Bidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1

Bidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1

Hey, community members!

The default integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings is unidirectional, which means that any appointments booked, rescheduled, or deleted in Zoho Bookings will be reflected in Zoho CRM. However, any modifications made to events in Zoho CRM that originated from Zoho Bookings will not be reflected back in Zoho Bookings. Hence, as we're announcing in this community post, we've made the sync bidirectional.

This community post will cover the process of configuring appointment bookings from Zoho CRM in Zoho Bookings, as well as managing appointment statuses such as Canceled, No Show and Completed. We have addressed the rescheduling action in a separate post. To view it, please click on the following link: Reschedule Action

This community post will be beneficial for active Zoho CRM users who handle all their meetings within Zoho CRM. Additionally, you can use this community post as a reference to explore various automation possibilities tailored to your business requirements. For instance, with this post's guidance, when you update a booking's status field to "Completed" in Zoho CRM, it will automatically sync with Zoho Bookings and trigger an automated "Mark as completed" email to customers. This enhancement will improve your Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM synchronization experience, making appointment management easier.

Prerequisites of bidirectional sync: 
  • Zoho Bookings Premium subscription
  • Zoho CRM paid subscription
  • Enable Zoho CRM integration within Zoho Bookings
The purpose of enabling the Zoho CRM integration within Zoho Bookings is to transfer booking details from Zoho Bookings to Zoho CRM. In this configuration, the mandatory field is the Booking ID, which is passed from Zoho Bookings to Zoho CRM through the integration. Whenever an appointment is booked, customer details will be sent to the designated CRM module, and a corresponding record will be created in the Meetings module within Zoho CRM, which will help in automating the workflow.

Here's the complete demo video that covers all the configurations discussed in the community post below:

Timestamps for your reference: 

0:35 - Purpose of this community post
1:26 - Zoho CRM plugin installation
4:43 - Custom field creation
7:20 - Function creation
9:22 - Connection creation
10:24 - Configuring arguments 
11:06 - Workflow creation
13:33 - Argument mapping
14:41 - Output verification
17:41 - Conclusion



How we're approaching this bidirectional sync

1. Booking an appointment from Zoho CRM

Install the Zoho Bookings for Zoho CRM plugin within your Zoho CRM application. This plugin enables the creation of a "New Appointment" button within the Zoho CRM Leads and Contacts module, which enables you to select the desired booking page you wish to open. You can choose from various workspace, service, or staff booking pages. After configuration, you can initiate the process of scheduling bookings directly from within your Zoho CRM account. 
2. Booking status: Completed or No Show

To update a booking's status (Completed or No Show), we've added a new picklist properties field named "Booking Status" in the Meetings module and configured it with two options: "completed" and "no show". Depending on the booking status chosen, the corresponding booking in Zoho Bookings will be updated.
  • Details on how to add a custom field to the Meetings module : Customizing modules

  • Here's a video that demonstrates how to add a field to a module in Zoho CRM: Adding fields
Reference:




3. Booking status: Canceled 

Whenever a meeting is deleted from the Meetings module, the corresponding booking in the Zoho Bookings app will also be canceled automatically. The meeting can be deleted either from the Meetings module or directly from the calendar.





To enable bidirectional sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings

Complete these steps in Zoho CRM.

Step 1: Creating connections

You first need to establish a connection between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings. Zoho Bookings is listed as one of the default connections in Zoho CRM, making it simple to set up. Select the Zoho Bookings connection, define the connection name and scope, and you'll be all set. This connection will enable you to link both applications and facilitate the seamless transfer of data. 
Read here for more details on how to create connection in Zoho CRM: Connections

Step 2: Creating functions

In this context, we'll be creating three functions: one for marking appointments as completed, another for canceling appointments, a third for marking appointments as no shows, and a fourth for rescheduling appointments. For each function, we must also configure arguments, which pass values or data into a function when making a call. Here, we'll pass the booking ID to the function as an argument to update the necessary booking status.

i. To create a function for marking appointments as completed:
 
     1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions.
     2. In the Functions page, click + Create New Function.

     3. Configure the function name, display name, and description.
     4. Set the category as automation.

More details:  Functions

This opens the Deluge script page.

