This document describes how to set up integration via Zapier.

• Zapier Integration Overview
  • Triggers in Zapier
  • Actions in Zapier
  • Zaps: Putting it all together
• Setting up an Account on Zapier
• Creating a Zapier Integration
  • Authentication
    • API Core Resources
      • Triggers
      • Actions
    • API Key in QuickSchools
    • Setting up Authentication in Zapier
  • Setting up a Trigger
  • Setting up an Action
• Examples Scenarios (Zaps)
  • Example 1: Adding a Student Record (Action)
  • Example 2: When a new Student record is created (Trigger)

Zapier Integration Overview

Zapier is essentially a GUI interface for building your own integration to any system that has open APIs. This means that you can readily integrate QuickSchools with any other system, using Zapier as the go-between.

 

To facilitate this integration, you will need to first establish a link between Zapier and an external system (like QuickSchools). From there, you can create either a Trigger or an Action. These are described in more detail below:

Triggers in Zapier

A trigger is essentially an API call to an external system that checks for new / updated records. Once a new / updated record is detected, the Trigger can be used to facilitate an Action.

 

For QuickSchools, there are a specific set of API Resources that you can use to detect new records. Please see “API Endpoints in QuickSchools” section below for a complete list.

Actions in Zapier

Similar to Triggers, Actions are also an API call to an external system, EXCEPT instead of detecting changes, an Action will perform an action on a particular record (for example, create a new record, update a record, or delete a record).

For QuickSchools, a complete list of API Resources available for Actions are listed in the following site:

https://apidocs.quickschools.com 

Zaps: Putting it all together

Once you’ve created Triggers and Actions in Zapier, you can then link them together into Zaps. So for example, you could have a trigger in QuickSchools to detect new students, and you can then have an Action to send out emails. By creating a Zap, you can link any number of Actions to a Trigger. This means that you can automatically send out emails when a student is created in QuickSchools.

 

Setting up an Account on Zapier

Signing up for an account

• Go to https://zapier.com/ 
• Click on Sign-up
  • Enter Work Email, First Name and Last name
  • Click on Sign Up
• Enter Password > Click on Sign Up
• Select your Role and Company Size > Click on Continue
• Select Apps you would want to use (optional)

Creating a Zapier Integration

Create a Zapier Integration App

• Go to https://developer.zapier.com/ 
• Click on Start a Zapier Integration

• Enter all required fields for the App
  • Name (Example: QuickSchools)
  • Description
  • Intended Audience: select Private
  • Role (Example: I have no affiliation with _)
  • Category (Example: Education)
• Click on Create

Authentication

When setting up Authentication, you will need the following:

• API Endpoint
• API Key

API Core Resources

The following Core Resources can be used in creating Triggers, Actions, and Searches in Zapier

Triggers

List Students

GET: /sms/v1/students-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
mode	Used to specify whether only newly added records or both added and updated records are returned. Default to add. Possible values: add - returns ONLY newly added records update - returns new and updated records	No
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No
fields	Additional fields to include in response. Requires a comma-separated list. Example: “fields”=”birthDate,customFields,leavePDate,letoTags-StudentFlexi” Acceptable values are the available fields for the Students API	No
showHasLeft	Include students who have left. true/false	No
showDeleted	Include deleted students. true/false	No
search	Search by Student Full Name, Class, or Student Number	No

 

List Parents

GET: /sms/v1/parents-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No
fields	Additional fields to include in response. Requires a comma-separated list. Example: “fields”=”homePhone,cellPhone,email” Acceptable values are the available fields for the Parents API	No
showDeleted	Include deleted parents. true/false	No
search	Search by Parent Full Name	No

 

List Teachers

GET: /sms/v1/teachers-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No
search	Search by Teacher Full Name or Employee Number	No

 

List Sections

GET: /sms/v1/sections-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No

 

List Section Enrollments

GET: /sms/v1/sectionenrollments-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No

