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.

    Access your files securely from anywhere


            Zoho Developer Community




                                      Zoho Desk Resources

                                      • Desk Community Learning Series


                                      • Digest


                                      • Functions


                                      • Meetups


                                      • Kbase


                                      • Resources


                                      • Glossary


                                      • Desk Marketplace


                                      • MVP Corner


                                      • Word of the Day



                                          Zoho Marketing Automation
                                                  • 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


                                                  Manage your brands on social media



                                                        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 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

                                                                                                  • How do I embed the webinar into a webpage?

                                                                                                    All I can seem to do is embed the signup form. This is cheesy. Surely they must have fixed this by now, right? How do I do it?
                                                                                                  • Zoho Flow reads record Tag as number instead of text string. How do I change it?

                                                                                                    I have experience with flow and have a number of them working. This flow is supposed to add a record in a custom module when a Contact record is edited or created with a specific tag. Trigger criteria is "Tag contains 'Athlete' ". However, the flow does
                                                                                                  • Default account for service invoice

                                                                                                    Hello, My client has some invoices for which he has entered a service description rather than using an item.  Is there a way to set the income account on this invoice, or can that only be done by using an item?
                                                                                                  • Date Range Field

                                                                                                    Hi Guys Does anyone know how I can create a date range field on a form? Cheers Chris
                                                                                                  • Bulk create tasks - Zoho Projects API

                                                                                                    Hi Zoho/Community, I am trying to create multiple tasks in a single API call, is there a way we can combine multiple request bodies into one single payload? The issue I am facing is the rate limiting on the API, I wanted to create certain amount of tasks
                                                                                                  • How can I delete duplicate transactions?

                                                                                                    I want to delete the duplicates not simply exclude them. I have duplicates, because I had automatic bank feeds turned on (had to make sure this critical functionality was working before migrating to Zoho). Now when I import my csv's exported from Wave,
                                                                                                  • Create custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions were
                                                                                                  • Portal orders

                                                                                                    Is it possible to set up an ordering system through the portal so that my customers can place orders through their portal?
                                                                                                  • Lookup Field in Zoho Forms <> Zoho CRM Integration

                                                                                                    Hello, We use Zoho CRM to manage our products, create quotes, etc. I want to use Zoho Form to configure a simple form that allows customers to request quotes on our website. I completed the form and used a subform for the "Add items to your quote" part
                                                                                                  • ChatGPT

                                                                                                    Hola, sabéis si además de tener la licencia de chat GPT Plus hay que comprar créditos para usar chat GPT en zoho social? Gracias
                                                                                                  • Standalone function is not working

                                                                                                    Hi, We have created a standalone function to integrate with a third-party service using OAuth. However, the standalone function's REST API key is expiring automatically after some time. When we regenerate the API key from the admin account, the function
                                                                                                  • Marketer's Space: Leveraging CRM Data for Dynamic Content and Personalized Campaigns

                                                                                                    Hello Marketers! Welcome back to another post in Marketer’s Space! We’re excited to continue our series on the many advantages of integrating Zoho CRM with Zoho Marketing Automation (ZMA). This series is designed to help you unlock the full potential
                                                                                                  • Last sync date/time as a widget

                                                                                                    Is there any way to get the last date/time that the data shown (reports and dashboard) was last updated.  For example, If I have our data being synced every 3 hours and the last was done 2 hrs ago, I would like to show date/time of update OR updated #{hrs}
                                                                                                  • An update to improve email delivery | Email Authentication & Relay

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Recruit Community, We hope this message finds you well. This post is to inform you about an important update regarding the authentication of all email domains in your Zoho Recruit account. Effective 31st December, 2024, emails sent using email
                                                                                                  • 100 record view limitation

                                                                                                    I have just migrated from another CRM and am starting in ZOHOcrm with over 5000 contacts. It seems that my searches and sorts are limited to 100 live records....or am I missing something. This seems to be very limiting...in a lot of scenarios (mass email,
                                                                                                  • Setting Up Direct Mail Campaigns

                                                                                                    If I need to set up a 5 step direct mail campaign is that possible? Basically every week I upload names from a CSV to Zoho and then would need to mail them every 45 days for about 6 months. I would want to be able to take names off the list when they say their house is sold or that they don't want to be contacted. I don't necessarily need to have it integrated with click2mail or anything but would at least need to be able to export the file in a CSV/excel for each mailing.  Does anyone know if that's
                                                                                                  • RFQ MODEL

                                                                                                    A Request for quotation model is used for Purchase Inquiries to multiple vendors. The Item is Created and then selected to send it to various vendors , once the Prices are received , a comparative chart is made for the user. this will help Zoho books
                                                                                                  • Recruit - How to Force a Job Opening out of a Blueprint

                                                                                                    In past versions of Zoho Recruit, there was the ability to create a custom button on a record's page that would evoke a URL that would force a record out of a blueprint. What is that URL or is there a better way to force a record out of a blueprint?
                                                                                                  • Introducing Zia LLM: Zoho’s in-house Generative AI solution for CRM's AI capabilities

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, We're excited to announce the launch of our in-house Large Language Model (LLM) by Zia to power our AI offerings. What is LLM? LLM stands for Large Language Model, a powerful AI technology that processes and generates human-like text based
                                                                                                  • ERROR

                                                                                                    I deleted a contact card, I want to add it again but it says that the contact already exists. I searched the records and it is not there, and I even deleted it in the trash. The email is this one:xxxxx. Please help!!
                                                                                                  • How to Automatically Populate the Deal ID in the Parent Lead After Creating a New Deal with Blueprint?

