Valentina Akpan: Founder of Rellatech, providing administrative and operations support to executives, founders, business owners and teams. Her background combines technical support, customer success, administration and operations.
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The Starting Point
The client runs a healthcare practice where intake requests, appointment updates, and follow-up tasks were spread across email, phone messages, and handwritten notes. They wanted to automate the workflow using Zapier and Google Sheets, and they needed the automation to work with the systems they already had, including HubSpot and SAP. This first phase connected HubSpot, Google Sheets and Gmail through Zapier. SAP stayed part of their environment but was not connected.
The budget was limited and the project was scoped as ongoing work, so I started with the part that was causing the most difficulty: getting new requests into a single sheet, tracking them through a clear status, and sending a daily digest so the front desk no longer had to search through email to find what needed to happen next.
What I Did
I built a Zapier workflow that takes new intake submissions, appointment updates, and contact changes from HubSpot and records them in a Google Sheet with a consistent set of columns. Each row has a timestamp, request type, patient or contact name, status, assigned staff member, and notes. The status columns match the workflow the front desk already uses, so the sheet builds on their current process rather than replacing it.
I also added a scheduled Zapier email that sends every morning at 8 a.m. with a summary of the day’s appointments, items that need follow-up, and anything that has been waiting for more than 24 hours. The team now has a single email to read at the start of the day instead of searching through multiple tools.
Error handling was the part I spent the most time on. I built for two failures: a required field missing from a submission, and an API call that times out. In either case the sheet adds a flag and a notification goes to a dedicated inbox, so the client can see what happened and fix the row. Anything outside those two cases still has to be checked in the Zapier history.
What Went Into the Build
One intake form that feeds the sheet
Every new patient or task request is added to the same Google Sheet with a timestamp, source, and next step, instead of being spread across email threads or sticky notes.
Status columns that match the current workflow
The sheet has columns for received, in review, scheduled, completed, and needs follow-up, so the team can see what is progressing and what needs attention.
Zapier connections to the existing systems
Zaps pull new contacts and updates from HubSpot and push completed outcomes back, so the team does not need to learn a new tool.
A daily digest the staff reads
A scheduled email every morning lists the day’s appointments, pending requests, and overdue items so the front desk starts the day with the same information.
Error handling for two known failures
If a required field is missing or an API call times out, the sheet flags the row and a notification goes to a dedicated inbox. Other failures still have to be checked in the Zapier history.
Why It Matters
In a healthcare practice, a missed intake request or a delayed follow-up affects both patients and staff. The automation supports the people doing the work by giving them a clear list and one shared record, so they can focus on the tasks that need a person.
Because the sheet is built in plain Google Sheets, the client can keep using it even if they stop working with me. It does not depend on custom dashboards, proprietary tools or a platform they would need to keep paying for. The documentation is short and is kept on the sheet itself, so a new team member can read the instructions tab and understand the system in ten minutes.
I built it so the staff can update it themselves when something in their process changes.
Tools Used
Who This Is For
This case study is worth reading if you are:
- ●A healthcare practice owner or office manager who wants a simple intake tracker without buying a new system
- ●A team using HubSpot but needing Google Sheets as a shared daily view for the front desk
- ●Someone running Zapier workflows and worried about what happens when a zap fails or a field is blank
- ●A business that wants automation built in small, visible pieces so the team can adopt it gradually
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