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:
- For Workspace: Terms and Conditions
- For Service: Terms and Conditions
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.
- How to set variable: Set Variable
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.
- How to set decision: Set Decision
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.
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
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Kaushik S
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
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox 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
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Show Zoho Books Retainer Invoice in Zoho CRM
Hi Support, How can I get Retainer Invoices created in Zoho Books to show in Zoho CRM? If a sales person needs to collect an upfront deposit, they should be able to see that the retainer invoice has been created and paid. Thanks, AshleyFeature Request - Zoho Books - Add Retainer Invoices to CRM/Books integration
Hi Books Team, My feature request is to include Retainer Invoices in the finance suite integration with Zoho CRM. This way we will be able to see if retainer invoices have been issued and paid. I have also noticed that when the generate retainer invoiceACR Phone mobile app for logging phone calls into Zoho CRM
ACR Phone is an Android app recording voice calls with additional features such as blacklist, cloud upload, call log and more. Use the ACR Phone extension for Zoho CRM to generate Leads and Contacts with the voice recording attached right after your phoneNew in Zoho Sign: Allow recipients to review and change associated recipients
Greetings! We are happy to announce the addition of a new recipient role, Manages recipients, in our signature workflows. This role enables a recipient to review, modify, or add details for any recipients associated with them in the workflow. This ensuresHow can I throw an error / terminate the flow from within a custom function?
As the subject says. I would like to be able to terminate a flow from within a custom function if certain conditions are not met. I know I could hook a decision box to the output of my custom function and check return variable, but hoping there is a moreMultiple Zoho Attendees in a Customer meeting
We are having constraints with having to log duplicate meetings when we have 2 Zoho users attending a customer meeting. What are the options to resolve this? You can add participants, but you cannot report on them. What can be done to avoid creating soiOS 18 is here! Discover the enhanced Bigin app with iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia.
Hello, everyone! We are excited to be back with new features and enhancements for the Bigin app. Let us take a look at the new iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 features. The following is the list of features covered in this update: Control widgets. New app icons.Multi-Select lookup field has reached its maximum??
Hi there, I want to create a multi-select lookup field in a module but I can't select the model I want the relationship to be with from the list. From the help page on this I see that you can only create a max of 2 relationships per module? Is that true?Password change restriction
Can the administrator restrict users from changing their email password?NOW Zoho Creator still cannot bulk download Image or File Upload Field
The filedownloader has been deprecated for 5 years. Until now, we still cannot have a replacement tool. How can we bulk download the file that we uploaded to Zoho Creator. Previously, it was so simple to bulk download all those files. But now failed toCRM API Search Record for Last Name equals "."
When using the CRM API to look for all contacts with a lastname = "." The API returns an Invalid Query Reponse I have tried (Last_Name:equals:.) (Last_Name:equals:%5C.) (Last_Name:equals:\.) We have a scenario where the Last Name may not be known forMS PowerApps Custom Connector
Has anyone successfully connected to the API from MS PowerApps? The OAuth2 seems impossible to use from a platform like this.Zdk-cli
As i have tried to login to zdk cli as it returns this error ✔ Success! Logged in as JAYANTHAN ✖ Error during initialization of zdk api supported only in sandbox environmentSe puede mover un Cliente de un modulo a otro personalizado
Hola, tengo una duda que me gustaría resolver: Actualmente trabajo con dos módulos: Seguimiento de Venta y Cierre de Ventas . Mi objetivo es que, cuando desde el módulo de Seguimiento se marca una venta como "Venta Efectiva" , el cliente sea movido alIts 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 usefulIf Problema Formula
Ceil(Datecomp(${Seguimiento de Venta.Fecha de la proxima visita},Now())/1440) Tengo porblema al plantear el If Quiero que si el valor es degaTrying to do commission tracking with zoho crm, can i do a Lookup against multiple fields in a module?
So i'm still designing my zoho one crm as i come over from salesforce. One of the things i'm trying to build is a commission tracking module. At some point i'll probably hire someone to help with custom code, I'm just proof of concepting it. I"m not sureMapping a new Ticket in Zoho Desk to an Account or Deal in Zoho CRM manually
Is there any way for me to map an existing ticket in Zoho desk to an account or Deal within Zoho CRM? Sometimes people use different email to put in a ticket than the one that we have in the CRM, but it's still the same person. We would like to be ableCommerce service
If I am selling a service in Commerce, how do I turn off shipping?Customer Portal Zoho Desk | Sort ticket list
Hello, If you view the ticket list inside the desk portal (https://xyc.zohodesk.eu/portal/de/myarea?departmentId=xyz) all tickets are displayed depending on the filters: department "my tickets" / "team tickets" status group/type channel My questions:Train Zia answer bot on only part of Knowledge Base?
