Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

Hey, community members!

 

Have you ever wondered how to automatically approve or deny appointments?

 

While we're still working on building that feature, we've got an alternative method to cancel appointments if they don't meet your specific criteria.

Let me share a recent client request as an example: Our customer has two types of services that are similar: One is for grown-ups and the other is for children. However, often adults mistakenly book these services without realizing that they are not intended for them. This results in unnecessary confusion for our customers, as they have to contact those who accidentally booked appointments and reschedule them, causing a significant amount of administrative work.

Here's how we helped our customer: We added a criteria field to the booking page (e.g., "What is your age?") Then, we automatically cancel appointments where the input age is greater than 15 and we'll even notify the grown-up client that their appointment has been canceled and guide them to book the appropriate service.


To make this happen, you'll need Zoho Bookings and the Zoho Flow Standard Plan.


Here's a simplified breakdown of the process in three steps:  

  • Zoho Bookings will collect the criteria data and pass it to Zoho Flow.

  • In Zoho Flow, we'll configure a workflow to verify the validity of the data.

  • If the data is invalid, Zoho Flow will trigger a cancellation request to Zoho Bookings, resulting in the appointment being canceled.

 

Don't forget these additional steps: Edit the booking confirmation page and notification email to proactively inform customers that their booking maybe subject to cancellation.

Let's dive into the details together!!!

STEP 1: TO BE FOLLOWED IN ZOHO BOOKINGS APPLICATION:


1. Create a mandatory field in Zoho Bookings Forms.

     A. For service booking form: Add Field

     B. For workspace booking form: Add Field

 

NOTE: Workspace-level settings apply to group and resource bookings, while for One-on-One bookings, you will need to make the necessary changes within the specific One-on-One service settings.

At the end of step 1, let's say we have created a mandatory field called "What is your age?". Now the customers on the booking page will have to provide their age to book an appointment.

Additional Step:

Canceling an appointment without the customer's knowledge might affect the customer experience. Therefore, we should acknowledge the customers in every possible way.

 

Here are some tips:

 

A. We can use the 'Custom Redirection' feature to redirect customers to a custom page after they book an appointment, instead of the default booking confirmation page.

Here is how to change booking confirmation page: Booking Confirmation Page


Here is the sample custom page:



B. By using the "Terms and Conditions" check box, you can include the following message in the box: "This service is specifically designed for children under the age of 15. Bookings made by individuals above the age of 15 may be subject to cancellation". Customers will then need to check the box to confirm their agreement before completing their bookings, ensuring that they are aware of this policy.

More details: 

STEP 2: TO BE FOLLOWED IN ZOHO FLOW APPLICATION

A: Log in and search the template

  • Sign in to Zoho Flow application and create a new flow using the create flow option.

  • Select App > search for Zoho Bookings in the search bar.

  • Select the "Appointment Booked" trigger.

  • Select "Connection" and "Variable" > Done.


How to create a flow in Zoho Flow: Create a flow from scratch

How to create connection in Zoho Flow application: Create a Connection


At the end of step A, we have created a new flow including Zoho Bookings application.


B: Set Variable

  • In the Logic option > Flow Control > Set Variable > Edit the variable

  • Name the variable and in the value provide the input in following format "${trigger.customer_more_info.get("What is your age?")} " > Click on done.



 

NOTE: In Step 1, we created a multi-line field named "What is your age?" If you have instead created a single-line field without spaces (e.g., "Age?") on the booking page, the format for the field would be as follows:

  • Single line field format: ${trigger.customer_more_info.fieldname}

  • Multiple line field format: ${trigger.customer_more_info.get("fieldname")}

At the end of step B, we are fetching the output of the "Age" field from the Zoho Bookings form.


C: Create Condition

  • In the Logic option > Flow Control > Decision.

  • In the condition 1, configure as Set Variable(Age) > is not null. 


At the end of step C, we set up conditions to ensure that all bookings made through the Zoho Bookings application meet the requirements specified in the above conditions.


D: Custom Function

  • In the Logic option > Custom Functions > Create Function.

  • Configure function name, return type and input parameter.

  • Details on custom function: Custom Function

Reference below: 




Below is the sample code which you can have for reference. You can configure and modify the code according to your specific requirements.



Code Explanation:


Line 1: To pass the input data below to the code

  • Age: This is used to verify and analyze the customer's input.

