Building extensions #4: Integrating Zoho Books with applications using connections

Building extensions #4: Integrating Zoho Books with applications using connections

In our last post, we looked at an overview of the key features available for creating a Zoho Books extension, including connections. In this post, we'll go over connections in depth, including their types and applications.

What are connections?

"Connections" is a component in the developer console that allows you to establish secure connections between applications. In general, a secure connection is essential for apps to work seamlessly for data transmission and synchronization. The connections functionality in the Zoho Books extension developer portal is ideal for securely connecting Zoho Books to other Zoho products or third-party applications.

Types of connections

The Zoho Books extension developer portal allows you to use both predefined and custom connections.

Predefined connections:
 These are ready-to-use connections that are preconfigured for various applications to connect with Zoho Books. You can simply search for the application you want to connect to from the default list, choose it, enter some basic information (scope), and connect to Zoho Books.

Custom connections:
 These are connections for apps not included in the default list. You can create a custom connection by manually setting up or configuring information about the application you want to connect to Zoho Books with—such as the authentication type and other corresponding details—and then proceeding with the connection.

Notes
Note: You can also create these custom connections for applications in the default list if you want to customize the connection with specific details.

Now, let's explore the steps to create these connections with an example for each.

Steps to create a predefined connection
  • Go to Sigma and access your workspace.
  • Enter the developer portal of the Zoho Books extension you're creating a connection for.
  • Navigate to the Build section and click Connections to view the connection details, types (predefined and custom), and support to create a new connection.

  • Click the New Connection button to create a new connection.
Notes
Note: Alternatively, you can use the View All option under a connection type to see all the services under that particular connection type and begin building connections.

  • You'll be redirected to the connections page of your extension's developer space, where you can select default or custom services to create connections.


In this post, we'll walk you through creating a predefined connection using the default services available.

For our example, let's create a connection for Wrike (a project management service) available in the default services list and integrate it with Zoho Books.
  • Choose Wrike from the default services list.

  • Click the Create Connection button.

  • Provide the connection details.
➤ Enter the connection name.
➤ Toggle and choose whether you want every user to enter their credentials during connection authorization.
➤ Choose the scopes necessary for your purposes for the connection.

  • Click Create And Connect. Proceed with the flow to accept the scopes and authorize the connection.
  • The connection is now authorized, and you'll be directed to the connection details page. This page will also contain sample code in both deluge and JSON formats that can be used to utilize this connection as part of your extension components. Depending on which component you want to invoke the connection in, you can use the appropriate sample code format.
Notes
Note: Giving the connection name in the script is critical to be able to use the connection in the extension.


  • Close the connection's detail page, and you'll be taken back to your extension's developer portal.
  • If needed, you can create multiple connections for your extension. The connections you've created will be visible in the My Connections section of the Connections page.

  • You can click on a connection to view its details or choose to revoke it, if necessary. You can reconnect a revoked connection whenever you need it.
Let's look at a simple scenario for the predefined connection we created. Assume that each time a project is created in Zoho Books, a new project is created in Wrike to handle project management in detail. In addition, if any tasks are available as part of that Zoho Books project, they'll be instantly created in Wrike alongside the project. This can be accomplished easily in an extension using workflows, custom functions, and connections.

Let's check out the steps to make this happen.
  • Create a custom function for the Projects module by selecting Automate, then Workflow Actions, then Custom Functions, then New Custom Function. Include the logic to fetch the details and its tasks from a Zoho Books project and create a matching project in Wrike.
createwrikeproject deluge function - Please find the code snippet as an attachment in the post
  • In the code above, the Zoho Books project's details, such as project name and task details, are fetched from the Project Map parameter in the custom function.
  • The retrieved project details are constructed as a Map and then passed to the invokeURL deluge task to invoke the Wrike API and create a project. Additionally, a check is made to see if the Zoho Books project has tasks associated with it. If it does, then those tasks are added to the project created in Wrike using the Wrike API to create tasks.
  • The Invoke URL task requires some basic parameters to invoke the API and provide a response.
➤ url: This is the URL of the application's API that will be invoked. In our case, it's the Wrike API URL for Create Project and Create Task.
➤ type: This is the method of the HTTP request required for the API. Since we're creating projects and tasks in Wrike, the type is POST in our example.
➤ parameters: These are data that need to be constructed and passed as the body for the API.
➤ connection: The name of the Wrike connection we created has to be supplied as the value for the connection parameter. This ensures that data transfer between Zoho Books and Wrike is authorized and secure.
  • Next, create a workflow rule for the Projects module by selecting Automate, then Workflow Rules, then New Workflow Rule.
  • Set the Action Type as "When project is created."

