Approval-based booking with Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings

Approval-based booking with Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings

Hi community members,

We have developed a workaround for approval-based booking using Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings! This provides a temporary solution as we work on the native feature, and it's useful for anyone needing an approval workflow when confirming appointments.

Solution overview

1. Intake form via Zoho Creator 

Zoho Creator serves as the intake form where customers can submit their booking requests by providing details, such as:

  • Name

  • Email

  • Contact number

  • Preferred service

  • Desired date and time slots

2️. Scheduling and booking management via Zoho Bookings  

Zoho Bookings acts as the scheduling engine in the background, handling:

  • Staff onboarding

  • Working hours configuration

  • External calendar and video conferencing integrations

  • Event creation and appointment management.

3️. Real-time data sync via API  

This solution leverages API integration between Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings to ensure real-time data synchronisation. When customers fill out the intake form, it dynamically fetches and displays available slots from Zoho Bookings based on their selection.

Since we are using APIs, any changes made in Zoho Bookings (such as staff availability or service modifications) will be instantly reflected
in the Zoho Creator form, eliminating concerns about outdated information.

Prerequisites for the workaround  

  • Zoho Bookings: Any paid plan

  • Zoho Creator: Standard plan or higher

How to access this solution  

Zoho Creator allows you to export applications as DS files, making it easy to share and deploy solutions. We have attached the DS file for this solution so you can easily download and import it into your Zoho Creator account.

  • Download the DS file here: DS file code

  • Guide to import the DS file into Zoho Creator: Guide

Watch the working demo of this solution here: Solution demo

How it works 

1️. Customer appointment request form  

  • The Zoho Creator intake form allows customers to select their workspace, service, date, time zone, and preferred time slot.

  • The Zoho Bookings API dynamically fetches the available services and slots based on customer selections.

2️. Admin notification and approval dashboard  

Once a customer submits a request, admins receive an email notification with access to the approval dashboard.

Admins can approve requests using two methods:

Auto-assign staff  

  • If admins do not have a preference for assigning staff, they can simply click the Auto-Assign button.

  • The system checks the first available staff member for the selected service.

  • If the first staff member is available, the appointment is automatically assigned to them.

  • If the first staff member has an existing appointment for the day, the system will automatically move to the second staff member and check their availability for the approved date and time.

  • If the second staff member is also unavailable, an error message is displayed, prompting the admin to manually select a staff member.

  • This mechanism ensures that staff assignments are distributed efficiently every time the Auto-Assign button is clicked.

Manual staff assignment  

  • Admins can manually select a specific staff member before approving the appointment.

  • If the selected staff member is unavailable, the system notifies the admin to choose another staff member.

3️. Deny function and automation options  

If the appointment is denied, various automated actions can be configured, including:

  • Sending email notifications to customers about the cancellation

  • Notifying other admins or specific users

  • Triggering custom workflows based on business needs

Key highlights of the solution  

  • No need to manually configure complex workflows—everything is ready to go.

  • Simply pass the Workspace ID and Staff ID while making API calls.

  • The system fetches all required booking details dynamically using Zoho Bookings API.

How to retrieve IDs from Zoho Bookings  

Workspace ID  

  1. Navigate to Zoho Bookings and open the required workspace.

  2. Retrieve the Workspace ID from the URL.

Example:

https://bookings.zoho.in/?app_version=new#/home/dashboard/2209960000******/bookings-page?clview=false


     3. Workspace ID: 2209960000******


Staff ID  

  1. Open the Staff section and select the required user profile.

  2. Retrieve the Staff ID from the URL.



Watch this short video on where to replace the Workspace ID: Workspace ID video 

Watch this short video on where to replace the Staff ID: Staff ID video

Important notes on payment handling  

This solution does not currently handle payment processing. Since appointment requests require approval before confirmation, the payment function is not included by default.

However, if you need to integrate payment processing, here is a possible approach: Zoho Invoice and Zoho Books integration

You can connect Zoho Bookings with an invoicing system like Zoho Invoice or Zoho Books using Zoho Flow or Zapier.