 

Actions

Update Student Record

POST: /sms/v1/students-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No
studentId	Student Number	Yes
fullName	Student Full Name	No
firstName	Student First Name. For Complex Student Names. Leave blank if fullName provided	No
middleName	Student Middle Name. For Complex Student Names. Leave blank if fullName provided	No
lastName	Student Last Name. For Complex Student Names. Leave blank if fullName provided	No
preferredName	Student preferred name	No
birthDate	Student birth date. Format should be yyyy-mm–dd. Example: “birthDate”=”2005-05-04”	No
gender	Student gender. male/female	No
nationality	Student country of origin	No
grade	Grade Level ID	No
homeroomTeacherFullName	Homeroom Teacher	No
homeroomName	Homeroom Name	No
enrollmentDate	Enrollment Date. Format should be yyyy-mm–dd. Example: “birthDate”=”2023-08-19”	No
fullAddress	Student Address Line	No
city	Student Address: City	No
state	Student Address: State	No
zip	Student Address: Zip	No
country	Student Address: Country	No
phone	Student home phone	No
cellPhone	Student cell phone	No
fax	Student fax	No
email	Student email address	No
medicalProblems	Medical problems	No
currentMedicationNeeds	Current medication needs	No
medicationAllergies	Medication allergies	No
foodAllergies	Food allergies	No
otherAllergies	Other allergies	No
specialDietaryNeeds	Special dietary needs	No
additionalInformation	Additional medical information	No
fields	Additional fields to include in response. Requires a comma-separated list. Example: “fields”=”customFields,leavePDate,letoTags-StudentFlexi” Acceptable values are the available fields for the Students API	No
reactivateIfInactive	Re-enrolls the student record if inactive. true/false	No
checkPreenrolled	Checks pre-enrolled student records and updates accordingly. true/false	No
preenrolledToRegular	Change Pre-enrollment to Regular Enrollment. true/false	No
regularToPreenrolled	Change Regular Enrollment to Pre-enrollment. true/false	No
customFields	Student Custom Fields. Send as an JSON array of key-value pair, Example:  ”[“Passport:P-013248972A”,”Current Program Level:Intermediate”]”	No
	key - Custom Field Name.	Yes
	value - Custom Field Value.	Yes

 

Create Admissions Application

POST: /sms/v1/studentapplications-zap

Parameter	Description	Req'd
apiKey	API Key generated in QuickSchools	Yes
subdomain	Specific school within a Group School	No
applicantName	Applicant Name	Yes
preferredName	Preferred Name	Yes
birthDate	Applicant date of birth.  Format should be yyyy-mm–dd. Example: “birthDate”=”2005-05-04”	Yes
gender	Applicant gender	Yes
applicationRemarks	Application Remarks	Yes
phone	Phone number	Yes
email	Email Address	Yes
currentSchool	Current School	Yes
currentGrade	Current Grade	Yes
enrollmentDate	Enrollment date. Format should be yyyy-mm–dd. Example: “birthDate”=”2005-05-04”	Yes
address	Student Address: Address Line	No
city	Student Address: City	No
state	Student Address: State	No
zip	Student Address: Zip	No
homePhone	Student Home Phone	No
cellPhone	Student Cell Phone	No
fax	Student Fax	No
studentEmail	Student Email Address	No
medicalProblems	Medical problems	No
currentMedicationNeeds	Current medication needs	No
medicationAllergies	Medication allergies	No
foodAllergies	Food allergies	No
otherAllergies	Other allergies	No
specialDietaryNeeds	Special dietary needs	No
additionalInformation	Additional medical information	No
customFields	Student Custom Fields. Send as an JSON array of key-value pair, Example:  ”[“Passport:P-013248972A”,”Current Program Level:Intermediate”]”	No
	key - Custom Field Name.	Yes
	value - Custom Field Value.	Yes

 

For other endpoint, please refer to the following site: https://apidocs.quickschools.com

 

API Key in QuickSchools

You can obtain your QuickSchools API Key for your school, by going to the Developer Console:

• Enable the Developer Console:
  • Go to Settings > Turn Features On/Off tab
  • On the bottom most portion of the screen, click on Enable under “Interested in developing your own apps?”

