How to Easily Set Up and Sync a 2-Way Smartsheet Jira Integration

Published in Software Development on 28/05/2024, last updated 11/06/2024.

How do you manage work between Jira and Smartsheet? At Unito, we often see examples of one department using one tool, while the team they work with prefers another, while neither is interested in doubling their work in multiple tools. This disrupts software development projects with lost information, siloed data, miscommunication, and sluggish collaboration. So if you’ve come here seeking help with enhanced project or task management, this Smartsheet Jira connector is your go-to solution.

By the end of this article, you’ll learn how easily anyone can set up real-time task and issue syncing to boost your team’s efficiency. We’ll navigate through each Unito connector’s setup, customization options, and tangible benefits. Get ready to connect Jira and Smartsheet with automated 2-way updates to keep your issues and rows in sync.

Similar steps and principles will apply to many other Smartsheet integrations with project management tools including Smartsheet and ClickUp, Smartsheet and monday.com, Smartsheet and Wrike, or Smartsheet and Trello.

Even though Jira and Asana are different tools, the same steps and principles will apply in this demo video showing how our integration works between Smartsheet and another powerful project management tool:

This integration from Unito has two goals:

Automatically create new Jira issues or tasks based on Smartsheet rows and vice versa.
Maintain a live, 2-way sync between both apps so that everyone has visibility over the latest dev work in real-time without needing to manually share or request information.

Set up your Jira account

If you’re connecting Jira to Unito via OAuth2, then simply follow the on-screen instructions when adding your account for the first time:

Unito OAuth screen for connecting Jira with 3 options: OAuth 2, an API token or OAuth 1.0

Here’s a separate guide on how to connect a local Jira Server on-premise to Unito. You can also connect your server via ngrok.

Step 1. Connect Smartsheet and Jira to Unito

Navigate to the Unito App or access Unito from Jira and select +Create Flow.
Select Start Here to connect Smartsheet and Jira.
Choose the accounts you want connected to Unito.

In this walkthrough, we’ll select Smartsheet on the left-hand side, and then Jira on the right. You’ll need to specify which account for each tool you wish to connect through Unito, as well as the project names you wish to sync.

When you’re ready, click Confirm.

Step 2. Choose a flow direction for creating rows and/or issues

Flow direction determines which manually created work items get automatically created in the other tool. You can either set a one-way or a two-way flow direction. A one-way flow from Smartsheet to Jira, for example, would automatically create a new Jira issue to match a new row you create in Smartsheet, but not vice-versa. A two-way flow will create new items in both tools.

Since our goal is to sync project information, we’ll choose a bidirectional, or two-way flow. But if your goal is just to create tasks in one tool based on output in another, you can just select a one-way flow direction to keep things simple.

Click Confirm when you’ve chosen a flow direction.

Step 3. Set rules to sync specific Smartsheet rows and Jira issues or tasks

Next, we’ll apply a few rules to set conditions for which Smartsheet rows or Jira issues will sync with Unito. This is useful if you don’t need every row to become an issue and vice versa, and prefer to sync only a few data points.

Select Add a new rule and to set the conditions related to your fields (including custom fields!):

In this example, only Smartsheet rows in the state In Review will sync to Jira, where they will be created as new tasks.

Here, if users in that same Jira project give an issue the Cost-Reporting label, a matching row will appear in the original Smartsheet project.

NOTE: Rules are intended to help you keep only the most relevant information in sync to avoid oversharing unnecessary details. You can apply custom labels to your issues or rows to be even more precise about what kind of data is shared.

Find out more about setting rules.

Step 4. Link fields between Smartsheet and Jira

While rules are intended to set triggers for when data should be synced, field mappings determine what information is synced between your tools.

When you first open this screen, you’ll be presented with two options. If you select Auto-map, Unito will pre-populate a list of suggested field mappings which you can then adjust.

A screenshot of Unito's mapping selection screen. — Your fields will be automatically mapped for two-way updates, but you can adjust them as needed. With a one-way sync between fields, only the destination field will update automatically when you make changes in the source field.

Click + Add mapping to add additional fields to be synced.
Then, Select a field for each tool, and find the appropriate field to map.

After you’ve chosen a field in one tool, Unito will suggest compatible matches in the second tool when you click on the other drop-down menu. See below for an example:

The blue question mark icon indicates a custom field created in that tool. A gear icon indicates additional options for customization.

Selecting the gear icon beside a field will allow you to customize the values or statuses within those fields to further customize your flow. For example, you can append the Jira issue number to your Smartsheet row title:

A screenshot of a field mapping between the Task name and Summary fields in a Jira-Smartsheet integration.

Alternatively, you can link individual status options between various statuses or other fields with multiple possible values:

Syncing status between Asana and Jira — In the above example, even if the Jira issue status changes through the various options listed above, it will only change from Incomplete to Complete in Smartsheet if the Jira issue is marked as closed, rejected, or resolved.

Find out more about setting field mappings.

Launch your new Jira Smartsheet integration

And that’s it! You’ve just completed a flow between Smartsheet and Jira. Congratulations!

If you’ve followed the steps above, your flow will now:

Create an issue in Jira for every row in your specified Smartsheet project.
Create a sheet row for every issue in your specified Jira project.
Allow teams to collaborate between both tools without needing to leave their preferred interface, copy-paste data manually, or request information from the other team about these projects.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know. Our live support team is ready to jump in and lend a hand to make sure your flows always function as intended.

What’s next after syncing Jira Smartsheet with Unito’s automated integration?

If you’d like to see this flow in action, we encourage you to read this case study about a Smartsheet user who synced with Unito.
Quickly duplicate this flow and tailor this connector workflow according to your use case.
Read more about Unito’s integrations for Smartsheet and Jira to better understand their capabilities and limitations.
Browse Unito’s Jira documentation
Need some inspiration? Here’s how the team at B&H Photo uses a ClickUp Jira workflow to collaborate on dev work.
Or follow a similar guide to:

Key takeaways

Disconnected workflows between Jira and Smartsheet lead to inefficiencies, but Unito’s connectors enable real-time two-way updates, eliminating disruptions, automating your manual process, and preventing data loss.
Unito’s integration provides instant visibility on important and extensive customization. This empowers users to sync specific details, fields, and rules tailored to their project’s unique needs, supporting both cloud and on-premise Jira versions.
You can apply these steps to multiple Jira projects, including sending tasks or issues between a single Jira project, without needing a skilled Jira admin. Set rules to maintain a relevant data flow between a Smartsheet column and Jira.

After you’ve synced Smartsheet to Jira, you can see automatically created tasks or issues in Jira’s calendar view feature. Oversee your Jira hierarchy from other tools, ensuring accurate progress tracking across your projects. You can also link Jira data to Smartsheet columns based on issue fields such as assignees, comments, custom fields, attachments, and subtasks, all while working with an existing sheet.

Streamlining Your Software Development Projects

Unito supports various versions of Jira software, including Jira server, as well as:

This broad support ensures that teams can collaborate effectively, regardless of the Jira implementation they use. This versatility makes Unito a valuable tool for any software development project.