⚠️ Gmail's new policy guidelines to impact emails sent from Zoho Bookings, starting Feb 2024!

⚠️ Gmail's new policy guidelines to impact emails sent from Zoho Bookings, starting Feb 2024!

Hi there,

We'd like to inform you about the upcoming changes to Gmail's guidelines, set to take effect on February 1, 2024. Gmail is rolling out policy changes with the primary goal of fortifying security and reducing spam within its platform. 

This will impact sending emails from your Gmail addresses. Take a look at Gmail's announcement for details.

The impact happens when

  1. A Gmail address is used as the Sender email.

  1. High-volume emails are sent to Gmail addresses.

 1. Gmail as Sender address

When the sender's email address in Zoho Bookings (Super Admin or Staff email or Workspace or Business email) is a Gmail address, the email will be quarantined by the recipient servers. To prevent delivery issues and potential IP reputation damage, emails from "gmail.com" as the domain will not be triggered from Zoho Bookings after February 1, 2024.      


Possible scenarios

  • Super Admin/admin email addresses - A Gmail address is used during Zoho Bookings signup. The Super Admin's email will be the default sender for emails.

  • Sender email addresses - The sender emails of the Staff/Workspace/Business are Gmail addresses.
     

What changed?


Gmail will begin using a  DMARC quarantine enforcement policy. DMARC allows domain owners to specify policies that instruct receiving email servers on how to handle messages that fail DMARC authentication.

What should you do?

To resolve this, we encourage the use of email addresses other than Gmail, preferably non-generic email addresses.

For example, if the Super Admin or any other staff in your organization signed up using a Gmail address, then we recommend you replace them with another email address. If you don't update your gmail address before Jan 31, 2024, email notifications will be sent from notifications@zohobookings.com by default. You can later switch to an email address in a custom domain.

If your sender address is set up using a custom domain (own domain), please consider setting up DKIM and SPF authentication for your domain. This is done to ensure your emails are delivered without hassles. This would be mandated from the app going forward.

2.  High-volume emails to Gmail addresses

According to Gmail's revised policies, you must have your domain DKIM and SPF authenticated when sending more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail addresses to ensure deliverability of your emails.

Possible scenarios

Consider an EduTech company, Zylker, which manages more than 5000 educators online, all using Gmail addresses. Zylker sends email notifications and reminders from its dedicated email address (admin@zylker.com). Now, this domain, zylker.com, needs to set up SPF and DKIM authentication to ensure successful email delivery.

What should you do?

  • DKIM alignment - Authenticating your domain will verify your DKIM record and help fulfill Gmail's criteria. Learn more about authenticating your domain in our help doc - SPF and DKIM authentication.

    Note: Kindly note that in the upcoming months, we plan to make verified DKIM records mandatory, so it's recommended that you configure them at the earliest.

  • DMARC record - Ensure that the DMARC record for the domain is set at least to "none" if you're just getting started. (You can set to quarantine/reject based on your org's decision)

    For example, assuming you purchased your domain on dreamhost.com, you can visit their platform and configure the DMARC policy as "none," following the provided instructions.


We'd like to emphasize that both these changes are a result of Gmail's policy change, and Zoho Bookings has no control over these guidelines. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in ensuring that the necessary adjustments are made to your email configurations before the specified rollout date.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at support@zohobookings.com.

Regards,
Zoho Bookings



      • Sticky Posts

      • 📣📣 Zoho Bookings Schedulathon 2025 is here!

        Hey Zoho Bookings fam, We're excited to invite you to our first-ever hackathon: Yes, Zoho Bookings Schedulathon 2025 is live now. This is a virtual event and you can participate anywhere from the world. Businesses should be able to set up meetings from

      • 📣 [Webinar] Spikra shows how businesses leverage Zoho Bookings to increase revenue

        [Webinar] Spikra shows how businesses leverage Zoho Bookings to increase revenue Hi all, Service-based businesses need to be on top of their client experience game to stay ahead. Spikra, one of our Advanced Zoho Partners, has been helping businesses deliver

      • 📣📣 Zoho Bookings - Feature Roadmap 2024

        Hi Everyone, Thank you for all the support you have been showing Zoho Bookings. We had a fabulous 2023, with a bunch of new features and over 60K new users. In 2024, our prime focus will be on user experience, and we have a few vital features coming in

      • Attention: Important updates to the payment gateway integrations

        Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We have a few important updates to the payment gateway integrations that allow you to collect online payments for your appointments. The following payment gateways will be updated, and we encourage you to make the

      • Attention: Scheduled Maintenance at US DC on Dec 19, 2024

        Dear Bookings users, We would like to inform you that we've scheduled maintenance activity at our US data centers on Thursday, December 19th, 2024, from 5:30 PM to 5:45 PM PT. During this period, Zoho Bookings will be completely unavailable for the accounts

        • Recent Topics

        • Enable Conversation Context Retention for SalesIQ Answer Bots

          Hello Zoho SalesIQ Team, We hope you are doing well. We have noticed that SalesIQ bots currently fail to maintain conversation context in Hebrew. For example, when we follow up on a previous answer or ask for clarification in Hebrew, the bot either provides

