How to create Sepa Direct Debit XML file: solution and code

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 xml file for the transactions that need to be debited from their clients.

The solution is that we create a custom module for Sepa Transactions in Zoho Books. Each time an invoice is created in Books we write a Sepa record to this custom module and whenever you like you can generate the xml file which will then be placed in Zoho Workdrive.

Note: since Zoho uses pagination the max for a batch is restricted at 200 records. In this coding example I have created an iteration of 5 (coding trick for for next) in order to process 1000 sepa records into 5 batch xml files. You can alter this to make one file out of it or add more iterations but keep in mind there is function execution limit as well.

Code is attached to this post.
  1. First you create a custom module for which under Buttons you create a button on the list overview and attach the code as in sepa_button.txt
  2. Then create 2 custom fields in the Contact module; Iban (text) and Sepa (checkbox)
  3. Then you would have to create a Workflow on the module Invoices and attach the function as in invoice_workflow.txt.
  4. Then you create a Workflow on Invoices and attach the function invoice_workflow_empty_iban.txt.
You will notice that field names and text might need to be translated to whatever you want to use. I am not going to do all the work for you :) I will howver monitor this post for any questions.

You will find in the code that I have used a service to get the BIC from an iban number. If you don't want to use a service you will have to add a field for that in the contact module as well.

Since live debugging is hard and Books does not support a function log like CRM you will see I have a Phase variable for several steps. I you add sendmail in the catch part, you can send the Phase contents with the email to make debugging easier. Little trick.

Good luck!

    • Recent Topics

    • Introducing Product Catalog in Bigin

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. For many small businesses, sharing products and collecting customer interest often involves multiple tools, manual follow-ups, or even building a full ecommerce website. To address this challenge, we're excited

    • Creating a stakeholder register for a Project

      Should we connect and/or associate Projects to Contacts to build a stakeholder register? If a Contact is associated to more than one Project and has different roles across the Projects, what is the best way to parse this information?

    • Displaying Rate Inclusive of GST per unit

      Hello, Currently when I enter the pricing of a line item it shows the overall amount (price including tax * quantity). I would like to see price/unit inclusive of GST. Is there any way to simplify this and to be able to view it? I've attached my current

    • Allow Zia Agents using Zoho One Account

      When I went to try Zia Agents, it forced the creation of a new, separate account. This seems counter-intuitive to me. I don't want to manage a separate account. Plus, aren't Zoho One users the ones most likely to adopt Zia Agents most quickly? It seems

    • Adding Custom Status Options in Work Order Action Menu

      Hello FSM Team, We would like to inquire if it is possible to add more custom options in the Work Order action/status dropdown (e.g., Cancel, Terminate, Non-Billable, Void, etc.). Currently, the available options are limited, and we are unable to customize

    • 商談の特定ステージ選択時に、集計項目の入力を必須化したい

      こんにちは。Zoho CRMの商談管理で以下を実現したいです。レイアウトルールでは、集計項目を条件に選択できず実現できておりません。よい方法があればご教示いただけると嬉しいです。 ■やりたいこと 商談で特定のステージに変更する場合に、特定の集計項目（同じ商談データ内の項目。以降、集計項目Aとする）を入力必須化したい。 ■概要、状況 ・集計項目Aは、別のオブジェクトで、商談に関連する月ごとの売上を集計している数値項目 ・見積を顧客に提示した際に、集計項目Aに見積金額と一致するようにデータ登録する運用をしている

    • How do I change the account bank charges are charged to?

      I want bank charges charged to my Credit Card Fees account. Is there a way to do this?