How it works:

1️. When an admin approves an appointment, the booking is confirmed.

2. The system automatically generates an invoice based on the booked service.

This is just one way to integrate payments into this solution. If you have specific payment requirements or alternative workflows in mind, feel free to share them, and we will check the feasibility of implementation.


Need further customization?  

Note: This solution is in its initial stage of development, and we will refine it wherever possible based on new ideas, feedback, and better implementation approaches. Your suggestions are always welcome.

If you require additional automation or a custom approval/denial process, feel free to reach out.

Contact us at: hello@zohobookings.com

    • Sticky Posts

    • Zoho Bookings know-how: A hands-on workshop series

      Hello! We’re conducting a hands-on workshop series to help simplify appointment scheduling for your business with Zoho Bookings. We’ll be covering various functionalities and showing how you can leverage them for your business across five different sessions.

    • Announcing: custom color palette + free workshop

      Hello everyone, We're excited to share new feature in Zoho Bookings—a color palette within booking page themes. You'll find this option under Manage Bookings > Workspaces > Booking Page Themes. You can customize the color of every element in your booking page and even alter the transparency of your background image. Please note that this is a paid feature included in the Basic and Premium plans. At the moment, it's available only under the Modern Web theme. This means you can create billions (7,

    • Complete walk-through of Zoho Bookings (video)

      Save time for both you and your customers. Use Zoho Bookings, the appointment scheduling app from Zoho, to free yourself from email and paper-based scheduling. Zoho Bookings can give you a common calendar by syncing multiple calendars, including yours and your staff's. Your customers can book a time convenient for them, and pay for services, through your website or the customizable webpage features available in Zoho Bookings. They'll also get emails reminding them about their appointments and any

    • New Features: Service Availability and staff booking page themes!

      Dear All,  Want a dedicated schedule for your one-on-one services? How would it feel to have one-on-one services open for consultations only during certain times? You need a superpower to make that happen and we give it to you - Service Availability is

    • Zoho Bookings has a new pricing - Pay per user

      Dear customers, Businesses around the world use Zoho Bookings. Customers have booked 1.5 million appointments and over 200K online meetings using Bookings. We are only set to cross more milestones, thanks to your support. We are excited to introduce to

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • sync two zoho crm

        Hello everyone. Is it possible to sync 2 zoho crm? what would be the easiest way? I am thinking of Flow. I have a Custom Module that I would like to share with my client. We both use zoho crm. Regards.

      • Showing the map along with mileage expense

        When you use the GPS to track mileage, it shows you the map of the actual path travelled. It would be very useful and practical to save that map with the mileage expense, so that when the report is created, it provides a map of each mileage expense associated

      • Import MSG to Yandex Mail Account | Fast & Reliable Solution

        If you are facing problem to import MSG files to Yandex Mail account can be challenging if done manually, especially when handling multiple files. A reliable solution is using the MacGater Mac MSG Converter, which simplifies the entire process with accuracy

      • Copy all reports in a folder

        I currently have a database that I need to create multiple charts filtered by market. All of the charts are identical, I just change to of the filters and then I have the next market's set of charts. The only way I've been able to copy charts (reports)

      • OpenURL working Intermittently

        Never had this issue before, everything was working fine up to a few days ago. We have a buttons on reports to open forms with pre-filled fields. Now, there are instances where it will throw and error and gives no feedback. What is really strange is not

      • Trigger workflows from SLA escalations in Zoho Desk?

        Hey everyone, I’m currently working with SLA escalation rules in Zoho Desk and ran into a limitation that I’m hoping someone here has solved more elegantly. As far as I can tell, SLA escalations only support fairly limited actions (like changing the ticket

      • Zoho Recruit mailserver get blocked by Microsoft!

