Manager API connectivity

Hi @lubos

First, I’m new to the forum and Manager and I just want to say thank you for all your effort in developing the software.

Next, I too am interested in exploring the boundaries of what is possible in terms of functionality and connectivity as I learn how to best use Manager. So, is it possible to move data into Manager using Zapier (zapier.com)? Zapier is designed to connect apps and automate workflows and it works with other cloud-based accounting apps.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Please do not divert topics with unrelated questions. Yours had nothing to do with the topic where it was posted.

Hello @Tut,

Thank you for your terse reprimand. However, I’ll respectfully have to disagree with you. I don’t believe that I did go off-topic. Since Zapier works specifically with Woo Commerce (the subject matter addressed by the original poster) and other cloud-based accounting programs at the API level, the question was wholly appropriate and, despite your assertion to the contrary, was relevant to the topic that was posted.

I can discern from your numerous posts that you help keep order in the forum, but in this case you didn’t interpret my question correctly because it did apply to the original post and was related to the topic. Perhaps you just didn’t know what Zapier was or how it works and didn’t take the time to find out.

I certainly don’t want to start off my experience in this forum arguing or crossing swords with a forum “leader” but I’d appreciate it in the future if you wouldn’t make snap decisions at my expense or try to make me look stupid or inept.

Have a good day.

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@BeanCounter, please don’t take things personally. I was certainly not trying to make you look inept. And my decision to move your post was not a snap judgement.

One of the challenges of keeping the forum running smoothly is trying to avoid topic threads becoming too lengthy and veering into subjects one user might think are connected, but which make the original thread less focused and make it harder to find subjects when searching. The original post was about one platform; yours was about another.

I hope that once you gain more experience on the forum you will understand that separate topics increase visibility and actually speed up and improve the quality of responses. So we moderators sometimes separate things, as well as move posts from one topic to another, and revise subjects to be more informative. If you’ve got a more specific title you’d like to see on this subject, l’d be happy to change it.

Thanks for your contributions.

@Tut

I understand. Thank you for letting me know.

I don’t have any suggestions for a different title and I’ll defer that decision to you. I just wanted to know if Manager is written in such a way as to allow data input at the API level. If the developer has the time, hopefully he’ll let me know at his convenience.

@Tut

I guess I did have a suggestion after all. I added the term “API” to the title to make it more specific. I hope that was okay.

Absolutely. I wasn’t sure the software would allow you to change it after I had split the topic. I guess it still considers you the original author.

Yes, Manager uses a REST API. You can make requests using standard HTTP GET / PUT / POST requests.

This is suitable enough to connect with Zapier, and it’s something I’ve considered developing / setting up in the past. However, so far I’ve built custom integrations directly rather than using Zapier as a middle-ground, because that’s been the more efficient solution.

Does Zapier have the capability to send HTTP requests directly with a JSON-encoded body and basic auth, or does there need to be an application in-between to translate between Zapier & Manager?

Hi @ShaneAU,

Thank you for your reply. The information you provided will move me one step closer to my goal.

I apologize but I’m not able to answer your question. My goal is to use Zapier with Manager and that’s the point where I’m at. So basically my knowledge about it is limited. That’s why I needed to know about the API. I do know that Zapier performs as middleware between many cloud-based apps so it is unlikely, in my opinion, that it needs an app to translate. But in regards to your inquiry specifically about JSON, I’m not qualified at this point to provide an answer. I will, however, be contacting the support department at zapier.com and asking the same question now that I know what to ask.

Thank you again. :grinning:

Hi there:

I’m trying to use Zapier.com to poll lists from manager. But the thing is the result is a JSON string but Zapier requires a format like: [{“id”:1234},{“id”:1235}]. Instead we receive something like [“1234”,“1235”]. So, is not compatible like the error shows:

Results list [“00107694-e283-4ce0-913f-9b21b089608c”, “001e5509-2a92-4b7d-8747-3909bff6a13c”, "0081b426-dcef-42e0 is malformed. A results list must hold children that are objects like [{key: value}]. We found “00107694-e283-4ce0-913f-9b21b089608c” though.

But I’ve been able to send commands to Manager.io with Zapier.com through a PUT and the new record is generated.

In response to @Drew_Mike that contact me by private message, I’ll show how to do it for every one so more people can do it too.

If case you don’t know Zapier, it is a platform that allows you connect a lot of applications using APIs. If you have an APP that triggers an event, you can send data to other APP.

In my example, I use PipeFy.com for managing our processes. I have a link in our website where suppliers can fill a form and start a registration process where we verify some supplier data before making the first purchase. So, when the supplier is reviewed in PipeFy it generates a trigger and thats when I use Zapier catch the new data and register a new supplier into Manager.io automatically. (I don’t get any revenue for referring Zappier or PipefY, just in case :rofl:)

Let’s see how to do it:

Step 1:

Open your Zapier.com account.

Step 2:

you will make a new “Zap” using as trigger your favorite APP. Then you go to the “Do this…” section and choose the APP “Webhooks by Zapier” and use a “POST” in the event type:

Step 3:

Here is where the tricky part starts…

You will need an URL where to fire the Webhook, so you need to login in your Manager API using the following link in another windows or tab of your browser:

https://[SUBDOMAIN].manager.io/api/

You have to login with the administrator user:

04 - Screen

Step 4:

Navigate to your company and you will find a list like this:

05 - Screen

Step 5:

You have to navigate to the kind of record you want to create. In my example I’m creating a new Supplier so I click in Supplier and get another list like this:

Step 6: This is where I get the URL I’ll use in Zapier:

Copy this URL.

Step 7:

  • Now return to Zapier and use the URL you have found.
  • Use Payload Type: JSON
  • Wrap Request In Array: NO
  • Unflatten: YES
  • Basic Auth: Put your username and password with a " | " char in the middle.

Step 8: The final step!

You need to map the data from the other APP to the fields in Manager. There are normal fields, In line fields and custom fields. In order to do that you need to look for a record that has all the fields populated that you need. Click on any link of the list in step 5 to look for it. You should get an entry like this:

08 - screen

So you need to map the data as “key name”: “key value” in Zapier from your trigger APP to Manager

Ok, the custom fields: Use “CustomFields__” + the ID in the registry you looked for. The double underscore “__” will do the trick of nest the fields and Manager will accept them.

Good Look!

PS: For any consultancy services in process automation please DM me. :wink:

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Appreciated :pray:

Muchas gracias. I have no need to use this myself but I’m sure you are helping other members with this howto.

Hopefully yes!

Hi can i know is it now still working fine for this? As i have follow the same step but i’m keep on getting error “Unauthorized 401”, i confirm the username and password was correct

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It is still working for me. Ensure you have “user | password” in BasicAuth field

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