    • Feature Request: Estimated Delivery Date Display on Product Pages

      Dear Zoho Commerce Support Team I am writing to submit a feature request that I believe would greatly benefit all Zoho Commerce merchants: the ability to display an estimated delivery date directly on the product page. Today's e-commerce customers expect

    • Automated Sales Order Fulfillment Based on Inventory Availability (Allocation / Commitment Modes)

      Hi everyone, I recently reached out to Zoho Inventory support regarding a workflow challenge and wanted to share both the issue and their response here for visibility. Zoho confirmed: “Zoho Inventory does not currently support automatic notifications

    • Set Mandatory Lookup Fields in Ticket Layout

      I added a custom module called 'Site' in the desk. I also added a lookup field 'Site' in the ticket layout. Now, I want the 'Site' field to be mandatory in the blueprint transition. How can I do that?

    • Properly Capture Dropdowns & Hover Elements When Recording a Window/Tab

      Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing great. We encountered a limitation when recording a selected window or browser tab: Certain UI elements, such as dropdown lists, hover menus, and overlays, are not captured unless we record the entire screen.

    • Followed Tickets view

      Hello, following a ticket makes no sense at all / offers no additional value.... Of course I can install and use the add-on My Followed Tickets for Zoho Desk, but what does it do for me? Not much! It cannot be used across departments! The range of functions

    • Mail Merge preview won't load

      Hello! One of our users has not been able to use mail merge templates in CRM as the preview screen does not load. We have many templates for one of our custom modules and the users are used to this feature and have been using it for years without any

    • Zoho Desk - Event Calendar View

      Hi Desk team, Are there any plans to introduce a calendar or timeline view for Events in Zoho Desk? It would be very helpful if we could see Events visually in a calendar and/or timeline. This is very helpful when desk side support activities need to

    • Make Module Name In CRM 4 Everyone A link To List View.

      I've been using the new UI for a little while now and I have what I think is a simple suggestion that would add speed and ease to the UI At the top of the detail page for a module entry you show the module name as shown in the screenshot - if that could

    • mask Customer phone number and agents cant see customer phone number

      Is there any way we can integrate Zoom Phone with Zoho CRM while ensuring that customer phone numbers remain masked? We need a solution where agents can make outbound calls but cannot see customer phone numbers. Please let us know if there is any solution

    • Can Zoho CRM Emails be used in Zoho Analytics in any capacity?

      We're wanting to display details about Lead Activity in regular reports through Zoho Analytics but we're having difficulty integrating Emails at all. We'd like to be able to note when an email is received and when it is sent somewhere other than just

    • User can import contacts into Campaign even without permission

      Hi everyone! We have a role that's configured with "Import records: Calls" only, but when a user with that role enters a Campaign, the "Contacts" section shows a "Import contacts" button. Is this expected?

    • Allow moving closed Issues between Zoho Projects without reopening them

      Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request regarding moving closed Issues between projects in Zoho Projects. Current Limitation: As of now, Zoho Projects allows users to move closed Tasks between projects,

    • Accept credit card payment for multiple invoices

      We have a problem with Zoho Books.  While we can charge a customer's credit card for an individual customer invoice, we cannot charge a customer's credit card for more than one invoice. In our business, it is common for a client to phone up and say, "Here

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | February 2026

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From Advanced Reporting Tags to the ability to mark projects as completed, explore the latest updates designed to improve your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Advanced Reporting

    • How is Covid affecting the 2021 Super Bowl Commercials

      Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football league, USA has an incredible viewer base of 100 million viewers on an average and is also one of the most-watched television broadcasts in the USA of all time. Nine out of ten Americans

    • Columns with no data still displayed despite "Show missing values" disabled

      I have a table with missing data, but columns are still being displayed even though the "Show missing values" option is disabled. The table contains 3 columns split across 12 months. I suspect the issue is caused by one of the columns using an aggregation

    • How do I automate my package and shipment process

      Hey, I have a very basic problem regarding automating my package and shipment. My business does not require me to have those modules and manage them currently and since I'm new to zoho I want to start with just the basics. I just need to automatically

    • Accounts Receivable Balances Differs in Balance Sheet, Customer Balance Report, AR Ageing Summary, and AR Ageing Details.