     5. Next, configure the function's arguments:
          A. Click on Edit Arguments on the Deluge script page.

          B. Set the Parameter Name as bookingID. (Please note that the "bookingID" value is case sensitive and must match 
               the term used in the code).
          C. Set the type as string.

Reference:


Please configure the below code in the Deluge script page. 

Code link: Completed



By completing these steps, we've configured a function that will mark appointments as completed.

ii. To create a function for marking appointments as no shows

      1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions.
      2. In the Functions page, click + Create New Function.

      3. Configure the function name, display name, and description.
      4. Set the category as automation.

More details:  Functions

This opens the Deluge script page.

      5. Next, configure the function's arguments:
           A. Click on Edit Arguments on the Deluge script page.

           B. Set the Parameter Name as bookingID. (Please note that the "bookingID" value is case sensitive and must match
                the term used in the code).
           C. Set the type as string. 

Reference:


Please configure the below code on the Deluge script page.

Code link: No show



By completing these steps, we've configured a function that marks appointments as no shows.

iii. To create a function for marking appointments as canceled

      1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions.
      2. In the Functions page, click + Create New Function.

      3. Configure the function name, display name, and description.
      4. Set the category as automation.

More details:  Functions

This opens the Deluge script page.

      5. Next, configure the function's arguments:
            A. Click on Edit Arguments on the Deluge script page.

            B. Set the Parameter Name as bookingID. (Please note that the "bookingID" value is case sensitive and must match
                 the term used in the code).
            C. Set the type as string. 

Reference



Please configure the below code on the Deluge script page.

Code link: Cancel appointment 



By completing these steps, we've configured a function that marks appointments as canceled.

Code explanation

Below is an explanation of the code that covers all the configurations present in the three functions mentioned above (cancel, mark as completed, and mark as no show).

Line 1: Based on the Zoho Bookings account's data center, we're setting up the API endpoint URL configuration. 
Lines 2 - 4: To update appointments, we utilize 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). 

Lines 5 - 10: We use the invokeURL task for API calls. To learn more about the invokeURL task, please refer to the following document: InvokeURL task for API calls

Now, let's proceed and learn about the process of creating a workflow and linking the established functions to it. This will enable us to automate the entire appointment status updating process.


Step 3: Creating a workflow

Workflow rules are sets of actions (email notifications, tasks and field updates) that are executed when specified conditions are met. Here, we'll generate workflow rules for each action to activate the respective function, thereby automating the appointment status updating process.

More details: Workflow overview

i. Creating a workflow for "canceling" appointments in Zoho Bookings when a meeting is deleted in Zoho CRM

Part 1: Creating the rule

      1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
      2. In the Workflow Rules page, click Create Rule.

      3. Select "Meetings" under Module and configure rule name and description as required.

More details: Create Rule

Reference: 


Part 2: Specifying the rule trigger

More details: Specify rule triggers

      1. Select Record Action > Delete > Done to execute the rule when meetings are deleted.

      2. Configure condition > All Meetings.

      3. Instant Actions > Function.

      4. Click the New Function button.


      5. In the Configure custom function page, select the "cancel" function you created from among the functions users in your organization have created.


Part 3: Argument mapping

      1. Press # to choose an argument value.

      2. Select Meetings under Module and BookingId in the field.

      3. Click the Save and Associate button.

Reference:


Below is the final flow of the cancel booking workflow:


At the end of Part 3, we will have created a workflow that will be executed automatically when meetings are deleted in Zoho CRM. Simultaneously, the bookings associated with the meeting will also be canceled in Zoho Booking.

ii. Creating workflow for updating an appointment's status as "no show" in Zoho Bookings when the meeting's booking status is marked as no show in Zoho CRM

Part 4: Creating the rule

      1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
      2. In the Workflow Rules page, click Create Rule.

      3. Select Meetings under Module and configure the rule name and description as required.

More details: Create Rule

Reference:

 
Part 5: Specifying the rule trigger

If you encounter difficulties while navigating through the steps mentioned below, please refer to Part 2 above, where we have provided step-by-step screenshots for clarification.

      1. Record Action > Edit. 

      2. Enable the Specific field(s) gets modified and configure it per the screenshot below.
          a. This is to ensure that the workflow is executed only when the booking status under the meeting module is
              updated to "No Show".

