap.
2

New Incident

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new Incident is created in the selected workbench.”

Fires when an incident is logged in the selected workbench. It is usually the first trigger a security team connects, since an incident is the record nobody should discover late.

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
the DPO wants each incident announced in a private channel with its date and severity, to judge quickly whether it must be reported.
Watch out
on the free plan the alert can come up to 15 minutes after the incident is logged.
3

New Task Created

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new task has been created in the selected workbench.”

Reacts when a planning task appears in a workbench. That makes NorthGRC's plan visible where your team already works, instead of in one more tool people forget to open.

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 compliance manager copies each new task into the team's project board so it sits next to the rest of the quarter's work.
Watch out
if a Zap also creates tasks in the same workbench, this trigger sees them as well; keep the two apart.
4

New Vendor

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new vendor is created in the selected workbench.”

Goes off when a supplier is added to the vendor register of a workbench. Procurement, finance and legal all care about that moment, and this trigger lets each of them hear about it.

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
the legal team wants a row in its contract tracker for each new vendor, to check that a data processing agreement exists.
Watch out
vendors registered before the Zap went live are never sent; bring those over separately.
5

Updated Asset

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an Asset was updated in the selected workbench.”

Each change to an existing asset in the selected workbench sets this one off. The latest version of the record travels on, so a copy kept elsewhere does not slowly drift from the register.

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
an IT service desk keeps its own asset list and wants each change in NorthGRC mirrored there.
Watch out
pairing it with Update Asset on the same workbench makes each update restart the Zap, burning tasks.
6

Updated Incident

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an existing incident has been updated in the selected workbench.”

Responds when an incident already on file is edited: a new state, a corrected severity, corrective actions added. It is how the people outside NorthGRC learn that the story moved on.

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
management wants a short note in its channel whenever an incident changes state, without logging in.
Watch out
every edit counts, even a typo fix, so a filter on the state field keeps the noise down.
7

Updated Task

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a task was updated in the selected workbench.”

Triggers when a NorthGRC task is changed in the selected workbench, for instance a new due date or a new phase. Your other planning tools can follow without anyone retyping the change.

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
an audit lead tracks deadlines in a shared calendar and wants each moved date updated there.
Watch out
combined with Update Task on the same tasks, the Zap feeds itself and loops.
8

Update Vendor

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a Vendor is updated in the selected workbench.”

A vendor record edited in NorthGRC wakes this trigger, such as a new criticality level or a change of service type. Despite its name, this one is a trigger, not an action: it watches, it does not write.

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
the purchasing team wants to know when a supplier's criticality changes, to review the contract.
Watch out
it shares its name with the Update Vendor action; check the step type in the editor.
Actions

The 8 NorthGRC actions

NorthGRC gives you 8 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Asset

Action

In Zapier“Create a new Asset in the application.”

Adds an asset to the inventory of a workbench, with its name, description and category.

When to use it
new equipment logged in a purchasing sheet should appear in NorthGRC without a second entry.
Watch out
the asset category is required, so decide which category each source row maps to before publishing.
2

Create Incident

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new Incident in the application.”

Logs a new incident in a workbench from an event spotted elsewhere, with its name, description, severity and date.

When to use it
a form employees use to report a lost device feeds the register directly.
Watch out
severity and incident date are both required; a form without them cannot fill the step.
3

Create Task

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new planning task in the application.”

Opens a planning task in a workbench, so a piece of work gets a name, an owner phase and dates.

When to use it
each severe incident should produce a follow-up task, as in the Zap above.
Watch out
start date, due date, estimated work hours and phase are all mandatory; map or fix each one.
4

Create Vendor

Action

In Zapier“Create a new vendor in the application.”

Registers a new supplier in a workbench, with a name, a description and a vendor category.

When to use it
a vendor approved in your purchasing tool should land in the register the same day.
Watch out
NorthGRC treats vendors as a type of asset, so the category you pick must be the asset type "Vendor".
5

Update Asset

Action

In Zapier“Update an existing Asset in the application.”

Edits an asset already in the inventory, rewriting its name, description, category and third-country setting.

When to use it
a device reassigned in your IT tool should carry its new details into NorthGRC.
Watch out
without the asset ID the step cannot find the record; take it from a trigger, from Create Asset or from the edit dialog.
6

Update Incident

Action

In Zapier“Update existing incidents in the application.”

Rewrites an existing incident: its state, reason, corrective actions and the rest of its record.

When to use it
a ticket closed in your help desk should move the matching incident forward.
Watch out
it needs the incident ID and every required field, from the number of data subjects to the hidden flag; a partial update is not possible.
7

Update Task

Action

In Zapier“Update a existing task in the application.”

Changes an existing task, from its dates and phase to its repetition settings.

When to use it
a deadline moved in your project tool should move in NorthGRC too.
Watch out
it asks for both the sequence ID and the instance ID of the task; the triggers and Create Task return them, otherwise find them in the task's edit dialog.
8

Update Vendor

Action

In Zapier“Update a existing Vendor in the application.”

Brings a vendor record up to date: service type, criticality, third-country flag, name and description.

When to use it
a supplier's risk review finished in another tool should update its criticality.
Watch out
every one of those fields is required, so send the full record, not only the value that changed.
Searches

The 4 NorthGRC searches

4 search steps look for data that already exists in NorthGRC, so a later step can use it.

