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Paythen Zapier integrationAutomate Paythen with Zapier.

The Paythen Zapier integration gives you 6 triggers, 1 action and 2 searches. Every trigger is instant, so payments, cancellations and new customers reach your other tools without waiting on a plan interval, even on the free plan.

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Overview

What the Paythen Zapier integration actually does

The Paythen Zapier integration links your Paythen account, where customers pay in instalments or in one go, to the rest of your tools through Zapier. Paythen reports what happens on its side (a payment, a cancellation, a finished plan), and Zapier passes it on. It also works the other way: another app can make Paythen email a payment plan link.

Three outcomes people build first. A collections list that keeps itself current: Failed Payment adds a line to the sheet or task tool your team already checks, so nobody has to open the Paythen dashboard to find out who is behind. A payment plan offer sent from a quote or a form: another app starts the Zap, and Send Payment Plan Link via Email mails the customer their own Paythen link. A clean customer record when a plan ends: Plan Completed or Plan Cancelled updates your CRM, so sales stops chasing someone who has already paid in full.

What Zapier does not do here: it cannot create a customer or a plan directly in Paythen, refund a payment, or edit an existing plan. The only write operation on offer is the payment plan email. Searches can read a customer or a plan, nothing more. And a Zap never looks back: payments made before you switch it on stay where they are.

If you are still choosing a tool, the Make vs Zapier comparison and our Zapier review are a good place to start.

Vocabulary

The Zapier words you will meet on this page

Zapier has its own vocabulary. Here is each word in one plain line, so the rest of the page reads easily.

Zap
The automation you build: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for that event, here a Paythen one.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you in another app.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task is one action your Zap completed successfully, and your plan counts those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself the moment it happens. All Paythen triggers are instant.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets your condition, and stops it quietly otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps after it can use the value it found.
Connection
Your Paythen account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step in every Zap that touches Paythen.
Cost

What a Paythen Zap really costs

Paythen is not a premium app on Zapier, so it works on the free plan. What you pay for is tasks, and only completed actions count.

  • Free plan100 tasks per month, unlimited Zaps
  • Free plan stepsOne trigger and one action
  • TriggerNever costs a task
  • Paythen on ZapierNot premium, works on every plan

The trigger costs nothing, however many payments come in. Each action that succeeds is one task, so a Zap with three actions uses three times what a one-action Zap uses. An action that fails is not counted. The catch on the free plan: Zaps stop 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. The interval grid below applies to polling triggers only, and Paythen has none.

Connect

Connect Paythen to Zapier in 3 steps

  1. 01

    Open your Apps page

    In Zapier, go to Apps and click + Add connection. A dialog opens: type Paythen in the search box and pick it from the list. You need a Paythen account first, with access to anything the Zap should touch.

  2. 02

    Sign in to Paythen

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens on Paythen: sign in with the account whose customers and plans you want Zapier to see. Use the account your team actually works in, not a test one.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier to reach the account. The connection is saved once and reused by every Zap that uses Paythen, so you will not repeat this when you add a second or third Zap later.

First Zap

Your first Paythen Zap: chase failed payments

GoalWhen a Paythen payment fails, look up the customer and alert your team so someone follows up.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose Paythen as the app and Failed Payment as the event. Select your Paythen connection. This trigger is instant, so you will see a lightning bolt on it in the editor.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent failed payments of your account, so you map the next steps on a real one rather than an empty sample.

  3. 03

    Add the search

    Add a step, pick Paythen and Find Customer under the search heading. It pulls the customer behind the payment. This step makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

  4. 04

    Add the action

    Add the message step in the tool your team reads, and map the customer details the search found into the text. Keep it short: who, which plan, and that a payment failed.

  5. 05

    Test and publish

    Test each step once and read what came back. When the result looks right, click Publish to switch the Zap on. From then on it reacts to every new failed payment.

Triggers

Paythen triggers: 6 instant events

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

1

Customer Status Change

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a customer's status changes in Paythen.”

Starts your Zap when a customer moves from one status to another in Paythen. You pick which status matters, and can tick several, so one Zap can watch every shift you care about.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
moving a contact to a different list or pipeline stage in your CRM when their standing in Paythen changes.
Watch out
the status box is required, and some statuses only apply to certain plan types in Paythen, so a status that never fires may simply not exist for the plans you sell.
2

Failed Payment

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a payment attempt fails for a payment plan or subscription.”

Fires each time a payment attempt does not go through, whether it belongs to a payment plan or a subscription. It is the early warning that a customer is slipping behind.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
posting the case to your collections channel, or opening a follow-up task for whoever owns the account, before the customer forgets about it.
Watch out
adding Find Customer or a second step to this alert makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.
3

New Customer

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new customer is created in your Paythen account.”

Kicks off when a new customer appears in your Paythen account. Their details arrive in the Zap, ready to be copied wherever your team keeps its contacts.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
adding each new buyer to your CRM or mailing list, so onboarding emails go out without anyone exporting a file from Paythen.
Watch out
customers created before you publish the Zap are not sent, so import your existing list separately once.
4

Plan Cancelled

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a customer's Paythen payment plan or subscription is cancelled (either by the customer, or an account admin).”

Reacts when a payment plan or a subscription is cancelled, whether the customer did it or an admin on your account did. Both cases look the same to the Zap.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
removing access to a course or a member area, or flagging the account to sales so someone can ask why the customer left.
Watch out
an admin cancelling a plan by mistake will start the Zap too, so think twice before wiring it to anything you cannot undo.
5

Plan Completed

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a customer completes a Paythen payment plan.”

