Building extensions #5: Creating custom connections for extensions

Building extensions #5: Creating custom connections for extensions

In our previous post, we discussed the significance of connections, identified their types, developed a predefined connection, and demonstrated how it can be integrated with Zoho Books using an example. In this post, we'll walk through the process of creating a custom connection using an example.

Custom connections facilitate the integration of applications with Zoho Books by aiding in configuring the required application's connection manually by providing application-specific details. Let's go over the steps involved in configuring custom connections in detail using a use case scenario.

Use case

Let's say an organization uses Zoho Books to manage its financial operations. To improve sales for the organization, one must contact and communicate with multiple clients, as well as check in with vendors on a regular basis to remain up to date on new products on the market, take demos, and assess whether the products need to be brought into the organization.

In these cases, it is best to schedule appointments with clients and vendors in order to conduct business in an organized manner. This can be easily performed by integrating an appointment scheduling software so appointments can be scheduled with a click.

For our demo purpose, let's consider Zoho Bookings as the appointment scheduling software. Since it is not available under the default list of services in predefined connections, let's create a custom connection to achieve this.

Steps to create a custom 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.
   
  • Click New Connection to create a new connection.
NotesNote: Alternatively, you can use the View All option under a connection type to see all the services under that particular connection type and begin creating connections.
     
  • Choose Custom Services and click Create Service.
   
  • Provide the details of the service.
➤ Enter a name for the service, and the service link name will be immediately filled in.
➤ Choose the authentication type that corresponds to the authentication mechanism supported by the service for which you are building the connection. These details will be available as part of the service's API documentation. For our example, we'll use OAuth2, because Zoho Bookings supports it as an authentication mechanism.         
  
➤ The remaining fields to be configured for the service differ based on the authentication type used. In our case, the parameter type is Header, and the grant type is Authorization Code.
   
➤ Please refer to the table below for the values that need to be configured in the remaining fields.
Note: Register the service in the Zoho Developer API console to get the client credentials.
  • Finally, click the Create Service button.
  
  • The service is created successfully. Click Create Connection to create a connection for this service.
  • Provide the connection details, select the scope, and 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.

Additionally, a predefined connection for Zoho Books is created to perform operations on Zoho Books data to implement our use case. Get more information on predefined connections in our previous post.

Now, in accordance with our use case, let's create a custom button that includes this connection to schedule appointments (in Zoho Bookings) with clients and vendors using Zoho Bookings with a single click (from Zoho Books).
We require two custom fields for our logic, one for setting the meeting start time with the client or vendor, and the other to display the Bookings appointment calendar link once the meeting is scheduled.
  • Create custom fields for the Customers and Vendors module by selecting Preferences > Customers and Vendors > Field Customization > New Custom Field.
 
  • Next, create a custom button and include the logic to schedule an appointment.
  • Create a custom button for the Customers and Vendors module by selecting Preferences > Customers and Vendors > Custom Buttons > New.
InfoBook meeting custom button function Deluge code - Please find code snippet as an attachment in the post
  • In the above code, the Get Contacts API of Zoho Books is invoked through the InvokeURL method using the predefined connection to get the contact/customer details for whom the appointment has to be scheduled in Zoho Bookings. Refer to this post to get complete details on the parameters required to call the InvokeURL method.
  • From the API response, the required details are fetched from which the start time (custom field data) is formatted to the way required by the Zoho Bookings API.
  • Next, the Zoho Bookings API to get the service ID and staff ID are invoked consecutively through the InvokeURL method using the custom connection created.
  • The Book appointment API is used to schedule the appointment using the service ID, the staff ID obtained from the Zoho Bookings API, and customer details obtained previously via the Zoho Books API.
  • Finally, using the update contact Zoho Books API, the Zoho Bookings calendar URL is updated in the custom field created to display the calendar booking URL.
We've now completed the extension setup for our use case.

After testing and publishing the extension, as per our use case, you can book a meeting for a Zoho Books customer through Zoho Bookings and have your Zoho Bookings calendar reflected inside Zoho Books as well.

z
This is an example demonstration of the benefits of using a custom connection in a Zoho Books extension. This is a versatile use case that may even be used to schedule an internal meeting with your Zoho Books teammates who are working on a project. Similarly, this use case can be enhanced and implemented based on your needs.

We hope you found this information useful. Keep following us for more tips.

