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Onboard.io Zapier integrationAutomate Onboard.io with Zapier.

10 triggers, 14 actions, 4 searches. That is the full Onboard.io Zapier integration as the editor shows it today: what each operation does for your customer onboarding, what it costs in tasks, which triggers fire instantly, and where a Map setup tends to break.

See the 28 operations

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Overview

What the Onboard.io Zapier integration actually does

Onboard.io is a customer implementation tool built around Maps, the shared plans a team follows to launch each client. Zapier links it to your other apps through Zaps (an automation: one event that starts it, then one or more steps that run each time). On the free plan it works out of the box, since Zapier does not reserve Onboard.io for paid plans.

Three results come up again and again. A Map for every new customer: New Customer starts the Zap and Create Map builds the plan, with the owner and the variable options that generate its tasks. Customer conversations that reach your team: New Discussion Message fires on every message posted in a task discussion, and you send it wherever your team already reads. A roster that stays in sync: Create Team Member adds a colleague to the account and Add Team Member to Map puts them on the right projects.

Now the part the app page does not spell out. No operation deletes anything: there is no way to remove a Map, a task or a customer from a Zap. Six of the ten triggers are checked on a timer rather than reported live, so a free account waits up to 15 minutes on them. And a Zap never looks back: Maps that existed before you switched it on stay untouched.

If you are weighing the same job on other platforms, the Make vs Zapier and n8n vs Zapier comparisons are a good place to start. For our take on the tool itself, read the Zapier review.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

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

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every single time that trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, such as a new customer in Onboard.io. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you, like creating a Map or a task.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The number on your plan counts exactly those, nothing else.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer and Zapier keeps only what it has not seen yet. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it quietly otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, such as a team member by email, so the steps after it can use what it found.
Connection
Your Onboard.io account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step of every Zap that touches Onboard.io.
Cost

What it really costs

The trigger itself never costs a task, and neither does Zapier checking for new Maps, however often it looks.

  • Onboard.io on the free planYes, not reserved for paid plans
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • Trigger and checks0 tasks
  • Instant triggers4 of 10, no waiting on any plan

You pay per successful action: a Zap with three actions eats three times what a one-action Zap does, and an action that fails is not counted. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and Zaps of two steps only. Add a second action, a filter or a search and you have a multi-step Zap (anything beyond one trigger and one action), which needs a paid plan. Timing follows the same split: polling triggers wait up to 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional and 1 on Team or Enterprise, while instant ones never wait.

Connect

Connect your Onboard.io account

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. You need an Onboard.io account, plus access to any Map or customer you do not own and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Find Onboard.io

    Type Onboard.io in the search box of the dialog, pick it from the results, then click Add connection. Zapier opens a new tab for the Onboard.io sign-in.

  3. 03

    Sign in and allow access

    Log in to Onboard.io in that tab and grant Zapier access to the account. The connection is then saved once and offered in every Onboard.io step you build later.

First Zap

Your first Onboard.io Zap, step by step

GoalEvery new Map gets a kickoff task and the right colleague, without anyone opening Onboard.io.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Build the Zap: choose Onboard.io as the app and New Map as the event, then select your connection. This trigger is a polling one, so its delay follows your plan.

  2. 02

    Test it on a real Map

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent Maps of the account, so you map the next steps on a genuine record rather than on sample data.

  3. 03

    Add the kickoff task

    Add Create One-Off Task. Map the Map ID from the trigger result and type a fixed Task Name, the same for every new launch.

  4. 04

    Staff the Map

    Add Add Team Member to Map, map the same Map and pick the colleague. Two actions make this a multi-step Zap: it needs a paid plan and spends two tasks per new Map.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each action once and read what came back in Onboard.io. When both results look right, click Publish to switch the Zap on.

Triggers

The 10 Onboard.io triggers

10 events start a Zap when something happens in Onboard.io, and 4 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

Customer Custom Field Updated

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when selected customer custom field is updated.”

Starts the Zap when one customer custom field you choose changes value. You select the field in the trigger settings, so a Zap reacts to that field only and ignores edits made elsewhere on the customer.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
a customer moves to a new tier or segment in a custom field, and your CRM or billing tool has to follow.
2

Form Submitted

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new form is created.”

Reacts to Onboard.io forms. The name speaks of a submitted form, while the official description talks about a new form being created, so treat the test result as the truth.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
answers a customer gives during onboarding have to land in a spreadsheet or a CRM record without retyping.
Watch out
fill in a real form, run the trigger test and check what actually came back before mapping any field.
3

Map Custom Field Updated

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when selected map custom field is updated.”