      Hello Zoho Accounts Receivable Balances Differs in Balance Sheet, Customer Balance Report, AR Ageing Summary, and AR Ageing Details. Please clarify and fix the issues here. Thanks

    • Zoho Books Inter-company integration

      We have an Indian parent entity, and its accounting is managed in Zoho Books. We also have a subsidiary company in Dubai under the same parent entity, for which we have procured a separate Zoho Books license. I want to understand whether Zoho supports

    • Not able to import transactions from Razorpay

      Hi, tried implementing Razorpay integration with books,also added a webhook, but while this added a razorpay clearing account it does not have any data in it. Neither is it getting updated with new transactions happening on Razorpay. This problem is compounded

    • **Building Role-Appropriate Accountability Layers in Zoho Projects - Looking for Real-World Experience**

      We're a small ISP/telecom operator on Zoho One and I'm trying to solve what I think is a common organizational problem. Would love to hear from others who've tackled it. **The Core Problem** Staff will only consistently use a project management system

    • Zoho Social API for generating draft posts from a third-party app ?

      Hello everyone, I hope you are all well. I have a question regarding Zoho Social. I am developing an application that generates social media posts, and I would like to be able to incorporate a feature that allows saving these posts as drafts in Zoho Social.

    • Choosing the Right Automation in Zoho Projects

      In any project, different types of actions are needed at different points. Some projects require control on how tasks move, some require reacting to updates, and some require executing additional actions beyond the task. Automation in Zoho Projects is

    • Ignroe_filtrers and drill through

      I have two charts, where one is connected to the other using drill-through. The issue is with the second chart (the drill-through target). It contains an aggregation formula that uses the ignore_filters function. Under normal conditions, the formula works

    • Dropshipping Address - Does Not Show on Invoice Correctly

      When a dropshipping address is used for a customer, the correct ship-to address does not seem to show on the Invoice. It shows correctly on the Sales Order, Shipment Order, and Package, just not the Invoice. This is a problem, because the company being

    • Cancelled Transfer order problem

      Hello, We've canceled a transfer order, and we can't add the related items to a new Transfer Order. The system tells us that the bin doesn't have the required quantity, but when we check the item, it indicates that there are 2 units in the bin. It also

    • Sales Allowed Beyond Available Stock and Payment Recorded Without Restriction

      Hi, While testing in Zoho Inventory, I noticed that a sales order can be created with a quantity exceeding the available stock in the selected warehouse. In my case: Available stock: 5 units Ordered quantity: 6 units Despite this: I was able to convert

    • Zoho Sign Webhooks Security

      in Zoho Sign, what protection is in place - if any - so that the receiving endpoint can verify the authenticity of the sender (Zoho DC / app). otherwise anyone knowing the https address of my endpoint can forge the request. webhooks signatures would be

    • Issue with attaching files to a task through the API

      Hello! I've implemented a function that creates a task for every new bill that is created but I haven't been able to attach to the task the files which are attached to the bill. I have encountered multiple errors but the most common one is error 33003:

    • E-Invoicing Automation

      Do you have an API endpoint for pushing the invoice through the e-tims for Kenya

    • Can I write a check in Zoho Books with no associated bill?

      This currently does not seem possible, and I have a client that desperately needs this function if I am able to convert them with Quickbooks. Thank you in advance for your reply. 

    • Backorder process review - Automating Removal of Sales Order from "On Hold" When PO is Received

      Hello Zoho Inventory Team, Currently, sales orders in On Hold status are released only when the bill for the purchase order is created. In our workflow, it would be much more efficient if the sales order could automatically move out of On Hold as soon

    • Zoho Inventory - Managing Items With Multiple Suppliers

      Hi community, I'm working on a project at the moment for a car parts wholesale business. Each Item (part) has its own original manufacturer part number (sometimes more than one part number for the same item). When purchasing parts from 3rd party suppliers,

    • Next Page