SEE ALSO

    • Recent Topics

    • Enable Locations for Expense

      Hi, please enable Locations (ex Branches) for Zoho Expense so that there is consistency between this app and Zoho Books. Thanks in advance.

    • in the Zoho Creator i have File Upload field get the file on submission of the form Get the File and upload to Zoho Books

      in the Zoho Creator i have File Upload field get the file on submission of the form Get the File and upload to Zoho Books . how I get the file From zoho creator and upload to Zoho Books . using Api response = invokeUrl [ url: "https://www.zohoapis.com/creator/v2.1/data/hh/l130/report/All_Customer_Payments/"+input.ID

    • Generate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email

      Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need to

    • Rate Limiting in Zoho Flow (OpenAI API)

      Hi Everyone, We are facing some issues when using Zoho Flow as we have a deluge script running which is making external calls to OpenAI endpoint. Sometimes the response takes more than 30 seconds meaning the script will timeout. We want to implement a

    • Placing a condition before converting the LEAD

      Hi,  I need some assistance with Lead conversion. I need to place certain conditions before allowing the user to convert the lead.  For example: up until the certain status's doesn't equal "green" don't allow to convert lead.  I tried creating this using

    • it is possible to open a widget via deluge script function

      I have one function that is workflow action I call my fucntion I need to call the internal widget it is possible to open or it have to please tell me the solution

    • Creator - Portal Custom Domain

      I will pay $100 in crypto to anyone who can actually get my Creator Custom Domain to function (actually tell me how you got yours to).  Domain verifies, Nothing. I've been fighting it a week, multiple chats to customer service. Clearly I'm doing something wrong.  Some datapoints Domain name itself unimportant, can be a string of numbers.  I need to know what registrars are working for you because GoDaddy does NOT.  Do I need hosting? I've tried both ways and nothing works.  I pushed through Cloudflare

    • steps and options to change Domain DNS/Nameservers settings

      Please share the options or steps to change  Domain DNS/Nameservers settings 

    • Employees in Leave Policy exceptions

      In the Leave Policies we should be able to add specific employees to the exception list So it will be like All Employees except A,B,C in the exception list, currently we can only add departments etc

    • How get stock name from other column ?

      How get stock name from other column ? e.g. =STOCK(C12;"price") where C12 is the code of the stock

    • Adding a developer for editing the client application with a single user license

      Hi, I want to know that I as a developer I developed one application and handed over to the customer who is using the application on a single user license. Now after6 months customer came back to me and needs some changes in the application. Can a customer

    • Download an email template in html code

      Hello everyone, I have created an email template and I want to download it as html. How can i do that? I know you can do it via the campaigns-first create a campaign add the template and download it as html from there. But what if i don't want to create

    • Attachment is not included in e-mails sent through Wordpress

      I have a Wordpress site with Zeptomail Wordpress plugin installed and configured. E-mails are sent ok through Zeptomail but without the included attachment (.pdf file) Zeptomail is used to send tickets to customers through Zeptomail. E-Mails are generated

    • Upcoming Changes to the Timesheet Module

      The Timesheet module will undergo a significant change in the upcoming weeks. To start with, we will be renaming Timesheet module to Time Logs. This update will go live early next week. Significance of this change This change will facilitate our next

    • Best way to schedule bill payments to vendors

      I've integrated Forte so that I can convert POs to bills and make payments to my vendors all through Books. Is there a way to schedule the bill payments as some of my vendors are net 30, net 60 and even net 90 days. If I can't get this to work, I'll have

    • Cant update image field after uploading image to ZFS

      Hello i recently made an application in zoho creator for customer service where customers could upload their complaints every field has been mapped from creator into crm and works fine except for the image upload field i have tried every method to make

    • Billing Management: #4 Negate Risk Free with Advances

      In the last post, we explored how unbilled charges accumulate before being invoiced. But what happens when businesses need money before service begins? Picture this: A construction company takes on a $500,000 commercial building project expected to last

    • Is there an equivalent to the radius search in RECRUIT available in the CRM

      We have a need to find all Leads and/or Contacts within a given radius of a given location (most likely postcode) but also possibly an address. I was wondering whether anyone has found a way to achieve this in the CRM much as the radius search in RECRUIT

    • Zoho CRM Inventory Management

      What’s the difference between Zoho CRM’s inventory management features and Zoho Inventory? When is it better to use each one?

