Webhook Integrations: Connecting ChargePanda to Zapier, Make, and n8n

Every time a customer buys, activates a license, or renews a subscription, you probably want to do something: add them to your email list, ping your team Slack channel, update a CRM record, or trigger an onboarding sequence. ChargePanda's webhook system makes all of this straightforward.

How ChargePanda webhooks work

When an event occurs, ChargePanda POSTs a JSON payload to your configured webhook URL. Every payload is signed with HMAC-SHA256 using your webhook secret — you verify the signature before processing.

Webhooks are configured under Settings → Integrations → Webhooks. You can add multiple endpoints, and choose which events each endpoint receives.

Available webhook events

• order.created — new order placed (before payment)
• order.paid — payment confirmed
• order.refunded — refund issued
• license.activated — customer activated a key
• license.deactivated — customer deactivated a key
• license.expired — license passed its expiry date
• subscription.activated — new subscription started (including trial)
• subscription.renewed — subscription renewed successfully
• subscription.cancelled — customer cancelled
• subscription.expired — subscription lapsed (renewal failed)
• ticket.created — new support ticket

Connecting to Zapier

Zapier is the easiest option for no-code integrations. The setup:

1. In Zapier, create a new Zap. Choose Webhooks by Zapier → Catch Hook as the trigger
2. Copy the Zapier webhook URL
3. In ChargePanda, add a new webhook endpoint with that URL, subscribe to order.paid
4. Place a test order to send a sample payload to Zapier
5. In Zapier, map the fields (customer email, product name, amount) to your action (e.g., add to Mailchimp list)

Common Zapier automations:

• order.paid → Add subscriber to ConvertKit/Mailchimp with product tag
• order.paid → Create contact in HubSpot/Pipedrive CRM
• order.paid → Post to Slack channel (#sales)
• subscription.cancelled → Start win-back email sequence

Connecting to Make (formerly Integromat)

Make is more powerful than Zapier for complex logic — better for conditional routing, data transformation, and multi-step flows.

1. Create a new scenario in Make
2. Add a Webhooks → Custom Webhook module as the trigger
3. Copy the generated webhook URL and register it in ChargePanda
4. Trigger a test event so Make can infer the data structure
5. Add downstream modules (Google Sheets, Airtable, Slack, etc.)

A useful Make scenario: order.paid → filter by product → if product is "Plugin License" → add to license customer tag in email platform + log to Airtable base.

Connecting to n8n (self-hosted)

n8n is the self-hosted alternative — no per-task pricing, runs on your own server alongside ChargePanda. Great for privacy-conscious setups or high-volume automation.

// n8n Webhook node configuration
{
  "httpMethod": "POST",
  "path": "chargepanda-order",
  "responseMode": "onReceived"
}

After setting up the webhook node, you can chain it to any of n8n's 400+ built-in integrations — or write custom JavaScript for complex transformations.

Verifying webhook signatures

Always verify the HMAC signature before processing a webhook — this prevents replay attacks and spoofed payloads:

// In your webhook handler (PHP)
$signature = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_CHARGEPANDA_SIGNATURE'] ?? '';
$expected  = hash_hmac('sha256', file_get_contents('php://input'), env('CHARGEPANDA_WEBHOOK_SECRET'));

if (!hash_equals($expected, $signature)) {
    http_response_code(401);
    exit('Invalid signature');
}

$payload = json_decode(file_get_contents('php://input'), true);
// Process $payload...

For Zapier and Make, the signature verification step is optional since those platforms add their own security layer — but it's good practice to implement it on any custom endpoint.