Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

Hey, community members!

 

Have you ever wondered how to automatically approve or deny appointments?

 

While we're still working on building that feature, we've got an alternative method to cancel appointments if they don't meet your specific criteria.

Let me share a recent client request as an example: Our customer has two types of services that are similar: One is for grown-ups and the other is for children. However, often adults mistakenly book these services without realizing that they are not intended for them. This results in unnecessary confusion for our customers, as they have to contact those who accidentally booked appointments and reschedule them, causing a significant amount of administrative work.

Here's how we helped our customer: We added a criteria field to the booking page (e.g., "What is your age?") Then, we automatically cancel appointments where the input age is greater than 15 and we'll even notify the grown-up client that their appointment has been canceled and guide them to book the appropriate service.


To make this happen, you'll need Zoho Bookings and the Zoho Flow Standard Plan.


Here's a simplified breakdown of the process in three steps:  

  • Zoho Bookings will collect the criteria data and pass it to Zoho Flow.

  • In Zoho Flow, we'll configure a workflow to verify the validity of the data.

  • If the data is invalid, Zoho Flow will trigger a cancellation request to Zoho Bookings, resulting in the appointment being canceled.

 

Don't forget these additional steps: Edit the booking confirmation page and notification email to proactively inform customers that their booking maybe subject to cancellation.

Let's dive into the details together!!!

STEP 1: TO BE FOLLOWED IN ZOHO BOOKINGS APPLICATION:


1. Create a mandatory field in Zoho Bookings Forms.

     A. For service booking form: Add Field

     B. For workspace booking form: Add Field

 

NOTE: Workspace-level settings apply to group and resource bookings, while for One-on-One bookings, you will need to make the necessary changes within the specific One-on-One service settings.

At the end of step 1, let's say we have created a mandatory field called "What is your age?". Now the customers on the booking page will have to provide their age to book an appointment.

Additional Step:

Canceling an appointment without the customer's knowledge might affect the customer experience. Therefore, we should acknowledge the customers in every possible way.

 

Here are some tips:

 

A. We can use the 'Custom Redirection' feature to redirect customers to a custom page after they book an appointment, instead of the default booking confirmation page.

Here is how to change booking confirmation page: Booking Confirmation Page


Here is the sample custom page:



B. By using the "Terms and Conditions" check box, you can include the following message in the box: "This service is specifically designed for children under the age of 15. Bookings made by individuals above the age of 15 may be subject to cancellation". Customers will then need to check the box to confirm their agreement before completing their bookings, ensuring that they are aware of this policy.

More details: 

STEP 2: TO BE FOLLOWED IN ZOHO FLOW APPLICATION

A: Log in and search the template

  • Sign in to Zoho Flow application and create a new flow using the create flow option.

  • Select App > search for Zoho Bookings in the search bar.

  • Select the "Appointment Booked" trigger.

  • Select "Connection" and "Variable" > Done.


How to create a flow in Zoho Flow: Create a flow from scratch

How to create connection in Zoho Flow application: Create a Connection


At the end of step A, we have created a new flow including Zoho Bookings application.


B: Set Variable

  • In the Logic option > Flow Control > Set Variable > Edit the variable

  • Name the variable and in the value provide the input in following format "${trigger.customer_more_info.get("What is your age?")} " > Click on done.



 

NOTE: In Step 1, we created a multi-line field named "What is your age?" If you have instead created a single-line field without spaces (e.g., "Age?") on the booking page, the format for the field would be as follows:

  • Single line field format: ${trigger.customer_more_info.fieldname}

  • Multiple line field format: ${trigger.customer_more_info.get("fieldname")}

At the end of step B, we are fetching the output of the "Age" field from the Zoho Bookings form.


C: Create Condition

  • In the Logic option > Flow Control > Decision.

  • In the condition 1, configure as Set Variable(Age) > is not null. 


At the end of step C, we set up conditions to ensure that all bookings made through the Zoho Bookings application meet the requirements specified in the above conditions.


D: Custom Function

  • In the Logic option > Custom Functions > Create Function.

