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

    • How to update Customers in Zoho Books through Zoho Flow?

      Updating customers in Zoho Flow using a "update customer" action is deleting contact persons in Zoho Books.

    • Conect chat of salesiq with zoho cliq

      Is there any way to answer from zoho cliq  the chat of salesiq initiated by customers?

    • How to transfer credit between customers?

      Hi All, We have a slightly odd situation. It happens that we have two separate customers that are related to each other personally. One customer has an amount of credit, and would like to use that credit to pay the *other* customers invoice. How would

    • Zoho Books Reports: Basic report with total items sold and Cost of goods sold

      How can books show a report with Item Name || Qty Sold || Total Revenue || Total Cost of Goods Sold || Margin I need to factor in also invoices that have been credited where customers returned good. This seems like such a basic report, I'm sure I'm missing

    • The amount entered is more than the balance due for the selected bills."

      Hi Team i am trying to record payments for vendors using API and getting this error in response as { "code": 28011, "message": "The amount entered is more than the balance due for the selected bills." } JSON is prepared according to Documentation and

    • VBA handling named ranges

      In VBA I'm able to work with a single cell named range. E.g. Set Jr = Range ("Year").Value. Also other options are working fine, like Range("Year").Address shows $L$3. However a named range refering to multiple cells is not working for me. Eg. tbl_Test

    • Kaizen #176 - Optimizing the Use of Record ID Variables in Zoho CRM Queries

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen! Since the release of Queries, we have covered Handling Query Variables in Zoho CRM, Serialization and Schema Management, and Leveraging the 'crmAPIResponse' object in Queries in previous posts. Today,

    • Unbilled Items Report?

      Hello! Is there any way to display a list of items that remain unbilled, without creating an invoice for each customer to see if the unbilled items box is displayed? ;-) Ben

    • Consolidation of Multi currency

      Would like to discuss on the possibility of consolidating the ZOHO companies

    • Landed Cost Allocation / Custom Duty manual data entry

      My client is an import business. They must manually enter the duty for each item with landed cost allocation in Bill. This is because customs duties cannot be allocated based on Quantity, Value, Weight, and Dimensions. Manual data entry is highly time-consuming

    • Territories Just Don't Work

      I have been on chat and screenshare support for the past 3 days and am getting no resolution so hopefully, someone here can help me. I am the Super Admin of my organization. We publish books globally. I want to break down the books into territories so

    • Negative Opening Balance

      How can I add Negative Opening balance - meaning a credit balance to a Customer or a debit balance to a vendor? If I go thru Sales-->Customers, and if the opening balance is Rs. 1000 (credit balance), it does not allow me to enter a "minus" sign or mention

    • Single-Line Invoicing from Sales Order Despite Multiple SKUs Shipped

      We deal mostly with Government Tenders And Lets say we got a tender that needs 125 XYZ Laptops Then we found 95 Laptops with a different SKUs and 30 Laptops with different SKUs We talk with the IT department of the government company and they approve

    • 📣📣 Zoho Bookings Schedulathon 2025 is here!

      Hey Zoho Bookings fam, We're excited to invite you to our first-ever hackathon: Yes, Zoho Bookings Schedulathon 2025 is live now. This is a virtual event and you can participate anywhere from the world. Businesses should be able to set up meetings from

    • I want to send out a new newsletter each month

      Without rebuilding a whole journey is there a way to create a new newsletter that is sent to an existing journey monthly?

    • Reinstalling Workdrive Truesync client

      Hi, I attempted to update to the beta version of TrueSync, but it was unstable and kept crashing, so I need to revert to the stable version. How do I properly reinstall TrueSync on a Windows PC? I couldn't install the 3.15.x version directly over the

    • Evaluating Creator; yesterday fine; today connection times out

      Yesterday I spent hours creating a new app, and it worked fine. Today I cannot access creator.zoho.com. Is this common? I'm in the evaluation mode, but I'm thinking I'm going to keep looking. It worked from my home computer, and now I'm checking it from my work computer. My work computer always works just fine, so I shouldn't htink there would be special settings or anything. If there are, how to find out what they could be? Using Chrome on Windows XP The error I get is: The webpage at https://creator.zoho.com

    • Pivot Chart seems to show "old" data - how do I make it update?

      I wonder how to make a Pivot Chart "update" its data contents. Here is the background: I need to report a subset of data that is so complicated that it is easier to make a calculation and put the result in a "reporting form", and then display the data from that form.  So, I get data from the "original form" GRANTS, make some calculations and put the result in the "reporting form" PERIOD.  Now I can watch the result in a list called LIST, which works fine. The list LIST shows that form PERIOD contains

    • Upcoming Changes to LinkedIn Parsing in Resume Extractor

      Starting 31 July 2025, the Zoho Recruit Resume Extractor will no longer support direct parsing of candidate data from LinkedIn profiles. Why Is This Change Needed? In accordance with LinkedIn’s platform policies, extracting profile data through browser

    • how to create view in leads module to that will show all leads + converted leads?

      is it possible to make custom view that combine all leads + converted leads? how to do that

    • Reply and react to comments

      Hi everyone! We're excited to bring to you a couple of new features that'll make your sprint process simpler. A cloud application brings with it an array of social media features that can be efficiently used in your organizational setup. As an agile scrum

