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Orca Scan Zapier integrationAutomate Orca Scan with Zapier.

The Orca Scan Zapier integration gives you 8 triggers, 3 actions and 1 search. Six of the triggers are instant, two are checked on a timer, and two of them share the same name. Here is which one to pick, what each step costs and what breaks.

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Overview

What the Orca Scan Zapier integration does

The Orca Scan Zapier integration connects your barcode sheets to the rest of your tools. On Zapier you build a Zap, an automation that starts with one event and then runs one or more steps. Orca Scan can start that Zap when a row or a sheet changes, and it can receive rows written by other apps.

Three results come up often. A stock log that leaves the scanner: each scanned item, picked up by New Row, is copied into a spreadsheet or an inventory tool, so the office sees what the warehouse just counted. An alert on the rows that matter: Updated Row plus a filter sends an email when a status changes, without anyone watching the sheet. A sheet fed from elsewhere: Add/Update Row writes an order or an asset from another app into Orca Scan, ready to be scanned against.

Now the limits. There is no search other than Find Row, which looks a row up by its barcode, and no action to create or delete a whole sheet. Nothing that existed before the Zap is picked up. And two triggers are both called New Row: one is instant, one polls. Pick the instant one when speed matters, because the other one waits up to 15 minutes on the free plan.

To learn how Zaps fit together before building, there is a Zapier training page.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Seven words do most of the work on this page. Here they are in plain English.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time that trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. Once the Zap is switched on, Zapier waits for it and does nothing before.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you in an app.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The quota on your plan counts those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked by Zapier on a timer. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself the moment the event happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets your condition, and quietly stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps after it can reuse what it found.
Cost

What Orca Scan costs you on Zapier

Orca Scan is not limited to paid plans: it works on the free plan. Triggers never cost a task, and Zapier checking the two polling triggers costs nothing either.

  • Free plan100 tasks per month, unlimited Zaps
  • Free plan Zap size2 steps: one trigger, one action
  • Orca Scan triggers6 instant, 2 polling
  • Paid-only appNo

You pay per action that succeeds, one task each, and a failed action is not billed. A Zap with three actions costs three times a one-action Zap. The free plan builds two-step Zaps only: add a filter, a search such as Find Row or a second action, and you need a paid plan. The grid below concerns the two polling triggers, New Row (polling) and New Sheet. The six instant triggers start right away on every plan.

Connect

Connect your Orca Scan account to Zapier

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. A connection is your Orca Scan account linked once, then reused by every step that talks to Orca Scan.

  2. 02

    Pick Orca Scan

    Search for Orca Scan in the dialog, select it, and click Add connection. You need an Orca Scan account, plus read or write access to any sheet you do not own yourself.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Sign in to Orca Scan in the tab that opens, then allow Zapier to reach the account. Every Orca Scan step in your Zaps can then select this connection from a list.

First Zap

Your first Orca Scan Zap, step by step

GoalWhen a scanned item matches the condition you care about, the right person gets an email with its details.

  1. 01

    Build: choose the instant New Row

    Create a Zap, pick Orca Scan and the New Row trigger. Two share that name; once set, the instant one shows a lightning bolt in the editor. Then choose the Orca Sheet.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent rows of the connected account, so you map the next steps on a real scan instead of blanks.

  3. 03

    Add a filter

    Click the plus icon, choose Filter, then set the field to read, the rule and the value. A text rule works on text, a number rule on numbers; mixing them means nothing passes.

  4. 04

    Add the email action

    Add your email app as the action and map the row values into the subject and body. Test it once and check that the message arrives.

  5. 05

    Publish

    Click Publish. With the filter this is a three-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan. Drop the filter to keep a two-step Zap on the free plan.

Triggers

Orca Scan triggers on Zapier

8 events start a Zap when something happens in Orca Scan, and 6 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

New Row

Polling trigger

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

This is the polling version of the new-row trigger: Zapier asks Orca Scan for rows it has not seen yet and starts the Zap for each one. It does the same job as its instant twin, only later.

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 stock summary where a delay of a few minutes changes nothing for the team.
Watch out
the instant New Row below starts right away on every plan; prefer it unless you have a reason not to.
2

New Sheet

Polling trigger

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

Starts your Zap when someone creates a new sheet in your Orca Scan account. It follows the structure of your account rather than what gets scanned, which makes it useful for keeping track of new lists as they appear.

