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.
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 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.
Authorize URL | |
Access Token URL | |
Refresh Token URL | |
Scope | zohobookings.data.CREATE |
- 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.
Book 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
Unarchive tickets
How can I manually unarchive tickets?
Canvas View in Zoho Recruit
Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?
What impactful sales coaching techniques have you used to boost your team's performance?
I'm curious about the real-world impact of sales coaching on team performance. What specific techniques or strategies have you found most effective in driving consistent improvement and growth in your sales team? Any success stories or lessons learned
Adding Taxes to paid consultations in Zoho Bookings
I created a 'paid' consultation under Zoho Booking and integrated it with payment gateways for online/instant payment before a booking is done. How can I add 'taxes' to the price of consultation? I can add taxes to other Zoho apps (liks Books, Checkout,
Zoho Finance Suite - Customer Custom Tabs - Dynamic Link
Hi Finance Suite team, When creating a Custom Tab for a Client Portal, there is no option to add dynamic parameters. This would be very helpful for adding Zoho Analytics dashboards which can be dynamically filtered through the URL to only show information
Optimize your Knowledge Base for enhanced accessibility by adding alt tags for images
Let's learn why alt tags are crucial for your articles. You can add alternative tags (alt tags) and alternative text (alt text) to the images you share on your community forums or when embedding them in articles. Alt tags refer to the HTML attribute,
Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders
I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create
Formula field with IF statement based on picklist field and string output to copy/paste in multi-line field via function
Hello there, I am working on a formula field based on a 3-item picklist field (i.e. *empty value*, 'Progress payment', 'Letter of credit'). Depending on the picked item, the formula field shall give a specific multi-line string (say 'XXX' in case of 'Progress
FSM trying again
have not linked FSM yet to the rest of out Zoho suit. It certainly looks like the apointment and service part is more manageable for our staff. The question is that our engineers multi task examples 1. deliver products to customers not fitted 2. Service
Possible to bold or indent text in the description field?
As part of one item, I often have a detailed description that would be much easier to read if there was the ability to have a bulleted list or bold text and the like. Is this possible? My last invoicing software allowed markup in the field so, for example, an asterisk meant a bullet. I haven't been able to find any documentation related to this. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.
in zoho creator Sales Returns form has sub form Line Items return quantity when i upate the or enter any values in the sub form that want to reflect in the Sales Order form item deail sub form field Q
in zoho creator Sales Returns form has sub form Line Items return quantity when i upate the or enter any values in the sub form that want to reflect in the Sales Order form item deail sub form field Quantity Returned\ pls check the recording fetch_salesorder
How can I setup Zoho MCP with Chat GPT
I can set up custom connections with Chat GPT but I cat an error when I try to set it up. The error is: "This MCP server can't be used by ChatGPT to search information because it doesn't implement our specification: search action not found" Thoughts?
Formatting of Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Reports
The default format of the Balance Sheet and P&L Reports are based on the Account Types and then the individual accounts within the Chart of Accounts. These are then ordered alphabetically under these sub-headings and one is unable to re-order these or
UK MTD reports concerning turnover and cerash accounting
Hi I am a sole trader, and I have just started with Zoho Books in order to comply with the new HMRC requirements. I use 'cash basis' - which I understand to mean that income is when the cash comes in (not the invoice date) and expenses are when they are
Retainer Invoice.
Why ZOHO not have facilities to deduct partially advance payment from an invoice.
Collaborate Feature doesn't work
Hello Team. It seems that the collaborate section is broken? I can post something but it all appears in "Discussions". In there is no way how I would mark something as Draft, Approval, post or any of the other filter categories? Also if I draft a post
IMAP Server not responding.
Trying to connect a phone via IMAP and getting "imap.zoho.com not responding." Is the server down, for maintenance or otherwise? I've tried this on two different devices and got the same error on both.
Vendor Signatures Needed for Purchase Orders
Hello everyone, We have a unique requirement that necessitates that Vendors & Suppliers formally acknowledge our Purchase Orders upon receipt. I was hoping that there would be an option to do so in Zoho Books, but that does not appear to be the case.
Share saved filters between others
Hi, I am in charge to setup all zoho system in our company. I am preparing saved filters for everybody, but the only one can see its me. How can others see it? Thanks
report showing assignment type
Hi, We've created a number of workflows to allow us to auto assign tickets to agents based on keywords and other criteria. I'm struggling to create a report that would show me what is the percentage of tickets that are assigned automatically via workflows
GST Slabs Redefined: Stay Compliant Using Zoho Books!
