Zoho Finance Triggers
I would like to propose that Flows triggered by a Zoho Finance app (Books, Inventory, etc.) have the option to be triggered by the same action taken in any Zoho Finance app, not just the one chosen.
Problem:
Currently, Flow automations can only be triggered by an individual app like Books or Inventory. However, these Zoho Finance apps all operate on the same databases, and there is significant overlap in capabilities.
For example, a Sales Order can be created or edited from both Books and Inventory, and it feels pretty much the same from a user perspective to do the action from either interface. Users who use both applications will often get to the point where they are equally comfortable performing an action in either one.
However, if there is an automation triggered by Books - Sales Order Created, there will be a very different outcome if the Sales Order is created in Inventory rather than Books.
Proposed Solution:
By default, common Finance triggers like Sales Order Created should listen for that action across all Finance apps where that action could take place, not just the one chosen.
It would, of course, be optimal to give users the choice, but I would propose that the majority of use cases for automations would be app-agnostic.
Workaround Problems:
The only workarounds I can see are:
- Enforce tight business processes to ensure specific actions are taken in specific apps
- Duplicate automations
The problem with trying to control this via process is that it's easy for failures to occur, either because of user oversight or users not understanding the ramifications of taking an action in the non-preferred app.
There are at least three problems with duplicating automations. First, it becomes very difficult to maintain. Any future changes need to be made to every automation, so it would be easy for these automations to become out-of-sync. This is an unnecessary failure mode.
Similarly, the second problem is troubleshooting in the event of an automation not performing as expected. Unless the nuance of triggering app is remembered and considered, it's possible that fixing any given issue would be stymied by multiple Flows trying to do the same thing.
The third problem with the multi-Flow workaround is that it unnecessarily bloats the number of Flows needed to automate one's business. This can cause Flow to appear more expensive than necessary to users.
I hope the Flow team strongly considers this improvement.