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 operations manager wants a note in the team channel each time a site opens a new inventory sheet.
Watch out
on paid plans the check interval can be changed, and a check can be run by hand from the editor.
3

Cleared Column

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a column is cleared in a spreadsheet.”

Fires when a whole column is emptied in one of your sheets. A cleared column usually means data was reset on purpose, or lost by mistake, and either way someone should know.

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 warehouse lead wants an email when the quantity column of the stock sheet goes blank.
Watch out
the step asks for the Orca Sheet to watch, and that field is required.
4

Deleted Row

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a row is deleted from a spreadsheet.”

Reacts to a row being removed from a sheet. It is the one to use when a deletion in Orca Scan should be reflected elsewhere, so another list does not keep items that no longer exist.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
an asset tracker removes a retired laptop from Orca Scan, and the IT log should record it.
Watch out
pair it with Delete Row on the same sheet and the Zap can loop.
5

New Row

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new row is added to a spreadsheet.”

The instant way to catch a fresh row: Orca Scan reports each row added to a sheet, typically a new scan, and the Zap runs straight away. For most flows built on scanning, this is the trigger to choose.

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 shop owner wants each delivery scanned at the back door logged in the purchasing spreadsheet.
Watch out
it shares its name with the polling New Row; the lightning bolt in the editor confirms you picked this one.
6

Updated Row

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a row is updated in a spreadsheet.”

Runs your Zap whenever an existing row is edited, for example when a status, a location or a count changes after a second scan. Combined with a filter, it turns one column into an alert.

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 rental company wants the customer emailed when an item's row is marked as returned.
Watch out
an Update Row on the same sheet sets this trigger off again, and can drain your tasks in a loop.
7

Cleared Sheet

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a sheet is cleared.”

Goes off when every row of a sheet is wiped at once. That is a rare and heavy event, which is exactly why a quiet record of it, outside Orca Scan, is worth having.

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 stocktake manager wants a message each time a counting sheet is reset for the next cycle.
Watch out
the rows that were cleared are not brought back by the Zap.
8

Updated Sheet Settings

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when the settings of a sheet are updated.”

Tracks changes to how a sheet is configured rather than to its data. When someone adjusts a sheet's settings, the Zap starts, which helps a team spot changes that could affect every later scan.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
an admin in charge of several sites wants a log entry each time a shared sheet is reconfigured.
Watch out
it requires the Orca Sheet to watch, like the other row triggers.
Actions

Orca Scan actions on Zapier

Orca Scan gives you 3 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Add/Update Row

Action

In Zapier“Add a new row or update if it already exists.”

Writes a row into an Orca Sheet, or updates it when the row already exists, so you do not need to check first. It is the safest way to push items from another app into Orca Scan.

When to use it
new purchase orders from your ordering tool should appear in the receiving sheet, ready to be scanned.
Watch out
the Orca Sheet field is required on every run.
2

Delete Row

Action

In Zapier“Delete a row in a sheet.”

Removes a row from a sheet. Use it when an item leaves your system elsewhere and the sheet should follow, so nobody scans something already gone.

When to use it
a product discontinued in your e-commerce tool should disappear from the shelf sheet.
Watch out
a deleted row is not restored by the Zap, so add a filter if the rule is narrow.
3

Update Row

Action

In Zapier“Update a row in a sheet.”

Changes an existing row in a sheet without creating a new one. Pair it with Find Row when the Zap only knows the barcode, so the right row is edited.

When to use it
a payment confirmed in your billing tool marks the matching item as paid in Orca Scan.
Watch out
do not combine it with Updated Row on the same sheet, or the Zap restarts itself.
Searches

Orca Scan search on Zapier

1 search step looks for data that already exists in Orca Scan, so a later step can use it.

The search sits at the bottom of the action list in the editor, under SEARCH. It finds a row that already exists and hands it to the next steps. Three settings decide what happens when the result is not what you expected.

1

Find Row

Search

In Zapier“Finds row record based on barcode.”

Looks up a row in an Orca Sheet from its barcode and passes what it found to the next steps. That is how a Zap that only knows a code reaches the full record before updating or deleting it.

