This guide shows you how to use Mailchimp or MailerLite as a bridge, with Zapier connecting the two platforms together. It is simpler than it sounds, and once it is set up you will not need to think about it again.
What you will need: your PMS account, a free Mailchimp or MailerLite account, and a free Zapier account. All three platforms have free plans that are more than enough for this setup.
Step 1 — Connect Your PMS to Mailchimp or MailerLite
If you have not already done this, go into your PMS settings and connect it to either Mailchimp or MailerLite. Most have a native integration with both platforms, so this is a straightforward connection from within your PMS itself.
If you do not have a Mailchimp or MailerLite account yet, create one now. Both are free to get started.
💡 It does not matter which one you choose — Mailchimp and MailerLite work identically for this process. Pick whichever you already have, or whichever you prefer.
Keeping your list clean
Both Mailchimp and MailerLite have limits on how many contacts you can hold on their free plans. Since you are only using this platform as a relay — not as your main email tool — there is no need to keep all your contacts sitting there.
Think of it as a portal. Patients pass through Mailchimp or MailerLite on their way into Alvéya — they do not need to live there permanently.
Every now and then, go in and delete contacts from your Mailchimp or MailerLite list. All of those contacts will already be in Alvéya, so you are not losing anything.
Doing this regularly keeps you well within the free plan limits and means you will never need to pay for either platform.
⚠️ Mailchimp's free plan allows up to 500 contacts. MailerLite's free plan allows up to 1,000 subscribers. These limits can change, so it is worth checking each platform's current pricing page. A quick clean every few months is all it takes to stay within them.
Step 2 — Set up your free Zapier account
Zapier is an automation tool that connects different platforms together. You only need the free plan for this — a single-step automation (called a Zap) is all that is required, and that is included on the free tier.
Head to zapier.com and create your free account if you do not have one already.
Step 3 — Build the Zap
Once you are logged in to Zapier, click the orange + button at the top and select Create, then Zap. You are going to set up a two-step automation: a trigger (something happens in Mailchimp or MailerLite) and an action (something happens in Alvéya as a result).
Set up your trigger
Search for Mailchimp or MailerLite as your Trigger app — whichever one you connected your PMS to.
Sign in to your account if you have not connected it to Zapier before.
Set the trigger event to New or Updated Subscriber.
Click Continue, then select your audience — this is the list that your PMS is writing new patients to.
Click Continue with selected records. Zapier will pull through some test data from your list to confirm the connection is working.
Set up your action
For the Action app, search for LeadConnector. Look for the orange box icon — that is the Alvéya connection point in Zapier.
Set the action event to Add/Update Contact.
Click Sign In to create the connection between LeadConnector and your Alvéya account, then click Continue.
Map your fields
Now you need to tell Zapier which information to bring across from Mailchimp or MailerLite into Alvéya. Type a forward slash (/) into each field to pull up the available data from your trigger.
First Name
Last Name
Email
Phone number — if your PMS passes this through and you want to capture it
Address — optional, include if relevant to your practice
You will also want to add a tag so you can identify in Alvéya where these contacts have come from. In the Tags field, type something like patient or “your patient management software name” — whatever will help you recognise at a glance that this contact came through from your PMS .
💡 There is a required field in LeadConnector that asks whether to add this contact as a lead. Because these are existing patients — not new sales prospects — set this to False. It is a required field, but it is just telling Alvéya not to treat them as a sales lead.
The completed Zapier setup — Mailchimp New Subscriber trigger flowing into LeadConnector Add/Update Contact action.
Test and publish
Click Continue to review the summary of what your Zap will do.
Click Test Step. Zapier will push a test contact through into Alvéya — head into your Alvéya contacts and confirm they have appeared correctly.
If everything looks right, click Publish. If you would rather skip the test and wait to see a real patient come through, click Skip Test — just make sure you publish before you leave.
⚠️ Do not leave Zapier without publishing your Zap. An unpublished Zap will not run — patients will connect to Mailchimp or MailerLite but stop there and never reach Alvéya.
How the flow works once live
Once your Zap is published, the full journey for every new patient looks like this:
A new patient is added in your PMS
PMS automatically syncs them to your Mailchimp or MailerLite list
Zapier detects the new subscriber and triggers the action
Alvéya creates or updates the contact record, with your chosen tag applied
💡 Mailchimp and MailerLite may apply a short delay — usually a few minutes — before marking a new contact as a subscriber. Your Zap will pick them up on its next check. This is completely normal.
Once your Zap is published, every new patient added in your PMS will flow into Alvéya automatically — no manual importing required.
If you get stuck at any point, reach out via live chat or submit a support request and we will guide you through.