Building extensions #3: Fundamental features of a Zoho Books extension

Building extensions #3: Fundamental features of a Zoho Books extension

In our earlier posts, we covered how to create, test, and publish an extension for Zoho Finance suite applications. Moving forward, we'll look specifically at instances relating to one of the products from the Zoho Finance suite: Zoho Books.
In this post, we'll explore the key features listed below that are available in the Zoho Books extension developer portal.
  1. Automation and customization
  2. Seamless integration
  3. Widgets
  4. Event-based data transfer and notifications
  5. Extension configuration

Automation and customization

These are defined sets of rules that automatically execute operations and customize standards for tailoring modules and fields.

Achieving it in Zoho Books

The Zoho Books extension developer portal provides a variety of automation features, including workflows (rules, actions, and triggers), custom actions, and schedules. There are also customization features, like creating custom modules and fields, adding buttons, and including related lists for both standard and custom modules.

Example use case

Automate emails to customers in various organizations based on their accounts receivable (A/R), so that different emails are sent indicating different actions that will be taken against them based on the total value of credit payments they owe.

By using an extension, you can easily add a new custom field for accounts receivable and specify workflow rules to send an email based on the value.


Widgets

A widget is a user interface that displays data to the end-user in order to facilitate their understanding or collects input data from them in order to perform additional operations.

Achieving it in Zoho Books

The developer portal's widget feature helps create a user interface or run a client-side script. You can easily design and develop user interfaces with any web development framework; these widgets could gather user input, if required, and, based on those inputs, perform logical operations.

Example use case

Issue a mortgage lien release (certificate of release) to a borrower who has paid off their mortgage completely. This certificate indicates that the lien on the borrower's property has been released and they have regained title ownership. In this situation, a customized widget can be developed to collect personalized inputs, such as the issuing bank's (lender's) information and a customized message to be sent to the borrower, before sending the certificate out.


Seamless integration

A seamless integration or tightly coupled integration to establishes a connection between applications for data transfer and synchronization.

Achieving it in Zoho Books

The Connections feature in the Zoho Books extension developer portal can be used to achieve seamless integrations.

You can establish connections between Zoho Books and other apps by:
➤ Using the default, ready-to-use connections offered in the Zoho Books extension developer portal
➤ Creating customized connections for the applications you want to integrate with Zoho Books
Example use case

You can sync data between Zoho Books and Shopify, running your business more efficiently by completing activities from a single app and reducing manual data entry.

This data sync can be achieved by establishing a connection between these apps using the Connections feature. This enables seamless collaboration between sales and finance operations; sales contacts can be added as Zoho Books customers, and invoices issued in Zoho Books can be instantly logged and synced in Shopify.


Event-based data transfer and notifications

These are real-time notifications or actions that are triggered and executed in response to the occurrence of a real-time event.

Achieving it in Zoho Books

Webhooks and signals on the developer portal facilitate real-time data updates and notifications in Zoho Books.
The webhooks feature enhances the connection between two applications. It allows you to capture the occurrence of an event and collect and post the real-time data as an update to another application.

The Zoho Books extension developer portal provides support for both incoming and outgoing webhooks, allowing real-time data updates to Zoho Books from another application and vice versa.

The signals feature allows you to receive real-time notifications.

Example use case

A finance meeting is planned and organized using an event management app, and future potential clients are gathered from the meeting. If the follow-up is successful and a client would like an event organized, it's scheduled for them.

In this case, webhooks capture the occurrence of the event being created, collect the event-related data, update it in Zoho Books, and generate an invoice for the event. Signals can be used to display real-time notifications when new customers are added to Zoho Books.

Learn more about webhooks and signals.

Extension configuration

Manage extension configuration by allowing users to provide their preferences or user-specific data and perform actions when extensions are installed or uninstalled.

Achieving it in Zoho Books

Global fields and installation actions help achieve extension setup and execute installation-related scripts.
  • You can either create global fields to collect input from users or design widgets (with global fields, if necessary), allowing users to provide inputs and choices to configure and use the extension.
  • Perform custom actions during the extension's installation and uninstallation.
Example use case

You can sync and manage Zoho Books projects with Trello, a project management platform, to create customized task views and visually manage tasks.

This is easy to accomplish with global fields and installation actions. Since Trello requires an API key to establish a safe connection with another app, we can add a global field for it in Zoho Books. After installing the extension, users can provide their user-specific API key to establish a secure connection between the apps. Then, an install action script can be created to transfer records.


In this post, we've covered an overview of the features available while developing a Zoho Books extension and how they might be useful. We'll explore each of these features in detail in upcoming posts. We hope you found this information helpful. Keep following us for more posts!