Hello Everyone! The Government of India is rolling out new GST rates, a major reform aimed at simplifying the current tax structure starting 22 September 2025. GST will move from four slabs (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) to two main slabs (5% and 18%), plus a special
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
Kanban view on Zoho CRM mobile app!
What is Kanban? The name doesn't sound English, right? Yes, Kanban is a Japanese word which means 'Card you can see'. As per the meaning, Kanban in CRM is a type of list view in which the records will be displayed in cards and categorized under the given
Presenting ABM for Zoho CRM: Expand and retain your customers with precision
Picture this scenario: You're a growing SaaS company ready to launch a powerful business suite, and are looking to gain traction and momentum. But as a business with a tight budget, you know acquiring new customers is slow, expensive, and often delivers
No practical examples of how survey data is analyzed
There are no examples of analysis with analytics of zoho survey data. Only survey meta data is analyzed, such as number of completes, not actual analysis of responses, such as the % in each gender, cross-tabulations of survey responses. One strange characteristic of Zoho analytics is that does not seem aware of how Zoho Survey codes 'multiple response' questions. These are questions where more than one option can be selected from a list. Zoho Survey stores this data as text, separated by commas within
Zoho Creator as LMS and Membership Solution
My client is interested in using Zoho One apps to deploy their membership academy offer. Zoho Creator was an option that came up in my research: Here are the components of the program/offer: 1. Membership portal - individual login credentials for each
Adding Chargebee as a Data Connector
Is it possible to get Chargebee added as a Zoho Analytics data connector?
Zoho CRM - Custom Views for Portal Users
I'm looking for an option to customise custom views for portal users in CRM. It would be great if "portal user" was a permission on custom views.
Webform & spam
Hi, We set up 2 webform on our website, fowarding the content to Zoho CRM. Since it has been opened up, we are getting lot of spam message (for now about 20 a day). To lower the amount of false new leads we added the captcha field and new enquieries are send to the Approval Leads list. However we still get some spam. Is there any "anti spam" mechanism built in Zoho CRM, or how is the best way to avoid these kind of spam ? Thanks
Elevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration
Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using Workflow
Dropbox to Workdrive
Namaste, Trust you all are doing well. Wanted to check how this can be done with Zoho flow. I typically receive dropbox links from my clients. Is there a way where I can provide the link to Zoho flow and it downloads the files from dropbox link to a work
Sendmail function / custom action?
I've setup a function hoping to email various business departments the details of a record once all work in that record is complete so gone about setting up a custom action in such way that each record line on the report has a button to click. Question is how do I actually include data from that record in the email that is sent when the button is clicked? I had thought that since this were being sent per record the email would include the data which had been entered
Deals by Stages Funnel not showing in correct order
Using the Stage-Probability Mapping for the Deals module we have created a steps our deals will pass through, RFQ, Closed/Lost, Declined/No-Go, Pricing, Submitted, Negotiations, Won. However when I view the Deal By Stages Funnel it does not show in the
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
Turning off the new UI
Tried the new 'enhanced' UI and actively dislike it. Anyone know how to revert back?
Message "...does not support more than 100 distinct values..." WHY????
I get this message on one of my reports: Sorry, Zoho Reports currently does not support more than 100 distinct values in columns. 'Account Name * Sum(Amount),Count(Amount Tier)' contains more than 100 distinct values. Possibly, you can apply filter to reduce the number of distinct values in 'Account Name' or drop the 'Account Name' field in Rows. I want to list all ACCOUNT NAMES (about 500) with SALES BY ACCOUNT. What is blocking this?
Attention API Users: Upcoming Support for Renaming System Fields
Hello all! We are excited to announce an upcoming enhancement in Zoho CRM: support for renaming system-defined fields! Current Behavior Currently, system-defined fields returned by the GET - Fields Metadata API have display_label and field_label properties
Confirmation prompt before a custom button action is triggered
Have you ever created a custom button and just hoped that you/your users are prompted first to confirm the action? Well, Zoho knows this concept. For example, in blueprint, whenever we want to advance to the next state by clicking the transition, it is
Cost of good field
Is there a way we can have cost of good sold as a field added to the back end of the invoicing procedure and available in reports?
How to create auto populate field based on custom module in Zoho CRM?
Hello, i'm still new to Zoho CRM and work as administrator in my company. Currently, I'm configuring layout for Quotes Module. So, the idea is, I've created a read-only field in Quotes called "Spec". I want this field automatically filled with Specification
Next Page