Building extensions #2: Publishing an extension

Building extensions #2: Publishing an extension

Hello developers,

Welcome to our next post about building extensions for Zoho Finance Suite applications.

In our previous post, we looked at extensions, their purpose, and how to create and test them. To recap, extensions are installable plugins or add-ons that include customizations to improve the existing functionality of a Zoho product. They can be shared with other users, allowing them to install the plugin and have the customizations reflected in their account as well.

If you wish to customize any Zoho product on your account alone, you can use in-product customizations. Extensions, on the other hand, are created as custom, installable bundles that can be shared and used by multiple users.

In this post, we'll be discussing how to publish extensions both privately and publicly.

Why publish an extension?

The ultimate goal of creating extensions for Zoho products is to share them with users so they can install them and use their features in their own Zoho products.

In order to make the extension available as an installable component, it must first be published.

Private and public extensions

Extensions can be developed for internal organizational purposes or for a larger audience, and they can be published either privately or publicly.
  1. Private: Published to be shared privately with other users or within an organization.
Example: An organization uses Zoho Books to manage its financial activities, and its employees need customizations to meet their specific demands. In this scenario, extensions would be useful so the customizations could be shared with other users in the organization.
  1. Public: Published in Zoho Marketplace and made accessible to Zoho users.
Example: A developer creates an extension with some common or general use cases that would help most business categories, e.g., a payment gateway integration, a message integration app, or an extended feature for a Zoho Finance application. In this scenario, the developer could list the extension publicly for a larger audience.

How to publish an extension
  1. Enter the developer portal of the Zoho Finance extension you want to publish. For our demo, we're using a Zoho Books extension.
  1. Navigate to the Publish section and click Publish.

  1. A pop-up displays the list of components you've added to your extension. Check and validate these components.

  1. Choose either major or minor versioning. Major rounds off and increments your version number to the next integer (version 1, version 2, etc.), while minor increments the version by 0.1 (version 1.1, version 1.2, etc.).
  1. Enter the release notes in the Release Notes section. Click Publish.

  1. The extension is successfully published, and a private installation URL is created.

  1. As a developer, you can use the private installation URL to test the extension in your Zoho Books organization.
Note: In order to install and test the extension privately in Zoho Books, your Zoho Books account should be the same as the one you used to develop the extension.

  1. In order to share the extension with other users, it will have to be reviewed internally by the Zoho Finance team. To do this, click the Submit for Private Review button that appears after publishing the extension. Read the Zoho Finance extension review guidelines for more information.

  1. A pop-up displays the auto-populated details on a mail that will be sent to the Zoho Finance review team. Verify the details and click the Send Mail button.
  3. The extension is successfully submitted for private review and is under the status "Submitted For Review."
Note: If you want to make changes to the submitted version, you have to deprecate the version submitted for review. Once deprecated, the Finance team can't approve the version you originally submitted.

  1. As the developer, you'll also receive a copy of your submission email.
  1. The Zoho Finance team will review the extension and, once successfully validated, approve it, changing the private review status from "Submitted For Review" to "Approved."

  1. Now that the extension has been privately approved, you can share it with other users. Go to the Shared List option in the left panel, and click the Share Privately button.

  1. Enter the organization ID and email ID of the user you want to share the private extension with. Click Share.

  1. The extension is successfully shared.

  1. The user will get an email about the shared extension, along with the installation URL. They can simply click the link to install the extension.
  2. To publish and list the extension publicly in Zoho Marketplace, it'll have to be reviewed and approved by the Zoho Marketplace team as well.
  3. To publish publicly, follow the above steps, then submit your extension for Zoho Marketplace review using the Submit for Marketplace Review button.

  1. You'll be redirected to the extension details page, where you can view a Submit to Marketplace button beside the extension version. Click Submit to Marketplace.

  1. A pop-up appears with extension details that will be listed in Zoho Marketplace. Fill in the details to complete the submission process.


