Title: Creating custom connections for extensions | Community | Zoho Finance

Title: Creating custom connections for extensions | Community | Zoho Finance

In our previous post, we discussed the significance of connections, identified their types, developed a predefined connection, and demonstrated how it can be integrated with Zoho Books using an example. In this post, we'll walk through the process of creating a custom connection using an example.

Custom connections facilitate the integration of applications with Zoho Books by aiding in configuring the required application's connection manually by providing application-specific details. Let's go over the steps involved in configuring custom connections in detail using a use case scenario.

Use case

Let's say an organization uses Zoho Books to manage its financial operations. To improve sales for the organization, one must contact and communicate with multiple clients, as well as check in with vendors on a regular basis to remain up to date on new products on the market, take demos, and assess whether the products need to be brought into the organization.

In these cases, it is best to schedule appointments with clients and vendors in order to conduct business in an organized manner. This can be easily performed by integrating an appointment scheduling software so appointments can be scheduled with a click.

For our demo purpose, let's consider Zoho Bookings as the appointment scheduling software. Since it is not available under the default list of services in predefined connections, let's create a custom connection to achieve this.

Steps to create a custom connection
  • Go to Sigma and access your workspace.
  • Enter the developer portal of the Zoho Books extension you're creating a connection for.
  • Navigate to the Build section and click Connections.
   
  • Click New Connection to create a new connection.
NotesNote: Alternatively, you can use the View All option under a connection type to see all the services under that particular connection type and begin creating connections.
     
  • Choose Custom Services and click Create Service.
   
  • Provide the details of the service.
➤ Enter a name for the service, and the service link name will be immediately filled in.
➤ Choose the authentication type that corresponds to the authentication mechanism supported by the service for which you are building the connection. These details will be available as part of the service's API documentation. For our example, we'll use OAuth2, because Zoho Bookings supports it as an authentication mechanism.         
  
➤ The remaining fields to be configured for the service differ based on the authentication type used. In our case, the parameter type is Header, and the grant type is Authorization Code.
   
➤ Please refer to the table below for the values that need to be configured in the remaining fields.
Note: Register the service in the Zoho Developer API console to get the client credentials.
  • Finally, click the Create Service button.
  
  • The service is created successfully. Click Create Connection to create a connection for this service.
  • Provide the connection details, select the scope, and click Create and Connect.
 
  • Proceed with the flow to accept the scopes and authorize the connection.
 

The connection is now authorized, and you'll be directed to the connection details page. This page will also contain sample code in both Deluge and JSON formats that can be used to utilize this connection as part of your extension components. Depending on which component you want to invoke the connection in, you can use the appropriate sample code format.

Additionally, a predefined connection for Zoho Books is created to perform operations on Zoho Books data to implement our use case. Get more information on predefined connections in our previous post.

Now, in accordance with our use case, let's create a custom button that includes this connection to schedule appointments (in Zoho Bookings) with clients and vendors using Zoho Bookings with a single click (from Zoho Books).
We require two custom fields for our logic, one for setting the meeting start time with the client or vendor, and the other to display the Bookings appointment calendar link once the meeting is scheduled.
  • Create custom fields for the Customers and Vendors module by selecting Preferences > Customers and Vendors > Field Customization > New Custom Field.
 
  • Next, create a custom button and include the logic to schedule an appointment.
  • Create a custom button for the Customers and Vendors module by selecting Preferences > Customers and Vendors > Custom Buttons > New.
InfoBook meeting custom button function Deluge code - Please find code snippet as an attachment in the post
  • In the above code, the Get Contacts API of Zoho Books is invoked through the InvokeURL method using the predefined connection to get the contact/customer details for whom the appointment has to be scheduled in Zoho Bookings. Refer to this post to get complete details on the parameters required to call the InvokeURL method.
  • From the API response, the required details are fetched from which the start time (custom field data) is formatted to the way required by the Zoho Bookings API.
  • Next, the Zoho Bookings API to get the service ID and staff ID are invoked consecutively through the InvokeURL method using the custom connection created.
  • The Book appointment API is used to schedule the appointment using the service ID, the staff ID obtained from the Zoho Bookings API, and customer details obtained previously via the Zoho Books API.
  • Finally, using the update contact Zoho Books API, the Zoho Bookings calendar URL is updated in the custom field created to display the calendar booking URL.
We've now completed the extension setup for our use case.

After testing and publishing the extension, as per our use case, you can book a meeting for a Zoho Books customer through Zoho Bookings and have your Zoho Bookings calendar reflected inside Zoho Books as well.

z
This is an example demonstration of the benefits of using a custom connection in a Zoho Books extension. This is a versatile use case that may even be used to schedule an internal meeting with your Zoho Books teammates who are working on a project. Similarly, this use case can be enhanced and implemented based on your needs.

We hope you found this information useful. Keep following us for more tips.