      3. Configure condition > All Meetings.
      4. Instant Actions > Function > New Function.
      5. In the Configure custom function page, select the "no show" function you created from among the functions
          users in your organization have created.

Part 6: Argument mapping:

If you encounter difficulties while navigating through the steps mentioned below, please refer to Part 3 above, where we have provided step-by-step screenshots for clarification.

      1. Press # to choose an argument value.
      2. Select Meetings under Module and configure the field as "BookingId".
      3. Click Save and Associate button.

Reference:


Below is the final flow of the "No Show" booking status workflow:


At the end of part 6, we will have created a workflow that automatically executes when the booking status field within the Zoho CRM Meetings module is updated to "No Show." This action will result in the associated bookings for that meeting also being marked as "No Show" in Zoho Bookings.

iii. Creating workflow for updating appointment status as "Completed" in Zoho Bookings when the booking status field of the meeting is marked as completed in Zoho CRM.

Part 7: Creating the rule

      1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
      2. In the Workflow Rules page, click Create Rule.

      3. Select Meetings under Module and configure rule name and description as required.

Reference:



Part 8: Specifying the rule trigger

If you encounter difficulties while navigating through the steps mentioned below, please refer to Part 2 above, where we have provided step-by-step screenshots for clarification.

      1. Record Action > Edit.

      2. Enable the Specific field(s) gets modified setting and configure it per the screenshot below.
            a. This serves to ensure that the workflow is executed only when the booking status under the Meetings module is
                updated to "Completed".

      3. Configure condition > All Meetings.
      4. Instant Actions > Function > New Function.
      5. In the Configure custom function page, select the "completed" function you created from among the functions users
          in your organization have created.

Part 9: Argument mapping:

If you encounter difficulties while navigating through the steps mentioned below, please refer to Part 3 above, where we have provided step-by-step screenshots for clarification.

      1. Press # to choose an argument value.
      2. Select Meetings under Module and configure the field as "BookingId".
      3. Click Save and Associate button.

Reference:


Below is the final flow of the "Completed" booking status workflow:


At the end of part 9, we will have created a workflow that is automatically executed when the booking status field within the Zoho CRM Meetings module is updated to "Completed." As a result, the associated bookings for that meeting will also be marked as "Completed" in Zoho Bookings.

Conclusion

We've reached the end of this community post. With the integration mentioned above in place, you'll be able to book, cancel, and update the status of appointments in Zoho Bookings directly from your Zoho CRM application. This will help you effectively manage your appointments in one place. As mentioned above, we've covered the rescheduling action in a separate post, which you can access by clicking on the following link: Reschedule Action

Furthermore, we've outlined a method for automating appointment statuses in detail. You can use this document as a reference to explore the various possibilities that suit your needs.
 
If you have any questions or need assistance with your configuration, please email us at hello@zohobookings.com or support@zohobookings.com.


      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • How to loop through Multiple Upload and Display Actual File Name

                                    I have been reading the help on the File Upload Control and reviewed the Deluge help on files and I can not figure out how to loop through the uploaded files and do anything but get the automatically created file names. The code below will run but each
                                  • Make Camera Overlay & Recording Controls Visible in All Screen-Sharing Options

                                    Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an improvement to the screen-recording experience in Zoho WorkDrive. Current Limitation: At the moment the recording controls are visible only inside the Zoho WorkDrive tab. When
                                  • Cannot connect to imap.zoho.eu on iOS26

                                    Hey, I recently migrated to another iPhone and since then use iOS26. Every since then, I was not able to connect to "imap.zoho.eu" from Apple Mail. I tried deleting the account and adding it again, did not work. I tried creating an app password, didn't
                                  • Pieds de page personnalisé - Document Zoho Writer

                                    Bonjour à tous, Je rencontre un souci avec l’ajout d’un pied de page personnalisé dans un document Zoho Writer. Je souhaite insérer les informations de mon entreprise (notamment un logo + adresse) dans le pied de page. Le problème, c’est que lorsque j’ajoute
                                  • Rebranding Options for Zoho One

                                    We need the addition of rebranding and white-labeling settings directly within the Zoho One Admin Panel. This feature should allow organizations to customize the unified portal with their own logo, brand colors, and custom domain mapping (e.g., portal.company.com).
                                  • Tip #57- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Mobility- 'Insider Insights'

