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Zapier: Add Method Activities for RingCentral Phone Calls
Zapier: Add Method Activities for RingCentral Phone Calls

Using Zapier, you can automatically create activities for RingCentral phone calls

Updated over a week ago

After you complete a call in RingCentral, this zap will automatically create an activity in Method. This document will help you configure the below Method + RingCentral Zapier template.

Add Method activities for RingCentral phone calls

NOTE: This zap uses the Ring Central trigger Call Ended to detect a new call. There are also many other triggers you can create for yourself using their other four triggers. For example, you can create an activity when a new SMS is sent or received.


Restrictions

  • RingCentral stores the contact's number in one format, e.g. +14165550123. In order for this Zap template to work, contacts in Method should have their Phone field formatted the same way. (For those comfortable with Zapier, we show a way to alter this zap to format the number in the way you want at the end of this article.)

  • The zap currently creates every activity assigned to the same Method User. (For those comfortable with Zapier, we show a way to alter this zap to dynamically assign the activity to a specific Method User at the end of this article.)

  • This is a multi-step zap with more than one action. You will need a paid Zapier plan in order to use it. 


How this Template Works

  1. Call Ended: Zap is triggered once a call is ended in RingCentral.

  2. Utilities: Get the caller's phone number based on the direction of the call. If a call is "Inbound", then it will use the "From Phone Number". If the call is "Outbound", it will use the "To Phone Number". 

  3. Utilities: Set the activity type based on Inbound / Outbound to "Phone Call Incoming" or "Phone Call Outgoing" respectively. 

  4. Find Contact: Using the number from step 2, it will search for the contact. If the contact doesn't exist, then the zap will stop.

  5. Add Activity: Add an activity for the contact found in step 4. It will also set the activity type based on the results from step 3.

Zapier will search for a contact in Method based on their Phone field, not the Mobile field. Furthermore, the format of the phone number it searches for is:

+1##########

e.g. +14165550123

Zapier will search for an exact match. If the phone number doesn't follow the above format, Zapier will not find the contact and end the zap.

If you wish to change the format to match the format you have in Method, you will need to add Zapier's Formatter action to change the phone number returned in RingCentral. We give an example of this near the bottom of this article, but it's for those who feel comfortable with working in Zapier.


How to configure this template

Once you click the above button link, you will be taken to your Zapier account with the template open to be edited. The following steps are long, but we'll go through each step in detail.

Step 1. Call Ended in Ring Central

  • Connect your RingCentral account. If you haven't already connected your account, then you will be prompted to authenticate with it. Once done, click continue.

  • Once connected, click Test Trigger to pull in the latest call from RingCentral. If Zapier can't find a call, make a call within RingCentral as a test for Zapier to find. Make sure the person you are calling exists as a contact in your Method account so the zap can have a proper test.

  • Data will be pulled in from RingCentral and you can verify it looks correct. This data will be used as sample data to set up the rest of the zap. Click Continue to continue to the next step

Step 2. Utilities (Get correct phone number)

  • This step is an action from Zapier that selects the correct phone number depending on whether it was an inbound or outbound call. First, you need to click Continue to verify you want this step.

  • Next, verify the sample phone numbers has been pulled in correctly. This utility will return either the From Phone Number or the To Phone Number depending on the Lookup Key. You don't need to configure anything in this step so click Continue.

  • After you click continue, you will see the values once again. You don't need to configure anything in this step so click Test & Continue to go to Step 3.

Step 3. (Set activity type)

  • The third step prepares the Activity Type depending on whether or not the call is Inbound or Outbound. This utility will return a status of Phone Call Incoming or Phone Call Outgoing depending on the Lookup Key. You don't need to configure anything in this step so click Continue.

  • After you click continue, Zapier will test the action. You don't need to configure anything in this step so click Test & Continue to go to Step 4.