  • Now, associate the custom function (createwrikeproject) as a workflow action to this workflow rule. Save the workflow rule.


We've now completed our extension setup for our use case.

After testing and publishing our extension, whenever a new project is created in Zoho Books, a matching project is created in Wrike as well, along with any tasks.


This example demonstrated a seamless transfer of data from Zoho Books to Wrike with connections. This use case can be taken a step further, making sure the project and its tasks maintained in Wrike are also synchronized in Zoho Books.

In this post, we've seen how to set up a predefined connection and use it in a Zoho Books extension. In the next post, we'll look at custom connections and how to create them.

SEE ALSO


    • Recent Topics

    • Compensation | Salary Packages - Hourly Wage Needed

      The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says 55.7% of all workers in the US are paid by the hour. I don't know how that compares to the rest of the world, but I would think that this alone would justify the need for having an hourly-based salary package option.

    • Customizing Helpcenter texts

      I’m customizing the Zoho Desk Help Center and I’d like to change the wording of the standard widgets – for example, the text in the “Submit Ticket” banner that appears in the footer, or other built-in widget labels and messages. So far, I haven’t found

    • Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

      Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification

    • Automatically Update Form Attachment Service with Newly added Fields

      Hi, When I have a Form Setup and connected to a 3rd Party Service such as OneDrive for Form Attachments, when I later add a new Upload Field I have to remove and redo the entire 3rd Party Setup from scratch. This needs to be improved, such as when new

    • 🚀 WorkDrive 6.0 (Phase 1): Empowering Teams with Content Intelligence, Automation, Accessibility, and Control

      Hello, everyone! WorkDrive continues to evolve from a robust file management solution into an intelligent, secure, and connected content collaboration platform for modern businesses. Our goal remains unchanged: to simplify teamwork, strengthen data security,

    • Reopen ticket on specific date/time

      Is there a way that we can close a ticket and setup a reopen of that ticket on a specific date and time? (without using the "on hold" ticket option)

    • Column letter from number

      Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank you

    • API credit COQL COUNT

      The docs describe API credits in COQL from the LIMIT perspective: https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/COQL-Overview.html When using aggregate functions such as `COUNT` or `SUM`, is that billed as 1 API credit?

    • Weekly Tips : Save Time with Saved Search

      Let's assume your work requires you to regularly check emails from important clients that have attachments and were sent within a specific time period. Instead of entering the same conditions every time—like sender, date range, and attachments included—you

    • Remove 'This is an automated mail from Zoho Sign' in footer

      Hi there, Is it possible to remove or change the text under the e-mail templates? I can't figure out how to do that: Would love to hear from you. Kind regards, Tristan

    • Organize and manage PDFs with Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard

      Hello users, Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard is a one-stop place to upload, sort, share PDF files, and more. This article will explore the various capabilities that Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard offers. A few highlights of Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard: Upload

    • Custom function return type

      Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding

    • Passing Info from Function to Client Script

      Hello, I have recently started making use of client script for buttons, allowing me to give the user information or warnings before they proceed. This is great. However, I have never quite managed to pass back any extra information from the function to

    • Drag 'n' Drop Fields to a Sub-Form and "Move Field To" Option

      Hi, I would like to be able to move fields from the Main Page to a Sub-Form or from a Sub-Form to either the Main Page or another Sub-Form. Today if you change the design you have to delete and recreate every field, not just move them. Would be nice to

    • Zoho Payroll for Canada

      Is anyone else having problems getting setup for Canada?

    • Passing the CRM

      Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine when

    • One Contact with Multiple Accounts with Portal enabled

      I have a contact that manages different accounts, so he needs to see the invoices of all the companies he manage in Portal but I found it not possible.. any idea? I tried to set different customers with the same email contact with the portal enabled and

    • User Automation: User based workflow rules & webhooks

      User management is an undeniable part of project management and requires adequate monitoring. As teams grow and projects multiply, manual coordination for updating users & permissions becomes difficult and can give way to errors. User automation in Zoho

    • Disable Zoho Contacts

      We don't want to use this app... How can we disable it?

    • Default Ticket View - Table?