  • Customer Email: This is required to send an email notification to the customer in the event of an appointment cancellation.

  • Booking ID: This serves the purpose of identifying the specific booking that needs to be canceled using its unique booking ID.

Line 3: We are implementing an "if condition" to verify the customer's input. In this case, we will check if the entered age is greater than 15. If it meets this condition, the following loop will be executed.

Line 5 - 8: To update appointments, we are utilizing 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). In cases where the criteria are not met and an appointment needs to be canceled, we will pass the action field as "cancel".

Line 9 - 14: We are using invokeURL task for API calls. To know more about invokeURL task please refer to the following document: InvokeURL task for API calls

Line 16 - 21: We utilize the sendmail task to send an email to the customer when their appointment is canceled. Additionally, the Zoho Bookings application automatically sends a cancellation email to the customer in such cases. Therefore, you have the option to either use the sendmail task or rely on the default notification system to inform the customer about the cancellation of their booking.


More details on send mail task: Send Mail Task

This is what the final flow will look like:



Here is the demo video:  In this demo video, we have showcased the behaviour of our setup configuration for different inputs from customers. One input satisfies the configured condition, while the other input does not meet the configured condition.




CONCLUSION:

In the preceding discussion, we have outlined a method for automatic appointment cancellation. You can use this document as a reference to explore the various possibilities that suit your needs.

In the upcoming posts, we will explore various scenarios and methods for updating the appointment status. Furthermore, we have covered the process of canceling an appointment after it has been booked.If you are wondering whether there is a way to verify customer inputs before booking an appointment, the answer is yes. We will delve into that topic in the next series.

As the above configuration may differ based on individual business requirements, we have provided a generic example for reference. If you have any questions or need assistance with configuration to align with your specific business needs, please email us at hello@zohobookings.com or support@zohobookings.com.

    • Sticky Posts

    • Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

      Hey, community members! Have you ever wondered how to automatically approve or deny appointments? While we're still working on building that feature, we've got an alternative method to cancel appointments if they don't meet your specific criteria. Let

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • Print checks for owner's draw

        Hi.  Can I use Zoho check printing for draws to Owner's Equity?  This may be a specific case of the missing Pay expenses via Check feature.  If it's not available, are there plans to add this feature?

      • Deliver exceptional customer experience with Field Service Management in Zoho Service Plus

        The advent of automation and personalization in the AI era has raised customer expectations exponentially for faster resolution of issues with less tolerance to friction in the process. Fast, accurate, and intelligent service that understands customer

      • Zoho Extensions 101: Building extensions for Zoho People

        Hello developers! Welcome to our new video series on building extensions for Zoho People! If you're new to extension development or looking for guidance on building extensions for Zoho People, you're in the right place. We've curated a series of videos

      • Build A Happier Workforce With Zoho People

        The success of an organization depends on its people. Therefore, a comprehensive and cloud-based HRMS software is an integral part of the IT ecosystem for the business. With a wide number of key modules to define the structure of an organization, manage

      • How to import PST files in Office 365?

        You can import PST files into Office 365 using native Outlook applications, the Microsoft Purview network upload method, or specialized third-party migration tools. Choosing the right method depends on whether you are migrating a single mailbox or executing

      • Project Change Orders and Additions

        We are in the process of migrating from QuickBooks Online to Zoho Books. We have Zoho One and like the ability to sync all of our data across everything. And I like that projects work in a way that's less dumb than QuickBooks. I'm trying to figure out

      • Support Recording Payments in a Different Currency Than the Invoice Currency

        We would like to request the implementation of a feature that allows users to record customer payments in a currency different from the currency of the original invoice. Current Limitation in Zoho Books Currently, if an invoice is issued in USD, Zoho

      • Customer Statement Showing Incorrect Negative Balance Due to Unused Advance

        Dear Zoho Support Team, We are facing an issue with the Customer Statement in Zoho Invoice related to customer advances/mobilization advances. The issue is that when a customer has made an advance payment that has not yet been fully utilized against invoices,