        Hi, We have experienced this issue twice now, where Zoho Recruit outbound IP addresses are being blocked by Microsoft. We are confident that Microsoft is the blocking party, as all outbound emails to candidates with @hotmail.com, @live.com, and @outlook.com

      • Calculate Hours Minutes Sec in Zoho Creator Using Deluge

        check_In = "8-Aug-2023 10:00:00".toDateTime().toLong(); checkout = "8-Aug-2023 18:00:00".toDateTime().toLong(); //difference = start.timeBetween(end); check_In = "8-Aug-2023 17:56:50".toDateTime().toLong(); checkout = "8-Aug-2023 18:00:00".toDateTime().toLong();

      • Build Smarter Apps with AI in Zoho Creator

        Build Smarter Apps with AI in Zoho Creator This is truly the era of AI, and businesses that adapt now will lead tomorrow. Zoho is already moving ahead in this direction, continuously evolving its platform with powerful AI capabilities. With Zoho Creator,

      • Zia Dashboard Insights : turn your dashboard into decisions

        When you look at a chart or KPI in a dashboard, you would possibly see something like: Revenue: $2.4M ↓ 18% vs last month. It can be a positive growth or a negative one, or a dip in revenue, a spike in deals, a slowdown in renewals—all you usually see

      • Tickets without registration

        Hi, would it be possible to give customers the opportunity to be able to read their tickets without registration?

      • Zoho Desk Answer Bot vs. Zia Agents – Knowledge Base & Ticket Access

        Hi everyone, I’m currently evaluating AI options in Zoho Desk and ran into some limitations with the Answer Bot: Answer Bot limitations Only uses Knowledge Base articles No access to tickets Limited control over sources: Either one Help Center or all

      • Como estruturar automações eficientes no Zoho Creator

        Como estruturar automações eficientes no Zoho Creator Introdução No contexto de aplicações empresariais, automação não é apenas uma conveniência, é um fator crítico para ganho de produtividade, redução de erros e escalabilidade operacional. O Zoho Creator

      • Changing the status of a work-order

        Is there a way to change the status of a work-order?

      • Online Payment Fees

        We don't take many online credit card payments so the merchant service provider (PayPal) charges us the 2.9% fee for processing the amount. I would like the ability for the fee to be automatically added to the total amount for "ease of payment". We'd

      • What is a realistic turnaround time for account review for ZeptoMail?

        On signing up it said 2-3 business days. I am on business-day 6 and have had zero contact of any kind. No follow-up questions, no approval or decline. Attempts to "leave a message" or use the "Contact Us" form have just vanished without a trace. It still

      • Zia Agents in Zoho CRM: a better way to set up digital employees

        Hello everyone, If you've been using Zia Agents in Zoho CRM, so far using Connections was the only deployment method you're familiar with. You create an agent in Zia Agents (define its objective, write instructions, use tools, add knowledge base) and

      • Bank Feeds

        Since Friday my bank feeds wont work. I have refreshed feeds, deactivate and reactivate and nothing is working

      • Logged out

        Hi, just been working on a sheet when a pop up box appeared telling me I'm going to be logged out in x number of seconds and if I reload I may lose any edits, or words to that effect. It did indeed log me out and I did indeed lose my last edits. Any idea

      • Zoho API

        I have little experience with API. I'm trying to get a Custom API working with Zoho creator. I have created a Custom API and created an Endpoint URL, but i get a 9400 error code "The provided HTTP method is not valid for this custom API". Based off the

      • #157127950

        Where did my initial question go?

      • Zoho writer unable to merge documents to PDF with basic fonts in Hebrew or fonts from my computer

        I created several forms that will be merged into PDF files through Zoho Writer and I am unable to receive the PDF in the basic fonts of the Hebrew language or in the fonts I have on my computer. The writer exports to PDF an exchange font that looks very

      • How I Implemented Subscription-Based Access Control and Expiry Handling in Zoho Creator

        I recently worked on a use case where users come into the application to request a service, but they should only be able to continue the process after completing a subscription. The challenge was not just controlling access, but also making sure that

      • Zoho Forms API

        Is there any way to get all form entry list using API? Looking forward to hear from you