The Map-level twin of the customer field trigger: it fires when a Map custom field you selected changes. Edits to other fields of the same Map leave the Zap asleep.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
a project field such as a contract phase or a risk flag changes, and a manager has to hear about it straight away.
4

New Discussion Message

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new message is posted in the discussion of a Task.”

Fires on each message posted in the discussion attached to a task. It is the cleanest way to get customer questions out of Onboard.io and into the tool your team watches all day.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan.
When to use it
a customer asks something inside a task and your support channel should see it without anyone refreshing the Map.
Watch out
a Zap that answers with Create Discussion Message posts a new message, which sets this trigger off again.
5

New Map

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new Map is created.”

Picks up every Map created in the account, whoever created it. This is the natural starting point for anything that should happen once per launch: a kickoff task, a staffing step, a record elsewhere.

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 new implementation project should open a matching record in your project or finance tool.
Watch out
Maps created before the Zap was published are never picked up.
6

Updated Map

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a Map's properties such as status, owner, or target launch date is changed.”

Catches changes to a Map's properties: its status, its owner or its target launch date. One trigger covers all three, so you do not need a separate Zap for each kind of 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
a launch date slips or an owner changes, and the account manager or the customer success lead has to know.
Watch out
any of those three changes starts the Zap, so add a filter if only status moves matter to you.
7

New Customer

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new onboardee customer is created.”

Starts when a new onboardee customer, the company you are onboarding, appears in the account. It pairs naturally with Create Map to give each new client a plan of its own.

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
sales closes a deal, the customer lands in Onboard.io, and a welcome sequence or a Map should follow.
Watch out
customers created by Create or Update Customer from another Zap also start this one.
8

New or Updated Map Task

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when any tasks in any Map within your account are created, updated, or removed. Event Type field will be returned as "created", "updated", or "removed".”

The broadest trigger of the app: it fires when any task in any Map is created, updated or removed. Each run comes with an Event Type field set to created, updated or removed.

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
you want a log of task progress across every project, or a ping when a task is removed.
Watch out
it watches all Maps at once, so a filter on Event Type keeps the Zap from running, and spending tasks, on events you do not need.
9

New Team Member

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new Team Member is created.”

Fires when a Team Member is added to your Onboard.io account, on your side of the onboarding rather than the customer side. Handy for keeping internal tools aligned with who works in Onboard.io.

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 new hire gets an Onboard.io seat, and your HR or access tracker should record it.
Watch out
a Zap that adds people with Create Team Member and also watches this trigger loops on itself.
10

Roles

Polling trigger

In Zapier“List of onboard roles”

Watches the list of roles defined in your Onboard.io account. The official description says only that it lists roles, which makes it more of a helper than a business event.

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
you want to know when a role is added, for instance to keep a reference sheet of roles in step with the account.
Watch out
test it first, since the description gives no detail on what each run carries.
Actions

The 14 Onboard.io actions

Onboard.io gives you 14 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add Team Member to Map

Action

In Zapier“Adds an existing team member to a Map.”

Puts an existing team member on a given Map, with the option to assign tasks to them. Map and Team Member are both required.

When to use it
each new Map should be staffed with the same implementation lead or with the account owner.
Watch out
the person has to be a Team Member already; this action never creates one.
2

Create or Update Customer

Action

In Zapier“Creates an onboardee customer. If an external ID or website is provided matches an existing customer, that customer will be updated.”

Adds an onboardee customer, or updates the existing one when the external ID or website you send matches a customer already there. Only Company Name is required.

When to use it
a deal is won in your CRM and the client should exist in Onboard.io without anyone retyping it.
Watch out
without an external ID or a website, a second run can create a duplicate instead of updating.
3

Create Discussion Message

Action

In Zapier“Posts a message on a particular task's discussion in a Map. The message will be posted as a company user in the discussion with your company name and logo.”

Posts a message in the discussion of a specific Map task, signed with your company name and logo. Message and Task ID are required.

When to use it
a reply written in your helpdesk should reach the customer inside the task they asked about.
Watch out
the Task ID is the Map task's own ID, which Find Map Task can supply.
4

Create Map

Action

In Zapier“Creates a Map with an owner, and optional target launch date and generates tasks based on variable options selected. Note: at least one variable option is required for the Map to be created.”

Builds a Map for a customer, with an owner, an optional target launch date, and tasks generated from the variable options you select. Map Name, Customer and Owner are required.

