My first app with QR codes and Zapier

During this tutorial, you will learn how to configure and build an App to manage on-demand services in a factory with Qods and Zapier.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will use Zapier to achieve our goal, but this could be done with other available integrations such as monday.com or Microsoft Power Automate.

What we want to achieve

In a factory called "Factory A", there are 3 industrial dumpsters: metal, wood and cardboard. When one of the dumpster is full, someone must send an email to the supplier, who has 48 hours to collect it.
We want to automate this task, and improve the follow-up of the service.

The targeted process is defined as follows:

• When a dumpster is full, the worker scan a QR code located near the dock
• A screen asks him to select the dumpster to collect (wood, metal or cardboard)
• Optionally, the worker enters his personnal code, in order to identify himself

• The App automatically sends an email to the supplier and add a line to a Google Sheet, in order to follow up the request.

This process is applicable to any kind of on-demand field service automation.

Before you start: requirements

Before using this App, you need to:

• Create a free Ubiqod account
• Validate your email and connect to your Ubiqod account
• Have a Zapier account (you can start for free here)

Configure your Ubiqod Account

Create a Site

First, create a new Site from the "Sites" menu and name it (we call it "Factory A" in this tutorial). Enter its address, then click "Geocode it" to get GPS coordinates (you can check the position on Google Maps).

Click on "Create".

Your site has been created. We now need to configure customer and supplier email addresses for the automatic email request.

In the Site list, click on the "Edit contacts" icon of your site:

• Fill in the "Customer email": it will be used for emailing confirmation of the requests
• Fill in the "Site Manager email": it will be used to send the service request

Be sure to use valid emails to avoid any error later in the tutorial.

Create a Dispatch group

Enter a group name (we use "Demo Group" in this tutorial) and then press "New"

Create an Action list to define dumpsters

This Action list will be used by the Qod to render a list of choices for the different dumpsters.

In the "Settings" menu choose Action lists and create a new list called "Service requests":

You are then redirected to the list content. Click on "New" to add a code. Create one code per dumpster:

The result should be similar to this:

Create a PIN code list to define user IDs (optional)

This list will be used to validate the request with a personal PIN code affected to each authorized worker.

The result should be similar to this:

Create your QR code tracker (Qod)

Everything is now ready to setup easily your Qods!

In the "Trackers" menu, choose "Qods" and press "New":

• Name your Qod (we use "Waste dock" for this tutorial).
• Select the site and the Dispatch group previously created

Choose the Action "Select an option list", and the dumpster Action list we have just created before

Check GPS and PIN code Conditions, and select the requesters PIN code list.

Click on "Create".

Congrats, your Qod is ready!

Now, you can create the associated Zap.

Create your Zap

About Zapier

Zapier is a low code platform designed to help users that are not coders to connect different apps between them. With Zapier, you can create a Zap that sends a SMS when a new line is added in a Google Sheet, without writing a single line of code.

A Zap contains at minimum:

• A trigger
• An action

But you can add multiple actions and/or conditions in a Zap.

The Skiply/Ubiqod Zapier App lets you trigger an action each time data is received from one or more Qods.

Installing the Skiply/Ubiqod Application into your Zapier Account

To install the Skiply/ubiqod App, connect to your Zapier account, and click here: https://zapier.com/apps/ubiqod/integrations

Create a Zap

In Zapier, click on the “Make a Zap” button on the top left of your screen.

Then, in the “When this happens…” card, look for Skiply/Ubiqod App:

Configure the Zapier trigger

Choose the trigger event “New Data”, and then press “Continue”.

At next step, if you did not connect your Ubiqod account before, choose “Sign in to Ubiqod by Skiply”.

In the “Skiply Ubiqod Account” field, choose “Add a new account”.

A new window opens, and asks for “Ubiqod API Key”:

The API key can be found in the “Account” Menu of your Ubiqod account:

Just copy/paste it into the corresponding field in Zapier and press “Yes, Continue”.

Next, you have to select a Dispatch group. Each device belonging to this Dispatch group will be used to trigger an action in your Zap:

• Select the “Demo group” previously configured
• Click on “Continue”
• Click on “Test trigger”

Your final screen should look like this:

Congratulations, your trigger is configured! Each time a worker scans the Qod, the Zapier trigger will be activated.

Configure Zapier actions

It's now time to automate the tasks. We want to:

• Send an email to the supplier with relevant data
• Send a confirmation email to the customer
• Add a line to a Google Sheet to keep track of the request and make a follow up

See the list of available fields to feed your Zap.

Add a filter action

After the trigger, setup a filter to launch the process only if the 2 following conditions are fulfilled:

• The PIN code of the requester is in the corresponding PIN Code list
• The GPS location of the requester is in the area of the Site

In practice, GPS location is not really useful in that case, but we take advantage of this tutorial to introduce the feature!

Add the Zapier action "Filter by Zapier", and setup the 2 conditions:

Add an email action

• Click on the blue "plus" icon at the bootom of the Zapier card to add an action.
• In the "Search app box", type "email" and select "Email by Zapier".
• Choose the Action Event: "Send Outbound Email", and press "Continue".
• Use available fields to create the service request email to send to the supplier. For instance, you can do something like this:

With this configuration, the result will be:

If you are using a dynamic field for the "To" field, do not test the action, as the default email provided in test data is a fake one, use the link "Skip test".

If you want, you can now add a request confirmation email to the customer by using the field "Customer contact email".

If you are in a hurry, you can skip the next step and go directly to the section "Check the result".

Add a Google Sheet action

To add a row in a Google Sheet:

• Add the corresponding Zapier action to your Zap
• Select your Google Sheet
• Map required fields with your spreadsheet columns

The principle is the same for every type of action. Sky is the limit!

Turn on your Zap

Congratulations, You have built a full functional App with Ubiqod and Zapier!

Don’t forget to turn on your Zap before proceeding to your tests. You can debug your App with the "task history" menu in Zapier.

Now, each time a worker scans your Qod and submits his request, emails will be sent and a row added to your spreadsheet.

Check the result

Back in your Ubiqod backend, click on the blue "QR code" icon on the left of the Qod name, and scan the QR code with your smartphone:

You can create as many Qods as you want, using the same configuration.