Run into a Zapier error? Troubleshoot in the Zapier editor

Featured image for Solvaa blog post Run into a Zapier error? Get tips on understanding error codes and troubleshooting when building Zaps.

It can be frustrating if you run into an error when trying to build your Zaps. While there are lots of different causes of Zapier errors, there are some common ones, and some steps you can take to try and solve them. This post shares some tips to understand Zapier error messages and some tricks to solve common errors.

Start with a good sample

The data that you testing your Zap with should be as close as possible to the data that you expect to see when the Zap is running. This means that there will be less chance of something unexpected coming up and causing an error.

You can see the data that the Zap editor is using for the Zap in the ‘Test’ section of your trigger step. When you test the Zap, it will pull in a few samples that you can use. For example, if you’re triggering from a new row in a Spreadsheet, it will pull in a few existing rows from the sheet. If you want to look for different samples, click the ‘Find new records’ button.

Screenshot of the Zapier editor showing the Test stage of a Zap trigger. There is an arrow pointing to a white button with blue writing, the button is labelled "Find new records".

To see what the data in the sample records looks like, click on one of the records. If the Zap hasn’t pulled a sample with relevant data, try creating a new record (e.g. add a row to the spreadsheet, create a new customer in your CRM, etc) in the trigger app and click ‘Find new records’ again.

Screenshot of the Zapier editor showing the test stage of a Zap trigger. The image has a list of Spreadsheet Rows that the Zap trigger found when tested. One of the records is highlighted and a small window next to it shows the information from that row.

Common Zapier error codes

Before we dive into common errors and how to fix them, lets start with a quick introduction into error codes. These are the codes that apps will send if they are unable to perform the task that you ask (i.e. if you test a Zap step and it doesn’t work).

The two most common families of errors you’ll see in Zapier are 400 or 500 errors. Generally speaking, an error in the 400 range (e.g. 401, 404) means that there’s an error somewhere in the Zap and a 500 error (e.g. 503, 500) are ‘server’ errors, where there’s an issue on the side of the receiving app. The table below gives some common error messages and examples.

Error code	What it means	Example
400	Bad request	The information sent to the app was sent in the wrong format e.g. the app was expecting a number and received text
401	Unauthorised	The app credentials used weren’t correct/aren’t working
403	Forbidden	The account connected to the app doesn’t have permission to do what you’re asking the app to do.
404	Not found	There can be a few different reasons for this. It means that when the app tried to do the task that Zapier asked, it couldn’t find something that it needed. e.g. You asked it to update an Account in a CRM and it couldn’t find the account.
504	Timeout	It took too long to try and do what the Zap was asking, so the app stopped trying.

If you’d like to learn the meaning of other common error codes, check out this Zapier help guide.

If you hit an error when testing your Zap step, read the error to see what it says. Sometimes it will give you an error code, like the ones above, but it wont always. It should tell you if there’s something wrong with a specific field in the Zap step.

Putting the wrong type of information in a Zap step

Other than permission issues, the most common reason that a Zap step will hit an error is the wrong type of data being entered into a field. For example, you enter the word “Yes” in a field that is expecting a ‘boolean’ True or False response. If you’d like to learn more about the different types of fields that you might find in the Zapier editor, check out this Zapier help guide.

If you’re not sure what type of information a Zap field is expecting, the Zapier editor will have more information. There will often be an icon at the start of the field that tells you if the field needs a special type of data. For example, in the image below the ‘Repeat until field’ needs a date and the ‘Repeat How Many Times?’ field needs a number.

Screenshot of the Zapier editor showing a close up of two fields from a Zap action. One of the fields is labelled "Repeat Until' and has a grey icon of a calendar in the left hand of the box for the field. The other field is labelled "Repeat How Many Times?" and has a grey icon showing the numbers '123' at the left hand of the box for the field.

If you are testing your Zap step and get a 400 or 403 error, check all of the fields in the Zap step to see if the type of data in them lines up with the type of data that the app is expecting.

Using the right information in a dropdown field

This type of error happens a lot if you’re trying to map dynamic data (information that will be different depending on the data that comes from a previous step) in a dropdown field.

Lots of apps use dropdown fields to limit what information you can put into the field. For example, if you’re buying something that comes in different colours, you’ll often see a dropdown box that lets you pick from a specific list of colours. In a Zap, if you want to pass information to a dropdown box, you need to make sure that you’re passing an option that exist in your app and that you’re putting that information in the Zap editor in the right way.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s say that I have a Zap that triggers when I get an email receipt in my inbox. I want to add a link to that receipt to my Google Sheet called ‘Finances’, but I want it to add the receipt to the relevant month. I have a worksheet for each month, so I want the Zap to choose the right sheet depending on the information that comes in from the trigger.

The image below shows the dropdown options for the tabs in the Google Sheet. In the dropdown menu I can select a specific sheet/month. If I want the Zap to choose the right month each time the Zap runs, I have to use a custom value. This gives me the option to add information from a previous step in the Zap.

Screenshot of the Zapier editor. The image shows a Google Sheets 'Create Spreadsheet Row' action. There is a window in the image showing a list of the worksheets in the selected Spreadsheet. The list has a radial selection button on the left for users to choose the sheet they want to work with. The list of sheets shows the name of the sheets (the months of the year), underneath each sheet name is a numerical ID for the sheet in a lighter, thinner font.