        • Automatic Hebrew Small Talk Setup Without Duplicate Term Errors & Manual Configuration

          Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the Small Talk feature in Zoho SalesIQ, specifically for Hebrew language support. Current Challenge: When setting up Small Talk for Hebrew, we encounter multiple issues: Simple

        • Should I Add Leads in Bigin?

          ok, first off I'm new here. I just started using Bigin. I'm debating if it's appropriate to enter leads. by leads I mean a list of contacts that I have not yet reached out to...it's a cold calling list.  if I enter them I can track them (I understand

        • Zoho Books - Perform a validation check before an invoice is marked as sent or sent

          Allow the validation rules to apply to button actions. For example: an invoice could not be sent or marked as sent if it has an empty value in a custom field. (The field could remain blank while it is being worked on.)

        • Flow error "given url is wrong"

          when I setup a flow to update a task status, I get an error when it runs that says "given url is wrong."

        • Upgrade Zoho Desk Agent-Side Answer Bot to GenAI

          Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. Following the recent announcements and rollout of the GenAI-based Answer Bot in Zoho SalesIQ (Nova '25), we’d like to formally request a similar upgrade for the Answer Bot used by agents inside Zoho Desk.

        • Bigin Android app update: Email filters enhancement, change owner for related records.

          Hello, everyone! In the most recent Bigin Android app update, we have introduced additional email filters and an option to change the owner of related records. Email filters: We have now brought in support for 'All Emails' and 'Added from Widgets' filter

        • How can I get all conversations and comments of a Zoho Desk ticket using ZOHODESK

          Hi everyone, Currently, I am developing a Zoho Desk extension, and I am following the guide available at https://www.zoho.com/desk/extensions/guide/#ticket-object. While working with Zoho Desk, I have noticed that I can only retrieve the general information

        • AI & Zoho Recruit

          Hello, I guess we all are using AI in our personal and professional lives. Now, let's imagine. Recruitment is just a succession of stages and steps. For which step would you like to see AI implemented into Zoho Recruit ? I'll start : - Automatic translation

        • Workdrive and ChatGPT Team Synced Connectors

          Hi, we want to be able to integrate Zoho Workdrive with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Team plan. Google Drive and OneDrive both offer this, zoho please catch up asap. We dont want to have to put our company files in google drive, we want to allow chatgpt Team edition

        • widget url 404'ing

          I'm creating a widget for the first time. When I grab the url from the base url section of the widget builder and append /widget.html it 404's Just wrote a very basic test. I have a folder structure app.zip - widget.html --js/app.js /widget.html <!DOCTYPE

        • Unable to Edit Pick-List Items in Custom Project Field(s)

          I can edit most fields normally, but if I try to edit - in any way - a Pick List field, I just get this error: To be perfectly clear, I'm trying to edit an existing Pick List field (adding or removing items), not adding a new instance. If I rename it,

        • How to display results from zoho.crm.searchRecords in message window

          Hello, I've created a custom function which is linked to a custom button which pulls a date from our contacts module and searches a date field in our quotes module and returns all records matching the date. My issue is, how to I get this to display the

        • Domain Transfer

          Hello there! I wanted to know if I can transfer my domain from Zoho to other hosting providers or use a different hosting provider instead of zoho's services.

        • Select CRM Custom Module in Zoho Creator

          I have a custom module added in Zoho CRM that I would like to link in Zoho creator.  When I add the Zoho CRM field it does not show the new module.  Is this possible?  Do i need to change something in CRM to make it accesible in Creator?

        • New User - Opening Stock Aging Report

          I am setting up new client and am entering Opening Stock - created items and entered quantity/price details. Now the aging report is showing all the opening stock as new. How do I enter the Purchase Dates of these items so that I get accurate Inventory

        • Bulk Receive Multiple Purchase Orders

          Is there a feature or function that will allow you to bulk receive issued purchase orders? I have about 100 that need to be received from 5 years ago.

        • Manual Invoice

          How to create a Manual invoice, I need to enter Amount directly instead of (qty*Rate). our company is a service sector

        • Effective Inbox Organization: Folders vs Tags in Zoho Mail?

          I'm exploring the best ways to organize a busy inbox, especially when managing multiple clients or project using Zoho Mail. I’d love to know what works best for others: 1. Do you prefer **folders** (possibly with sub-folders) for each client or project?

        • Merging contacts and or accounts

          Hello, In a prior CRM we were able to merge contacts and or accounts.  We have turned on the function to stop multiple contacts with the same email, so we can prevent multiple contacts from happening, however, we now have multiple contacts that have the

        • Capture Reason for absence next to Campaign Member Status. Is there a reasonable workaround?