When to use it
each new customer should start from your standard implementation plan.
Watch out
at least one variable option is needed, and the owner must be a Team Member's email address.
5

Create Global Task Section

Action

In Zapier“Creates a global Task Section”

Creates a global task section, the grouping that organizes tasks across your templates. The Name field is the only required one.

When to use it
a new phase is added to your implementation method, and its section should exist before any task lands in it.
Watch out
run it once per section, or you end up with twins.
6

Create Global Task

Action

In Zapier“Creates a Global Task”

Adds a task to your global library rather than to one Map. Task Name is required, and the Internal? option keeps it visible to your team only.

When to use it
your process library lives in another tool and new standard steps should appear in Onboard.io too.
Watch out
a global task changes your templates, not the Maps already running.
7

Create Team Member

Action

In Zapier“Creates a Team Member”

Adds a colleague to your Onboard.io account. Five fields are mandatory: Email Address, First Name, Last Name, Account Type and Role.

When to use it
onboarding a new employee in your HR tool should also give them an Onboard.io seat.
Watch out
a source that lacks Account Type or Role cannot fill this step on its own, so plan where those two values come from.
8

Create Variable

Action

In Zapier“Creates a Variable”

Creates a variable and its dropdown options, the values that decide which tasks a Map generates. Name and Options are required, and Required makes the variable mandatory on every new Map.

When to use it
a new plan or product line has to become a choice when Maps are created.
Watch out
a variable marked Required changes what every later Create Map needs.
9

Find Map Task

Action

In Zapier“Action to find a specific Map Task by name and Map id.”

Looks up one task by its name inside a given Map. Zapier files it among the actions, although it finds rather than writes. Map and Map Task Name are required.

When to use it
just before Update Map Task or Create Discussion Message, to get the task ID they need.
Watch out
the task name has to match what the Map shows.
10

Find Onboardee by Email

Action

In Zapier“Finds an Onboardee User by email.”

Finds an onboardee user, a person on the customer side, from an email address. It sits among the actions in Zapier, and Email is its only required field.

When to use it
before inviting someone to a Map, to check whether that customer contact already exists.
Watch out
it looks for onboardees only, not for your own Team Members.
11

Invite Customer to Map

Action

In Zapier“Invite someone from the Customer's team to a Map.”

Sends an invitation to someone on the customer's team so they can follow their Map. Map and Email Address are required, and tasks can be assigned to them at the same time.

When to use it
the customer contact is known in your CRM and should be invited the moment the Map exists.
Watch out
a typo in the address invites nobody useful.
12

Create One-Off Task

Action

In Zapier“Add a one-off Task to a Map”

Drops a single task into one Map, outside your global templates. It wants a Map ID and a Task Name, and can be flagged as internal or optional.

When to use it
a specific client needs an extra step, such as a security review, that the standard plan does not carry.
Watch out
it needs the Map ID, so the Map has to come from the trigger or from Get Map Info.
13

Update Map

Action

In Zapier“Updates a Map with an owner, and optional target launch date and generates tasks based on variable options selected. Note: at least one variable option is required for the Map to be created.”

Changes an existing Map: owner, target launch date and the variable options that generate tasks. A setting can shift task due dates to match a new launch date.

When to use it
a launch date moves in your CRM and the whole plan should slide with it.
Watch out
the official note still asks for at least one variable option.
14

Update Map Task

Action

In Zapier“Updates a Task status within an existing Map. (Requires Map Task ID)”

Changes the status of a task inside an existing Map. It needs the Map Task ID, nothing else is mandatory.

When to use it
a step done in another tool, a signed contract for example, should tick the matching task in Onboard.io.
Watch out
get the ID from Find Map Task first, since names alone do not reach this action.
Searches

The 4 Onboard.io searches

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

A search step reads without writing. In the editor, the four below sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under the SEARCH heading. None of them comes with a find-or-create variant on this app.

1

Get Map Info

Search

In Zapier“Gets information about a Map by the provided ID.”

Fetches the details of a Map from its ID, so later steps can reuse what the Map holds. Map ID is required.

When to use it
a trigger hands you a Map ID only, and an email or a report needs the rest of the Map.
Watch out
it works from the ID, never from the Map name.
2

Find Team Member by Email

Search

In Zapier“Finds a Team Member in your account by email.”

Checks that an address belongs to a Team Member of your account and returns that person. Team Member Email is required.

