Test and troubleshoot the simPRO Zaps
Test each Zap on test records before it touches a real client or crew, then fix the handful of problems that cause almost every failed run.
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- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Test every simPRO Zap with a test customer, a test site and an @example.com contact, because Zapier tests create real jobs and documents. Most problems are names that don't match simPRO (duplicate customers or sites, no job found), data items missing from the trigger's test data, or a PDF link used too late.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
How do I test a simPRO Zap safely?
Five checks before you switch any recipe on.
- 1
Make test records
A test customer and a test site in simPRO, a copy of your template, and contacts at @example.com addresses.
- 2
Load fresh test data
Sign or finish a test document or quote from the right template, then load it as the trigger's test data in Zapier.
- 3
Check the fields
Make sure the data items and IDs you map are in the test data. If one is blank, fix the template, not the Zap.
- 4
Test each step
Run the step tests in order and check each result in simPRO or QuoteCloud: the customer, the site, the job and its attachment.
- 5
Tidy up, then turn on
Archive the test job and document, then switch the Zap on and watch its first real runs in Zapier's history.
The usual problems, and the fix
What goes wrong with simPRO Zaps, and what to change.
A duplicate customer or site
Find or Create added a new one because the name didn't match. Spell data items exactly as simPRO does, pass the customer into Find or Create Site, and merge the duplicate in simPRO.
No job found
Find Job searched an order number the job doesn't have. Check the tender Zap wrote the reference into Order Number, and that the variation's Contract data item matches it.
Blank data items
The trigger's test data came from a document without them. Sign a complete test document from the right template and load fresh test data.
Two jobs for one tender
The Zap used Recipient Signed Document, which fires per signer. Use Document Signing Complete, which waits for every signer.
The PDF didn't attach
Generate or Fetch Document PDF Link's link is short-lived. Put Attach File to Job straight after it, in the same Zap, never in a delayed step.
Proposals drafted twice
Quote Updated fires again when a quote is saved. Filter on your finished stage, and stop the Zap if Find Document by Field finds a proposal for that quote already.
Read the Zap's history first
Zapier keeps a history of every run: what triggered it, the data each step received and where it stopped. Open the failed run and look at the step before the one that failed; that's almost always where a value went missing.
Set searches such as Find Job to stop the Zap when they find nothing, so a missing job shows up in the history instead of creating something in the wrong place.
Connect it, step by step6sPsimPROAction
Attach File to Job
- Job
- 4. ID
- File
- 5. PDF link
- Filename
- HC-C-0731 signed.pdf
Test: Attached HC-C-0731 signed.pdf to job 30455
Illustration with sample data, not Zapier’s screen.
Test it on a free trial
QuoteCloud's Zapier app is on the Essentials plan and up. Start a free 14-day trial and test your simPRO Zaps on sample records.
Still stuck?
QuoteCloud's user guide covers templates, data items and signing. For the Zap itself, Zapier's own help covers steps, filters and history.
If you'd like us to look at your templates and data items with you, book a demo.
Troubleshooting questions
Why did my Zap create a second site in simPRO?
Because Find or Create Site didn't find a match and created one. Usually the site's name in the document's data item is spelled differently from simPRO, or the customer wasn't passed in. Fix the name in the template, map the customer's ID into the Customers field, and merge the duplicate in simPRO.
Why does Find Job find no job for a variation?
The order number it searched for isn't on the job. Check the job was opened with the contract's reference as its Order Number, or set it in simPRO, and check the variation's Contract data item holds exactly the same reference.
Why is the signed PDF missing from the simPRO job?
Usually the link from Generate or Fetch Document PDF Link had expired. It only works for a short time, so Attach File to Job must come straight after it in the same Zap. Also check Attach File to Job got the job's ID from the step that created or found it.
Do Zapier tests create real records?
Yes. Testing Create Service Job opens a real job in simPRO and testing Create Document makes a real document in QuoteCloud. Test on a test customer and site with @example.com contacts, and archive the test records afterwards.
More on QuoteCloud and simPRO
Five use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, test and what it costs.
- Turn a signed tender into a simPRO jobWhen every signer has signed, a Zap finds the customer and site in simPRO, opens the job and attaches the signed PDF.
- Turn simPRO estimates into client proposalsEstimate in simPRO, then a Zap drafts the client-facing proposal in QuoteCloud with the quote's details filled in.
- Variations and change orders on simPRO jobsEach variation is its own signed QuoteCloud document; a Zap files it on the running simPRO job.
- Renew maintenance contracts with simPROThe renewal agreement is signed in QuoteCloud; a Zap opens the new term's first service job in simPRO.
- Multi-site clients in simPRO and QuoteCloudOne agreement per building, each signed on its own, and each one opens a job at the right simPRO site.
- Connect simPRO to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect QuoteCloud and simPRO in Zapier, build the first Zap and test it. Or build it in Make.
- simPRO to QuoteCloud field mapEvery field the simPRO Zaps on this site pass, which way it travels and a sample value.
- What QuoteCloud with simPRO can and can't doWhat the Zaps do, where they stop (service jobs only, no quote status), Zapier or Make, and what isn't confirmed.
- What the simPRO connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier, plus a fee per document a Zap or the API creates.
- FAQAnswers to the questions contractors ask before connecting QuoteCloud and simPRO.
Test on test records. Then trust it.
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