Cloud apps have changed the way business works. As an accountant, you’re at the cutting edge of this shift so understand the benefits and problems more than most.

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One of the problems is the sheer number of cloud apps used by businesses. At BizInk we’re daily users of over 20 cloud apps like Google Apps, Basecamp and Zendesk. And we use plenty more from time to time.

This enables us to be efficient and flexible but it also means lots of data in lots of places. Definitely not the goal of the ‘connected world’.

From a marketing perspective, it’s vital to get data in sync. We’ve found a tool called Zapier to be a great way to join the dots between cloud apps.

Zapier’s slogan is ‘automate the web’ and that’s a good description of what they do. They connect different apps so when something happens in one, it triggers an action in another.

Once you’ve create your ‘Zap’ (as their integrations are known) it will run every time the trigger happens.

This is best illustrated with some examples of triggers and actions you could create in Zapier:

  • New connection on LinkedIn > New person in Capsule CRM
  • New Tweet on Twitter > Create new post on Facebook page
  • New attachment in Gmail > Save to Dropbox
  • Move Google Contact to a folder > Saves to a MailChimp list
  • On BizInk websites, our online forms integrate with Zapier. When a form is submitted, the data is pushed automatically into all kinds of apps like MailChimp, SalesForce, InfusionSoft or Google Docs

I could go on but with 200+ apps and services you can connect through Zapier, hopefully you can see the possibilities.

You get the cool features of lots of apps but your data is automatically moved between them instead of being spread across different places.

Zapier works with apps that have APIs. API integration would normally be for developers only but Zapier is designed for non-technical users. They’ve clearly invested heavily in making it easy to use.

And they offer a free trial so why not sign up and give it a try. And if you come up with any cool Zaps  I’d love to know about them.


BizInk websites integrate with Zapier. If you’d like to see the possibilities that creates for a connected online practice, take a guided tour or drop us a line.