A search step looks up a record that already exists and hands it to the next steps. In the editor, the NorthGRC searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Each one needs the record's ID: they fetch the full record, they do not search by name. Three settings decide what happens next.

1

Find Asset

Search

In Zapier“Find an existing Asset In the application.”

Fetches the complete record of an asset from its ID, so later steps can use fields the trigger did not carry.

When to use it
a Zap started elsewhere holds an asset ID and needs the asset's category before acting.
Watch out
it reads by ID only; searching by asset name is not possible.
2

Find Incident

Search

In Zapier“Find an existing Incident in the application.”

Pulls up an existing incident by its ID, with its full details, inside the workbench you choose.

When to use it
before calling Update Incident, you want the current values so the fields you do not change keep their content.
Watch out
a wrong workbench means no result, which stops the Zap by default.
3

Find Task

Search

In Zapier“Find an existing task in the application.”

Retrieves a task from its instance ID, the number that identifies one occurrence of that task.

When to use it
a reminder Zap needs the due date and phase of a task it only knows by ID.
Watch out
on a repeating task, each occurrence has its own instance ID; pick the right one.
4

Find Vendor

Search

In Zapier“Find an existing vendor in the application.”

Looks up a vendor by its ID and returns the whole record to the next steps.

When to use it
a contract renewal Zap checks the vendor's criticality before alerting the owner.
Watch out
adding this search makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap there and the steps after it are skipped. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    Ticking it turns a search into a find-or-create. NorthGRC offers no such variant here, so this box does not apply to its searches.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several records match: keep the first, which is the default, stop the Zap, or pass them all on at once.
When it breaks

When a NorthGRC Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to NorthGRC and lists no NorthGRC-specific limit. What breaks comes from Zapier's rules and from the fields the app requires.

Six situations explain most surprises, so read them before you publish. If a Zap still misbehaves, head to our Zapier troubleshooting page.

  • Old incidents never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. Incidents, tasks and vendors already in NorthGRC are not picked up; moving them is a separate job.

  • A task Zap that never stops

    Updated Task feeding Update Task on the same workbench writes where its own trigger watches. Each run restarts the Zap and eats tasks fast.

  • An update fails on a missing field

    The update actions require the full record, not only the changed value. A field left empty, or an ID that is missing, makes the step fail.

  • A search stops the Zap

    When a NorthGRC search finds nothing, the Zap stops there by default. Switch on the setting that lets it continue if that is what you want.

  • A bulk import is held back

    After importing many assets or vendors at once, the trigger can return a huge batch. Zapier's flood protection may hold it back instead of running each one.

  • No duplicates from polling

    Zapier remembers what it has already seen on a polling trigger, so one incident does not start the Zap twice across several checks.
Need help

Need help automating NorthGRC with Zapier?

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FAQ

NorthGRC Zapier integration: frequent questions

01Is the NorthGRC Zapier integration free?
Yes, for two-step Zaps. NorthGRC is not a premium app, so it works on Zapier's free plan, which gives 100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps and checks every 15 minutes. The limit is the shape of the Zap: one trigger and one action. Adding a filter, a search or a second action makes it a multi-step Zap, which needs a paid plan. Many useful NorthGRC Zaps, such as one that only reacts to severe incidents, fall into that second group.
02How many tasks does a NorthGRC Zap use?
One per successful action, each time the Zap runs. The NorthGRC trigger costs nothing, and neither do Zapier's regular checks, however often they happen. A Zap that creates a NorthGRC task for each new incident uses one task per incident. If it also posts a chat message, that is two. An action that fails, for example because a required field is empty, is not counted, but the record is then not written.
03Does NorthGRC send data to Zapier in real time?
No. All 8 NorthGRC triggers are polling triggers: Zapier asks NorthGRC for new or updated records at a fixed interval. That interval is 15 minutes on the free plan, 2 minutes on Professional, and one minute on Team and Enterprise. The type comes from NorthGRC and cannot be changed in the editor. On paid plans, the interval can be adjusted and a check can be run by hand from the editor.
04What does it take to connect NorthGRC to Zapier?
A NorthGRC account with access to the workbenches you want to automate: read access for the triggers and searches, write access for the actions. Every NorthGRC step asks you to pick a workbench, so the account must see the right ones. The connection is made once from the Apps page in Zapier: add a connection, choose NorthGRC, sign in on the tab that opens and grant access. No paid plan is needed for this.
05Why does a NorthGRC update action keep failing?
Usually because a required field is empty or the ID is missing. The update actions rewrite the whole record: Update Incident, for instance, asks for the state, the reason, the corrective actions, the number of data subjects and more. Each one also needs the record's ID, which the triggers and the create actions return. A Find step before the update can bring back the current values, so you can resend the fields you do not want to change.
06What if the NorthGRC operation you need is not in Zapier?
Then Zapier cannot do it with NorthGRC today. The list is fixed: 8 triggers, 8 actions and 4 searches, all about incidents, tasks, assets and vendors. There is no delete action, and nothing to search a record by name. The usual workaround is to combine what exists, for example a trigger that returns an ID and a search that reads the full record. Beyond that, the agency team can study a route for your case.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for NorthGRC?
It depends on your criteria, not on a ranking. Zapier offers 20 ready-made NorthGRC operations and a free plan for two-step Zaps, which suits a team that wants to start without setup. For Make and n8n, judge on the same criteria rather than on reputation: check first that each platform covers the NorthGRC records you need and their required fields, how it counts each run, and what that comes to at your volume of incidents and tasks.
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