Getting Started with Zoho Forms Automations
Certifier Automations is a simple 2-step “trigger → action” system that issues credentials the moment your data arrives.
With Zoho Forms, you can instantly turn responses into credentials using our Sheets-Powered Automations.
How Sheets-Powered Automations Work
Sheets-powered automations use a connected spreadsheet as a universal bridge between your data collection tools and Certifier. Here’s how it works for Zoho Forms:
Zoho Forms → Microsoft Excel: Each new form response creates a row in the connected Excel workbook.
Microsoft Excel → Certifier: Certifier monitors the workbook and automatically issues a credential for every new row.
That’s it! In just a few quick steps, your Zoho Forms responses start generating credentials on autopilot.
Before You Begin: Prepare Your Survey & Spreadsheet
To make Automation work smoothly, have two things ready: a clean survey to collect responses and a prepared spreadsheet where Paperform will send the data.
1. Set Up Your Survey
Create a new survey with 2 required questions:
Recipient Name: stores your recipients' full names.
Recipient Email: stores your recipients' email addresses.
2. Prepare Your Spreadsheet
Zoho Forms integration with Microsoft Excel requires you to export responses to an existing table.
Before you proceed, create a new Microsoft Excel Sheet.
⚠️ Important: Regardless of your workflow, we recommend starting with an empty survey and an empty spreadsheet. Only share the survey and add rows with actual recipients' data after activating the Automation.
Any existing survey responses or existing rows in the connected Live Sheet will be skipped, and credentials will not be issued for them after you activate the Automation.
To prevent this, you will have to clear the existing responses in the connected spreadsheet before activating the Automation.
Step-by-Step Setup
This guide walks you through setting up your first Zoho Forms automation via Microsoft Excel. Let's get started!
Step 1. Connect Zoho Forms to Microsoft Excel
Open your Zoho Forms form and go to Integrations. Find and select the Microsoft Excel integration.
Press the Integrate button, and authenticate your OneDrive connection.
Zoho Forms will then prompt you to choose the Workbook you want to use for this integration. Select it, and press Done.
Lastly, enter Worksheet Name - Zoho Forms will create a new sheet in the existing file you selected earlier.
Once you're ready, press Save. You'll see the link to your spreadsheet.
Before moving forward, make sure you have all the data you need for your credentials.
If everything looks fine, you're ready to automate! 🥳
Step 2. Create Your Automation
Go to Automations → + Create Automation.
Select the Zoho Forms template.
Press Use Template → Connect via Microsoft Excel.
Step 3. Configure the Trigger
Open the Trigger Configuration
To get started, click on the Trigger. The setup will be preconfigured for you – you'll just need to press Continue to move to Configuration.
Configure the New Row Added Trigger
Connect your Microsoft Excel account via OAuth: Press the Connect Microsoft Excel button, and complete login via secure OAuth – click on Continue and Allow.
Once you do that, your account will appear as selected. If you need to use a different account, just unfold the options and select or connect another one:
Select the Spreadsheet and the Worksheet: Click on the field below Folder ID and choose the correct folder in your OneDrive Cloud (if you haven't put the file in a specific folder, try "root").
For Sheet ID and Worksheet, choose the ones you used in Zoho Forms Integration.
Optional Props: If you see any optional properties, do not configure them, as this could break the automation.
Once you're ready, press Submit. And that's it! Your Trigger is set up 🤓
Step 4. Configure the Action
Next, you’ll need to configure the action. To do so, open this guide in a new tab: How to set up the Issue Credential Action.
⚠️ Important: The instructions for this step are laid down in a separate guide
We recommend opening the action setup guide in a new tab so you can easily return to this article afterwards. Once you finish configuring the action, make sure to come back here to finalize and activate your automation.
Step 5. Finalize & Activate
Now, there's just one more step – you'll need to:
Click Save & Activate.
Give your automation a clear name (e.g., “Conference Invites from Zoho Forms via Excel”) and press Next.
💡 Tip: Give your automation a clear name (e.g., include your group name) so you can easily spot it – especially if you're planning to connect multiple spreadsheets. Don’t worry, you can rename it anytime after activation.
You’ll see a confirmation warning saying that Certifier will issue credentials for all future records in your connected spreadsheet. Check the box and click Confirm & Automate to proceed.
And that's it! Once you choose to activate it, your new automation will be live. 🥳
⚠️ Important: Once your automation is active, it can’t be edited.
If you need to change anything – such as re-mapping columns, adding new custom attributes, or updating your credential settings – you’ll need to delete the automation and create a new one from scratch.
What It Looks Like in Practice
You receive a new response in Zoho Forms.
A new row appears in the connected sheet.
Within 15 minutes, Certifier issues the credential and marks the row as “Processed.”
Your recipient receives their credential.
Critical Rules After Activation
Once your automation is active, these rules are essential to prevent errors, duplicates, and broken setups. Read each one carefully.
Rule 1: Existing Rows Will Not Be Processed
When you connect a Microsoft Excel Sheet with pre-filled rows, Certifier will ignore them after you activate the automation.
Share your survey with actual recipients only after you activate the automation.
Rule 2: Don’t Rename the File or Tabs
Renaming the file or any tab will break the automation – Certifier looks for the exact names you selected during setup.
Rule 3: Don’t Reorder Sheet Tabs
Moving sheets into a different order will cause Certifier to lose its connection to the correct tab.
Rule 4: Don’t Rearrange Questions or Columns
Each column in your Sheet matches a question from your Zoho Forms survey. Certifier tracks these columns by letter (A, B, C…). Rearranging questions in the Form will change the order of columns in the connected sheet and cause automation errors.
The same will happen if you manually move columns around in the sheet. Changing the order will break the mapping and stop the automation from working.
Rule 5: Be Careful with Processed Rows
Certifier always starts from the next unprocessed row. This leads to several pitfalls:
Inserting above processed rows → duplicates: If you’ve already processed rows 1–5 and then insert a new row anywhere above row 6, your original row 5 shifts into row 6. Certifier sees row 6 as “next” and issues a duplicate for that person, while your new entry stays unprocessed.
Deleting and re-adding in the same positions → skipped: If you delete rows 1–5 (all processed) and paste new entries into positions 1–5, nothing happens. Certifier is still waiting for row 6, so your new rows won’t trigger.
Rule 6: Always Include Name & Email
Each row needs a valid Recipient Name and Recipient Email. Rows missing either – or with improperly formatted emails – will be skipped.
Rule 7: Allow Processing Time
Allow 15 minutes for each row to process. Re-adding or moving rows while processing is underway can cause conflicts or duplicates.
Rule 8: Don’t Edit Processed Rows
Any edits to already-processed rows will be ignored. To correct data, update credentials in the Certifier dashboard.
Keep that in mind and enjoy the automated workflow! 👑
Need more help?
If you still have some questions, do not hesitate to contact us via the chat icon or email us directly: [email protected].