Bigin | ElevenLabs Documentation

Your receptionist can recognize callers who are already in Bigin by Zoho CRM, add new callers as contacts, record each call on the caller’s contact, and create a follow-up task for your team. Bigin’s API only accepts OAuth sign-in tokens that expire every hour, so webhook tools can’t connect to it directly. Reception connects through Zapier.

Set up

Connect Zapier

If you haven’t yet, connect Zapier in Reception.ai.

Add the Bigin actions

In your Zapier MCP server at mcp.zapier.com, add the actions below from the Bigin by Zoho CRM app and sign in to Bigin when Zapier asks. For each field, either set a fixed value or let the AI fill it in, as listed.

The actions can do anything the Bigin user you sign in as can do. Consider a dedicated user with access only to contacts, calls, and tasks.

Assign the tools

In Reception.ai, open the Zapier integration’s Tools tab, select Refresh tools, and assign each action to the Client (receptionist).

Test it

Test your receptionist with a call from a number saved on a Bigin contact, then as a new caller who asks for a callback. The new contact appears in Bigin with the call and a task on it.

Actions

Find the caller

Field	Value
Zapier action	Search Contact
Set in Zapier	Organization: your Bigin organization.
Let the AI fill in	Mobile Number or Phone Number: the caller’s phone number.
Assign to	Client

Add the caller

Field	Value
Zapier action	Create Contact
Set in Zapier	Organization, and the contact owner and any tags you want on new callers.
Let the AI fill in	First name, last name, mobile number, and email address.
Assign to	Client

Bigin requires a last name on every contact, so your receptionist must ask for it.

Log the call

Field	Value
Zapier action	Create Call
Set in Zapier	Organization, the call owner, the call type (Inbound), and the call duration as a fixed placeholder such as `01:00`.
Let the AI fill in	The contact (from the previous actions), the subject, the call start time (the current date and time), and a description of what the caller needed.
Assign to	Client

Bigin requires a call type, start time, and duration on every call. Your receptionist logs the call while it’s still going, so it can’t know the real length.

Create a follow-up task

Field	Value
Zapier action	Create Task
Set in Zapier	Organization, and the owner who handles callbacks.
Let the AI fill in	The subject, due date, description, and the contact (from the previous actions).
Assign to	Client

Add a procedure so your receptionist searches for the caller first, only creates a contact when no match is found, and logs the call before it ends the conversation.

Search Contact returns whatever is saved on the contact. Add a rule telling your receptionist to never read a contact’s details back to the caller, and to use them only to recognize the caller.

Limitations

The call duration in Bigin is a placeholder, not the real call length. Your call history in Reception.ai has the real length and transcript.
Zapier’s Bigin app has no action to add a note, so the call’s description holds what the caller wanted.
Zapier’s Bigin app can’t check anyone’s availability, so your receptionist can’t safely book Bigin events. Use the follow-up task, or Reception’s own booking with Google Calendar.
Each action your receptionist runs uses tasks from your Zapier plan. Zapier currently counts two tasks per successful call; failed calls aren’t counted. When the plan runs out, the actions stop until it resets.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
A Bigin action doesn’t appear in Reception.ai	Select Refresh tools on the Zapier integration after adding actions in Zapier.
An action shows Changed and isn’t used	You edited it in Zapier. Select Update in the Tools tab.
Known callers aren’t found	Bigin matches phone numbers as stored. Store numbers in one format, and check whether they’re saved as mobile or phone.
Create Contact fails	The caller didn’t give a last name. Tell your receptionist to always ask for one.
Create Call fails	Check that the call type and duration are set in Zapier and that the start time is a full date and time.
Calls or tasks aren’t linked to the caller	Your receptionist needs the contact from Search Contact or Create Contact.