When to use it
right before Create Map, to make sure the owner you are about to set really exists.
Watch out
with the default setting, an unknown address stops the Zap at this step.
3

Find Variable by Name

Search

In Zapier“Finds a Variable by name”

Finds a variable from its name. The match is case-sensitive: Plan and plan are two different searches.

When to use it
a Zap should reuse a variable that may already exist instead of creating it twice with Create Variable.
Watch out
copy the name exactly as Onboard.io shows it, capitals included.
4

Find Variable Option

Search

In Zapier“Finds available variable options in account.”

Lists the variable options available in the account, the values Create Map and Update Map rely on to generate tasks.

When to use it
a Map should be created with an option chosen dynamically rather than typed by hand.
Watch out
several options can match, so check the multiple-results setting before publishing.

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 and the dependent steps are skipped. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into a find-or-create on apps that offer it. Onboard.io exposes no such variant, so you will not see it here.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first one, the default, stop the Zap, or hand all of them on at once.
When it breaks

When an Onboard.io Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to Onboard.io and lists no limit of its own for the app. What breaks is what breaks on every Zap.

Four situations explain most surprises. Read them before you publish, and keep the Zapier troubleshooting guide at hand for the rest.

  • The Zap ignores your existing Maps

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Customers and Maps created before that stay out of reach, and moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • The Zap keeps starting itself

    Write into the place your trigger watches, say a discussion message posted after New Discussion Message, and the Zap sets itself off again and again, burning tasks fast.

  • A bulk import stalls

    When a trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after an import of customers or a migration of Maps, Zapier's flood protection can hold those runs back.

  • The same item never runs twice

    On a polling trigger Zapier remembers what it has already seen, so the same Map or customer never starts the Zap a second time.
Need help

Need help automating Onboard.io with Zapier?

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FAQ

Onboard.io and Zapier: frequent questions

01Is the Onboard.io Zapier integration free?
Yes, Onboard.io works on the free Zapier plan, because Zapier does not reserve it for paid accounts. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap is limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. Once a second action, a filter or a search step, for instance a Team Member lookup before Create Map, enters the picture, the Zap becomes multi-step and requires a paid plan. Polling triggers are also checked every 15 minutes on the free plan.
02How many tasks does an Onboard.io Zap use?
One task per action that completes successfully, nothing for the trigger. A Zap that creates a Map from a new customer costs one task per new customer. Add a One-Off Task and a team member assignment and the same run costs three. An action that fails is not counted, and Zapier checking Onboard.io for new items costs nothing, however often it looks. The free plan allows 100 tasks a month, so count actions per run before choosing between a lean Zap and a richer one.
03Do Onboard.io triggers fire in real time?
Four of the ten do. Customer Custom Field Updated, Form Submitted, Map Custom Field Updated and New Discussion Message are instant triggers: Onboard.io tells Zapier itself, whatever your plan. The six others, including New Map and New Customer, are polling triggers that Zapier checks on a timer: every 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. The type is set by the app and cannot be changed from the editor, so pick an instant trigger when speed matters.
04What does connecting Onboard.io to Zapier require?
An Onboard.io account, plus access to whatever you want the Zap to touch and do not own yourself. From the Apps page of Zapier you click + Add connection, search for Onboard.io, confirm with Add connection, then sign in to Onboard.io in the tab that opens and grant Zapier access. The connection is saved once and offered in every later Onboard.io step. Before building, check that the people you will set as Map owners already exist as Team Members.
05Why does Create Map fail in a Zap?
Usually because of one of its two hard requirements. The owner must be given as the email address of a Team Member already in your Onboard.io account, and at least one variable option must be selected, otherwise the Map is not created. A Find Team Member by Email step placed before it catches unknown owners early: with the default setting, the Zap stops there instead of failing on the action. Find Variable Option helps when the option should be chosen dynamically.
06What if the Onboard.io operation you need does not exist?
The list is closed at 28 visible operations: 10 triggers, 14 actions and 4 searches, and nothing in it deletes a Map, a task or a customer. When a step is missing, start by combining what exists: a search to get an ID, then an update action, often covers the need. Operations Zapier keeps hidden in its data are not offered in the editor, so there is no secret menu to look for. Beyond that, the gap has to be closed outside this integration.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Onboard.io?
Decide on criteria rather than on brand. On Zapier, Onboard.io offers 28 visible operations, four instant triggers and runs on the free plan, as long as each Zap stays at two steps. Check whether the operations you need appear in the other tool's catalog for Onboard.io, whether your scenario needs searches or several actions per run, and how many runs a month you expect, since Zapier bills every successful action. The answer to those three questions usually settles it.
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