SEE MORE



Next>>

    Access your files securely from anywhere

          What's new
          Blogs
          Community
          Zia
          API resources
          Pricing
          Integrations
          Town Hall
          Custom Apps


          All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.






                                Zoho Developer Community



                                    Bootcamp
                                    Community
                                    Pricing
                                    Webinars
                                    What's New
                                    Integrations
                                    Contact Support
                                    Contact Sales
                                      Zoho Survey Resources
                                        Features
                                        Survey Templates
                                        Integrations
                                        Community
                                        iOS Mobile Surveys
                                        Pricing
                                        Android Mobile Surveys
                                        Insurvey Blogs
                                        Insight Blogs
                                        Tips & Tricks





                                                    Latest Feature Updates

                                                      • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                      • Digest


                                                      • Functions


                                                      • Meetups


                                                      • Kbase


                                                      • Resources


                                                      • Glossary


                                                      • Desk Marketplace


                                                      • MVP Corner


                                                      • Word of the Day


                                                      • Ask the Experts




                                                          Zoho SalesIQ Resources


                                                                Manage your brands on social media
                                                                Access Zoho Social

                                                                  Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                      Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                                        Zoho DataPrep Resources


                                                                          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                            Zoho Books Resources


                                                                              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                                Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                    Qntrl Resources


                                                                                      Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                          Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                            CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                          • Kaizen

                                                                                            Kaizen

                                                                                          • Functions

                                                                                            Functions

                                                                                          • Meetups

                                                                                            Meetups

                                                                                          • Kbase

                                                                                            Kbase

                                                                                          • Resources

                                                                                            Resources

                                                                                          • Digest

                                                                                            Digest

                                                                                          • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                            CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          • MVP Corner

                                                                                            MVP Corner









                                                                                              Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                              Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                              Get Started Now


                                                                                                Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                  Zoho Writer

                                                                                                  Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                                  Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                    Zoho CRM コンテンツ





                                                                                                      Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                          ご検討中の方





                                                                                                                    • Recent Topics

                                                                                                                    • Zoho CRM Deal API returning null pipeline in case of default pipeline

                                                                                                                      Hey team, We are writing to report an issue with the Deals module pipeline API behavior that we believe stems from how the default (Standard) pipeline is handled when no custom pipelines have been configured. When the "Manage Pipelines" page under CRM

                                                                                                                    • Quebec Canada Tax GST and QST

                                                                                                                      Hello Expert, Whenever we I create invoice for Quebec, Canada, it calculating wrong tax amount, can you please validate Attached the screenshot, which is calculating wrong tax amount on QST

                                                                                                                    • Function #1: Convert an accepted Estimate to Sales Order automatically in Zoho Books

                                                                                                                      As you’re aware, Zoho Books provides a default option to have the estimates automatically converted to invoices once your customer accepts them. Many of you wanted a similar option for sales orders, so here’s a workflow that converts accepted estimates

                                                                                                                    • Facturation électronique 2026 - obligation dès le 1er septembre 2026

                                                                                                                      Bonjour, Je me permets de réagir à divers posts publiés ici et là concernant le projet de E-Invoicing, dans le cadre de la facturation électronique prévue très prochainement. Dans le cadre du passage à la facturation électronique pour les entreprises,

                                                                                                                    • Adding Taxes to paid consultations in Zoho Bookings

                                                                                                                      I created a 'paid' consultation under Zoho Booking and integrated it with payment gateways for online/instant payment before a booking is done. How can I add 'taxes' to the price of consultation? I can add taxes to other Zoho apps (liks Books, Checkout,

                                                                                                                    • What's New in Zoho Forms

                                                                                                                      Hey there, We've been heads-down shipping and this quarter. Because every update we ship is about making your forms do more, with less effort from you. This quarter too, we expanded what Zoho Forms can do. Here's everything that shipped. Spotlight Forms

                                                                                                                    • Zoho Creator and Bluetooth Beacons?