SEE ALSO

    • Recent Topics

    • Unable to add estimate field to estimate template

      I have the field "SKU" as part of my service data. I can also see it as a column when displaying the list of services. However, I have no way to include it on my estimate template because the field is not showing as a column field to include for the service/part

    • Adding Today's Date into an email template

      Is it possible to add today's date into an email template? Any help would be gratefully received.

    • Entry created or updated - not getting all fields

      I have a flow that fires on an entry being created or updated in a custom module in CRM.  It is only supposed to proceed if a particular field is false and once fired, immediately updates that field to true to avoid running multiple times.  For some reason,

    • Help createing Inventory Volume report

      I've been working with Zoho support for a few months now trying to develop a inventory volume report. Though they have been helpful, it never seems to generate exactly what we're looking for. I thought I'd turn to the community for further help. We've

    • Zoho Sprints - Timesheet Rejected

      Does a user get notified is his Timesheet entry has been rejected?

    • Sixth Insight - The Hidden C in Data

      The Wheels of Ticketing - Desk Stories The Hidden C in Data [Importance of clean data] Data cleaning Data cleaning ensures ticketing systems' data is accurate, consistent, and complete. This process includes eliminating duplicates, fixing errors, and

    • Simple Text Search Function

      Would it be too much to ask for a simple text search function? My slide decks are often simply collections of slides of a random over, and I often have to find the slide I need at a moment's notice. A text search function, no matter how rudimentary, would

    • KPI Widget would not load columns

      My Zoho Analytics would not load columns on KPI Widgets, is there anyone who could help me on this?

    • Introducing the calendar view for Bigin's Activities module

      Hello everyone, We're excited to announce the calendar view in Bigin. This view presents all tasks, events, and calls in an intuitive and visually appealing interface, and will be set as the Activities module's default landing page, ensuring you have

    • Its 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later

      I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely useful

    • Add documents/uploaded files in Zoho CRM records that can be accessed by all team members?

      Hi, I'm building out our small business' Zoho CRM implementation and are on a Zoho One plan. We do LED Lighting Projects for customers, and collect data like customer utility bill PDFs, and pictures of existing lighting that we want to keep in one centralized

    • Updates for Zoho Campaigns: Merge tag, footer, and autoresponder migration

      Hello everyone, We'd like to inform you of some upcoming changes with regard to Zoho Campaigns. We understand that change can be difficult, but we're dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition while keeping you all informed and engaged throughout the process.

    • Customizing Helpcenter texts

      I’m customizing the Zoho Desk Help Center and I’d like to change the wording of the standard widgets – for example, the text in the “Submit Ticket” banner that appears in the footer, or other built-in widget labels and messages. So far, I haven’t found

    • Zoho Desk - I am no longer receiving email notifications when comments are made on tickets

      I still receive other notifications via email (e.g., new tickets and replies) - however beginning May21, I no longer receive notifications on comments (whether private or public) - I have confirmed that notifications are toggled on for agents within system/notification

    • Issues with Campaign Results Sync Between Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM

      Hi everyone, I’m experiencing an issue with the integration between Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM. When I send campaigns from Zoho Campaigns, the results shown in Campaigns (such as the number of emails sent, opened, and clicked) do not exactly match the

    • Greek languge

      Hello, Is there any support for Greek language in the near future?

    • Import records with lookup field ids

      Hi Is anyone able to import records into Recruit via spreadsheet / csv which contain ids as the lookup values. When importing from spreadsheet lookups will associate with the related records if using record name, however when using related records id

    • Custom module history is useless

      Hi I am evaluating ZOHO DESK as my support platform. As such I created a few custom modules for devices assigned to employees. I want to be able to see the whole picture when a device was reassigned to someone, but the history shows nothing Is there any

    • Email rejected per DMARC policy

      Hi, We've got the return message from zoho like 'host mx.zoho.com[204.141.33.44] said: 550 5.7.1 Email rejected per DMARC policy for circlecloudco.com in reply to end of DATA command' We're sure our source IP address matches the SPF the sender domain

    • EMail Migration to Google Apps is Too Slow

      We are moving to Google Apps and the email migration is really slow. Anyway you guys check if this is a server issue?

    • How to import subform data - SOLUTION

      To all trying to import subform data, I might have a solution for you. First of all, for this solution to work, the subform data needs to be an independent form (not ad hoc created on the main form). Furthermore, this approach uses Excel sheets - it might not work using CSV/TSV. If this is true, then follow these steps: Import the subform records Then export these records once more including their ID Now prepare an import file for the main form that needs to contain the subform records Within this

    • Help center custom tab - link color

      I’m trying to add a custom tab to the main navigation in the Zoho Desk Help Center, for example to link to an external resource like a website. The problem is that any custom tab I add always shows up as a blue link – it doesn’t match the style of the

    • Organization API: code 403 "Crm_Implied_Api_Access" error for "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/org"

