Zoho Books and SFTP / Flat Files integration

What moves between them

Invoices, bills, purchase orders, and chart-of-accounts data flow from Zoho Books to SFTP on a schedule you control. ml-connector polls Zoho Books at your chosen interval, reads new or changed records, transforms them into the file format your SFTP partner expects (CSV columns, X12 segments, or fixed-width layout), and deposits the file to the inbound folder on the SFTP server. Reference data such as chart-of-accounts items can also be exported to establish a baseline for cost-center and GL-account mapping.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores Zoho Books OAuth2 credentials encrypted and handles the refresh-token flow proactively, refreshing the access token every 55 minutes to stay ahead of Zoho's 1-hour expiry. It routes all API calls to the correct regional base URL based on the organization's region field and includes the required organization_id query parameter on every call. For SFTP, ml-connector stores SSH credentials encrypted and uses SSH key authentication where possible (more secure than password). File formats are configurable per partner: you specify the column order for CSV, the segment delimiters for X12 EDI, or the fixed-width field positions for legacy formats. ml-connector maps Zoho's multi-currency amounts to a single currency if your partner requires it, handles rate-limit backoff when Zoho returns HTTP 429, and deposits completed files to the inbound folder. Polling frequency is tied to your accounting cycle (daily, weekly, or on-demand after month-end), and every file carries a manifest with record count and checksum for validation.

A real-world example

A mid-market professional-services firm uses Zoho Books for accounting and invoicing, but their largest client requires invoice data delivered daily as a CSV file to their legacy ERP via SFTP. Before the integration, the accounting team exported invoice reports from Zoho Books as spreadsheets every morning and manually reformatted them to match the client's required column layout before uploading to the SFTP server. With Zoho Books and SFTP / Flat Files connected, each morning's export runs automatically, transforms to the exact file format the client expects, and deposits it without manual steps. The client's ERP automatically ingests the invoices on schedule, and reconciliation time drops from 2 hours to 15 minutes.

What you can do

• •Export invoices, bills, and purchase orders from Zoho Books as CSV or fixed-width files to SFTP partners on a daily or weekly schedule.
• •Handle Zoho Books OAuth2 token refresh automatically and route API calls to the correct regional endpoint based on organization location.
• •Map Zoho Books multi-currency amounts and organization-specific fields to flat-file column layouts your SFTP partner requires.
• •Authenticate to SFTP servers with SSH key or password, store credentials encrypted, and verify host keys to prevent MITM attacks.
• •Deliver completed files to the inbound folder with automatic polling, checksum validation, and a full audit trail of every export.

Questions

Does the integration require a webhook from Zoho Books, or does it poll?

ml-connector polls Zoho Books on a schedule you control (daily, weekly, or custom intervals). You can also configure a Zoho webhook to notify ml-connector when a new invoice or bill is created, triggering an immediate export without waiting for the next polling cycle. Polling ensures no invoices are missed even if the webhook fails.

How does ml-connector handle Zoho Books OAuth2 and regional endpoints?

ml-connector stores your OAuth2 refresh token encrypted and automatically refreshes the access token every 55 minutes before it expires. It detects your organization's region from the Zoho API response and routes all subsequent API calls to the correct regional endpoint (US, EU, India, etc.). Every API call includes the required organization_id query parameter.

What file formats can ml-connector export to SFTP, and how are they mapped?

ml-connector supports CSV with custom column order, X12 EDI segments (e.g., 810 for invoices), fixed-width files, and XML. You specify the mapping once per SFTP partner (column names, order, delimiters, field widths), and ml-connector applies it to every export. Multi-currency amounts can be converted to a single currency if your partner requires it.