A new client signing in the PSA usually starts a manual checklist: create the client in the awareness platform, add the learners, pick the schedule, send the welcome email - and repeat for every site. Connecting Atera to Cyber Aware collapses that checklist into one event. When a client appears in Atera, their training programme is already waiting for them.
TL;DR
- Atera's Zapier app fires instant triggers for New Customer Created, New Site Created and New Ticket Created.
- Cyber Aware connects through Zapier webhooks or its direct API - its published integration list is Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zapier and API.
- The onboarding route: Atera trigger to Zapier to Cyber Aware client creation and baseline enrolment.
- The reverse direction works too: Cyber Aware webhooks can open Atera tickets through the Create Ticket action.
- Atera's API is reached from Admin > Data management > API and authenticates with a token in the X-API-KEY header.
- Test with one synthetic customer before pointing anything at live clients.
Why this matters
Onboarding lag has a security cost. A client signed in Atera on Monday can wait weeks for their awareness programme to be created by hand - while their staff receive real phishing on day one of their new mailbox. A sync makes the PSA the trigger rather than a person's memory.
Atera's own support documentation describes the API path: under Admin > Data management > API you create an authentication token, paste it into the API documentation page, and interact with the API using the X-API-KEY header. The docs carry a warning worth repeating - the token exposes your users and their devices, so store it carefully and don't reuse it casually. On Zapier, Atera's triggers fire instantly rather than on a polling cycle, which is what makes event-driven onboarding practical.
Who this is for
MSPs running Atera who sell security awareness training through Cyber Aware - especially teams where one technician owns both systems and new-client setup still starts with a message saying "can you create this one in the training portal?"
Before you start
- An Atera instance with API access. Tokens are created under Admin > Data management > API; each token is shown once and must be stored when created. Create a dedicated token for this integration rather than sharing one.
- A Zapier account on a plan that supports multi-step Zaps.
- A Cyber Aware partner account with API or Zapier webhook access.
- The gotcha: Atera's Zapier triggers are instant. That is good for onboarding speed, but a misconfigured Zap fires in real time against live clients - test with a synthetic customer first.
Step 1 - Connect Atera to Zapier
- In Zapier, create a new Zap and search for Atera as the trigger app.
- Choose New Customer Created - the trigger that fires the moment a client is added in Atera.
- Connect the account and run a test to pull a sample customer record.
Expected result: the test step returns a sample customer with name and identifier fields populated. If no sample appears, create a synthetic test customer in Atera and retest - instant triggers only see events that happen after the Zap goes live.
Step 2 - Create the client in Cyber Aware
- Add an action step to the same Zap: Cyber Aware, using the API or webhooks integration.
- Map the customer name from the Atera trigger to a new Cyber Aware client, and choose the default training schedule the client's learners should land in.
- Save and test the action with the sample record.
Expected result: a test client appears in Cyber Aware with the baseline programme attached. From that point the programme runs itself - monthly courses auto-add, due and overdue reminders fire on schedule, and completed courses issue branded certificates under your MSP brand.
Step 3 - Enrol the client's people
Atera's Zapier triggers fire on customers, sites and tickets - there is no end-user-created trigger, so enrol individual learners one of two ways:
- The platform route (recommended for most clients): Cyber Aware's Auto Enrol syncs learners from Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, a CSV upload or signup links, and places every new learner in the default schedule automatically with a welcome email.
- The API route: pull the client's contacts from Atera's API after the customer is created and create them in Cyber Aware through its API - useful when a client has no Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace to sync from.
Step 4 - Use the reverse direction for reporting
- Point Cyber Aware's outbound webhook at a second Zap whose action is Atera's Create Ticket - fields include title and description as required, with priority, impact, status and type optional.
- Fire it when the monthly reporting cycle completes, so a ticket appears in Atera when the client summary report is ready.
- Atera also offers Find Customer and Find End User search actions, which keep the two systems matched on names and emails instead of duplicating records.
The reporting artefacts stay in Cyber Aware - Human Risk Reporting produces per-client branded PDFs - while Atera holds the delivery trail. The PSA is the system of record; the awareness platform is the source of truth for the numbers.
Verification and a clean rollout
- Pick one test customer with no live users.
- Create a synthetic customer in Atera and watch the Zap create the client in Cyber Aware.
- Enrol one test learner and confirm the welcome email lands.
- Switch live clients on one at a time.
Troubleshooting
- The Zap doesn't fire on a new customer. Instant triggers see only events after activation. Create a fresh synthetic customer and retest.
- An authentication error in Atera. API tokens are shown once at creation; if the token was lost, create a new one under Admin > Data management > API and reconnect.
- The Cyber Aware action errors on create. A mapped field is empty - usually the customer name. Match the name in Atera to the Cyber Aware client exactly.
- Duplicate clients. The customer exists both in Atera and a prior CSV import. Remove the manual import and let the sync own the list.
- Updating an Atera customer from a Zap. Community API walkthroughs flag that Atera treats customer updates as full-record replacements - fields you leave out can be cleared. Prefer creating records, or search-then-update with every field mapped.
What to do next
Onboarding is the on-ramp; the programme itself is security awareness training - story-driven courses, quizzes, leaderboards and branded certificates on a monthly cadence. Pair the Atera on-ramp with phishing simulations so a new client's staff meet their first lure as a test, not a real attack.
FAQ
Can Cyber Aware connect to Atera directly?
No native Atera connector appears in Cyber Aware's published integration list - Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zapier and a direct API. Atera's Zapier app plus Cyber Aware's API or webhooks is the supported route.
What triggers does Atera have on Zapier?
New Customer Created, New Site Created, New Ticket Created, alert and ticket-status triggers, comment triggers and Autopilot conversation triggers - all instant.
Does Atera's Zapier app poll or fire instantly?
Instantly. Events reach the Zap in seconds, which is what makes event-driven onboarding practical.
Can I enrol individual end users through the Zap?
Not directly - Atera's Zapier triggers fire on customers, sites and tickets, not end users. Use Cyber Aware's M365 or Google sync, a CSV upload, or pull contacts through Atera's API.
Is the onboarding branded?
Yes - Cyber Aware's portals, notification emails, reports and certificates carry your MSP brand, not Cyber Aware's.
Can Cyber Aware events open Atera tickets?
Yes - the Create Ticket action takes a title and description plus optional priority, impact, status and type, and search actions keep records matched.
One last thing
A brand-new client's first month is their highest-risk month: new mailboxes, new vendors, credential-heavy onboarding traffic. Schedule the baseline phishing simulation to run within the first two weeks of enrolment, not at the end of month one - the first lesson should land before the first real attack does.