We are trialing Zia answer bot and hope to use it on the knowledge base to help our users find the information they are looking for. I have found how to train Zia on the entirety of our knowledge base. But is there a way to train it on only certain categoriesCustomer/item(s) bought view
Hello In Inventory/Customers/Transactions tab, how do I see what it is the customer actually ordered/bought without having to open each SO? Our customers buy a number of items thoughout the year. I've look at each transactions drop down, and no-whereERROR: Product type cannot be changed for Items having transactions.
I have mistakenly added a product type as goods for an item that was a digital service. Now when HSN/SAC became mandatory, this brought my attention to this error I did. So I tried changing the product type but it displayed this error message ProductInventory Asset vs Finish Goods vs Work in Progress please explain or help me choose
New to this so please if you can help in any way I would really appreciate it. So here we go. I make and sell and item which is made out of bunch of other items. (Composite Item). Now one of the parts that the item is made from is also a composite item.WorkFlow to Update Custom Field in Sales Order with Tracking Information from Shipment of that Sales Order
Hello All- I'd like to update the sales orders with the tracking information I enter in the shipping document. What is the proper variable to get the tracking information out of the shipping document? See attached.ZOHO Desk-Enable Ticket Notification sound
Hi, I answer the helpdesk tickets for Sevenstar. How can I enable the Ticket Notification sound when I receive a new ticket?Differentiating between invoice templates when adding custom fields
We are adding HS codes to the items which we would like published on our international customers invoices plus other export data required. We don't need this data on our domestic customer invoices. We have setup an invoice template for them but it ifBatch Tracking Enhancements In Zoho Inventory
Hello users, We’re excited to announce that we’ve taken batch tracking to a whole new level in Zoho Inventory! We’ve made it more accessible and easier to use than ever. Here’s a quick look at the improvements: 1) A New Way To Create or Modify BatchesWorkflow not triggered by custom function field update
I have a simple workflow that triggers when a field is updated on a Deal page. It works fine when I "manually" update the field via "edit" on that Deal page. It does NOT however work or trigger when that same field is updated with a custom function. IVersion history for Zoho CRM Functions
Hi Zoho Support, I am wondering, there is no topics been posted for requesting the Zoho CRM Custom Functions Version history. It would be great to have mandatorily needed feature in Zoho CRM custom functions. Is there any work going on for this feature.Bookmark order
Hi all, We have a very big document/template that requires manual editing after doing a mail merge. To make this easier, I thought I would add bookmarks to navigate to the areas that will require editing. I thought these would be in order that they appearHow do I associate an expense to multiple projects?
How do I associate itemized expenses to multiple projects, like assigning each line to the respective projectCreator portal user do not accept user password upon creation
I placed a request at Zoho and they are working on it, but I try here too in case somebody has already the answer: Today, sudently, my customers that tried to join the portal were not abble to enter a valid password, even if the password had all the necesseryShopify sales orders creating a new account in Zoho
Hi all, I am having a slight issue with the shopify integration. Whenever a customer purchases from the store, shopify automatically creates a sales order in inventory. The issue is that it creates a new account for the customer's name instead of attachingCRM Campaign -> Create Campaign ->Zoho Campaign. Add to Sender Address dropdown options (2024/08/01)
I'm trying to add different Sender Address and Reply-to Address options to a new campaign created through Zoho CRM. There is one sender and reply-to address available and it is not the account I'm logged in with. The dropdown options do not match whatCreate new ticket when another specific ticket is closed
Hi. How can I create a ticket when another specific ticket is closed? So I have a ticket with subject 'Create agreement' connected to the contact of a customer. As soon as I close this ticket, I want that a new ticket is created (connected to the sameHow can a Zoho Desk Admin access restricted files?
How can a Zoho Desk Admin access restricted files from Zoho Desk that are not displayed to agents on tickets due to file type restrictions?Why is my Lookup field not being set through Desk's API?
Hello, I'm having trouble setting a custom field when creating a Ticket in Zoho Desk. The endpoint I'm consulting is "https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/tickets" and even though my payload has the right format, with a "cf" key dedicated to all custom fields,Ticket template - Send email to multiple contacts
Is it possible to set up a ticket template with multiple contacts selected to receive an email, rather than just one contact as the default? We use Zoho Desk to send an email report to a group of contacts every day, and have to manually add each emailEnrich your CRM data and keep them updated
You spend a lot of your time and efforts in generating quality leads for your business. While generating leads is a challenge in itself, the real deal begins when sales reps try to nurture these leads and convert them as customers. So how equipped is your sales team with information about your leads matters a lot. For example, you might be using webforms to generate leads and collect customer information from your website. The lesser your webform fields are, the more your sign-ups right? From optimizingNext Page