                                                                                                                      Hi all, Has anyone developed anything in Zoho Creator that leverages Bluetooth? Specifically to detect bluetooth beacons (iBeacon, Eddystone, etc.)? Thank you, Josh

                                                                                                                    • Zoho Books | Product updates | June 2026

                                                                                                                      Hello users, Welcome to this month's roundup of what's new in Zoho Books! We have an exciting line-up this time. The highlight is the launch of the all-new France Edition with full ISCA compliance. We're also introducing features such as Layout Rules

                                                                                                                    • API to post drafts for social media

                                                                                                                      I we want to post draft posts to our zoho social account and then approve and schedule them within Zoho social. is this possible with for example: https://apis.zoho.com/social/v2/post TIA Jon

                                                                                                                    • Updating Zoho Books UI when a field is changed

                                                                                                                      I have this script to update Quotes Expiry date. estimateID = estimate.get("estimate_id"); numberDaysTobeExtended = 14; estimatedate = estimate.get("date").toDate(); organizationID = organization.get("organization_id"); estDate = estimate.get("date");

                                                                                                                    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | April & May 2026

                                                                                                                      Hello users, We're excited to roll out the latest Zoho Inventory updates for April and May 2026. These enhancements are designed to make your daily operations smoother and more efficient, from advanced inventory management and flexible pricing to automated

                                                                                                                    • Important update on our transition to the new video platform framework

                                                                                                                      As part of our ongoing platform changes, users in select regions, including the United States and other supported data center locations, have been migrated to our new video platform framework. Due to this migration, some participants may notice changes

                                                                                                                    • Bullet Charts Stuck Loading Without Data

                                                                                                                      I have a dashboard with some widgets in bullet chart format, but some of them do not have data. Since there is no data, they keep loading indefinitely instead of displaying “No Data,” as happens with the percentage widget next to them. This issue prevents

                                                                                                                    • How to get Monday as 1st day of the week?

                                                                                                                      Hi, The first day of the week is Sunday in Zoho Creator calendar.So it is hardly usable as in Europe the 1st of the week is always Monday. How can I get Monday as 1st day of the week? Best regards, Chris

                                                                                                                    • Shall we play a game?

                                                                                                                      Presenting the very first game created using ZOHO Creator: Tic-Tac-Toe (or noughts and crosses) I made this to challenge myself and employ some of the new features of ZOHO Creator. I must admit that the code is very literal and not too elegant. There are plans to improve on the machine AI and streamline the code over time. Currently the code makes extensive use of functions for the machine "AI" - there are 12 of these.   The machine AI can be tricked, so to counteract that I made it exceedingly arrogant

                                                                                                                    • FINALLY! 100% Responsive iFrame for HTML Page Snippet

                                                                                                                      For the past two years or so I have been battling with Page Snippets' responsiveness (HTML, Embed, and ZML). Furthermore, if you use the native embedded reports, especially more than one report on a page, you have to set a static height because they're

                                                                                                                    • Associate project with timer on iPhone

                                                                                                                      When I start the timer without first associating a project (on my iPhone), its starts fine but now when I need to associate a project, and click on the link, I get a list of EVERY project I've ever put into Zoho Books. It used to just show active projects.

                                                                                                                    • Check printing alignments always changes

                                                                                                                      Hello, We have a frustrating problem with printing checks. We use Quickbooks voucher checks, which works okay for us. The problem is the printing alignment for the check's "Date, Pay to the Order of, Amount, and Amount in Words" changes every time we

                                                                                                                    • name change of company in same GSTIN registration . how to retain historical company name for past transactions?

                                                                                                                      hello I have recently change my company name from BHANU DIAM to BHANUMATI IMPEX in same GSTIN registration number While i have update the company name in profile name that change all my historic data like sale invoices and purchase bill , i would like

                                                                                                                    • iOS Books app shows filtered view after changing to All sales orders

                                                                                                                      My boss often checks sales orders on his iPhone. The app is mostly working fine, but there's an ongoing issue: When switching between different filters (also called custom views on the web), going back to All doesn't often work. It typically gets stuck

                                                                                                                    • Recurring Invoices

                                                                                                                      I'm looking to set up recurring invoices on a monthly basis, using GoCardless as a payment gateway. I've done this successfully, however there's a big problem with the Invoice Date and Due Date. We prefer to provide sufficient notice of collection (10

                                                                                                                    • Conditional Drop Downs

                                                                                                                      Am I the only one that has a problem when setting up the same project for multiple customers - resulting in a HUGE number of projects (e.g. Project A - customer 1, Project A - customer 2, Project A - customer 3 etc.). OR, am I doing it wrong? What results

                                                                                                                    • Layout Rules Don't Apply To Blueprints

                                                                                                                      Hi Zoho the conditional layout rules for fields and making fields required don't work well with with Blueprints if those same fields are called DURING a Blueprint. Example. I have field A that is used in layout rule. If value of field A is "1" it is supposed to show and make required field B. If the value to field A is "2" it is supposed to show and make required field C. Now I have a Blueprint that says when last stage moves to "Closed," during the transition, the agent must fill out field A. Now

                                                                                                                    • Ability to Use Both AND and OR When Creating Rules (Advanced Conditions)

