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OurSMS Zapier integrationAutomate OurSMS with Zapier.

The OurSMS Zapier integration gives you 0 triggers, 3 actions and 0 searches. A Zap (an automation you build on Zapier) starts in another app, then OurSMS adds a contact or sends a text to one person or to a whole group, with no manual sending.

See the 3 operations

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Overview

What the OurSMS Zapier integration actually does

The OurSMS Zapier integration lets your other tools drive your SMS account without code. It only works in one direction: something happens in another app, and OurSMS acts on it by creating a contact or sending a message. OurSMS itself never starts a Zap.

Three results people build with it. A contact list that fills itself: Create Contact files every new lead from a form or a sheet into the right group of your OurSMS account. A personal text at the right moment: Send to Contact fires a message to one person when the event you picked happens elsewhere, a booking or a signup for example. A group announcement: Send to Group pushes one message to a whole group, like a change of opening hours sent to every customer on file.

Now what Zapier does not do with OurSMS. There is no trigger, so a reply, a delivery or a new contact inside OurSMS cannot start anything. There is no search step either, so a Zap cannot check whether a phone number is already a contact, and nothing updates or deletes a contact once it exists. If your project relies on any of that, this integration will not cover it as it stands.

Since every Zap has to start in another app, how fast your texts go out depends on that app's trigger, not on OurSMS. If you are still weighing platforms, Make vs Zapier and Zapier alternatives are worth a read first.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Eight words you will see in the editor, in plain English. The rest of the page uses them without repeating the definition.

Zap
The automation itself: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. OurSMS has none, so your trigger always comes from another tool.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that creates, sends or moves something for you, here in OurSMS.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The count on your plan is a count of those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer. An instant trigger is reported by its app the moment the event happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets your condition, so nobody gets a text by mistake.
Search step
A step that looks up something already stored in an app for the next steps. OurSMS offers no search step.
Connection
Your OurSMS account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every OurSMS step in every Zap you build.
Cost

What an OurSMS Zap really costs

OurSMS is not one of the apps Zapier keeps for paid plans: it runs on the free plan too.

  • TriggerNever billed
  • Each successful action1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps only
  • OurSMS triggersNone, start from another app

The trigger never costs a task, wherever it comes from, and checking for new data is free. Each OurSMS action that succeeds counts; one that fails does not. A Zap that creates a contact and then texts it uses two tasks per run. The free plan offers 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but stops each Zap at two steps: one trigger, one action. Chain two OurSMS actions, or add a filter, and you have a multi-step Zap that needs a paid plan. Your trigger app decides the timing: if it polls, the grid below applies; if it is instant, it fires straight away on every plan.

Connect

Connect your OurSMS account in three steps

  1. 01

    Open your connections

    In your Zapier account, open the Apps page and click + Add connection. You need an OurSMS account first, plus access to any group or contact you do not own but want the Zap to use.

  2. 02

    Pick OurSMS

    Type OurSMS in the search box of the dialog, select it, then click Add connection. A new tab opens on the OurSMS side so you can sign in with the account your Zaps will send from.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Sign in to OurSMS in that tab and allow Zapier to use the account. The connection then shows on your Apps page, and every OurSMS step can select it without asking again.

First Zap

Your first OurSMS Zap, step by step

GoalTurn each new row of a sign-up sheet into an OurSMS contact, then send that person a welcome text.

  1. 01

    Pick the starting app

    Create a Zap and choose the app and event that start it, here a new row in your sign-up sheet. OurSMS cannot be this first step, since it has no trigger.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the trigger test. Zapier brings back the three most recent items of the connected account, so you map the next steps on a real sign-up rather than an empty one.

  3. 03

    Add Create Contact

    Add OurSMS with Create Contact, pick your connection, choose the Main Group and Sub Group, then map the contact details from the sheet row into the step.

  4. 04

    Add Send to Contact

    Add a second OurSMS step with Send to Contact, choose the Sender and write the welcome text. Two actions make this a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each step once, ideally on your own phone number, and read what came back. When it looks right, click Publish to switch the Zap on.

Actions

The OurSMS actions

OurSMS gives you 3 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 a New Contact.”

Adds a new person to your OurSMS account and files them in the group and subgroup you choose, ready for later messages.

When to use it
a gym wants every trial-class booking from its website to land in the right members group without retyping phone numbers.
Watch out
Main Group and Sub Group are both required, and with no search step the Zap cannot tell whether that person is already on file.
2

Send to Contact

Action

In Zapier“Send new message to contact.”

Writes and sends a text to a single contact of your account, from the sender you pick. It suits messages tied to one event and one person.

