Overview

This guide provides solution patterns for connecting Ironclad contract flow processes with Jira Software Cloud using Zapier and the Zapier connector for Ironclad as the integration middleware.

Teams with simple administrative, security, or vendor contracting processes in Jira may consider the solution patterns in this guide for light touch and quick integrations. Teams with complex business processes and IT environments may wish to further study their overall architecture as part of the integration process (e.g., whether a dedicated procurement system is required).

Please note that the approach shown here is only meant to demonstrate an example solution for building this integration, but it is a custom integration and not an out-of-the-box supported connector. To view a list of out-of-the-box connectors that Ironclad supports, check out our Help Center.

We use Zapier in this guide as a representative middleware software to demonstrate what an integration between Jira Software Cloud and Ironclad might look like. If you need to leverage an alternative integration path, our public APIs can be consumed from any system or middleware that can directly leverage a RESTful API through our supported authentication modes, and systems can subscribe to Ironclad events if they can expose endpoints that support our outbound event authentication modes.

Note: This guide and any software contained in it should be used at your own risk by individuals qualified to evaluate its effectiveness. IT IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL IRONCLAD BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THIS GUIDE OR ANY SOFTWARE IT CONTAINS.

Your use of the Ironclad API must comply with Ironclad’s API Terms of Use (available at https://legal.ironcladapp.com/api-terms-of-use) and the terms of the Enterprise Services Agreement (or equivalent) entered into between you and Ironclad.

Solution Patterns
The specific solution patterns that are covered in this guide include:

Launching an Ironclad workflow from a Jira issue and relate the workflow to the issue.
Syncing Jira data to Ironclad during review.

Updating an Ironclad approval from Jira.
Updating an Ironclad workflow's metadata from Jira.

Updating a Jira issue after an approval in Ironclad.
Updating a Jira issue after a workflow is completed in Ironclad.

Note: If you are using Atlassian Data Center instead of Atlassian Cloud, the Jira capabilities in this guide may not be available.

Audience

This guide is targeted to a technical audience, though general legal operations roles will also find useful information in terms of Ironclad setup details. The solution patterns provided will require knowledge of Ironclad workflow configuration, use of public APIs, and customizing Jira and Zapier actions.

Alternative middleware may be substituted for Zapier to achieve similar effects; the specific behavior of alternatives are beyond the scope of this guide.

Background

Standard Ironclad Background

API Tokens: You will need to generate an API token in Ironclad to use Ironclad’s API. Tokens can be generated in Ironclad under [Your Name] > Company Settings > API > Access Tokens. Note that your Ironclad environment will need to have API access enabled, otherwise this option will not appear in your Company Settings.
Ironclad Service Account: Several of the solution patterns require specifying an Ironclad user for actions (e.g., who is approving, who is commenting, etc.). Creating a generic Ironclad user account that your integration can use to register actions is recommended for consistency and simplicity.
Reference Documentation: Zapier's Ironclad connector uses Ironclad's core public API endpoints, but additional endpoints exist. Please see Ironclad’s API Reference documentation for the most up-to-date details on our endpoints. For information on building workflows in Ironclad, please see Ironclad Academy for guided training and Ironclad Support Center for product articles.

Jira and Zapier Background

See Zapier’s learning center for a guide to Zapier’s capabilities.
See Jira’s developer documentation and automation rule documentation if you are interested in incorporating more complex Jira behavior.