When to use it
a returns form gives you a barcode, and you need the item's row before marking it returned.
Watch out
the Orca Sheet field is required, so the search only looks in the sheet you pick.

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 skips the steps that relied on it. Switched on, the Zap continues empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into find-or-create. Orca Scan offers no such variant on Zapier, so Find Row does not show it; Add/Update Row covers that need.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    When several rows match, keep the first one (the default), stop the Zap, or pass all of them on together.
When it breaks

When your Orca Scan Zap breaks

Zapier lists no Orca Scan help article and no rate limit specific to the app. What breaks is general Zapier behavior, which Orca Scan's paired triggers and actions make easy to hit.

  • The Zap keeps restarting itself

    Updated Row with Update Row, or New Row with Add/Update Row, on the same sheet: the Zap writes where its trigger watches, sets itself off again and burns tasks.

  • Old scans never show up

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. Rows already in your sheets are not picked up; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • A bulk import is held back

    When a trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after an import into a sheet, Zapier's flood protection can hold it back instead of running every row.

  • New rows arrive late

    You picked the polling New Row. On the free plan it is checked every 15 minutes, and Zapier skips rows it has already seen. Switch to the instant New Row.
Need help

Need help automating Orca Scan with Zapier?

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FAQ

Orca Scan and Zapier: frequent questions

01Is the Orca Scan Zapier integration free?
Yes. Zapier does not reserve Orca Scan for paid plans, so it runs on the free plan. That plan gives you 100 tasks per month and unlimited Zaps, with one limit: each Zap has two steps, one trigger and one action. New Row followed by Add/Update Row in another sheet, or a row copied to a spreadsheet, fits. A filter, Find Row or a second action makes the Zap multi-step, and it then needs a paid plan.
02How many tasks does an Orca Scan Zap use?
One task per action that succeeds, and nothing for the trigger. A Zap that copies each new row into a spreadsheet uses one task per scan. Add Update Row afterwards and each scan costs two. A failed action is not counted, and Zapier checking the two polling triggers costs nothing. The real risk is a loop: Updated Row feeding Update Row on the same sheet restarts the Zap on each pass, and every pass spends tasks.
03Does Orca Scan trigger Zaps in real time?
Six of the eight triggers do. Cleared Column, Deleted Row, the instant New Row, Updated Row, Cleared Sheet and Updated Sheet Settings are reported by Orca Scan itself, so the Zap starts right away on any plan. The polling New Row and New Sheet are checked by Zapier on a timer: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team or Enterprise. In the editor, a Zap built on an instant trigger shows a lightning bolt, so you can confirm it before publishing.
04What does it take to connect Orca Scan to Zapier?
An Orca Scan account, plus read or write access to any sheet you do not own and want the Zap to touch. The connection takes three moves: open Apps in Zapier and click + Add connection, search Orca Scan and click Add connection, then sign in to Orca Scan in the new tab and grant access. Almost every step then asks for an Orca Sheet, which is required, so create the sheet before building the Zap.
05Why are there two New Row triggers for Orca Scan?
Because Orca Scan offers the same event in two forms. One New Row is a polling trigger: Zapier checks for new rows on a timer, every 15 minutes on the free plan. The other is instant: Orca Scan reports each new row and the Zap starts at once, whatever the plan. They look identical in the event list. After picking one, the lightning bolt in the editor tells you that you have the instant version, which suits most scanning flows.
06What if the Orca Scan action you need is not on Zapier?
Then check whether two existing steps get you there. Orca Scan offers 12 visible operations on Zapier: 8 triggers, 3 actions and Find Row. Find Row followed by Update Row covers most edits when you only know a barcode. Add/Update Row replaces a separate check-then-create flow. There is no action to create or clear a whole sheet, though. If a process depends on that, it has to happen in Orca Scan itself, outside this integration.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Orca Scan?
Decide on criteria, not on a ranking. Start with coverage: on Zapier, Orca Scan offers 8 triggers, 3 actions and 1 search, so check your flow fits that list. Then timing: six triggers are instant on Zapier, and the two polling ones depend on the plan. Finally shape: a two-step Zap is free, while a filter, Find Row or extra actions need a paid plan. Compare the same three points on any other platform before choosing.
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