Extension compatibility across Zoho Finance Suite applications

Once you've developed the extension and submitted it for private review, check to see if it has any common use cases that would work with another Zoho Finance application. If it does, you can reach out to extension-submission@zohofinance.com and say you would like to have your extension reviewed for whichever other Finance applications you think it would suit. The Finance review team will evaluate your suggestion and guide you accordingly.

Once these reviews are validated, you can publicly list the extension for the other apps with ease. Using the available Marketplace installation URL, you can directly submit another application through the Zoho Marketplace Partner console.



When providing details in the Zoho Marketplace Partner console for the compatible application, make sure to change the product name in the Marketplace installation URL. Once submitted, the Zoho Marketplace approval team will internally validate it with the Zoho Finance team, review it themselves, and list the extension if it's verified.

Example

Zoho Books includes modules that are present in other Zoho Finance apps. Assume you've created a Zoho Books extension and shared it with the Finance team for private review. You can also contact the Finance team and request a review for Zoho Inventory because the extension's use case is compatible.

If the Finance team approves the review for both applications, and you want to publicly list the extension on both counts, instead of creating and publishing an extension for Zoho Inventory from scratch, simply change the product name from Books to Inventory in the Marketplace installation URL when submitting the application in the Zoho Marketplace Partner console.



In this post, we've given you a detailed outline of the steps involved in publishing an extension for a Zoho Finance application, both privately and publicly.

Going forward, we'll look at Zoho Books extension creation since Zoho Books includes features and functions that are found in the other Zoho Finance Suite products. We hope you found this information useful. Keep following this space for more useful guides!

SEE ALSO

    • Recent Topics

    • Duplicated Notebooks

      Out of the blue, almost all of my notebooks got duplicated and the different copies contain different information. Some seem like older copies than the others. I use the linux desktop app and sometimes the Android app. I assume that the sync failed at some point and was unable to merge the two versions together. But I'm afraid to add anything else to my notebook because if it can't properly sync 5 notebooks with only a handful of notes each, what will happen when I have hundreds of notes and I lose

    • Currency limitation when integrating Zoho CRM & Zoho Books

      Brief Video of Problem: https://www.loom.com/share/d61d1d07d0904e149d80c1901a22418e. Background ·       Our business is based in Australia and we have to have Zoho Books in AUD to comply with tax and reporting regulations in Australia. ·       We sell

    • Multi-select Lookup does not have Advanced filter options in CRM

      With much fanfare Zoho announced the advanced filter options for CRM lookup fields which was a nice addition. This feature is not available for Multi-Select lookup fields. Will it be rolled out in the next 3-6 months, considering the standard lookup filter

    • Experience effortless record management in CRM For Everyone with the all-new Grid View!

      Hello Everyone, Hope you are well! As part of our ongoing series of feature announcements for Zoho CRM For Everyone, we’re excited to bring you another type of module view : Grid View. In addition to Kanban view, List view, Canvas view, Chart view and

    • Unable to copy into a new document

      Whe I create a new Writer doc and attemp to copy and past I get this message. The only way to copy into a document is I duplicate an existing document, erase the text and save it under a different name and then paste the information. Not ideal. Can you

    • Kaizen #157: Flyouts in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting edition of our Kaizen series, where we explore fresh insights and innovative ideas to help you discover more and expand your knowledge!In this post, we'll walk through how to display Flyouts in Client Script

    • Customize User Invites with Invitation Templates

      Invitation Templates help streamline the invitation process by allowing users to create customized email formats instead of sending a one-size-fits-all email. Different invitation templates can be created for portal users and client users to align with

    • Admin Control Over Profile Picture Visibility in Zoho One

      Hello Zoho Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, as per Zoho’s design, each user can manage the visibility of their profile picture from their own Zoho Accounts page: accounts.zoho.com → Personal Information → Profile Picture → Profile Picture

    • Published Course Not Reflecting In Hub

      Hi! I am trying to create micro-learning courses for our team to be available for self-guided learning. I have published the courses with enrollment settings open to all users of the hub, but they don't appear to be available for enrollment. Am I missing

