Keep QuoteCloud contacts and FreshBooks clients matched
Add a contact where you happen to be working. One Zap creates new QuoteCloud contacts as FreshBooks clients, another finds or creates new FreshBooks clients in QuoteCloud, both matched on email, so invoices land against the right name.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Build two Zaps with QuoteCloud's Zapier app, on Essentials and up. QuoteCloud's New Contact Created trigger runs FreshBooks' Create or Update Client, matched on email. FreshBooks' New Client trigger runs QuoteCloud's Find or Create Contact, also matched on email. Each Zap runs one way, so neither creates duplicates of a client both apps already have.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, Ambergrove Digital's QuoteCloud contacts: Grace Kirkby of Orchard Lane Wines, added in QuoteCloud and sent to FreshBooks; Nadia Rahimi of Pellwood Pilates, found or created from FreshBooks; Elena Marsh of Kinroy Outdoor Co., already in both. In front, an illustration of the FreshBooks client Orchard Lane Wines a Zap created.
Why match clients at all?
At Ambergrove Digital, account director Rina Takahashi adds new prospects in QuoteCloud as she writes their proposals. Sam Petrakis, who runs finance, adds clients in FreshBooks when a referral arrives with a purchase order.
Without the Zaps, a client signs a proposal under one spelling and is invoiced under another, and FreshBooks ends up with two Orchard Lane Wines. With them, both apps know every client by the same email.
- Both Zaps match on email: FreshBooks' Create or Update Client and QuoteCloud's Find or Create Contact search by it before creating anyone.
- The invoice Zap still runs Find or Create Client, so a signed proposal always finds its client.
How do new QuoteCloud contacts become FreshBooks clients?
One trigger, one action. Every name is the exact event you pick in Zapier.
ZapNew QuoteCloud contact: client in FreshBooks
-
When
QuoteCloudTriggerNew Contact CreatedFires when a contact is added to your QuoteCloud address book.Passes on
- First name
- Last name
- Company
-
Then
FreshBooksActionCreate or Update ClientUpdates the client with that email, or creates one when Create if Client Does Not Exsist is Yes.Mapped in
- Create if Client Does Not Exsist: Yes
- First Name
- Last Name
- Organization
Rina adds Grace Kirkby of Orchard Lane Wines on Thursday morning to send the brand refresh proposal. At 9:41 Orchard Lane Wines is a FreshBooks client, so when the proposal is signed the invoice goes to that client, not a new one.
Result
Every QuoteCloud contact is a FreshBooks client by the time there's anything to invoice.
QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up
How agencies connect QuoteCloudAnd new FreshBooks clients into QuoteCloud?
ZapNew FreshBooks client: contact in QuoteCloud
-
When
FreshBooksTriggerNew ClientFires when a client is added in FreshBooks.Passes on
- First name
- Last name
- Organization
-
Then
QuoteCloudSearchFind or Create ContactFinds the contact by exact email, or creates it.Searches on
- Email Address
- First Name
- Last Name
- Company Name
No loop: a client created by the first Zap fires New Client, but Find or Create Contact finds the QuoteCloud contact by email and creates nothing. Make works too, bring your own: QuoteCloud's API beside Make's FreshBooks modules.
Sam adds Pellwood Pilates in FreshBooks after Nadia Rahimi's referral. A minute later Nadia is in QuoteCloud's address book, ready for Rina's campaign proposal.
Result
Clients added in FreshBooks are ready to quote in QuoteCloud, with no second entry.
QuoteCloud's Zapier app: Essentials and up
One client, the same in both apps
Ambergrove's QuoteCloud contacts, and the FreshBooks client the first Zap created for Grace.
Contacts QuoteCloud address book
- Grace KirkbyCo-owner · Orchard Lane Winesgrace.kirkby@example.com Added in QuoteCloud by Rina · sent to FreshBooks
- Nadia RahimiStudio owner · Pellwood Pilatesnadia.rahimi@example.com Found or created by a Zap from FreshBooks
- Elena MarshHead of e-commerce · Kinroy Outdoor Co.elena.marsh@example.com Already a client in both apps
Zaps
- New Contact Created
- Create or Update Client
- New Client
- Find or Create Contact
ClientOrchard Lane WinesGrace Kirkby
- Organization
- Orchard Lane Wines
- Contact
- Grace Kirkby
- grace.kirkby@example.com
- Phone
- 555 0142
Activity timeline
- Invoice AD-P-0418 sentBy Sam PetrakisMon 2 Nov · 10:15 am
- Client created from QuoteCloudMatched on email; none found, so createdThu 15 Oct · 9:41 am · Added by a Zap
Illustration with sample data: a generic accounting record, not FreshBooks’ screen.
The client record is our illustration of a generic invoicing app with sample data, not FreshBooks' screen. Every business here is fictional.