  • Configure function name, return type and input parameter.

  • Details on custom function: Custom Function

Reference below: 




Below is the sample code which you can have for reference. You can configure and modify the code according to your specific requirements.



Code Explanation:


Line 1: To pass the input data below to the code

  • Age: This is used to verify and analyze the customer's input.

  • Customer Email: This is required to send an email notification to the customer in the event of an appointment cancellation.

  • Booking ID: This serves the purpose of identifying the specific booking that needs to be canceled using its unique booking ID.

Line 3: We are implementing an "if condition" to verify the customer's input. In this case, we will check if the entered age is greater than 15. If it meets this condition, the following loop will be executed.

Line 5 - 8: To update appointments, we are utilizing the Zoho Bookings API. Within the update appointment API, there are two mandatory fields that need to be included: BookingID and action (completed/cancel/noshow). In cases where the criteria are not met and an appointment needs to be canceled, we will pass the action field as "cancel".

Line 9 - 14: We are using invokeURL task for API calls. To know more about invokeURL task please refer to the following document: InvokeURL task for API calls

Line 16 - 21: We utilize the sendmail task to send an email to the customer when their appointment is canceled. Additionally, the Zoho Bookings application automatically sends a cancellation email to the customer in such cases. Therefore, you have the option to either use the sendmail task or rely on the default notification system to inform the customer about the cancellation of their booking.


More details on send mail task: Send Mail Task

This is what the final flow will look like:



Here is the demo video:  In this demo video, we have showcased the behaviour of our setup configuration for different inputs from customers. One input satisfies the configured condition, while the other input does not meet the configured condition.




CONCLUSION:

In the preceding discussion, we have outlined a method for automatic appointment cancellation. You can use this document as a reference to explore the various possibilities that suit your needs.

In the upcoming posts, we will explore various scenarios and methods for updating the appointment status. Furthermore, we have covered the process of canceling an appointment after it has been booked.If you are wondering whether there is a way to verify customer inputs before booking an appointment, the answer is yes. We will delve into that topic in the next series.

As the above configuration may differ based on individual business requirements, we have provided a generic example for reference. If you have any questions or need assistance with configuration to align with your specific business needs, please email us at hello@zohobookings.com or support@zohobookings.com.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

      Hey, community members! Have you ever wondered how to automatically approve or deny appointments? While we're still working on building that feature, we've got an alternative method to cancel appointments if they don't meet your specific criteria. Let

    • Recent Topics

    • New Asap Widget How to update my code

      I know you're still working on updating the documentation for calling the Asap Widget, the existing documentation is no longer valid. In the old 1.0 version I was able to do many things programmatically in javascript. I could open an article directly

    • ASAP Chrome Extension not loading

      We have ASAP enabled in Zoho Desk. I installed the ASAP Chrome Extension (Windows 10), but when I click the extension button while on our site, it never fully loads. I just get what's shown below.

    • Zoho Flow Custom Function to Register Sale in Zoho Thrive

      Hi Thrive team, I want to create a custom function which sends purchase information back into Thrive for Affiliate commission. I'm stuck on how to setup the connection, specifically creating an OAuth connection through https://api-console.zoho.eu/ Please

    • Sending User-centric reports to all users

      I would like to automate an e-mail report to all users that sends them a weekly e-mail listing their open Potentials.  I've created a Report that uses the ${CURRENTUSER} criterion and scheduled the report to send to several users, but they all receive

    • How do I add new line and format text in zoho desk ticket?