    • Unlock Locked Users via Zoho One Mobile App

      Hello Zoho One Team, We have noticed that in the Zoho One web admin panel, we can unlock a locked user when needed. However, when using the Zoho One mobile app, there is no indication that a user is locked, nor is there an unlock button similar to what

    • Tip #47- Stay Ahead with Automated Scheduled Reports in Zoho Assist- 'Insider Insights'

      We’ve made it easier for you to stay informed, even when you’re busy managing remote sessions! With Scheduled Reports in Zoho Assist, you can now automatically receive detailed insights about your remote support and unattended access activities directly

    • Colour Coded Flags in Tasks Module List View

      I really like the colour coded flags indicating the status of the tasks assigned to a Contact/Deal in the module list view. It would be a great addition to have this feature available in the list view of activities/tasks. I understand you have the Due

    • Uploading data to S3

      Has anyone successfully uploaded data from Creator to S3 using the InvokeURL command or any other method in Deluge? (keywords: S3, AWS, Amazon, bucket)

    • UPS Label size when generated via Zoho

      We've integrated UPS with Zoho inventory. When creating and downloading the shipping labels they are created in a larger paper size. I'd like them to be generated to print on a 4x6 printer. Zoho have told me I need to do this within our UPS portal. UPS

    • Credit Management: #4 Credits on Unused Period

      Recall a familiar situation. You sign up for a monthly gym membership. You pay the subscription fee upfront, get motivated, and show up consistently for the first week. Then, suddenly, you get caught up in work deadlines, travel plans, or a dip in motivation.

    • Zoho Analytics Automatically Deletes Queries and Reports When a Synced CRM Field Is Removed

      We’ve encountered a serious and recurring issue that poses a massive data integrity risk for any Zoho Analytics customer using Zoho CRM integration. When a field is deleted in Zoho CRM — even an unused one — Zoho Analytics automatically deletes every

    • Prevent new Record Association

      Hello all, We have a small sales organization therefore, it's helpful for everyone on the sales team to be able to view the full list of accounts to assist in preventing duplicate accounts from being created. However we want to prevent people from creating

    • Tip of the Week #73– Automate workflow with Make integration.

      Make is a no-code workflow automation platform designed to connect your favorite apps and automate repetitive tasks across services. By integrating Make with Zoho TeamInbox, you can streamline everyday inbox management and save valuable time. With this

    • Viewing attachments

      I'm using a Web Form integrated in my web site to collect Leads several info, including a image upload. In order to to approve each lead, we have to view the image uploaded. Unfortunately, in the Leads view, the Attachments can only be downloaded, not

    • Kaizen #89 - Color Coding using Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. Today let us see how you can apply color codes to the List and Detail Pages of Zoho CRM using Client Script. Need for color code in Zoho CRM When you mark things with different colors as a

    • Instant Sync of Zoho CRM Data?

      With how valuable Zoho Analytics is to actually creating data driven dashboards/reports, we are surprised that there is no instant or near instant sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics. Waiting 3 hours is okay for most of our reports, but there are

    • Is it possibly to directly set the tax amount on order instead of indirectly via tax rates?

      We own an eCommerce application and want to funnel submitted orders from that system into Zoho. We're already calculating tax in our application and just need a way to set it in Zoho. We tried to use Zoho's tax objects for tax by setting the rates to

    • Zoho account sign in with passkey

      Hello, I am trying to sign in using passkey, but the option doesn't show up in the web and is disabled in Oneauth on mobile, saying the admin has restricted the use. On the Admin page in Security MFA I can find no option for passkey. Help would be greatly

    • Rescheduled US meetups: Zoho Desk user meetups are coming to seven U.S. cities in October and November, 2025

      Hello to our Zoho Desk users in the United States, We're excited to share the revised dates for the upcoming Zoho User Groups happening across the US this summer. Our product experts are heading to seven cities throughout the country, and for the first