• • Once enabled, you will be asked to configure the module. Ensure that you have access to the API Key

• • Once the configuration is saved
    • Go to App Developer Console > API Keys tab
    • Click on Create New API Key
      • Enter the description for the API Key

• • Once the API Key has been created, to access the key, click on Show under the API KEY column

NOTES: To know more about QuickSchools API Keys, please see here.

Setting up the Authentication in Zapier

• In the Integration Home
  • Click on Setup Authentication

• • Select API Key
  • Click on Save

• Under Step 1: Configure your Fields
  • Click on Add Fields

• • • Enter the Label (Example: API Key)
    • Enter the Key (Example: apiKey)
    • Set the field as Required
    • Set the Default Value (optional)
      • You can set the API Key from QS as the default value
    • Click on Add

• Under Step 2: Configure a Test Request & Connection Label
  • Set the API Endpoint URL (see resources above)
    • Example: https://api.quickschools.com/sms/v1/students-zap 

• • Click on Show Options
    • Ensure that the URL Params is apiKey - {{bundle.authData.key}}
  • Click on Save & Continue

• Under Step 3: Test your Authentication
  • Click on “Sign in to [APP_NAME]”

• • • Enter the required field -- API Key
    • Click on Yes, continue

• • Click on Test Authentication
  • Once successful, click on Save & Finish

If the authentication is successful, you would see a “Request Successful” and a set of data under the Response tab.

NOTES: To know more about Zapier Authentication, see here.

 

Setting up a Trigger

• In your Integration Dashboard, click on Triggers (found on the Left Panel)
• Click on Add Trigger

• • Enter the Key (Example: new_student)
  • Enter the Name (Example: New Student)
  • Enter the Noun (Example: student)
  • Enter the Description (Example: Triggers when a new student is added)
  • Enter the Directions (Optional - ideal if input is needed from user)
  • Select Visibility
  • Click on Save and Continue

• If you would want to add filters or allow users to enter data, you can add the fields in the Input Designer Tab; Otherwise skip this step and go straight to the API Configuration.
  • Click on Add User Input Field

• • • Enter the Key
    • Enter the Label
    • Enter the Help Text (Optional)
    • Select the Field Type
    • Enter the Default Text (Optional)
    • Set additional options:
      • Required
      • Allows Multiples
      • Alters Dynamic Fields
      • Dropdown
    • Click on Save

• Once your input fields have been set (optional), you can now setup your API Configuration:
  • Step 1: Configure your API Request
    • Set the Trigger Type:
      • REST Hook - This allows Zaps to run as soon as new data comes into your app.
      • Polling - Zapier sends a GET request to an API endpoint URL to request new data 
  • Set the API Endpoint
    
    • Enter the API endpoint URL
    • Click on Show Options
      • Set the apiKey Value
  • Set the Pagination (Optional)
  • Click on Save API Request & Continue

• Step 2: Test your API Request
  • Select the account you would want to test (automatically set)
  • Click on Test Your Request

• • • If test is successful, click on Finish Testing & Continue

• Step 3: Define your Output
  • Enter Sample data
    • Click on Use Response from Test Data to use the data from the successful API Request; Otherwise, manually enter the values
  • Define your Output Fields
    • Click on Generate Output Field Definitions to automatically add Output Fields based on the Sample Data; Otherwise, manually enter the values:
      • Set the Key
      • Set the Label
      • Set the Field Type
    • Click on Save Output & Finish

•  

Example:

 

NOTES: Live Zaps automatically poll the URL for new data every 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the user’s Zapier plan. Sample Output data is important for Triggers. To know more about Adding a Trigger, see here. To know more about Zapier’s Input Designer, see here. To know more about REST Hooks, see here.