      I am generating a ticket via API and looking to update "description" field of ticket whenever I need. Is there a document where I can find supported formatting for description field on a ticket.  I need to find: Adding a new line and adding bold text,

    • Automation #6 - Prevent Re-opening of Closed Tickets

      This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Typically when a customer submits

    • Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders

      I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create a drawing/s for the project. The team member could create a link to the LucidChart drawing/s and allow WordDrive to truly be a repository for ALL the project documents, even those outside of WorkDrive. A folder is dedicated to a CRM account. A

    • ZOHO DESK ヘルプセンターの言語選択メニューの表示方法

      ZOHO DESK のヘルプセンターを構築し、多言語化設定をしました。 顧客のヘルプセンター画面右上に言語選択メニューが表示されないため、弊社の契約先会社に問い合わせましたが、「通常は多言語化をオンにすると表示するためCSS を触り過ぎではないか」 という指摘のみでした。 試行中ですが表示できません。 何か要因となる情報をお持ちの方がいましたらご教授いただけますと幸いです。 ↓の赤枠を表示したいのですが、表示できません。

    • How to reply to thread via API

      We have built a webapp for our customers that uses the Zoho Desk API to enable each customer to view their full list of tickets, view individual tickets and raise new tickets. The Zoho Desk API doesn't have the ability to reply to a ticket/thread. Replies

    • Email Builder Editor is not functioning or loading correctly

      Email editor function is not working or loading correctly in any template, new or old. Cleared my cache, restarted browser, problem unchanged.

    • Create Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3

      In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way to

    • Issue in downloading the sent logs

      Hi Team, I'm unable to export the sent file for any email campaign. When selecting all fields, the system indicates that the document will be sent via email, but I haven't received it. At times, it shows a download option, but the file doesn’t get downloaded.

    • Integrate Google Chat with Zoho CRM for seamless collaboration

      Hello everyone, Sales is a team sport and sales reps have to be in constant communication with people inside and outside their organization. While email remains the most effective channel for important conversations, sales reps often collaborate via chat.

    • customers enter orders?

      Anyway we can let a customer into CRM and enter their own orders , no access to anything else except history reports, no access to any other contacts. Greg Aanes 2109 Queen Street Bellingha WA USA

    • Zoho Learn - URL Parameters for Externally Shared Articles?

      Hey Folks, Are there any parameters one can append to URLs for externally-shared articles? Specifically, can I add a parameter that hides the Manual name (use case being I want to embed the article in another webpage)? Also, can one password-protect an

    • Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

      I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static

    • Post message to a channel using a simple one-line command!

      Hi Everybody! This post is all about posting a message in a Channel using cURL, Wget and PowerShell. cURL is a light-weight, command interface used to transfer data to a server. The steps are pretty easy!  The three most important points here are  Generating an Auth token Get your Channel Unique Name Form your message as a JSON structure Generating an Auth token To use the 'Messaging API' you'll need Cliq's authentication token from Zoho Accounts. Generate an auth token by hitting the below-given

    • Activity or History Log User Login

      Hi Everyone, I have Zoho Customer Portal, which has pages and reports. Is it possible to create 1 field such as true/false to find out users who have opened the customer portal? Like a kind of user activity log. Thank you so much.

    • How to associate a document sent in Zoho Sign with an deal in the CRM?

      Hi, often documents are loaded in Zoho sign and sent for signature. These sometimes are linked to a deal in the Zoho CRM and would be nice to see the status of the document within the CRM. I am aware of the integration, but that assumes that the document

    • Invalid Emails in CRM

      Is there a way to get a report or create a view that shows all email addresses that are invalid for any reason? I keep coming across them and want to ensure that they are flagged with users to update. This is on a custom module.

    • Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab

      Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chad

    • Associating an Email from CRM Email Parser to Contact Record via Function

      Is it possible to create a custom function that will associate email records from zCRM's Email Parser functionality to a contact record where specific fields match? Our use-case is that we have service providers using third-party event booking systems

    • Update Client Record based on creation of custom module record

      Hi! Hoping for someone's help with this one. I have a custom module called 'Agreement History. Whenever a deal is won, it creates a new record in this module with associated 'Products' and 'Clients' to track rental history and contracts. What I'm trying

    • Inputting VAT Pre-Registration expenses for first VAT Return

      Hi Zoho, I've just registered for VAT and am setting up Zoho to handle calculations and VAT return submissions. I'm struggling to figure out how to input the last 4 years worth of expenses into Zoho so that they're calculated in the VAT module. When I

    • How to Bring to front the picture?