Field map for the client Zaps
| FreshBooks: FreshBooks field | Direction | QuoteCloud: QuoteCloud field | Goes into | Example (sample data) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Contact Created → Create or Update Client | |||||
| QuoteCloud to FreshBooks | Search value | grace.kirkby@example.com |
The match key. | ||
| Organization | QuoteCloud to FreshBooks | Company | Client field | Orchard Lane Wines |
|
| First Name · Last Name | QuoteCloud to FreshBooks | First name · Last name | Client field | Grace · Kirkby |
|
| New Client → Find or Create Contact | |||||
| FreshBooks to QuoteCloud | Email Address | Search value | nadia.rahimi@example.com |
QuoteCloud matches it exactly. | |
| Organization | FreshBooks to QuoteCloud | Company Name | Contact field | Pellwood Pilates |
|
| First Name · Last Name | FreshBooks to QuoteCloud | First Name · Last Name | Contact field | Nadia · Rahimi |
|
All values are sample data.
Variations on these recipes
Changes, not just new contacts
QuoteCloud's Contact Updated trigger can run the same Create or Update Client, so a new email or company name reaches FreshBooks too.
Only clients you quote
Skip the first Zap and let the invoice Zap's Find or Create Client add clients only when a proposal is signed.
A shared list
Add a row to Google Sheets for each new client, for a list the whole team can filter.
Build it in Make instead
Bring your own: Make's built-in OAuth connection to QuoteCloud and QuoteCloud's API or Zapier endpoints, beside Make's FreshBooks modules. No ready-made QuoteCloud app on Make.
One client list, two apps
QuoteCloud's Zapier app is on the Essentials plan and up. Start a free 14-day trial and test both Zaps with @example.com contacts.
Build the client Zaps in four steps
QuoteCloud to FreshBooks
In Zapier, choose QuoteCloud's New Contact Created, then FreshBooks' Create or Update Client with the email and Create if Client Does Not Exsist (Zapier's spelling) set to Yes.
FreshBooks to QuoteCloud
In a second Zap, choose FreshBooks' New Client, then QuoteCloud's Find or Create Contact on the email.
Map the names
Map first name, last name and company or organization both ways; keep email as the only match key.
Test, then turn them on
Add a test contact with an @example.com email in each app, check it appears once in the other, then switch both Zaps on.
Questions about matching clients
Will the Zaps create duplicate clients?
No, when both match on email. FreshBooks' Create or Update Client updates the client with that email before it creates one, and QuoteCloud's Find or Create Contact finds the contact by exact email first. Keep each client's email the same in both apps.
Do edits to a contact reach the other app?
Not with these two Zaps. One sends new QuoteCloud contacts to FreshBooks and the other sends new FreshBooks clients to QuoteCloud, one way each. To pass on edits, add a Zap on QuoteCloud's Contact Updated. Nothing is ever deleted by these Zaps.
Do I need this if the invoice Zap finds the client anyway?
Not always. The invoice Zap's Find or Create Client already creates a client when a proposal is signed. The client Zaps help when you want every prospect in FreshBooks before they sign, or FreshBooks clients ready to quote in QuoteCloud.
Do the client Zaps carry a QuoteCloud fee?
No. Creating or finding contacts and clients doesn't create a QuoteCloud document, so there's no per-document fee. You need QuoteCloud's Essentials plan or higher for its Zapier app, and a Zapier plan that covers your task volume.
More on QuoteCloud and FreshBooks
Six use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, map the fields and what it costs.
- Invoice the signed proposal in FreshBooksWhen every signer has signed, a Zap finds or creates the FreshBooks client and creates the invoice from the proposal's lines.
- Turn a signed statement of work into a FreshBooks projectThe accepted scope opens the FreshBooks project: title, client, fixed price and due date, with the first payment invoiced.
- Time-and-materials SOWs into FreshBooksA signed hourly estimate opens an hourly FreshBooks project at the agreed rate, ready for your team's time.
- Record QuoteCloud deposits and payments in FreshBooksA deposit or payment taken on the proposal through Stripe or PayPal is added to the matching FreshBooks invoice.
- Signed retainers become FreshBooks recurring invoicesA signed monthly retainer or care plan sets up a FreshBooks recurring invoice with the agreed monthly lines.
- Connect FreshBooks to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect both apps in Zapier, build the invoice Zap, test it and fix the usual problems.
- QuoteCloud to FreshBooks field mapEvery field the FreshBooks Zaps on this site pass, which way it travels and a sample value.
- What QuoteCloud with FreshBooks can and can't doWhat the Zaps do, where they stop, Zapier or Make, and what we haven't confirmed yet.
- What the FreshBooks connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier. The FreshBooks recipes here create no QuoteCloud documents, so no per-document fee.
- FAQAnswers to the questions freelancers and studios ask before connecting QuoteCloud and FreshBooks.
Add a client once. Find them in both.
Start a free 14-day trial and keep QuoteCloud contacts and FreshBooks clients matched with two Zaps.