                                    Remote support should be easy to navigate for everyone. For users with mobility-related accessibility needs, long sessions and complex navigation can be challenging. Zoho Assist’s Mobility Accessibility Controls simplify interaction through keyboard-based
                                  • To print Multiple delivery notes in batches

                                    In Zoho Books, we can print a Delivery Note from an Invoice using the Print Delivery Note option, but it is non-editable and always prints all line items from the invoice. Our requirement is to deliver invoiced items in batches and print delivery notes
                                  • UPLOAD A CREATED PDF AUTOMATICALLY

                                    Using the html header pdf+print button, I have managed to find a way to have a user create a pdf using entered form data. Using the schedule button, I can have a "file uploaded" pdf mailed to someone as an attachment. The missing piece is to be able to add the pdf, created in that html page to a file upload field automatically? Right now one has to save it to computer and then upload it in a FILE UPLOAD FIELD. Any help would appreciated !  
                                  • Consolidated Department-wise Payroll Cost Summary Report

                                    Hello Zoho Payroll Team and Community, I am writing to discuss a reporting requirement regarding department-level expense tracking within Zoho Payroll. As we scale and manage salary distribution for employees across multiple departments, such as Accounts,
                                  • Write-Off multiple invoices and tax calculation

                                    Good evening, I have many invoices which are long overdue and I do not expect them to be paid. I believe I should write them off. I did some tests and I have some questions:  - I cannot find a way to write off several invoices together. How can I do that,
                                  • What's new in Zoho Sheet: Simplify data entry and collaboration

                                    Hello, Zoho Sheet community! Last year, our team was focused on research and development so we could deliver updates that enhance your spreadsheet experience. This year, we’re excited to deliver those enhancements—but we'll be rolling them out incrementally
                                  • Easier onboarding for new users with stage descriptions

                                    Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a recent enhancement we've made to Bigin. You can now add descriptions to the stages in your pipeline. Previously, when creating a pipeline, you could only add stages. With this update,
                                  • How to remove chat icon from knowledge base?

                                    I have set up a knowledge base to hold FAQs and documentation. It is currently standalone, and not integrated into our website. On every page there is a chat button in the bottom left corner that says "We're offline, please leave a message." How can I
                                  • [ZohoDesk] Improve Status View with a new editeble kanban view

                                    A kanban view with more information about the ticket and the contact who created the ticket would be valueble. I would like to edit the fields with the ones i like to see at one glance. Like in CRM where you can edit the canvas view, i would like to edit
                                  • Automated Dismissal of Specific Notifications and Centralized Control of Toast Notification Settings

                                    Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. We would like to request two enhancements related to notification handling within Zoho Desk: Automatic Dismissal of Specific Notifications: Currently, when certain actions are taken in the ticket list
                                  • Knowledgebase SEO

                                    We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search
                                  • Create case via email

                                    Good Afternoon, I have just registered and am taking a look around the system. Is it possible to create a case via email.  I.e. an employee/client/supplier emails a certain address and that auto generates the case which then prompts a member of staff
                                  • Show field in spreadsheet view depending on other field value

                                    Hello. Not sure if this is possible but let's say i have spreadsheet view in Creator with four different fields Field A, B, C and D Then i have a field named Response which for one record could contain only one of the pre-definde choices below A, B, C
                                  • Introducing Assemblies and Kits in Zoho Inventory

                                    Hello customers, We’re excited to share a major revamp to Zoho Inventory that brings both clarity and flexibility to your inventory management experience! Presenting Assemblies and Kits We’re thrilled to introduce Assemblies and Kits, which replaces the
                                  • Intergrating multi location Square account with Zoho Books

                                    Hi, I have one Square account but has multiple locations. I would like to integrate that account and show aggregated sales in zoho books. How can I do that? thanks.
                                  • Zoho Learn Zapier Integration

                                    Hello all, Is there any plan to integrate Zoho Learn with Zapier? It seems almost all Zoho products are in Zapier, with the exception of Learn and Marketing Automation.
                                  • Notice: SalesIQ integration paused on Zoho Sites