      Guys, We mostly use the table view to queue tickets. Maybe I am missing it - but how can I set that view as 'default" for all our agents? Thanks JV

    • Zoho One IS BUGGY

      Here are some things that just don't work: - Disabling applications from certain Spaces - Adding users (probably only for me) - Renaming applications in Zoho One Portal (fixed by now) - Reordering applications in Spaces When I try to reorder: It feels

    • Paid Support Plans with Automated Billing

      We (like many others, I'm sure) are designing or have paid support plans. Our design involves a given number of support hours in each plan. Here are my questions: 1) Are there any plans to add time-based plans in the Zoho Desk Support Plans feature? The

    • Merge Fields that previously worked are now giving an Error!

      Saving a URL Link button on the Deal module. The below fields used to save without issue at all, but now produce an error of "URL contains unsupported merge field!" ${Contacts.Mailing Street} ${Contacts.Mailing City} ${Contacts.Mailing State} ${Contacts.Mailing

    • Clarification on Zoho Forms 1-User Plan: Multiple Submitters and Approvers

      Question Content (Copy–Paste Ready) Hello Zoho Team, I would like clarification regarding Zoho Forms pricing and user limits. I am planning to subscribe to the ₹700/month (1 user) plan. My use case is as follows: Only 1 person (myself) will create and

    • CRM Cadences recognise auto-responses

      I have leads in a Cadence. I get an auto-responder reply "I'm out of the office..." Normally Cadences seems to know that isn't a real reply and keeps the lead enrolled in the cadence. However, today, Cadences has UNENROLLED a Lead who sent an auto-reponse

    • App for Mac OS X please!

      It would be awesome to have a mail app for Mac OS X that included all the cool features such as steams, calendar, tasks, contacts, etc. Most people prefer native apps, rather than running it through a web browser. I know that we can use the IMAP, CalDAV,

    • Facing Issues with Sites Mobile font sizes

      my page renediaz.com is facing issues mobile view, when i try to lower font sizes in home page, instead of changing the size, it changes the line space

    • Zoho Books Payroll

      How am I supposed to do payroll and pay my employees with Zoho Books? I think it's pretty strange that an accounting software doesn't have the ability to perform one of the most common functions in business; paying your employees. Am I missing something,

    • 60 Days Into Zoho - Tiktok Branding Startup -7 Questions?!

      Wsp Everybody I co-own a TikTok Branding / Consulting Startup & have been using Zoho for the past 60 days - Am now looking to make our overall operations & processes more Efficient & Effective! Curious to know how others are using the platform & what's

    • Notifications in Cliq client for Linux

      If I got it right, Cliq desktop client for Linux does not use the generally accepted notification method via org.freedesktop.Notification interface. For this reason, Cliq notifications do not look and behave as all other notifications. Is it possible

    • Canvas templates can now be shared with different CRM organizations

      ----------------------------------------Moderated on 14th February, 2023------------------------------------------- Dear all, This feature is now open for all users in all DCs. To learn more about importing and exporting canvas templates, read our help

    • Unable to produce monthly P&L reports for previous years

      My company just migrated to Books this year. We have 5+ years financial data and need to generate a monthly P&L for 2019 and a monthly P&L YTD for 2020. The latter is easy, but I'm VERY surprised to learn that default reports in Zoho Books cannot create

    • Change Last Name to not required in Leads

      I would like to upload 500 target companies as leads but I don't yet have contact people for them. Can you enable the option for me to turn this requirement off to need a Second Name? Moderation update (10-Jun-23): As we explore potential solutions for

    • Reply to Email for SO/PO

      Hello, We are new to Zoho Books and running into an issue. Our support@ email is our integration user. When our team is sending out PO/SO's we are updating the sender email, but for some reason many of our responses are coming back to our support@ email

    • ZOHO Payroll Canada

      Any plans on the roadmap for Canada?

    • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

      Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a

    • Multi-currency and Products

      One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support. However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK. However, we maintain different price lists for each. There

    • ZOHO Writer Folders

      Hi We would love to have ability to create folders on the left hand side. We would then be able create and store our documents within each folder Hope you can provide this feature soon ! dux.centra

    • How can Data Enrichment be automatically triggered when a new Lead is created in Zoho CRM?

      Hi, I have a pipeline where a Lead is created automatically through the Zoho API and I've been trying to look for a way to automatically apply Data Enrichment on this created lead. 1) I did not find any way to do this through the Zoho API; it seems like

    • Escalation request: organization merge and data export (Ticket [154609577])

      Hello Zoho Team, I am posting here because my support ticket has not received substantive responses through the usual channels. Summary of the issue (ongoing for three weeks): I requested assistance with a data migration and a merge of two Zoho organizations.

    • Next Page