      • 【10/15・残席わずか】Zoho Championに学ぶ！Zoho Campaigns メール配信の基礎・活用勉強会

        皆さま、こんにちは。ゾーホージャパンの中野です。 10月15日（木）、Zoho コミュニティ初となる「Zoho Campaigns メール配信の基礎・活用勉強会」をオンラインで開催します！ 今回の登壇者は、Zoho の導入・活用支援に豊富な経験を持つZoho Champion の岡安 裕一さんです。 「一斉配信はできるけれど、現在の設定や運用が正しいか自信がない」 「Zoho CRMとZoho Campaignsのどちらから配信すればよいか分からない」 「リストとセグメントの違いや、配信停止の扱いを整理したい」

      • WorkDrive API: allow the modification time to be set when updating an existing file (x-last-modified-date is honoured on create, ignored on update)

        Hi, I contribute to the Zoho WorkDrive backend of rclone, the open-source sync/copy tool. I would like to raise one specific, narrow API gap that currently makes reliable syncing to WorkDrive impossible, and ask whether it can be addressed. What already

      • WhatsApp Coexistence

        Hello, please implement WhatsApp Coexistence, we need to track staff whatsapp chats on their PC and they need to be able to use WhatsApp on their mobile in around the office and warehouse, as we video call customers and send them product pictures. Thank

      • Kiosk / CRM Timezone Oddity

        I grant you this is much easier to see than to explain, and snapshots here won't help much and I don't want to snapshot my record anyway in a forum, so bear with me... Effectively... As there had been discussions on times coming through in different timezones

      • Restricted Account - "This user is not allowed to add in Zoho" - citbinvestment.com.

        Hi Zoho Support Team, I am attempting to set up user mailboxes for my domain citbinvestment.com, but I am receiving the following error: "This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details." > My MX, SPF,

      • 👍 Zoho CRM's Notes now gets Reactions and a new look

        Available in SA and JP DCs. Rolling out to other DCs in phases. Hello everyone, Notes help users capture important updates, collaborate with teammates, and maintain context for records. Now with Note Reactions, users can quickly acknowledge updates, express

      • Contact Sharing: Hide email alias from global address list

        As the superadmin, I would like to hide my domain aliases from appearing in the global address list. Currently, my end users can see all my aliases. The aliases also appear as type-in addresses when composing a new email. This is a potential security

      • Incorrect Currency Shown

        On Bills, each line shows the rate in the wrong currency (home currency).

      • This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

        Hello, Just signed up to ZOHO on a friend's recommendation. Got the TXT part (verified my domain), but whenever I try to add ANY user, I get the error: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details I have emailed as well and writing here as well because when I searched, I saw many people faced the same issue and instead of email, they got a faster response here. My domain is: raisingreaderspk . com Hope this can be resolved.  Thank you

      • [Free webinar] Beyond prompt-to-app: Vibe coding with Zoho Creator | Creator Tech Connect (October 2026)

        Hello everyone, We are excited to invite you to another edition of the Creator Tech Connect webinar. About Creator Tech Connect The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar consisting of purely technical sessions, where we dive deep into

      • Zoho Recruit Staffing version Interview using Zoho Meeting

        I would like to understand whether Zoho Meeting has a native integration with Zoho Recruit – Staffing Edition. As of now, I am unable to find the native Zoho Meeting integration within the Staffing Edition of Zoho Recruit. Could someone please confirm

      • Payroll needs to automatically remit taxes, not just give me the calculations

        Wagepoint, PayEvo, Waveapps, etc... All your competitors deposit employee payroll, but they ALSO remit taxes automatically. Get with the program, your Payroll app is extremely sparse.

      • New enhancements to user management

        Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce a few enhancements to user creation and user preferences in Bigin! These updates give administrators more flexibility while inviting users, and give users more control over how their data is displayed. With this

      • How to add PHONE number to the Activites view

        This just seems like something so obvious and I can't believe I can't find it.  When I add a TASK for a person that I want to call back, I'd like to be able to see that persons PHONE NUMBER in the actives list. Ive added every field possible in the views, and the best that it gets is the person's name, but not their phone number. I'd like to be able to just print my tasks, seeing the person I need to call back with their phone number. Is there a way to do this in the FREE edition?  thanks.

