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PayWhirl Zapier integrationAutomate PayWhirl with Zapier.

The PayWhirl Zapier integration gives you 5 actions and 3 searches, with no trigger of its own. Another app starts the Zap, then PayWhirl creates customers, adds payment methods, subscribes or cancels, and looks up customers, subscriptions and invoices.

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Overview

What the PayWhirl Zapier integration does for you

The PayWhirl Zapier integration lets your other tools drive PayWhirl, the recurring billing tool that sells subscriptions, pre-orders and payment plans. PayWhirl never starts a Zap on its own: something happens elsewhere, and Zapier tells PayWhirl to create, subscribe or cancel, or reads what PayWhirl already holds.

Three outcomes worth building first. Customers created from your signup form: each new entry calls Create Customer with a name, an email and a currency, so nobody retypes it. Cancellations that stop at the source: a cancel request in your helpdesk calls Cancel Subscription, or Cancel All Subscriptions when the customer leaves for good. Subscription context in every ticket: Get Customer and Search Customer's Subscriptions pull what PayWhirl knows into the message your support agent reads.

What Zapier does not do here: it cannot react to a new subscription, a payment or a failed charge in PayWhirl, because the app exposes no trigger on Zapier. That event has to come from another tool. There is no find-or-create search, so a lookup that misses does not create the customer for you. And nothing that happened before you switched the Zap on is picked up.

Comparing tools first? The Make vs Zapier comparison and our Zapier training are worth a look.

Vocabulary

The Zapier words behind this page

Zapier uses a few words of its own. Each one below in a plain line, so the rest reads easily.

Zap
The automation you build: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap. PayWhirl has none on Zapier, so it always comes from another app you use.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: here, creating a customer or a subscription, or cancelling one, in PayWhirl.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completed successfully. Your plan is counted in tasks.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer set by your plan. An instant trigger is reported by its own app the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when the incoming data meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that reads something already in an app, so the steps after it can reuse what it found.
Connection
Your PayWhirl account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every PayWhirl step in all your Zaps.
Cost

What a PayWhirl Zap costs

PayWhirl is not a premium app on Zapier, so it runs on the free plan. You pay in tasks, and only successful actions count.

  • Free plan100 tasks per month, unlimited Zaps
  • Free plan stepsOne trigger and one action
  • Search or filterMakes the Zap multi-step
  • PayWhirl on ZapierNot premium, works on every plan

The trigger, from whatever app, never costs a task. Each action that succeeds is one task, so a three-action Zap uses three times what a one-action Zap uses. A failed action is not counted. The free plan stops at two steps: one trigger and one action. Add a search, a filter or a second action and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. Most PayWhirl scenarios look a customer up before acting on them, so plan for that. The grid below sets how often a polling trigger in the other app is checked.

Connect

Connect PayWhirl to Zapier in 3 steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In Zapier, go to Apps and click + Add connection. Search for PayWhirl in the dialog and select it. You need a PayWhirl account, with access to the customers and subscriptions your Zaps will touch.

  2. 02

    Sign in to PayWhirl

    Click Add connection. A new tab opens on PayWhirl: sign in with the account that holds your customers and plans, not a test account. The Zap will only see what that account can reach.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier into the account. The connection is saved once and reused by every PayWhirl step, so the next Zap you build will not ask for it again. One connection, many Zaps, no repeated sign-in.

First Zap

Your first PayWhirl Zap: customers from a signup form

GoalEach completed signup form creates a PayWhirl customer, but only for people who chose a paid offer.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Create a Zap and choose your form tool with its new entry event. PayWhirl cannot start a Zap, so this first step always belongs to another app.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent entries, so you map the next steps on a real signup rather than an empty sample.

  3. 03

    Add a filter

    Add a Filter step from the plus icon: pick the offer question, a text rule that excludes a value, and Free as that value. Free signups stop there. A filter makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

  4. 04

    Add the PayWhirl action

    Add PayWhirl with Create Customer. Map first name, last name and email from the form, and set the currency as a code such as EUR or USD.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each step and check the customer in PayWhirl. When it looks right, click Publish. Entries submitted before that moment are not processed.

Actions

PayWhirl actions

PayWhirl gives you 5 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Cancel All Subscriptions

Action

In Zapier“Cancel all subscriptions of a customer”

Stops every subscription a customer has in one go, from their customer ID alone.

When to use it
an account is closed in your main system and nothing should keep billing that person.
Watch out
it hits all subscriptions at once, so put a filter before it and keep it for confirmed departures only.
2

Cancel Subscription

Action

In Zapier“Cancel an existing subscription”

Cancels one existing subscription, picked by its subscription ID, and leaves the customer's other subscriptions in place.

When to use it
a customer drops one product from a bundle through your support desk, and only that line should stop.
Watch out
the trigger rarely carries the subscription ID, so a Search Customer's Subscriptions step usually comes first.
3

Create Customer

Action

In Zapier“Create a new customer”

Adds a new customer to PayWhirl from a name, an email and the currency they will be billed in. It is the starting point for every other action on this page.

When to use it
a buyer completes a form or a checkout in another tool and should exist in PayWhirl right after.
Watch out
the currency is required and expects a code like USD, GBP, AUD, CAD or EUR, not a symbol.
4

Add Payment Method

Action

In Zapier“Add a new payment method”

Attaches a new payment method to an existing PayWhirl customer, identified by their customer ID, so they can be billed later.

When to use it
you just created the customer in the step before and want them ready for a subscription in the same Zap.
Watch out
without the customer ID from an earlier step or a search, there is nobody to attach it to.
5

Subscribe Customer

Action

In Zapier“Subscribe a customer to an existing plan”

Puts an existing customer on one of your existing PayWhirl plans, using the customer ID and the plan ID.