    • Announcing Early Access to "Zoho CRM for Everyone" — A new and exciting update to Zoho CRM

      Zoho CRM For Everyone is now officially available to all customers, and the Early Access Program has come to a close. We want to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the program. Your valuable feedback played a key role in shaping

    • Avalara Sales Tax integration - AVATAX

      Just wondering if anyone else is having troubles with this integration?  Seems as though Avalara changed their billing process, unbeknownst to Zoho, and now ALL transactions are counted by Avalara, not just transactions in a taxable jurisdiction.  This caused a huge price adjustment billed to us by Avalara within a month of us signing up.  And Avalara is not cheap to begin with! Avalara has been great in waiving that increase, but there seems to be no fix.  Zoho is aware of the problem, but slow

    • Invalid value passed for description

      Dear Sir, When I am entering the purchase bill , the following message showing "Invalid value passed for description" what should I do ? I am attaching screenshot. With Regards, Harish harish@cracku.in 7978841636

    • Zoho Creator - 2024 Release Projection 1

      Hello everyone! As we enter 2024, we'd like to extend our warmest wishes for success and prosperity. Your fantastic response to our Product Roadmap page last year has been incredibly motivating. Continuing on this path, we're excited to share a glimpse

    • Automation Assistance for Zoho Form Integration and Workflow

      Hi, We are currently using a Zoho Form to send out our Global Credit Application and would like to automate the process further. Specifically, we’d like the ABN number submitted through the form to automatically populate the GST/VAT Number field in Zoho

    • COQL does not return queryable value if the result set is empty

      See linked video for running code illustration of the problem: https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/external/d49bb40033b43b288d56fdf843095b7c65b28391d3ec5d09c854f416d853003d Moderation update: We are appending the comment that was removed, to add context

    • Zoho CRMでの商談の管理のしかたについて初歩的な質問です。

      先月からZoho CRMを試験的に導入して運用しています。 商談の管理（運用？）の仕方について教えてください。 商談の数が増えてくると、ダッシュボードの「ステージ別進捗状況」にどんどん過去の商談が蓄積されてくると思うのですが、 現在動きのあるものを中心に確認したくなる気がします。 そのあたりについては、どのように運用が一般的なのでしょうか？ アドバイスいただけるととてもありがたいです。 よろしくお願いします。

    • Composite Items & Purchase Orders

      The Composite Item is great way to bundle different products and services into a single line and sell it as a single line item in Estimates, Sales Orders and Invoices. However, on the other side - i,e,. Purchasing - this item creates quite a bit of a

    • using custom function is it possible to update the created by field in Zoho Crm custom module

      using custom function is it possible to update the created by field in Zoho Crm custom module

    • Slow Sloww Slowwww Responses

      Good day, Has anyone been experiencing slow responses from support? Since Thursday I migrated my Whats app to Sales Iq and I had to synch with Social to get the otp they were sending. Apparently What's app can't be automatically added so I reached out

    • You have exceeded the maximum number of attempts for this action. Please retry doing the same in 30 minutes.

      When one of Zoho Books user tries to select a vendor, recording a new bill, these message appears: You have exceeded the maximum number of attempts for this action. Please retry doing the same in 30 minutes. Other user, at the same time, but different

    • Enable Conversation Context Retention for SalesIQ Answer Bots

      Hello Zoho SalesIQ Team, We hope you are doing well. We have noticed that SalesIQ bots currently fail to maintain conversation context in Hebrew. For example, when we follow up on a previous answer or ask for clarification in Hebrew, the bot either provides

    • Automatic Hebrew Small Talk Setup Without Duplicate Term Errors & Manual Configuration

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the Small Talk feature in Zoho SalesIQ, specifically for Hebrew language support. Current Challenge: When setting up Small Talk for Hebrew, we encounter multiple issues: Simple

    • Should I Add Leads in Bigin?

      ok, first off I'm new here. I just started using Bigin. I'm debating if it's appropriate to enter leads. by leads I mean a list of contacts that I have not yet reached out to...it's a cold calling list.  if I enter them I can track them (I understand

    • Zoho Books - Perform a validation check before an invoice is marked as sent or sent

      Allow the validation rules to apply to button actions. For example: an invoice could not be sent or marked as sent if it has an empty value in a custom field. (The field could remain blank while it is being worked on.)

    • Flow error "given url is wrong"

      when I setup a flow to update a task status, I get an error when it runs that says "given url is wrong."

    • Upgrade Zoho Desk Agent-Side Answer Bot to GenAI

      Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. Following the recent announcements and rollout of the GenAI-based Answer Bot in Zoho SalesIQ (Nova '25), we’d like to formally request a similar upgrade for the Answer Bot used by agents inside Zoho Desk.

    • Bigin Android app update: Email filters enhancement, change owner for related records.

      Hello, everyone! In the most recent Bigin Android app update, we have introduced additional email filters and an option to change the owner of related records. Email filters: We have now brought in support for 'All Emails' and 'Added from Widgets' filter

    • How can I get all conversations and comments of a Zoho Desk ticket using ZOHODESK

      Hi everyone, Currently, I am developing a Zoho Desk extension, and I am following the guide available at https://www.zoho.com/desk/extensions/guide/#ticket-object. While working with Zoho Desk, I have noticed that I can only retrieve the general information

    • Next Page