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How to schedule Google Sheet trigger

  • 7 October 2021
  • 6 replies
  • 328 views

Hi!

 

Use Case

  1. I have a monthly email that gets sent from Act-On which contains merge information for each contact.
  2. I update the information on a monthly basis.
  3. An email is automatically sent on the first Monday of the month with the information I just updated to each of my contacts.

Desired Workflow

  1. Using Google Sheets, each month I either (1) add new emails with info or (2) update existing emails with info.  The email address is entered on each row and the corresponding columns contain information.
  2. On the first Monday of the month, a zap is triggered to pull the new and updates from Google Sheets and send it to Act-On which updates or adds new contact records.
  3. In Act-On an automated program is set to run which sends out the monthly emails.

Current Setup

  • Google Sheets > Trigger > New or updated spreadsheet row in Google Sheets
  • Act-On > Action > Update or create contact (by email address) in Act-On

Challenges

  1. The Zap looks for updates in Google Sheets every 15 mins (I have a free account and can only have 100).

Request

I am looking for a way to schedule the Google Sheet trigger to only happen the first Monday of each month versus every 15 mins.  It would be great to also select a time of day this would happen so I can coordinate it with the automated program in Act-On.

I’ve researched a little and saw you might be able to set up a recurring meeting on your Google Calendar which can accomplish that, however I can’t find the directions on how to set this up.

 

Your help is very appreciated!

-- Veronica

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6 replies

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hi @vwilliams 

Try Schedule as your Zap trigger: https://zapier.com/apps/schedule/integrations

 

NOTE: Any Zap with 2+ action steps will require a Zapier paid plan.

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
V
Userlevel 1

Hi @Troy Tessalone -- I really appreciate your quick reply!  I looked over that link and am probably missing something because I didn’t see how I could use Schedule as the trigger which would then send ‘New or updated spreadsheet row in Google Sheets’ to Act-On. It looked like I was only able to trigger things to happen in the Google Sheet vs. delaying when the trigger happens in the Google sheet.  Thanks!  Veronica

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@vwilliams 

Delays can be added to Zaps: https://zapier.com/help/create/customize/add-delays-to-zaps

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@vwilliams

Consider using Airtable as an alternative to GSheets: https://zapier.com/apps/airtable/integrations

Airtable has Views: https://support.airtable.com/hc/en-us/articles/202624989-Guide-to-views

Views have filters.

Logic could be added to determine when a record should move into a View. (e.g. 1st of the next month)

Views can be used to trigger Zaps.

 

⚡ Troy Tessalone - AutomationAce.com | Premier Certified Zapier Expert | #1 Zapier Community Contributor
V
Userlevel 1

I wanted to thank you @Troy Tessalone for all your help on this.  I have everything working!

christina.d
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Hi friends! I wanted to pop in and consolidate some of Troy’s tips and tricks into a single answer:

Delay by Zapier sounds like it was a great recommendation for this workflow!

If you’re needing some guidance on how best to use the Delay feature check out this article: 

@vwilliams

Delays can be added to Zaps: https://zapier.com/help/create/customize/add-delays-to-zaps

And another alternative to consider:

@vwilliams

Consider using Airtable as an alternative to GSheets: https://zapier.com/apps/airtable/integrations

Airtable has Views: https://support.airtable.com/hc/en-us/articles/202624989-Guide-to-views

Views have filters.

Logic could be added to determine when a record should move into a View. (e.g. 1st of the next month)

Views can be used to trigger Zaps.

 

I hope this helps! 

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