Setting up an Action

• In your Integration Dashboard, click on Actions (found on the Left Panel)
• Click on Add Action

• Configure the Action Setting
  • Select the Action Type
    • Create - creates new items from the data users enter.
    • Search - find data in apps and optionally create new items if the search returns no results.
  • Enter the Key (Example: new_student)
  • Enter the Name (Example: New Student)
  • Enter the Noun (Example: Student)
  • Enter the Description (Example: Creates a new Student Record)
  • Set the Visibility Options
  • Click on Save and Continue

• Configure your Input Fields (Optional)
  • Under Input Designer > Click on Add > Select the Field Type 
    • Input Field - the main type of field that most integrations use, with 10 field types to let users enter plain text data and map variables from previous triggers and actions into the field.
    • Dynamic Field - make API calls to your app, then show the returned data in a dropdown menu so users can select the item needed, often used for folders, projects, assignees, and other data that would need to be chosen from your app.
    • Line Item Group - organize a set of Input Fields to create line items, where each item in a comma separated list entered in the field would create a new separate item in your app, often used for line items in invoice and accounting apps.

• • In our case, we will select Input Field
    • Enter the Label
    • Enter the Key
    • Enter the Help Text (optional)
    • Select the Field Type
    • Enter the Default Test (optional)
    • Set the additional options
      • Required
      • Allows Multiple
      • Alters Dynamic Fields
      • Dropdown
      • Click on Save

• Repeat the process until all input fields have been added.

• Setup the API Configuration
  • Step 1: Configure your API Request
  • Enter API endpoint URL
    • Example: https://api.quickschools.com/sms/v1/students
  • Ensure that the URL Params are set 
    • Input Values would need to be set as URL Params and Removed from the Request Body
    • Use identifier {{bundle.inputData.[field_name]}} (replace [field_name] with the Key value of the field)
  • Click on Save API Request & Continue

• • Step 2: Test your API Request
    • Select the Account to be used for the test
    • Enter the values for the input fields set
    • Click on Test Your Request

• • • If test is successful, click on Finish Testing & Continue

• • Step 3: Define your Output
    • Enter Sample Data (optional)
    • Define Output Fields (optional)

NOTES: For Actions API endpoint URL and field identifiers, please see here. To know more about Adding an Action, see here. To know more about Input Designer, see here. To know more about Zapier Action Types, see here.

Examples Scenarios (Zaps)

Here we discuss examples on how the QuickSchools API is used to address a specific use case, but linking either a Trigger or Action into a Zap.

Example 1: Adding a Student Record (Action)

To test the integration, besides in the Developer Platform

• Go to https://zapier.com/app/dashboard
• Click on Make a Zap
• Setup your Trigger
  • In our example, the new student found in the trigger (below) will be added to a different QuickSchools Account.
• Search for the App you created for the Action

• Select the Action Event from the list
• Click on Continue

• Select the account to use (initialized during the Authentication Setup)
• Click on Continue

• Map fields from your Trigger
• Click on Continue

• Click on Test & Review

• Once the Test is Successful, you can either Retest the Action or Turn on the Zap

Example 2: When a new Student record is created (Trigger)

To test the integration, besides in the Developer Platform

QuickSchools:

• Create a new student record in QuickSchools

Zapier:

• Go to https://zapier.com/app/dashboard
• Click on Make a Zap
• Search for the App you created for the Trigger

• Select the Trigger you created from the list.
• Click on Continue

• Select the account to use (this would be created during the initial login when setting up the Authentication)
• Click on Continue

• Click on Test Trigger

• The most recently added student record would appear in the output.

 

If you have any questions or concerns with the setting up your Zapier Integration, feel free to contact us via chat or email us at support@quickschools.com.