                                                                                                    Hello Everyone! 🎉 I wanted to share a solution to a problem that some of you might have encountered. In Zoho CRM, when creating a Deal from a Lead using a Blueprint, data can only flow in one direction—from the Lead (parent) to the Deal (child). But
                                                                                                  • Chroniques de l'année 2024 Zoho France : avec vous, pour vous !

                                                                                                    Nous vous adressons nos vœux les plus chaleureux pour une année 2025 exceptionnelle et pleine de réussites ! Fidèle à son habitude, Zoho France vous réserve chaque année de nombreuses mises à jour, des événements marquants, des activités diversifiées
                                                                                                  • Why can't I see the delivered Zoho Campaign automation email on Zoho CRM lead record?

                                                                                                    I recently did update the field mapping on our Leads sync services between Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns. The end goal is to create tailored email drip campaigns with the use of segments and automation. I understand you can build cadences, email templates,
                                                                                                  • Custom Function to Format Phone / Mobile numbers in Australian Standard format

                                                                                                    So I got sick of phone numbers being formatted incorrectly and Zoho not doing anything to standardise phone numbers to meet E.164 formats. So I went and coded my own function to fix this. And figured I'd share with the community This is specifically for
                                                                                                  • Kaizen #173: A Comparison of Zoho CRM REST APIs and GraphQL APIs

                                                                                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Zoho CRM offers two API architectures for its users: REST API and GraphQL API. Each of these API architectures has its own strengths and ideal use cases. In this post, we will discuss the difference
                                                                                                  • How to preview a locked note? Or just lock one?

                                                                                                    Once a note is locked there is no preview, just a blur (good). But, if there are a lot of notes, wouldn't it be good to have the title show up and blur the rest? Or am I just being dumb - do they all unlock and lock at the same time?
                                                                                                  • Linkedin Plugin

                                                                                                    H, Is there a plugin to allow the connection to LinkedIn and simplify editing? I've looked at a few, but they all seem to be outdated and not working... What do you use or can you recommend?
                                                                                                  • Query About Updating Records in Batches via API

                                                                                                    We are working on integrating the Creator application with an external app, and we need to update thousands of records daily. I understand that the "Update Records" API is available; however, it appears to be designed for updating multiple records with
                                                                                                  • Unable to use Sign "You have entereed some invalid characters"

                                                                                                    Unable to use Sign "You have entered some invalid characters" I do not see any invalid characters. The text in "Leave a Note" is plain text which I entered directly into the field. See attached screenshot
                                                                                                  • Remove the link between app admin roles and org admin privileges

                                                                                                    Greetings Zoho One Team, Currently, assigning someone as an admin in certain Zoho apps, such as Cliq, Connect, Mail, Vault, or Forms (and maybe other apps as well) automatically grants them org admin privileges, even though they are not listed as org
                                                                                                  • !! URGENT My sent mail goes to spam

                                                                                                    I tested a few times and every time I send mail out it goes the recipients spam box.  Why is it marking my mail as spam? please help me ! thanks
                                                                                                  • Difference between Admin, Team leader/Manager, Clinets/user profile and roles in Zoho Project

                                                                                                    I've been wondering to find out the difference between the key feature of Admin,Manager, and client/user in Zoho Project. I am student and trying to learn about the Zoho Project. I could not find the roles and profiles difference between this 3 users
                                                                                                  • Missing Modules such as RFQ, Purchase request and Store room

                                                                                                    Hi, I wonder why zoho doesn't add Purchase requests module e.g. ( a lower level staff wants to request for provision of something) which can be approved or rejected by his/her manager. In case of approval, same request can be converted into RFQ. Secondly
                                                                                                  • Important updates to Zoho CRM's email deliverability

                                                                                                    Last modified on: Jul 24, 2024 These enhancements are released for all users across all data centers. Modified on: Oct 30, 2023 Organisations that are in the Enterprise and above editions of Zoho CRM, and have not authenticated their email-sending domains
                                                                                                  • Paid Support Plans with Automated Billing

                                                                                                    We (like many others, I'm sure) are designing or have paid support plans. Our design involves a given number of support hours in each plan. Here are my questions: 1) Are there any plans to add time-based plans in the Zoho Desk Support Plans feature? The
                                                                                                  • Zoho expense linked with Campaign instead of customers

                                                                                                    Hi, Is there a development planned for linked an expense or a report to a zoho campaign? Indeed, suppose I created a campain in which I add different clients (for example a trip to a foreign country where I meet 3 different clients), I would like this campaign to be linked to the expenses I have. Say I have a plane ticket, taxis and 1 hotel night, I would like those expenses to be linked to the 3 clients. With Zoho expense, it is not possible at the time (or maybe it is but I do not know how!). thanks
                                                                                                  • Function #4: Schedule Customer Statements

                                                                                                    Regularly sending statements to customers is an imperative part of many business processes as it helps foster strong customer relationships and provides timely guidance on payments. While you can generate the statement of accounts and have it sent over
                                                                                                  • Export multiple Invoice PDF

                                                                                                    As part of end of year accounting a client needs to export all of their Invoices in PDF from Zoho CRM. Do they need to click into every single Invoice and click the Export to PDF button. Is there a means of either doing a mass Export to PDF of all Invoices
                                                                                                  • How to create Sepa Direct Debit XML file: solution and code

                                                                                                    Even though Books provides a payment integration for Stripe and Gocardless (in Europe) there are customers that want to use the Sepa services of their own bank. Mainly because Stripe and Gocardless are quite expensive. In that case they would need a Sepa
                                                                                                  • Introducing 'Dynamic display' in the latest version of the Bigin Android mobile app.

                                                                                                    Hello everyone! In the latest version of the Bigin Mobile Android app (1.6.0), we have introduced support for Dynamic Display, which transforms the List View into a powerful and customizable visual interface. Dynamic Display: This feature allows users
                                                                                                  • Next Page