With custom values in a dropdown field, you need to enter the ID of the option not the name of it. So, in the case of my Finances sheet, if I wanted a receipt to go into the March worksheet, the Zap would need to have “1721449345” in the ‘Worksheet’ field, and not the word “March”.

If you use the name of the option in a dropdown field and not the ID of the option, you’re step will run into an error when you test it. You can learn more about using custom values like this, and how to get the information you need, in the Zapier help guide Add custom values to dropdown menu fields in Zaps.

An example Zapier error

Learning how to read error messages can be a great help in problem-solving errors in your Zap. Let’s take a look at an example.

The error below happened when I was building a Zap step that would create a new Account in Freshsales.

An error message from the Zapier editor. It has a light red background and white cross in a dark red circle in the top left corner. The error message says: Failed to create an account in Freshsales Suite Error from halted execution:{"error":{"code":400, "message":["Either the lookup value for Primary contact is invalid or you don't have permission to access it."]}} Click on the Troubleshoot tab below or learn more in our help centre. In the message, the words "Troubleshoot" and "help centre" are hyperlinked.

To start with, I can see that it’s a 400 error. That tells me that something was wrong with the way that the information was sent to Freshsales. That could be cause by a couple of things, so I need some more information.

The error message mentions the field “Primary contact”, so there’s a good chance there’s something wrong with that field in the Zap action. The error message says that the “lookup value” is invalid or I don’t have permission to access it.

I know that the account connected to the app has permission to view and edit contacts and accounts, so something about the information that I put in the Primary contact field was “invalid”. I checked the information in the field and I had the full name of the contact. I tried changing this to the email of the contact, to see if that’s what Freshsales wanted, but I got the same error. I knew I was on the right track, so I changed the Primary contact field to the ID of the contact (the ID that FreshSales uses) and it worked! The Zap step sent the new account to Freshsales without hitting the error. This is a good example of how you might need to try a couple of things before finding the right answer.

How to find help

There’s no way for us to cover every error you might come across in your Zaps, and if you’re looking for some more support, here are some places you can look for answers:

The Zapier help pages – guides on how to use Zapier, as well as some app-specific information.
Zapier learn – Zapier’s free courses on using Zapier and how to make the most of it.
The Zapier Community – Zapier’s user community, you can search other users’ questions or post your own.

And of course, if you’d like some help from a Zapier expert, we can offer support in building your Zaps, or we can build them for you!

Summary

When you’re building a Zap, you may find that your Zap steps run into errors. Many of these errors relate to app account connections or the type of data in the fields of the Zap step. Either way, you can follow these steps to help you get unstuck:

Read the Zap error message – does it include an error code? Does it tell you which fields are causing the error?
Check that the connect app account has the permissions it needs to perform the action in the Zap
Check the fields of the Zap action to make sure that the right type of information is in the action’s fields.
Search relevant resources for help or clues

It can take a bit of trial an error sometimes, but with persistence many errors can be sorted without needing to reach out to the Zapier support team. Good luck and happy Zapping!

Solvaa: Strategy, Solutions, Support, Education

UK-based Solvaa® is a systems, process and automation consultancy specialising in improving business workflows. Solvaa® works with SMEs worldwide to implement digital tools, better processes, use business process automation and generative AI to boost productivity, enhance lead management, and remove unnecessary time, costs and hassles from stretched business owners’ days.

We help you simplify and streamline existing processes, integrate your business tools to make data transfer more efficient, and automate manual tasks. Our business process automation specialists have extensive experience using multiple cloud-based business tools, including Zapier, Pipedrive CRM, SmartSuite, Xero, Google Suite, ClickUp, Asana, Airtable, Hubspot, Active Campaign, Salesforce, Mailchimp, Quickbooks and many more. We are Zapier Certified Experts, SmartSuite Certified Partners, Pipedrive Certified Partners and Xero Certified Advisors. We also educate teams about using AI in their daily roles, mindset, governance and strategy in our Solvaa AI Academy.

Solvaa® was founded in 2016 by Kelly Goss, a no-code solutions architect, business process automation specialist and author of Automate It with Zapier (first edition) and Automate It with Zapier and Generative AI (second edition).

A thought leader on business process automation and digital adoption, Kelly attended an invite-only Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the UK government at No.10 Downing Street, providing insights and recommendations on how SMEs can benefit from productivity gains by using digital technologies, automation and AI. She has also been invited to speak at the House of Lords and at many other events.

Contact us today to find out how Solvaa can help your business make big savings on operational costs and time, and significantly increase productivity.

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Run into a Zapier error? Learn how to troubleshoot in the Zapier editor.

Start with a good sample

Common Zapier error codes

Putting the wrong type of information in a Zap step

Using the right information in a dropdown field

An example Zapier error

How to find help

Summary

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Run into a Zapier error? Learn how to troubleshoot in the Zapier editor.

Start with a good sample

Common Zapier error codes

Putting the wrong type of information in a Zap step

Using the right information in a dropdown field

An example Zapier error

How to find help

Summary

Related Posts

Search

Categories

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