                                                                                                                      I'd like to be able to use more complicated logic when setting up rules. E.g. in Zoho Mail, I can choose "Advanced conditions (AND/OR) to create a rule that can be applied to multiple subject lines from the same sender. But in Zoho TeamInbox, I will have

                                                                                                                    • How to record GST amount for Value of Service on Inward remittance charged by bank

                                                                                                                      Hi please advice I have a situation.    1. I have HDFC bank account 2. I have a customer who has done inward remittance for purcahses from overseas. 3. HDFC is showing Value of Service say $100 and GST @ 18%. 4. Value of Service is not charged. But  CGST

                                                                                                                    • Resources - Sort by rows consumed

                                                                                                                      Please add the ability to sort by the total rows consumed in the Resources section of Settings. I would like to see which table is consuming the most rows by sorting from high to low.

                                                                                                                    • Zoho Books - France

                                                                                                                      L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité

                                                                                                                    • Editing a bundle

                                                                                                                      How can I edit a bundle?

                                                                                                                    • Approval escalation

                                                                                                                      Hi I would like to have an approval escalation if Approver 1 does not approve/reject a request with a certain SLA. Currently I have a status field that changes to "Pending approver 2 approval" after a certain time, however the challenge I am faced with

                                                                                                                    • Referral module for our Zoho People employees

                                                                                                                      I have been requested to create a user in Zoho Recruit for each Zoho People user to allow them to refer a candidate in Zoho Recruit. Only the interviewer and guest profiles are free. The use of a custom profile is on the paid basis. Any user linked to

                                                                                                                    • Conflicts on zoho project Tasks

                                                                                                                      Hi We want to use ZOHO Project for scheduling our technicians. We have maintenance contract with our customers. We schedule interventions on customer sites. So we created projects for each contract and task for interventions. So if a technician need to go to customer I create task and schedule them after depending of availibility. When I need to assign a date I use start Date and due date on the task. But I realized there is no conflict management. I called support and they told me it is not developped.

                                                                                                                    • Upcoming webinar : Build high-converting sales pipelines with Zoho LandingPage and Bigin

                                                                                                                      For small businesses, generating leads is only half the battle. The real challenge is staying organized, following up consistently, and turning those leads into customers. Join us for this webinar to learn how Zoho LandingPage and Bigin can help you create

                                                                                                                    • New UX Improvements in the Zoho Expense iOS and Android Apps

                                                                                                                      Hello users, We're excited to share the latest updates and enhancements we've made to the iOS and Android apps of Zoho Expense. These updates have been designed to make your day-to-day expense and travel management even simpler. Note: We will be rolling

                                                                                                                    • User Permission Log

                                                                                                                      Our external auditors are asking for a way to view changes made to user permissions (basically, a user permission change log). Is this feature built into Creator? 

                                                                                                                    • What's New in Zoho Billing | May 2026

                                                                                                                      We're back with another round of updates in Zoho Billing! This month brings new capabilities designed to give you more flexibility and control over your billing operations. From associating price lists with business locations, and including annexures

                                                                                                                    • ZOHO SURVEY to ZOHO CRM integration

                                                                                                                      I am trying to use the ZOHO SURVEY to ZOHO CRM integration but the integration won't allow me to choose a record layout and that means there is a erquired field that i cannot input, is there any way around this?

                                                                                                                    • Why don't Zia agents support file uploads?

                                                                                                                      I am trying to build a Zia Agent that allows uploading of a PDF file and uses the GLM5 model to process it and extract information. But agents.zoho.com has no way to enable file uploads on the agent. Additionally, GLM5 based agents keep outputting their

                                                                                                                    • Re-Apply SLA When Ticket Reopened from Closed Status?

                                                                                                                      If you have an SLA applied, timers are deactivated when going to "On Hold" status type and reactivated when going back to an Open status type. What we discovered is when a customer replies to a closed case and it reopens, the SLA is not applied and timers

                                                                                                                    • Zoho Forms - Failed CRM Sync Improvement

                                                                                                                      I'd like to suggest an enhancement to the Zoho Forms and Zoho CRM integration. Currently, once a form entry has been submitted, there is no simple way to push that individual entry to CRM again if needed. Before anyone mentions it, I am aware that the

                                                                                                                    • Lead score decay timing and excluding specific campaigns from scoring

                                                                                                                      Hi team, I have two quick questions about lead scoring: 1. When does a lead's score start going down? Like, after how many days of no activity does the score begin to drop? 2. Is there a way to stop certain campaigns from adding points to a lead's score?

                                                                                                                    • Next Page