Integration · Accounting
Zoho Books and WhatsApp: create invoices and send them as PDFs on WhatsApp
How the native Zoho Books app works in Broadchat: Zoho sign-in and data centre, the modules for contacts, invoices, estimates and payments, a worked invoice flow and limits.
By Broadchat teamPublished 6 min read
You will need
- A Zoho Books organisation and a Zoho user with permission to manage contacts and invoices.
- The Automations module on your Broadchat plan, with paid tasks available: each Zoho Books step uses one paid task.
- Zoho sign-in enabled on your platform by your provider; the connection form tells you if it is not configured yet.
- An approved WhatsApp utility template with a document header, if you want to send invoice PDFs outside the 24-hour window.
What the Zoho Books app is for
The Zoho Books WhatsApp integration in Broadchat is a native app in the workflow builder. It signs in to your Zoho Books organisation and gives workflows actions for contacts, invoices, estimates, sales orders, items, expenses, bills, purchase orders and bank transactions. The most common use is simple and valuable for Indian SMEs: when an order is confirmed or paid, create the invoice in Zoho Books and send the PDF to the customer on WhatsApp in the same workflow run.
It suits distributors, wholesalers, agencies and service firms that already invoice from Zoho Books and whose customers respond faster on WhatsApp than on email. If you use another accounting tool, the webhooks integration is the route.
Worked example: paid order to WhatsApp invoice
Sharma Traders, a stationery distributor in Indore, collects advance payments through WhatsApp. When a payment completes:
| Step | Module | Key inputs | Output used later |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paymentz → Transaction Completed | (trigger) | payer name, phone, amount |
| 2 | Zoho Books → Search Customer By Phone Number | phone from step 1 | customer_id |
| 3 | Zoho Books → Create Sales Invoice | customer_id, item "Advance against PO", rate = amount | invoice_id, invoice_number |
| 4 | Zoho Books → Generate Invoice PDF Link | invoice_id | pdf_url |
| 5 | CRM → Send Template Message (V2) | Header Media = pdf_url, File Name = invoice_number | message sent |
| 6 | Zoho Books → Mark Invoice as Sent | invoice_id |
The customer receives "Hi Rohan, please find invoice INV-002418 for ₹18,880 attached" with the PDF, and the accounts team sees the invoice in Zoho Books as sent.
Reminders for unpaid invoices
For overdue invoices, have a scheduler call a workflow's Custom Webhook once a day. The workflow uses Find Sales Invoice or Get Sales Invoice to read balances and due dates, then sends a payment reminder template with the invoice link to customers who still owe money. Keep reminders to a few per invoice, in a neutral tone.
Troubleshooting
- "Sign-in for this app is not configured": ask your provider to enable Zoho sign-in on the platform.
- Organisation not found or invalid: check the Data Center and the Organization ID (Zoho Books → Settings → Organisation Profile).
- Customer search finds nothing: Zoho stores numbers as typed. Search with the format your team uses (with or without +91), or search by email or GSTIN instead.
- The WhatsApp document does not arrive: the template needs a Document header, the PDF link must be reachable by Meta, and the file name should end in .pdf.
- Insufficient task to perform the action: your plan's paid tasks for the period are used up.
See all native and webhook connections on the integrations page. Accounting firms and agencies can run this automation for many clients from one white-label panel.
Set it up
Connect Zoho Books
Open Automations → App Authentications and click Add Connection. Under Select App, choose Zoho Books. Pick the Data Center your Zoho account lives in (in for accounts created on zoho.in, com for zoho.com), enter your Organization ID if you have more than one organisation, and click Connect with Zoho.
Create the document template
In CRM → WhatsApp Templates, create a utility template with a Document header, for example: "Hi {{1}}, please find invoice {{2}} for {{3}} attached. Payment is due by {{4}}. Reply here with any questions." Submit it with a sample PDF.
Start a workflow from your order event
In Automations → Workflow, start from the event that should produce an invoice: a Custom Webhook from your order system, an Ecommerce order sent to a webhook from Ecommerce → Trigger, or the Paymentz app's Transaction Completed trigger.
Find or create the customer
Add Zoho Books → Search Customer By Phone Number with the customer's number. If nothing is found, a second branch with Create Contact adds them with name, mobile and GST Number when you have it.
Create the invoice and its PDF
Add Create Sales Invoice with the Customer ID from the previous step, the item and rate. Then add Generate Invoice PDF Link with the new Invoice ID. For GST e-invoicing, add Generate e-Invoice (India) before generating the PDF.
Send it on WhatsApp
Add Send Template Message (V2): choose your document template, set the Header Media to the PDF link from the previous step, set Document File Name to the invoice number, and map the body variables. Optionally add Mark Invoice as Sent.
What you can do
Invoices delivered where customers read them
Create an invoice in Zoho Books and send its PDF as a WhatsApp document in the same workflow, instead of an email that sits unread.
Find customers by phone or GSTIN
Search Customer By Phone Number, Search Contact By Email, Customer Search with GST Number and Customer Search with Company Name match WhatsApp contacts to Zoho Books customers.
Estimates, sales orders and e-invoices
Create and update estimates and sales orders, generate e-invoices for India, send invoice emails and generate customer payment receipts as PDFs.
Back-office tasks from chat events
Create expenses and bills, list purchase orders by status, and match bank transactions with invoices from automations, for teams that run collections on WhatsApp.
Limitations to know
- There is no live trigger from Zoho Books. The "New … Webhook" modules return the latest records when a workflow reaches them; they do not start a workflow when something changes in Zoho Books.
- Workflows have no built-in timer. To check Zoho Books regularly (for example for overdue invoices), call the workflow's Custom Webhook from a scheduler such as a cron job.
- Each Zoho Books step uses one paid task, so a five-step invoice flow uses five paid tasks per order.
- Only Zoho Books is supported natively. Zoho CRM, Zoho Inventory and other Zoho apps are reachable only through a generic API call that you configure yourself.
- Zoho sign-in must be enabled on the platform by your provider; you cannot add your own Zoho API client inside your account.
Sources
- Zoho Books API v3 — Zoho, checked 12 October 2026
- Template components (document headers) — Meta for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I send Zoho Books invoices on WhatsApp automatically?
Yes. A Broadchat workflow can create the invoice, generate its PDF link with Generate Invoice PDF Link, and send it with a WhatsApp template that has a document header. The template must be approved and the customer must have agreed to receive WhatsApp messages.
Does a new invoice in Zoho Books start a Broadchat workflow?
No. Zoho Books does not notify Broadchat. Start the workflow from your own event, such as an order or payment, or call its webhook on a schedule and read recent invoices.
Is Zoho CRM supported?
Not natively. Only Zoho Books has ready-made modules. Zoho CRM can be reached with a generic API call in a workflow, which you configure with Zoho's API documentation.
Can I generate GST e-invoices from WhatsApp orders?
The Generate e-Invoice (India) module pushes an existing Zoho Books invoice for e-invoicing, if e-invoicing is set up in your Zoho Books organisation. Broadchat does not replace that setup.