When to use it
a deal closes in your CRM and the agreed plan should start without someone setting it up by hand.
Watch out
the customer must already have a valid payment method on file, otherwise the step fails.
Searches

PayWhirl searches

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

A search step reads what PayWhirl already holds and hands it to the next steps. In the editor, the three PayWhirl searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Most of them exist to find the customer ID or subscription ID that the actions ask for. PayWhirl has no find-or-create variant. Three settings decide what happens next.

1

Get Customer

Search

In Zapier“Get customer by ID or e-mail”

Finds a PayWhirl customer from either their customer ID or their email address, and passes the record to the steps after it.

When to use it
your trigger only knows an email, and the next action needs the customer ID that PayWhirl assigned.
Watch out
whether the email must match exactly is decided by PayWhirl, so test with a real address first.
2

Search Customer's Subscriptions

Search

In Zapier“Find subscriptions of given customer”

Lists the subscriptions held by one customer, from their customer ID, so a later step can act on the right one.

When to use it
just before Cancel Subscription, to fetch the subscription ID the cancel step needs.
Watch out
a customer with several subscriptions returns several matches, so set the multiple-results option on purpose.
3

Search Invoices by Tracking Number

Search

In Zapier“Find invoices with a given tracking number”

Looks up PayWhirl invoices that carry a given tracking number, and hands what it finds to the following steps.

When to use it
a customer asks about a shipment in your helpdesk and the agent wants the matching invoice in the ticket.
Watch out
the tracking number is the only input, so the starting app has to carry it.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    On its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap and skips the steps that depended on 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. PayWhirl offers no such variant, so pair a miss with Create Customer yourself if needed.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out when several items match: keep the first (the default), stop the Zap, or pass all of them on at once.
When it breaks

When a PayWhirl Zap breaks

Zapier links no help article to PayWhirl and documents no limit specific to it. The failures to expect come from Zapier itself and from the required fields of PayWhirl steps.

  • Subscribe Customer fails

    The customer needs a valid payment method on file before Subscribe Customer can run. Add it first with Add Payment Method, or check the customer in PayWhirl.

  • Every subscription got cancelled

    Cancel All Subscriptions stops all of them at once. If the trigger fires on the wrong case, guard the step with a filter before it runs again.

  • Old signups never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Entries and orders from before stay where they are; moving them is a separate job.

  • A bulk import gets held back

    When the trigger app returns a sudden flood of items, after an import or a migration, Zapier's flood protection can hold the batch back.
Need help

Need help automating PayWhirl with Zapier?

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FAQ

PayWhirl Zapier integration: common questions

01Is the PayWhirl Zapier integration free?
Yes, PayWhirl is not a premium app, so you can use it on Zapier's free plan. That plan gives you 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap stops at two steps: one trigger and one action. A Zap that looks a customer up before subscribing them, or that uses a filter, becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan. A form entry that creates a PayWhirl customer fits the free plan without trouble.
02How many tasks does a PayWhirl Zap use?
One per action that succeeds, and nothing for the trigger. A Zap that creates a customer, adds a payment method and subscribes them uses three tasks per signup. An action that fails is not counted against your plan. If you are close to your monthly limit, keep the number of actions per run low and avoid wiring several PayWhirl actions to a trigger that fires often. A simple one-action Zap per event is the cheapest shape you can build on PayWhirl, and usually the easiest to test.
03Is the PayWhirl Zapier integration real time?
It depends on the app that starts the Zap, because PayWhirl has no trigger on Zapier. If that app has an instant trigger, it reports the event right away and the PayWhirl action follows. If it has a polling trigger, Zapier checks it on your plan's interval, which is 15 minutes on the free plan and shorter on paid ones. Choose the starting app with that in mind. Either way, the PayWhirl step itself simply follows whenever the starting app hands the event over to Zapier.
04What does it take to connect PayWhirl to Zapier?
A PayWhirl account, plus access to any customers or subscriptions you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch. You connect it once from the Apps page with + Add connection, and every Zap reuses it. Most PayWhirl actions also ask for a customer ID, a plan ID or a subscription ID, so plan where those values will come from, often a search step. Sign in with the account that holds your real customers, since the Zap only sees what that account can reach.
05Why does Subscribe Customer fail in a Zap?
Almost always because the customer has no valid payment method on file. Subscribe Customer needs one before it can put the customer on a plan, and it also needs the customer ID and the plan ID. Add the method first with Add Payment Method, in the same Zap or an earlier one, and check the IDs you are mapping. Test the whole chain on one real customer before publishing. If the step still fails after that, check that the plan ID points to a plan that already exists in PayWhirl.
06What if the PayWhirl operation you need is not there?
PayWhirl offers five actions and three searches on Zapier, and no trigger. If you want to react to a new subscription or a payment, that event has to come from another tool that sees it, such as your shop or your CRM. For anything PayWhirl does not expose, keep that part manual in PayWhirl and automate the steps that come before or after it. Read the action and search lists in the editor before you design a scenario, so you build on what is really there.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for PayWhirl?
Decide on criteria, not on a ranking. On Zapier, PayWhirl offers five actions and three searches, works on the free plan for two-step Zaps and needs no code. Because many PayWhirl scenarios chain a search and an action, check how each tool bills multi-step runs before you commit. Also think about who will maintain the automation, since a tool your team can read alone saves time later on. Finally, test any flow that cancels or bills customers on a test account first, whichever tool you end up choosing.
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