AppConnect Recipe Examples

Worked recipes to build from, plus the reference for what the Insightly connector can trigger on and act on.

On this page:

• Insightly triggers
• Insightly actions
• Working with steps
• Variables by Workato
• Worked examples
• Further material

Insightly triggers

Triggers determine which event a recipe listens for.

Trigger	Fires when
New Entity	A new entity is created in Insightly.
Updated Entity	An existing entity is updated.
New or Updated Entity	Either of the above.
Deleted Entity	An existing entity is deleted.
Custom Trigger	A custom button, workflow automation, Marketing Finish Action, or Marketing Journey Action fires in Insightly.

Insightly actions

Action	What it does
Create entity	Creates a new entity.
Update entity	Updates an existing entity.
Delete entity	Deletes an existing entity.
Get single entity	Returns one entity by object name and ID.
Get list of entities	Returns multiple entities by object name.
Search for entities	Finds all entities by a field value.
Merge Entities	Merges one entity into another.
Add a Tag to an entity	Adds a tag.
Remove a Tag from an entity	Removes a tag.

Working with steps

Once a step exists, five interactions are available on it: delete step, mask data, clone step, comment, and skip block when the recipe runs.

The Community Library holds user-built recipes and custom connectors, searchable and filterable by app, which is usually faster than starting from nothing.

Variables by Workato

Datapills are output data from a trigger or action step, used to map business logic into subsequent steps. A Workato variable is a datapill you create yourself, and the difference that matters is that variables are mutable: their value can change during a job.

⚠️ A variable’s lifetime is a single job. Nothing persists between jobs. For values that need to survive, use account properties or a lookup table instead.

Variables are typed. Declare one with the create variable action, then change it with Update variable.

For example, to find the entry with the largest ARR in a report: create a variable called ARR, run a for each action updating ARR whenever it finds a higher value, then use the final ARR value to call up that entry.

Worked examples

Example 1: update an Organization when a Contact is created

1. Trigger. Select the Insightly app, choose New entity, pick a connection, and select Contact from the Object Name dropdown.
2. Action. Click +, select Action in an app, choose the Insightly app and Update entity, select Organization, and enter a Record ID. The ID can be typed, taken from a datapill, or built from a formula.

Example 2: post a Slack notification when a Lead is created

1. Trigger. Insightly app, New entity, select Lead.
2. Action. Select the Slack app and Post message. Set up the Slack connection and click Connect, signing into Slack and granting permission. Select a Channel ID or name and enter the message text. Add any fields you need under Attachment message fields.

Example 3: create a Lead from an email labelled IMPORTANT in Gmail

1. Trigger. Gmail app, New email, connect a Gmail account, and under the Label dropdowns choose Select from List and IMPORTANT.
2. Action. Insightly app, Create entity, select Lead. Set Last Name from the From datapill. Set Lead Source to the value Gmail and Lead Status to New. Click +(##) optional fields available, add Description, apply changes, and set it from the Body as plain text datapill.

Example 4: sync Prospects from Marketing to Leads in CRM

1. Trigger. Insightly app, New entity, select Prospects.
2. Action. Insightly app, Search for entities, select Lead, Field Name Email Address, Field Value Email.
3. Action. Add an IF condition. Set the Data field to Email Address from the Search for entities datapill, and the Condition to is not present. In the Yes path, add Insightly Create entity, select Lead, and map Last Name, Lead Source and Lead Status from their datapills.

ℹ️ This is the standard create-if-missing pattern, and it works because Search for entities returns an empty list rather than an error when nothing matches. See Building AppConnect Recipes.

Example 5: cascade an Organization owner change to its Contacts

1. Trigger. Insightly app, Updated entity, select Organization. Click +1 optional field available, select Updated Field Name, apply changes, and set it to Organization Owner.
2. Action. Insightly app, Search for entities, select Contact, Field Name Organization, Field Value the Record ID datapill.
3. Action. Add a Repeat action. Set the Input list to Entities from the Step 2 output. Inside it, Insightly Update entity, select Contact, set Record ID from Record ID under Foreach (Step 3 output), then add Contact Owner through optional fields and set it from the Organization Owner | Step 1 datapill.

ℹ️ Note the datapill sources: the Record ID comes from the Foreach output so each iteration updates a different Contact, while the owner comes from Step 1 because it is the same for all of them. Mapping the Record ID from Step 2 instead would update the same record repeatedly.

Example 6: trigger a recipe from a custom button

Recipes can be triggered by custom buttons, workflow automation processes, Marketing Finish Actions, and Marketing Journey Actions.

1. Trigger. Insightly app, Custom trigger, pick a connection, select Lead.
2. Action. Insightly app, Create entity, select Contact, and enter a First Name, typed, from a datapill, or from a formula.

⚠️ Build the recipe first, then the button. The button has to be created after the recipe exists and after the recipe has been started, because the button’s configuration selects an existing recipe.

Afterwards, build the custom button in Insightly, choose AppConnect Recipe as the Button Action Type, select the recipe, and add the button to a Page Layout.

Further material

A recorded webinar, AppConnect Masterclass Vol 2, covers delivered integrations, how customers are using them, and includes a live demo.