4 Zapier Automations to Turn Slack into an all-in-one Work Hub
At _systms™, our daily operations happens in Slack & we just made it better.
As an innovative brand, our offers, expertise, and processes continually shift and mold to serve our clients more efficiently. However, one key issue that technology has not supported in our work is creating a truly single source for notifications.
We operate almost exclusively out of Slack at _systms™ for tasks, client management, and internal communication.
However, managing email & taking action in a timely manner is a bottleneck. We’ve looked at solutions such as Superhuman, but it would merely add another tool to the stack rather than building into our curated centralized hub that already exists. After reviewing internal admin processes, I identified four areas that could be automated into Slack to achieve an all-in-one notification work channel.
The areas include;
Push emails from Gmail to Slack
Push Stripe notifications to update finance
Create new client threads (project management)
Push action items to Google Calendar &/or delete from Slack
Each of the workflows are detailed below, including the duplicable Zapier templates. The full overview of these workflows are also available via my recent livestream.
Push Emails from Gmail to Slack
This first automation is triggered by a new labeled email in Gmail (e.g. Projects) and creates a new message in Slack, with a reminder to take action.
This workflow reduces the continual sifting through the inbox to identify the most important emails from clients, project leads, etc., and allows us to ignore everything else throughout the day until there is a block of time to organize the remaining items.
Duplicate the Zapier template here.
This Zapier workflow does not require a paid account or use premium apps. The Gmail app has a 2 minute trigger delay regardless of account standing.
Push Stripe Notifications to Update Finance
We utilize Stripe payment links for larger projects, hourly consulting, and digital products.
This workflow first pushes the sale to our Notion Finance Tracker, then sends a Slack channel message as a reminder to update the entry with the client’s data. Currently, Zapier’s API doesn’t allow for relational data to be added.
Create New Client Threads
This is the most useful Zapier workflow in our stack, as it creates new client threads in our project management channel.
During onboarding, a client schedules a kickoff strategy session with our team, which triggers this zap. Following, our “Account Executive”, Lizzie Benson (more on our AI bot another time), manages the internal onboarding, including creating the PM thread, Miro board, and private Slack Connect channel for us to communicate with the client throughout the project.
This Zapier workflow utilizes three specific Zapier features: Paths, Formatter, and custom Bots. Zapier Paths allow data to be filtered, then custom actions taken. In this workflow, we have two paths, one for Notion Consulting, and then other for our full-scall Operations projects.
This Zap is triggered by a Cal.com booking, and the date outputs are not user-friendly. Using Zapier Formatter, we can customize the date to follow MM-DD-YY rather than the original YY-MM-DD.
Lastly Custom Bots. Within workflows, a user can choose between the default Zapier bot, or create a custom bot. In this case, we have Lizzie, our AI Account Executive that “manages” clients. In the Zap setup, we use “her” headshot and name to execute this workflow.
For the Bot’s icon, you must use a valid URL. Our website is on Squarespace, so these icons have been uploaded as an asset, which gives us a valid, shareable link to use in Zapier. For the Stripe bot above, I tried using their native website URL, and it did not work. This was the only solution I could create.
One final note, in the thread reply, the Zapier icon shows, even though in the thread itself the Bot is correct. An odd error, but not unusable.
Unfortunately this template cannot be shared as it uses a restricted Zapier app.
Push Action Items to Google Calendar &/or Delete from Slack
The final automation is beneficial for quick one-off tasks. In this daily channel, I often find myself jotting down reminders & quick to-do’s. However, I track every actual action I do throughout the day on my calendar, and needed a way to easily add completed items.
This workflow utilizes two custom emojis, which first add the action item to my calendar, and then deletes the item from Slack.
This workflow uses two Zapier tools, Formatter and Paths.
The Zapier Formatter splices the Slack Message to remove any URLs or excess data, and formats it for Google Calendar to be a simple event title. Then, Zapier Paths takes action based on the emoji used.
The Google Calendar emoji adds the event; the Disco Ball deletes the item from Slack.
This workflow specifically has reduced the endless sticky notes and tasks I’ve compiled into one single place and with a single click, organizes them. Anything on my calendar with a green check mark was a task that came from Slack and was completed.
Unfortunately this template cannot be shared as it uses a restricted Zapier app.
While technology has streamlined many operations at _systms™, centralizing notifications into a single source continued to be a challenge until we focused on Slack as our primary platform for communication and task management.
Instead of adding more tools, we’ve automated key areas—Gmail, Stripe, project management threads, and action items—into Slack, transforming it into an all-in-one notification hub. These streamlined workflows not only simplify our processes but will hopefully transform the way you work as well.
Written By: Sara Loretta
👋🏼 Sara Loretta is the Chief Digital Architect & Founder @ _systms™ — she’s also the 10th US Certified Notion Consultant, and 1st Certified Paperform Expert. Through her work and creatorship, Sara is focused on connecting and educating teams on tech, workflows, and all the ways they can optimize their business to scale.
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