                                    I have this notice on my Zoho Sites in the SalesIQ integration setup. Can someone assist? "This integration has been temporarily paused for users. Reconnecting SalesIQ after disconnection will not be possible until we provide further updates." thank
                                  • Differences between Zoho Books and Zoho Billing

                                    Without a long drawn out process to compare these. If you were looking at these Books and Billing, what made you opt for one and not the other. Thanks
                                  • New Feature : Copying tickets with all the contents such as conversations/history/attachments etc

                                    Sometimes our customers and distributors do create tickets (or send emails) which contain more than one incident in them and then also some of the further conversations which are either created by incorrect new tickets or replies to old tickets are being created as combined tickets. In such cases we require to "COPY" the contents of the tickets into separate tickets and merge them into their corresponding original tickets. The "CLONE" feature doesn't copy the contents (especially the conversations
                                  • Como se agregan los empleados

                                    Necesito saber si para agregar empleados los mismos necesitan tener licencias
                                  • Deluge Error Code 1002 - "Resource does not exist."

                                    I am using the following script in a Custom Button on a Sales Return. Basically, the function takes the information in the sales return (plus the arguments that are entered by the user when the button is pushed) and creates a return shipping label via
                                  • Adding multiple Attendee email addresses when adding a Zoho Calendar event in Zoho Flow

                                    I am trying to integrate Notion and Zoho Calendar via Zoho Flow. However, the Attendee email address supported by Zoho Calendar - Create event only supports one email address, so I am having difficulty implementing automation to automatically register
                                  • Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode

                                    Overview of SMS-based OTP MFA mode The SMS-based OTP MFA method involves the delivery of a one-time password to a user's mobile phone via SMS. The user receives the OTP on their mobile phone and enters it to sign into their account. SMS-based OTPs offer
                                  • Books & Desk. Client mapping

                                    Hi, I’ve been using Zoho Books for several years and am now looking to improve my customer service. I'm experimenting with Zoho Desk and want to sync and map my client data from Zoho Books. However, it seems that mapping requires both contacts to have
                                  • Graceful Handling of Exceeded Option Limits

                                    Hi Zoho SalesIQ team. I would like to submit a feature request to deal with a bug in salesIQ Current Behavior (Bug): When a dynamic list passed to the Single Select Option Card contains more than 20 options, the Zobot stops responding (freezes/hangs)
                                  • System default SLA descriptions can't be modified

                                    The system default SLAs have identical descriptions for all SLA levels, but their settings differ. However, I am facing an issue where I cannot modify these descriptions and save the changes. The content of the description box can be edited but the changes
                                  • Adding non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription

                                    Hey Need help with adding a non-Indian billing address for my Zoho subscription, trying to edit the address to my Singapore registered company. Won't let me change the country. Would appreciate the help. Regards, Rishabh
                                  • Zoho Desk - Zoho FSM Integration issue on Mobile and iPad

                                    Hello Team, I am trying to create a Work Order (WO) using the Zoho FSM integration (Add-on Service) that is integrated with Zoho Desk. The issue is that the integration is not working on mobile devices and iPads. While I am able to create the WO, Request,
                                  • How to create one ZohoCRM organisation out of a multi-organization?

                                    Hi, we have a multi-org including two different Zoho CRM organizations for two companies using respectively EUR and USD as default currency. I was wondering if there is any easy way to merge the two organizations into just one, so that users may access
                                  • Gray screen while signing documents

                                    We are all getting a "gray" screen when trying to sign documents in Zoho sign. Anyone else having issues?
                                  • Designing a practical Zoho setup for a small business: lessons from a real implementation

                                    I recently finished setting up a Zoho-based operating system for a small but growing consumer beauty business (GlowAtHomeBeauty), and I wanted to share a practical takeaway for other founders and implementers. The business wasn’t failing because of lack
                                  • Link Purchase Order to Deal

                                    Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices
                                  • Projects custom colors replaced by default orange

                                    Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?
                                  • Interview booked through Invite but no Notifications

                                    We have a workflow that was developed through a developer/partner that was tested and worked. Today, we pushed a candidate through the process and invited them to an in-office interview. They were sent the booking link (as usual and as tested before successfully)
                                  • WebDAV support

                                    I need WebDAV support so that I can upload/download (and modify) documents from my local file system. Is anything planned in his direction?
                                  • Next Page