Goes off when a customer pays the last instalment and finishes their Paythen payment plan. It marks the good ending, not a cancellation.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
sending a thank-you note, issuing a certificate, or moving the contact into a list for a review request or an upsell offer.
Watch out
this event is about payment plans; if you sell subscriptions, check in Paythen that the plan type you use actually reaches completion.
6

Successful Payment

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when there is a successful payment in your Paythen account. Includes upfront or ongoing payments, for all plan types.”

Runs on every payment that goes through in your account, upfront or ongoing, across all plan types. It is the broadest Paythen trigger, and usually the busiest.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
logging each payment in a spreadsheet for your bookkeeper, or updating a running total in your finance tool.
Watch out
because it fires on every instalment, a Zap with two or three actions here can use up the 100 free tasks faster than you expect.
Actions

Paythen action

Paythen gives you 1 action. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

Searches

Paythen searches

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

A search step reads something that already exists in Paythen and hands it to the next steps. In the editor, the two Paythen searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under the SEARCH heading. Paythen offers no find-or-create variant: these searches only look, they never create. Three settings decide what happens next.

1

Find Customer

Search

In Zapier“Finds a customer in your Paythen account.”

Looks up a customer already in your Paythen account and passes what it found to the steps after it, so a Zap started elsewhere can work with that person's Paythen record.

When to use it
a support ticket arrives and you want to attach the customer's Paythen details before it lands in the team inbox.
Watch out
whether it needs an exact match or accepts something close is up to Paythen, so test with a real value first.
2

Find Plan

Search

In Zapier“Finds a plan in your Paythen account.”

Fetches a plan that exists in your Paythen account, so a later step can reuse its details without you copying them by hand into every Zap.

When to use it
a cancellation comes in and you want the plan behind it in the same message your account manager receives.
Watch out
adding this search makes the Zap multi-step, which puts it out of reach of the free 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 skips the steps that needed it. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into find-or-create. Paythen has no such variant, so do not expect it to add a missing customer or plan.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first, which is the default, stop the Zap, or pass all of them on at once.
When it breaks

When a Paythen Zap breaks

Zapier links no help article to Paythen, and no Paythen-specific limit is documented. What breaks is the usual Zapier ground, plus one field on the action.

These are the cases to check first when a Zap goes quiet or runs too often. Our Zapier troubleshooting page covers the wider list.

  • Old payments never show up

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Payments, customers and cancellations from before stay in Paythen; moving that history is a separate job.

  • The Zap keeps setting itself off

    If a Zap writes back into the very place its own trigger watches, it starts itself again and again, and burns through your task count quickly.

  • A big batch is held back

    After a bulk import or a migration, a sudden wave of events can be slowed by Zapier's flood protection. Expect a pause, not lost data.

  • The payment link email fails

    Send Payment Plan Link via Email needs four values: template link, customer email, plan name and total. The total takes digits only: no currency symbol, no comma.
Need help

Need help automating Paythen with Zapier?

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FAQ

Paythen Zapier integration: common questions

01Is the Paythen Zapier integration free?
Yes, Paythen is not a premium app on Zapier, so it runs on the free plan. That plan gives you 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap is limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. A Zap with a search, a filter or a second action becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan. A simple Zap such as New Customer into a mailing list fits the free plan without trouble.
02How many tasks does a Paythen Zap use?
One task per action that completes successfully, and nothing for the trigger. A Zap that logs every Successful Payment in a sheet uses one task per payment. If the same Zap also sends a message, that is two tasks per payment. An action that fails is not counted. Since Successful Payment fires on every instalment, it is the trigger to watch if you are close to your monthly limit. Keep the action count low on that trigger and the monthly budget lasts longer.
03Is the Paythen Zapier integration real time?
Yes, all six Paythen triggers are instant. Paythen tells Zapier the moment the event happens, so the Zap starts right away whatever your plan. The interval grid that slows polling triggers (15 minutes on the free plan) does not apply to any of them. In the editor, a Zap built on one of these triggers shows a lightning bolt. Nothing waits for the next check, which matters most on the free plan when you want failed payment alerts while they are still fresh.
04What does it take to connect Paythen to Zapier?
A Paythen account, plus access to anything you want the Zap to touch that you do not own yourself. The connection is made once from the Apps page with + Add connection, then reused by every Zap. If you plan to send payment plan links, also prepare a template in your Paythen dashboard, because the action asks for its link. Sign in with the Paythen account your team actually works in, since the Zap only sees the customers and plans that account can reach.
05Why does Customer Status Change never fire?
Most often because the status you picked does not apply to the plan types you sell. The status box is required, it accepts several values, and Paythen ties some statuses to certain plan types only. Check which statuses your plans can actually reach, select those, and test again. Remember also that the trigger only reacts to changes made after the Zap was published. A test from the editor on a real customer confirms the setting before you publish.
06What if the Paythen operation you need is not available?
Paythen offers six triggers, one action and two searches on Zapier, and nothing else. If what you need is creating a plan or refunding a payment, Zapier cannot do it for this app. The usual workaround is to let a Paythen trigger hand the work to another tool that can, or to keep that step manual in Paythen and automate what comes after it. Read the operation list in the editor before planning a scenario around Paythen, so you design with what really exists.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Paythen?
Decide on criteria rather than on a ranking. On Zapier, Paythen gives you six instant triggers, one action and two searches, works on the free plan, and is set up without code. If those operations cover your scenario and simple two-step Zaps are enough, Zapier is the shortest path. If you need many steps per run, compare task-based billing with how the other tools count usage before committing. Also weigh who will maintain the Zap: a tool your team can read without help is worth more than a few extra features.
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