    • Cannot Enable Picklist Field Dependency in Products or Custom Modules – Real Estate Setup

      Hello Zoho Support, I am configuring Zoho CRM for real estate property management and need picklist field dependency: What I’ve tried: I started by customizing the Products module (Setup > Modules & Fields) to create “Property Type” (Housing, Land, Commercial)

    • Get Workflow Metadata via API

      Is there a way to get metadata on workflows and/or custom functions via API? I would like to automatically pull this information. I couldn't find it in the documentations, but I'm curious if there is an undocumented endpoint that could do this. Moderation

    • Zoho Projects - Q2 Updates | 2025

      Hello Users, With this year's second quarter behind us, Zoho Projects is marching towards expanding its usability with a user-centered, more collaborative, customizable, and automated attribute. But before we chart out plans for what’s next, it’s worth

    • FSM setup

      So we have been tinkering with FSM to see if it is going to be for us. Now is the time to bite the bullet and link it to our zoho books and zoho crm. The help guides are good but it would really help if they were a bit more in depth on the intergrations.

    • Upcoming Updates to the Employees Module in Zoho Payroll (US)

      We've made a couple of updates to the Employees module in Zoho Payroll (latest version of the US edition). These changes will go live today. While creating an employee Currently, the Compensation Details section is part of the Basic Details step, where

    • Possible to Turn Off Automatic Notifications for Approvals?

      Hello, This is another question regarding the approval process. First a bit of background: Each of our accounts is assigned a rank based on potential sales. In Zoho, the account rank field is a drop-down with the 5 rank levels and is located on the account

    • ZOHO Creator subform link

      Dear Community Support, I am looking for some guidance on how to add a clickable link within a Zoho Creator subform. The goal is for this link to redirect users to another Creator form where they can edit the data related to the specific row they clicked

    • Allow Resource to Accept or Reject an Appointment

      I have heard that this can be done, is there any documentation on how?

    • Create new Account with contact

      Hi I can create a new Account and, as part of that process, add a primary contact (First name, last name) and Email. But THIS contact does NOT appear in Contacts. How can I make sure the Contact added when creating an Account is also listed as a Contact?

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • How To Insert Data into Zoho CRM Organization

      Hi Team I have this organization - https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org83259xxxx/tab/Leads I want to insert data into this Leads module, what is the correct endpoint for doing so ? Also I have using ZohoCRM.modules.ALL scope and generated necessary tokens.

    • Where can I get Equation Editor por Zoho Writer?

      I need to use Math Formulas in my document. Thank you.

    • Filtering repport for portal users

      Salut, I have a weird problem that I just cannot figure out : When I enter information as administrator on behalf of a "supplier" portal user (in his "inventory" in a shared inventory system), I can see it, "customer" portal users can see it, but the

    • Zoho Inventory. Preventing Negative Stock in Sales Orders – Best Practices?

      Dear Zoho Inventory Community, We’re a small business using Zoho Inventory with a team of sales managers. Unfortunately, some employees occasionally overlook stock levels during order processing, leading to negative inventory issues. Is there a way to

    • BUTTONS SHOWN AS AN ICON ON A REPORT

      Hi Is there any way to create an action button but show it as an icon on a report please? As per the attached example? So if the user clicks the icon, it triggers an action?

    • Dropshipping Address - Does Not Show on Invoice Correctly

      When a dropshipping address is used for a customer, the correct ship-to address does not seem to show on the Invoice. It shows correctly on the Sales Order, Shipment Order, and Package, just not the Invoice. This is a problem, because the company being

    • RFQ MODEL

      A Request for quotation model is used for Purchase Inquiries to multiple vendors. The Item is Created and then selected to send it to various vendors , once the Prices are received , a comparative chart is made for the user. this will help Zoho books

    • Will zoho thrive be integrated with Zoho Books?

      title

    • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | August 2025

      Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this August. Zoho Mail Delegate Email Alias Now you can let other users send emails on your behalf—not just from your primary

    • Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked

      Hi, I sent few emails and got this: Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked And now I have few days since I cant send any email. Is there something wrong I did? Also can someone fix this please

    • Want to use Zoho Books in Switzerland. CHF support planned?

      Hi, We're a Swiss company using other Zoho suite software and I discovered Zoho Books and other accounting SaaS when looking for an accounting tool. Do you intend to cover Switzerland and CHF based accounting anytime soon? Roy

    • Next Page