*This tutorial was written by one of our awesome users, Jacqui Money! She'll be walking you through how you can automate sending a custom invoice to your clients and customers using Zapier and Zoho Books.
Although you can send a default invoice using Stripe and PayPal, there are times when you'd like more control over what's being included on the invoice.
If that's the case then Jacqui recommends using Zapier and Zoho Books for this purpose. Scroll down for the full step-by-step guide!
Why Zoho Books?
Ease of Use: Zoho Books integrates seamlessly with Zapier and allows for easy automation.
Customization: You can customize the invoice to include all necessary tax information and company details.
Automation: Automatically sends invoices and payment confirmations to your members.
And it also does multicurrency which I needed.
This setup has worked well for my needs, ensuring all necessary information is captured and sent without manual effort.
Setup Process Overview
MemberVault to Zoho Books via Zapier:
Sign-Up: When someone signs up in MemberVault and completes the payment via PayPal, you can set up a Zap to send their details to Zoho Books.
Zapier Integration: Create a Zap that triggers when a new sign-up occurs in MemberVault. Use this Zap to send the customer details (name, email, etc.) to Zoho Books, creating a new invoice automatically.
Collecting Additional Information:
Form for Company Details: If you need more details (like company info), set up a form I use Airtable for everything. Have your members fill this out during the registration process.
Zapier Integration: Create the zap to add them to Zoho when the form has been completed instead of the Membervault purchase
Steps to Implement:
MemberVault to Zoho
Step 1: Set Up a Trigger in Zapier
Log in to Zapier:
Start by logging in to your Zapier account.
Create a New Zap:
Click on “Create Zap” to start a new automation workflow.
Select MemberVault as the Trigger App:
In the “Choose App & Event” section, search for and select MemberVault.
Choose Trigger Event:
For the trigger event, select "User added to product". This event triggers when a new purchase is made on MemberVault.
Click Continue.
Connect Your MemberVault Account:
If you haven’t connected your MemberVault account yet, you’ll be prompted to do so. Click "Sign in to MemberVault" and follow the prompts to connect your account.
Once connected, click Continue.
Set Up Trigger:
Choose the specific product for which you want this Zap to trigger. For instance, if you only want this to happen for a specific membership or course, select that option from the dropdown.
Click Continue.
Test Trigger:
Zapier will ask you to test the trigger to ensure it’s set up correctly. Click "Test Trigger". If you have recent purchases in MemberVault, Zapier will pull in sample data to confirm the connection.
Once successful, click Continue.
Step 2: Set Up an Action to Create a Customer in Zoho Books
Choose Zoho Books as the Action App:
In the “Choose App & Event” section, search for and select Zoho Books.
Choose Action Event:
For the action event, select "Create Contact". This will create a new contact (customer) in Zoho Books whenever a purchase is made in MemberVault.
Click Continue.
Connect Your Zoho Books Account:
If you haven’t connected your Zoho Books account to Zapier yet, you’ll be prompted to do so. Click "Sign in to Zoho Books" and follow the prompts to connect your account.
Once connected, click Continue.
Set Up the Contact Action:
Customer Name: Map the customer name field from MemberVault.
Customer Email: Map the email field from MemberVault.
Test Action:
Zapier will ask you to test the action to ensure everything is set up correctly. Click "Test & Continue". This will create a new contact in Zoho Books with the sample data from MemberVault.
If successful, you’ll see a confirmation. Click Continue.
Step 3: Set Up an Action to Create an Invoice in Zoho Books
Add Another Action:
After setting up the contact, add another action by clicking "+ Add a Step".
Choose Zoho Books as the Action App Again:
Search for and select Zoho Books again.
Choose Action Event:
For the action event, select "Create Invoice". This will create a new invoice in Zoho Books based on the contact created in the previous step. Click Continue.
Set Up the Invoice Action:
Customer Name: Choose the contact you just created in the previous step (this will usually be available in a dropdown or search box within the Zapier setup).
Invoice Date: Set this to the current date, which can be found under the "Zapier" options in the dropdown.
Due Date: Set the due date based on your payment terms.
Line Items: If you want to automatically add line items to the invoice, map the relevant fields from MemberVault (e.g., the product name and price).
Notes: You can add any additional notes that you want to appear on the invoice.
Click Continue.
Test Action:
Zapier will ask you to test the action to ensure everything is set up correctly. Click "Test & Continue". This will create a new invoice in Zoho Books with the sample data from MemberVault.
If successful, you’ll see a confirmation. Click Finish.
Step 4: Turn On Your Zap
Name Your Zap:
Give your Zap a descriptive name so you can easily identify it later.
Turn On the Zap:
Finally, toggle the switch to turn on your Zap. Now, every time a new purchase is made in MemberVault, a contact will be created in Zoho Books, and an invoice will be automatically generated and sent out.
Additional Tips:
Testing: Before rolling this out fully, consider doing a few test transactions to ensure everything is working as expected.
Automation: With this setup, the entire process—from sign-up to invoice generation—becomes fully automated, reducing the chance of errors and saving you significant time.
Creating a form to collect information
Step 1: Create a Form in Airtable
Create a New Base:
Start by creating a new base in Airtable specifically for collecting member details.
Set up fields such as Name, Email, Company Name, Address, Tax ID, etc.
Create a Form View:
In your Airtable base, create a Form View. This will allow you to collect all necessary information from your members after they sign up.
Customize the form by adding instructions or descriptions for each field to ensure you collect accurate information.
Share the Form:
Once your form is set up, generate a shareable link that you can use in the next step.
Step 2: Create a Zap to Send Out the Airtable Form Upon Purchase
Set Up a Trigger in Zapier:
Trigger App: Choose MemberVault as the trigger app.
Trigger Event: Select " User added to product " or a similar trigger event.
Connect: Connect your MemberVault account and select the product or program for which you want to trigger the form.
Set Up an Action to Send the Form:
Action App: Choose your email service provider (Gmail) as the action app.
Action Event: Select “Send Email” or a similar action.
Email Content: In the email content, include the Airtable form link along with instructions for the member to complete the form.
Step 3: Create a Zap for Zoho Books Upon Form Completion
Set Up a Trigger in Zapier:
Trigger App: Choose Airtable as the trigger app.
Trigger Event: Select "New Record in View" as the trigger event.
Connect: Connect your Airtable account and select the specific view that includes completed forms.
Set Up an Action to Create an Invoice in Zoho Books:
Action App: Choose Zoho Books as the action app.
Action Event: Select “Create Invoice” or “Create Contact and Invoice.”
Mapping Fields: Map the fields from Airtable (Name, Email, Company Details, etc.) to the corresponding fields in Zoho Books.
Invoice Automation: Set up Zoho Books to automatically send the invoice once it’s created.
Learn More about Jacqui
Jacqui Money is and systems and automation expert. She helps overwhelmed coaches, course creators and membership owners scale beyond 6 figures with a tiny team and custom automated client/member management systems so that they feel confident selling their program or membership without the fear of how they are going to manage it all.
Check out Jacqui's MV site here: https://jacquimoney.com/learn
Questions? Reach out to us at hello@membervault.co, within our Facebook group, The MV Collaborative, or via chat support within your admin account (not sure how to log in? look up your account here).