Step 4. Find Contact in Method CRM

  • This step will find a contact based on the phone number from Step 2. First you need to choose and authenticate your Method account. Click Continue.

  • The next step will attempt to find a contact by the phone number pulled from Step 2. Again, note how the phone number is formatted. This has to be an exact match. If the phone number is not formatted in the same way, then the contact will not be found. Also, don't check off "Create Method CRM Contact". You shouldn't need to configure anything in this step so click Continue.

  • Like the previous steps, Zapier will now test the action. You don't need to configure anything in this step so click Test & Continue to go to Step 5.

Step 5. Add Activity in Method CRM

  • The final step, step 5, configures the action to add an activity. Again, you need to choose your Method account and click continue.

  • You will need to customize the activity now. First, look at what's being added to the activity description. Feel free to change the comments to how you want the activity to look. You can put in your own styling and HTML too.

  • Scrolling down, you can see you can't continue until you've completed all the required fields. The only one you need to fill in is the Assigned To field. All calls will be assigned to this Method User. Once this is filled in, you can click Continue.

  • Almost done! Click Test & Continue to test this Zap. This will create an activity in your Method:CRM account. Review the activity to make sure it looks like you want! If not, go back and make changes.

  • And you're done! After everything is tested and looks ok, turn your Zap on!


Further Customization - Format RingCentral Number

As mentioned under Restrictions, RingCentral stores the contact's number in one format. You can, however, format the number to match the way you have stored phone numbers in Method:CRM. There are a few ways to format a phone number, so in this example, we will assume a format for national phone numbers.

  • After Step 3, add a new step called Formatter by Zapier

  • Choose Numbers for the Action Event and then click Continue.

  • Choose Format Phone Number for Transform.

  • For Input Value, you will need to specify you want the phone number from Step 2.Direction.

  • And finally you specify the format. There are a few to choose from. In the below example, we chose the National format. Once you Continue and Test this step, you can check if it pulls the proper contact.

  • And you're done! But make sure in all the subsequent steps, especially the Find Contact step, you pull the number from THIS step instead of pulling the number from Step 2. In fact, you may want to rename this step to "USE THIS NUMBER" to remind yourself.


Further Customization - Assign Activity to Method User

As mentioned under Restrictions, this template will assign all activities to the same Method User. However, you can use Zapier's Lookup Table within the Formatter to dynamically select the correct Method User.

For this to work, you will need to create TWO actions, both being Lookup Tables.

  • First lookup table pulls the employee name from RingCentral based on direction.

  • Second lookup table matches the above to a Method User name.

First Lookup Table - Pull Employee name

  • Before the Find Contact step, add a new Formatter by Zapier Step. You may want to rename this step to "Pull Employee Name".

  • For Action Event, select Utilities and then click Continue.

  • For Transform, select Lookup Table.

  • For Lookup Key, you will need to expand Step 1: Call Ended in RingCentral. Click Show All Options and then select 1. Direction: Outbound.

  • Now you will need to define names to pull based on Inbound and Outbound. You need to make sure you type in Inbound and Outbound exactly. In this case, capitalization matters.

    For Inbound choose the To Name from Step 1.
    For Outbound choose the From Name from Step 1.

    Note there is also a fallback name in case something goes wrong with this step.

  • And you're done with the first lookup table! Let's look at the second one.

Second Lookup Table - Match to Method User Name

In the second table, you add the same Lookup table action.

  • After the step you just created, add a new Formatter by Zapier Step. We suggest you rename this step to "Get Assigned To Name"

  • For Action Event, select Utilities and then click Continue.

  • For Transform, select Lookup Table.

  • For Lookup Key, you will need to use the Direction value from the previous step. It's easier to find if you named your step "Pull Employee Name"

  • And now, create a cross reference of RingCentral employee names to Method Names.

  • And you're done! Now, for the Create Activity step, make sure you change the Assigned To field to use a Custom value and pull it from this step. See here how naming steps make life easier?

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