      I have 2 pictures that have to layers but i can't find bring to front button, Thank

    • setting owner of note when adding via deluge

      My organization has requested the ability to mass update the notes related list in the deals module. Since this can't be done with the mass update feature, I created an update "notes single" line field and created a workflow rule that triggers a function

    • Creating email schedules with custom filters for Pivot/Summary Reports in Zoho Analytics

      Hi Zoho, I have a Weekly Inventory Report that I'd like to send out to various vendors. Is it possible to create an email schedule for each vendor with customized filtering at the scheduling level? Currently, we generate two pre-filtered reports (copies

    • Can Client generate Sales Order by himself?

      My business primarily operates in the B2B sector, and I've observed that my sales team and I spend an excessive amount of time obtaining sales orders from our customers. This is particularly relevant in a product-based business with multiple SKUs. I am

    • Python - code studio

      Hi, I see the code studio is "coming soon". We have some files that will require some more complex transformation, is this feature far off? It appears to have been released in Zoho Analytics already

    • No Responses in PageSense Polls

      Hello everyone, I have launched a poll on two websites yesterday and I think that responses are not being recorded correctly at the moment. I can see the poll on the page and have tried to submit test answers which are not showing on the PageSense report.

    • Automating CRM backup storage?

      Hi there, We've recently set up automatic backups for our Zoho CRM account. We were hoping that the backup functionality would not require any manual work on our end, but it seems that we are always required to download the backups ourselves, store them,

    • Count the NUMBER of Contacts for an Account automatically

      Hello. Is there any way Zoho can count the number of CONTACTS for a particular ACCOUNT and have a field in the ACCOUNT module update itself automatically? Currently we use Zoho to administer our language school and the Contacts represent students and Accounts represent Grupos (Classes). It would be very useful for us to have a feature like this enabled, and I can see other similar applications requiring something like this. The solution would be even better if the Contacts met a specified criteria,

    • Join Zoho Meeting only via Web browser and not with Zoho Meeting App

      Dear Zoho team, according to the documentation [1], Zoho Meeting only offers web view for Chrome and Firefox on a desktop. For other browsers and devices, participants can only join a Zoho Meaning with the Zoho Meeting App installed. This is a big hurdle

    • Based onthe multipick list value want to Show in the pick list field

      Based onthe multipick list value want to Show in the Single pick list field Database Region is multipick list if it contain Saudi and UAE then region pick list want to show Saudi and UAE Database Region is multipick list if it contain Saudi then region

    • Email alias per task list so these tasks don't get listed under a 'General' task list that we didn't create nor use

      Using an email alias to add tasks is very good for forwarding emails directly into Zoho Projects however everything gets listed under a 'General' task list which is counter-intuitive. It would be good to have an email alias for each task list so we can

    • Pin multiple columns and adjust column widths in CRM subforms

      Hello all, Subforms act as secondary forms or tables in which you can associate multiple line items to a primary record and thereby ensure more structured and comprehensive data organization. We've made some recent enhancements to subforms. Here's what's

    • Creating Form PDF and Adding to CRM Account

      I have client onboarding forms that I'll be creating in Zoho Forms and these forms will gather information from clients that will help with upcoming projects. I want to know how I can have a pdf created from a from submission and automatically attach

    • Related Lists filter

      I have Contacts showing in our Accounts module. I customized the Contacts module with an Employment Status field, with the following picklist options: "Primary Contact", "Secondary Contact", "Active Staff(not a main contact)", and "No longer employed".

    • Improve Zia Data Foundation

      Hi, is it possible to manually improve Zia's CRM data foundation for companies? Zia tends to give data based on foreign companies but we only operate in the German market. Even if I specifically but the German company name and the URL to the german imprint

    • Zoho Flow Doesn't Detect Desk Ticket Custom Field Change

      I have a Flow that is configured to be triggered when a custom field on a ticket changes. I also have a Schedule in Desk that runs a script that changes the custom field. When I change the custom field manually in the Desk interface, the Flow runs as

    • Next Page