      • Public dashboard table does not load in mobile view - TypeError reading 'viewType'

        Our public dashboard links have worked for years. We made no changes. Now the table widget does not load on mobile browsers. It loads fine on desktop, and it loads on a phone when we use "Request desktop site." Chrome DevTools shows this error in mobile

      • Cannot format "start date" field in Zoho Flow

        I am trying to recreate a flow that connects Inventory package creation to Zoho projects (where a task is created in a defined project). I've been able to troubleshoot everything EXCEPT the date fields; specifically the "start date" - which is quite important

      • Bank Transactions page shows too few transactions due to large header area

        In the Banking → Uncategorized Transactions screen, a lot of vertical space is being used by the account header, balance details, tabs, buttons, etc. Because of this, on a normal desktop screen I can see only around 2 transactions at a time, even though

      • Zoho Mail Android app update (v3.6.5) - Enhancements in Email Composer and Google Meet support

        Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new enhancements in the Zoho Mail Android app (v3.6.5). Let's dive into what's new. Drag and drop email addresses between recipient fields You can now drag and drop the email addresses across the recipient fields:

      • Migration from QuickBooks to Zoho Books for the U.S. Company

        Is there any automation tool available to migrate data from QuickBooks to Zoho Books for a U.S.-based company? If yes, could you please provide the details?

      • Feature Request: Integración con la Lista del Artículo 69-B del SAT para Zoho Books México

        Feature Request: Integración con la Lista del Artículo 69-B del SAT para Zoho Books México Hola equipo de Zoho, Durante los últimos meses he observado una necesidad recurrente entre varios clientes en México relacionada con el cumplimiento fiscal del

      • Introducing Zoho Key Service, a simpler way to access LLMs without API keys

        Available in the Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions in the US, IN, AU, JP, and CA DCs. Hello everyone, We are excited to bring Zoho Key Service (ZKS) in Zoho CRM, a simpler way for organizations to access and use third party LLMs. You can

      • Single Folder Archival in Zoho Mail

        Dear Zoho Mail Community, Have you noticed and wondered what the banner is about in your Zoho Mail's Archive Policy Settings? In Zoho Mail, users have traditionally archived emails to keep their inbox and active folders clean. While this helped reduce

      • Trigger Workflow Rules from subform row actions

        Hello all, Previously, workflow rules could only be configured at the module level, which meant subform data had to be tracked and managed manually. With this update, workflow rules can now be triggered directly by actions within subform rows, giving

      • Free Plan mail accounts details

        In the zoho mail pricing there's a free plan that includes: FREE PLAN Up to 25 Users 5GB* /User, 25MB Attachment Limit Webmail access only. Single domain hosting. I need to make sure that I'm able to create multiple email accounts in the form of: name@domain.com

      • can not use my zoho mail

        i bouht domain( avta group.com) and set up mail(Avtar@avta group.com) but i cannot receive or send emails . can you please help out.

      • Display Issues

        Hello, Our company just changed General Managers and the other one was the super admin. Since deleting his profile and making our new General Manager the super admin there have been ongoing issues. One in particular, is when creating estimates, sales

      • Introducing Night Mode for Zoho Recruit [BETA]

        Late-night hiring sessions? Long hours reviewing resumes? We heard you. Night mode [BETA] is now available in Zoho Recruit, giving you a cleaner, more comfortable workspace that’s easier on the eyes while keeping the focus on what matters most: hiring.

      • Unblock ME

        info@pentekykloi.gr Unable to send message;Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked. Learn more. I purchase additional storage

      • Zoho Calendar integration for Bigin

        Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce Zoho Calendar's integration in Bigin! For a while now, users have been able to sync events in Bigin with Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar - but with this new topping, it syncs with Zoho Calendar as well.

      • Workflows, webhooks, and zero manual work: Your webinar operations, on autopilot

        Running a webinar is never just about going live. There's the flurry of registrations to track, attendees to follow up with, recordings to share, CRM records to update, and somehow, all of this has to happen on time, every time. Until now, most of it

      • Zoho Mail - More contextual actions on email list view

        Hi Zoho Mail team, I recently completed an email migration from Gmail to Zoho Mail and noticed a feature in Gmail that I think would be a great addition to the Zoho Mail interface. When you hover over an email in Gmail's list view, a number of quick actions

      • Supervisor Rules --> Custom Function

        Hello, currently I can't add a custom function to a supervise rule. Is there a reason for this? Background: We have BluePrint managed tickets and actually we have a Supervise rule which should set the ticket to "closed" after 168 hours since the last

      • Next Page