      • Zoho Projects : Task should auto-update to 'In Progress' if timer started

        Namaskaram. Right now, if a Task's timer is started, the Task stays in 'Not Started' status. One has to manually update it to 'In Progress'. From a #uxdesign standpoint, it is an unnecessarily two step process to start working on a task. It would be better that, if I start the timer on a task, it should automatically change to 'In Progress' status. Crafted with ❤️ Zoho Gurus | Zoho One Practice Team @ CubeYogi Zoho Authorised Partner | 7+ Yrs | 200+ Projects | 100+ Customers

      • Laatste facturen en betalingen niet zichtbaar in mijn account

        Wij gebruiken ZOHO invoice al jaren, maar sinds afgelopen week is mijn laatst verzonden factuur niet zichtbaar in mijn account, en tevens de laatst betaalde facturen zie ik niet. Hoe kan dit? Ik heb de pagina al diverse keren gerefreshed.

      • Undelivered Mail uncategorized-bounce errors when sending invoices

        Recently we have been getting Undelivered Mail bounce notification when sending invoices. Reason: uncategorized-bounce Some go through no problem some bounce back. We recently sent 10 invoices, 6 received bounce notifications. After reaching out to the

      • Option to Delete Chats in IM

        Currently, there is no option to delete any chats in IM, regardless of their source.

      • Can I import MSG files into Microsoft 365 without Outlook?

        Yes, absolutely. You do not need Outlook installed to import MSG files into Microsoft 365. Aryson MSG file Converter is a dedicated tool that eliminates the Outlook dependency entirely, making the migration process simple and efficient for all users.

      • Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM

        Release update: 1. 2 March 2026: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. 2. 26 March 2026: CA, SA, AU, JP, CN DCs - Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate, CRM

      • Feature Request - A Way To Search Item Groups

        Hi Inventory Team, I can't find any way to filter or search by fields of Item Groups. It would be great to see that functionality added. I have a use case where a single product might come from 5 or more suppliers and each supplier's item is an Item in

      • Zoho Books/Inventory - Update Marketplace Sales Order via API

        Hi everyone, Does anyone know if there is a way to update Sales Orders created from a marketplace intigration (Shopify in this case) via API? I'm trying to cover a scenario where an order is changed on the Shopify end and the changes must be reflected

      • Ticket id issues

        When I reply a ticket from desktop, it doesn't have ticket id in the subject and it's great. When I reply a ticket from Zoho desk mobile, Zoho adds ticket id in the subject and I don't want that. Please help in this matter.

      • Advanced email configuration - agent's name vs. department name

        We currently have all four Advanced Configuration options turned ON at the Global-level (Channels > Email > Advanced Configuration) - including the "Show Agent name in Ticket replies and outgoing emails" option. We also had that same option turned ON

      • Add Bounced as an Email Action / Notification for Bounced Emails

        This is one of the hard requirements for the clients we're servicing. They want to get an internal email notification whenever the email they sent to their contacts have bounced, so that they can look into it and update the email address. Currently, the

      • Files Uploaded to Zoho WorkDrive Not Being Indexed by Search Engines

        Hello, I have noticed that the files I upload to Zoho WorkDrive are not being indexed by search engines, including Google. I’d like to understand why this might be happening and what steps I can take to resolve it. Here are the details of my issue: File

      • not able to convert pdf to jpg and other forms and vice versa.

        i want to change my pdf to jpg, word, etc and some times jpg to pdf. i don't know how to do in this.

      • What’s New in Zoho Analytics - March 2026

        Hello Users! In this month's update, we bring improvements across integrations, security, reporting, and analytics capabilities to help you work with your data more efficiently and with greater control. Explore what’s new and see how these enhancements

      • Zoho People > Performance Management > Appraisal cycle

        Hello All I am using this 2 users to test out how it work on Performance Management User 1 - Reportee User 2 - Reporting Manager : Li Ting Haley User 1 : Self Appraisal Error How do i fix this error?

      • SalesIQ Tip for Admins: Guide Operators in Real-time Without Interrupting the Chat

        Consider this. You're a supervisor and you're looking through the active conversations. An associate is mid-chat with a high-value prospect. The prospect asks something unexpected, maybe about a tailor-made subscription plan or a bulk discount that’s

      • Next Page