When to use it
a dental clinic sends a text to confirm each new appointment recorded in its booking tool.
Watch out
Sender is required, so the sender has to exist in your OurSMS account before the step can be filled in.
3

Send to Group

Action

In Zapier“Send new message to group.”

Sends one message to every contact of the group and subgroup you select, from a chosen sender. One run of the Zap reaches the whole list.

When to use it
a shop announces a stock arrival to its loyalty group when a new product row is added to its catalogue sheet.
Watch out
it needs Main Group, Sub Group and Sender, and a misconfigured trigger can text an entire group by mistake, so test with a small group first.
When it breaks

When an OurSMS Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to OurSMS and lists no limit specific to it, so the traps below are the general ones. With SMS, a mistake reaches real phones, which makes them worth a careful read.

Each case can be spotted before it costs tasks or sends a wrong text. Go through them once before you publish, and keep Zapier troubleshooting close for the day a Zap stops.

  • Earlier sign-ups never get a text

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Rows or bookings created before that are ignored; contacting that backlog is a separate job.

  • A bulk import floods the Zap

    If the trigger app suddenly returns a huge batch, after an import for instance, Zapier's flood protection can hold the Zap back instead of texting everyone.

  • Duplicates on a polling trigger

    When the starting trigger polls, Zapier remembers what it has already seen, so the same item does not start the Zap, or send a text, twice.

  • Two OurSMS steps on the free plan

    The free plan builds two-step Zaps only. Create Contact followed by Send to Contact is a multi-step Zap, and it needs a paid plan to run.
Need help

Need help automating OurSMS with Zapier?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

OurSMS Zapier integration: frequently asked questions

01Is the OurSMS Zapier integration free?
Yes, it works on the free plan, because Zapier does not reserve OurSMS for paid plans. That plan includes 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps. The limit is the shape of each Zap: two steps, one trigger from another app and one OurSMS action. A Zap that texts a contact when a form is submitted fits. A Zap that creates the contact and then texts it has two actions, so it is multi-step and needs a paid plan. Check how many steps your idea really needs before you count on the free tier.
02How many tasks does an OurSMS Zap use?
One task for each OurSMS action that succeeds, and nothing for the trigger. The trigger comes from another app and is free, and so is the wait for new data. Create Contact counts once when it works, Send to Contact counts once, Send to Group counts once per run. An action that fails is not counted against your plan. A Zap that creates a contact and then texts it therefore uses two tasks per run. A few apps and actions do take more than one task, so keep an eye on your count during the first runs.
03Do OurSMS texts go out in real time?
It depends on the app that starts the Zap, since OurSMS has no trigger of its own. If that app reports its events instantly, the Zap starts straight away on any plan. If its trigger is polling, Zapier checks on a timer set by your plan: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. Once the Zap has started, the OurSMS action follows within the same run. To speed up your texts, pick a trigger app with an instant trigger, which the editor marks with a lightning bolt.
04What does it take to connect OurSMS to Zapier?
An OurSMS account, and access to any group or contact you do not own but want the Zap to use. Then three moves: open the Apps page of your Zapier account and click + Add connection, search for OurSMS and click Add connection, then sign in to OurSMS in the tab that opens and grant Zapier access. Before building, make sure the account already has a Sender and the groups and subgroups you plan to use, because the actions require them and cannot invent them for you.
05Can a Zap avoid creating the same OurSMS contact twice?
Not from OurSMS itself: the app has no search step, so a Zap cannot look up whether a phone number is already a contact before Create Contact runs. What helps is upstream. If the starting trigger polls, Zapier keeps track of the items it has already seen, so the same row or entry does not start the Zap twice. A filter on the starting data can also block entries you do not want, but it makes the Zap multi-step, which needs a paid plan.
06What if the OurSMS operation you need is missing?
Then this integration cannot do it, because Zapier only offers what the app exposes: Create Contact, Send to Contact and Send to Group. There is no trigger for incoming replies or delivery reports, no search step, and no action to edit or remove a contact. Write down the exact gap before you hunt for a workaround. Sometimes another app in the Zap can hold the missing piece, such as a sheet that keeps the list of who was already texted; otherwise, check whether another automation platform covers the need.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for OurSMS?
That depends on your criteria, not on a single winner. On Zapier, OurSMS offers three actions and no trigger, and it runs on the free plan as long as each Zap stays at two steps. If a one-action Zap covers your need, Zapier gets you there fastest. If you need to chain a contact creation and a text, add filters or send at volume, compare what each platform charges for those runs with your own numbers. Also check which OurSMS operations each tool actually exposes, since the list differs from one platform to the next.
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