# Sync with Zoho Books

> Make a free app in Zoho's API Console, paste its keys on the Apps page, and Crewtavo sends clients, invoices and payments to Zoho Books as they happen.

When Zoho Books is where your books live, Crewtavo sends your clients, invoices and payments there as they happen, in whichever Zoho data center your account is in.

Crewtavo connects through an app you make in Zoho's API Console, for your business only. It's free and takes about five minutes.

## Make your app in Zoho

Open **Apps → Zoho Books** in Crewtavo and click **Install**. It shows these steps with every address ready to copy.

1. Pick where your Zoho account is. The address you see in Zoho Books shows it: `books.zoho.com` is the United States and `books.zoho.eu` is Europe, for example.
2. Click **Open Zoho API Console**, which opens the console for your data center. Click **Add Client** (or **Get Started**) and choose **Server-based Applications**.
3. Fill it in with what Crewtavo shows: **Crewtavo** as the client name, your Crewtavo address as the homepage URL, and the redirect URI, which ends in `/api/apps/zoho_books/callback`. Click **Create**.

## Install

1. Copy the **Client ID** and **Client Secret** Zoho shows.
2. Paste them in Crewtavo under **Apps → Zoho Books** and click **Save keys**.
3. Click **Sign in to Zoho Books**, sign in to Zoho and click **Accept**. Back in Crewtavo, Zoho Books shows as installed, with a check on the Apps page.

The secret is stored encrypted on your own server and never shown again. Crewtavo syncs with your default Zoho Books organization.

## What syncs

- **Clients** are added as Zoho Books customers when their first invoice goes over, not on their own.
- **Invoices** arrive when they're sent, with their lines and discounts.
- **Payments** are recorded against their invoice, including ones clients pay through [Stripe](https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/stripe/).

Syncing goes one way, from Crewtavo to Zoho Books. Record payments in Crewtavo, or let Stripe record them: a payment entered only in Zoho Books doesn't show up in Crewtavo, so the client would still look like they owe it. Refunds aren't sent yet, so enter those in Zoho Books yourself.

## If something doesn't sync

**Apps → Zoho Books** shows when Crewtavo last synced, and anything Zoho turned down. A change that didn't go through is tried again on its own.

- **"Needs to be reconnected"**: Zoho stopped accepting the sign-in. Click **Reconnect**.
- **"Didn't accept the Client ID and secret"**: a key was pasted wrong. Click **Change keys** and paste them again.
- **Zoho says the client is invalid when you connect**: the app was made in another data center than the one picked in Crewtavo. Click **Change keys** and pick the right one.

## Uninstalling

**Uninstall**, at the top of **Apps → Zoho Books**, stops syncing. Nothing already in Zoho Books is deleted. Your app's keys stay, so installing it again is one sign-in. **Remove keys** forgets them too.

Source: https://crewtavo.com/docs/connections/zoho-books/ (last updated 2026-11-04)