    • Checklists as templates

      Is it possible to save checklists as templates to reuse them in other tasks? Example: I have a web project. I maintain individual web URLs as tasks. Within the tasks the same checklist should be used again and again: - Page created in CMS - Properties

    • Send mass email using my secondary email

      Hello, When I send an email to just one person from Zoho CRM, a complete email editor appears, where I can choose which of my email addresses I want to use in the From field. When I send a mass email, there is not such option. I can only select the email

    • Add the same FROM email to multiple department

      Hi, We have several agents who work with multiple departments and we'd like to be able to select their names on the FROM field (sender), but apparently it's not possible to add a FROM address to multiple departments. Is there any way around this? Thanks.

    • ZOHO TEAM INBOX Calendar Integration

      The Problem: Clients send meeting invitations to our TeamInbox address. TeamInbox receives these invites, but we cannot accept them. We do not use individual inboxes for transparency purposes. Ideal Solution: A way to accept calendar invites sent to our

    • Unearned / Deferred Revenue Automatic Calculation for Subscriptions

      As a SaaS business, we have multiple active subscriptions with varying dates and amounts. Is there a way to have a monthly automatic calculation for all of them that debits or credits the unearned revenue and revenue accounts accordingly? Alternatively,

    • Zoho Desk Limit for Comma Separated Queries

      Hi, I have just discovered a limit that I believed is not mentioned in any of Zoho's documentations. My search query looks like so: "query: {"accountId":"786050000091629966,786050000163589273,786050000163589427,786050000162753705,786050000162112971,786050000161987643,786050000160752868,786050000167089504,786050000167089378,786050000167089024,786050000167070005,786050000166295256,786050000128153693,786050000110560021,786050000046594575,786050000039106461,786050000002225356,786050000076889093,786050000047895103,786050000043365354,786050000044765191,786050000041790249,786050000040359116,786050000037945198,786050000024605077,786050000000525015,786050000155333895,786050000157741437,786050000000718125,786050000011574353,","departmentId":"786050000042648070","status":"Finished","sortBy":"createdTime","customField2":"cf_completion_date:2025-01-28T03:00:00.000Z,2025-10-28T03:00:00.000Z","customField3":"cf_billed:false"}"

    • Module Name doesn't exist

      I am trying to create a module named Activity, with plural Activities, but I have an error that module name already exists. This module is doesn't exist, and I don't have a single field called Activity or Activities.

    • Zoho Desk iOS and Android app update: AI powered: Reply Assistance and Refine Messages on IM module.

      Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new AI powered features on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app. Reply Assistance: Reply Assistance generates suggested responses for incoming chat messages, which you can directly insert into the conversation

    • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho

    • Is it possible to embed Youtube shorts?

      Hi Zoho desk support, This is Ryan from Accuver America. While I'm trying to create a knowledge base article with embed video, I ran into this issue. "www.youtube.com refuse to connect" A little bit background is that because this video is recorded on

    • Zoho Inventory - Move Orders

      Quick question about Move Orders... Why is there no status to say something like "Draft", "In Progress" and "Completed", similar to Transfer Orders? I'm assuming that when something needs to be moved it should be planned in Inventory, executed and then

    • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

      Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in

    • Delegates - Access to approved reports

      We realized that delegates do not have access to reports after they are approved. Many users ask questions of their delegates about past expense reports and the delegates can't see this information. Please allow delegates see all expense report activity,

    • How to include total km for multiple trips in expense report.

      Whenever I create a mileage report it only shows the total dollar amount to be reimbursed. The mileage for each individual trip is included but I also need to see the total distance for all trips in a report? How do I do this?

    • Get logged in user ID in Deluge script

      Hello all, How do I get the id of the logged-in user in a deluge script? the "zoho.loginuserid" function actually returns the users email address or whatever the user id they use to login to zoho with and not the id of the user record, and given that

    • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

      Is this a new feature??? its in both books and inventory.

    • Next Page