      Hello. I've developed an add-on that allows clients to synchronize data from Zoho CRM with the Google Spreadsheet. I am using the OAUTH2 protocol, so clients will have to authenticate into their Zoho account, and Zoho will send back to the app an access token which will be used to get data. Currently, there are about 100 clients, and everything works smoothly. Today I've found that a guy who could become a new client was not able to to get his organization data, because the application receiving

    • Pick list - Cannot save list "Special Characters not Allowed" error message

      Bulk uploading values. All values are pretty standard - with the exception of a "-" (dash). Like:  Industry - Prepared Food Is the simple dash a special character too? Jan

    • Zoho Projects API Error - API v3; Always HTTP 400

      Below I have uploaded my .py file I'm using: Always returns with response 400 :(( Console Logs: (venv) PS C:\Users\sreep\venv> python .\TimesheetBuddy.py Token file not found. * Serving Flask app 'TimesheetBuddy' * Debug mode: off WARNING: This is a development

    • Inquiry: Integrating In-house Chatbot with Zoho Desk for Live Agent Support

      Hi Team, We are exploring the possibility of integrating our existing in-house chatbot with Zoho Desk to provide seamless escalation to live agents. Our requirement is as follows: within our chatbot interface, we want to offer users a "Talk to Agent"

    • Zoho Mail will not set up in Thunderbird

      I am using Thunderbird 13.0.1 in Linux Mint 13 64-bit.  I cannot set up my Zoho IMAP email in this client.  This is evidently a common problem as evidenced by these postings in the Thunderbird forum: thunderbird can't seem to "find the settings" I cannot configure it for my zoho.com email account I can not get ZOHO to configure. Any suggestions? The best T-bird seems to be able to do is to refer these users to the Zoho forum. I believe the instructions in the Zoho help wiki are correct, although

    • Introducing an option to set comments to public by default

      Hello all, Greetings! We are pleased to announce that Desk's user preferences now brings an option to set a comment type as Public or Private by default. In addition to setting reply buttons as defaults, Agents or Admins can now choose to make their ticket

    • Increase size of description editor when creating new ticket

      Please can you consider making the description editor in the create new ticket form a resizeable area as by default, it is very small and there appears to be no way to increase the size of it.

    • Flutter Plugin Compatibility Issue: Unresolved Reference to FlutterPluginRegistry in zohodesk_portal_apikit

      I am integrating the zohodesk_portal_apikit Flutter plugin (version 2.2.1) into my Flutter project, but I am encountering a build error related to an unresolved reference to FlutterPluginRegistry in the file ZDPBaseActivityAwarePlugin.kt. Below is the

    • I need my MFA number. I am trying to log into my CharmEhr. account and I can't get in. Everytime I try to sign in, it says to enter my MFA #. I don't have it.

      Need an MFA #

    • CRM Plus Accounts and Products relationships

      Is there a way that an invoice that is paid, would add the products to the account record once it is delivered? I want to find an easy way that products will get added to the account record and assumed this would work. The benefit here would be that I

    • "Super Admin Login as Another User" for Zoho One

      Dear Zoho One Team, We would like to request that the "Super Admin Login as Another User" feature be extended to Zoho One, allowing Super Admins to access user accounts across all Zoho One applications. We understand that this functionality is currently

    • Workflow for Creator App

      I am new to coding but doing pretty good with internet searching and ChatGPT but I have hit a major roadblock. What I am trying to do is have a sub-form populated with data from a form based on selected variables. I know this is possible because a guy

    • Subform dynamic fields on Edit, Load of Main form.

      Main Form: Time_Entry Sub Form (separate form): Time_Entries Time_Entries.Time_Entry_No is lookup to - Time_Entry.Time_Sheet_ID (auto number). I would like to disable some of the subform fields upon load (when edited) of the Time_Entry main form. What

    • Find all forms/fields containing a lookup field related to a specific form

      Hi, I'm trying to find all forms and the specific lookup fields they contain that are related to my Contacts form. I need to be able to do this programmatically (I know how to find this information using the schema builder). I've pulled the metadata for

    • Introducing the Eventbrite extension for Zoho CRM

      Hello Zoho CRM community, Are you struggling to keep your event registrations and attendance data organized across multiple platforms? Managing this information manually can be a frustrating and time-consuming task, and mistakes can easily occur, making

    • Deactivate Zoho CRM for everyone

      We would like to deactivate Zoho CRM for everyone. How can we do that?

    • Can I embed Zoho Project in Zoho CRM Record Detailed View

      Hello all, We use Zoho Projects a lot. The integration of Projects with Accounts and Deals only is great, but very limiting to our needs. Is it possible to either: add a project to related lists to custom modules - similar to how it is automatically added

    • COMPLAINT : Sleeping & Useless Support Team. GMail is better then..

      [## 118256452 ##] License upgrade issues: As a reseller, I tried to upgrade 1 license for my customer. It shown error. Raised complaints via Email/Chat/Phone support. Its been more than a week, still keep asking damn questions and comfirmations on once

    • Next Page