          I've reviewed the topics I could find to do with this but still couldn't find anything that satisfies our requirements: We would like to track a *reason* (picklist or text, doesn't matter which) why a Campaign Member (Lead or Contact associated with a

        • Zoho Learning Management System - Certificate Upload by Employees

          We are planning to enroll employees in courses which are hosted by coursera or similar sites. I want to share the links of those courses and also want employees to upload their completion certificate once they are done. Is this function possible in

        • Add RTL and Hebrew Support for Candidate Portal (and Other Zoho Recruit Portals)

          Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to set the Candidate Portal to be Right-to-Left (RTL) and in Hebrew, similar to the existing functionality for the Career Site. Currently, when we set the Career Site

        • Button or Links order

          Is there a way to re-order the buttons or links that are created?

        • Adding Multiple Products (Package) to a Quote

          I've searched the forums and found several people asking this question, but never found an answer. Is ti possible to add multiple products to a quote at once, like a package deal? This seems like a very basic function of a CRM that does quotes but I can't

        • 'Pin' notes, so that specific ones are always visible at the top of the 'notes' tab.

          It doesn't appear Bigin has the functionality to 'pin' a note to then have it always show at the top of the notes tab section of a record. Often times we have a large number of records, but key information we may want to have easily visible to all at

        • Request for Subform Support in Zoho CRM Webforms

          Hi Team, I hope you're doing well. I would like to bring to your attention that currently, Zoho CRM Webforms do not support Subforms, which limits our ability to send forms that mirror the actual structure used within Zoho CRM. This feature is extremely

        • Formatting Mailing Labels

          I want to use the "Print Mailing Labels" function on the drop down list, but I am not seeing a way to change the formatting on the mailing labels. At the moment, the information that appears on the mailing labels ARE NOT mailing addresses, but random

        • Maxima Address on FSM Customer

          Im trying to add probably 50 customers from one company but couldn't make it since it has limit..how do i add the limit?

        • How to Track Inventory Usage from Zoho FSM to Zoho Inventory?

          Hi everyone, We’re currently working on integrating Zoho FSM with Zoho Inventory, and we’ve encountered a challenge we’re hoping the community can help us understand better. Here’s the context: When we create a Work Order in Zoho FSM that involves parts

        • View subform entries without viewing a record in Zoho CRM | Kiosk Studio Session #8

          In a nutshell Have you ever wanted to take a quick peek at a record's subform? Examples might be invoiced items in an invoice, ordered items in a sales order, or purchased items in a purchase order. Let's say you're viewing your list of invoices in Zoho

        • How to Create a YTD vs Last YTD Comparison Report in Zoho Analytics?

          Hi everyone, I'm trying to build a report that compares Year-to-Date (YTD) metrics from this year to last year. I’m struggling to get accurate results using custom formulas or aggregate functions. Has anyone successfully created a YTD vs LYTD comparison

        • Transforma tu Inventario: Control Inteligente y Funciones Clave en Zoho Inventory (Spanish Webinar)

          ¿Tu empresa necesita mayor trazabilidad y control en almacenes? Conoce cómo gestionar tu inventario con eficiencia y automatización... ¡y descubre las sorpresas que trae Zoho Analytics! Participa en nuestro webinar gratuito en español, este 19 de agosto

        • Dashlane discontinued its free plan: Here's why Zoho Vault's free plan is worth the switch

          Hey everyone, Dashlane password manager has officially announced that its free plan will be discontinued starting September 16, 2025. This change means that current free users will need to either upgrade to a paid subscription or export their data and

        • Mails are not being sent from custom Deluge function

          We are having troubles to implement sending Invoices / Sales_Orders etc. automatically using following deluge script: attachment_template_id = "aaaa"; record_id = "bbbb"; mail_template_id = "cccc"; //NEW aproach fileUrl = "https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/settings/inventory_templates/"

        • Currency transition

          We are using Zoho CRM in Curacao, Dutch Caribbean. Our currency is currently the ANG. Curacao will be transition ing from using the ANG (Antillean Guilder) to using the XCG currency (Caribbean Guilder) on March 31st 2025, see: https://www.mcb-bank.com/caribbean-guilder.

        • Notes and Attachments visibility can now be restricted based on profiles

          Dear All, We hope you're well! We are here with a quick update about Notes and Attachments profile permissions. In the past, a record's Notes and Attachments were visible by default to all users with record access. However, as notes and attachments can

        • Zoho webinar--hard for agencies

          So, this is just a dive into our use case, and why we've been disappointed in Zoho webinar. We are a small marketing agency, and we wanted to add webinars to the services we provide, as many of our clients want to learn to use them as part of their content

        • Celebrating Raksha Bandhan with Zoho Desk: A Bond of Trust, Protection, and Service

          Raksha Bandhan, celebrated across India, symbolizes the sacred bond of protection and affection between siblings. “Raksha” means protection, “Bandhan” means bond or knot: together, it represents a knot of care and security. On this occasion, we'd like

        • Banking > Import statements with a csv file

          Good morning, I am regularly using the "import statement" option to match my transactions. I've been using csv files produced by my bank online and was able to import my transactions. Until now. Thank you for your help for fixing this ! Alex.

        • Next Page