Kaizen #187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)

Kaizen #187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)



Howdy Tech Wizards!

Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! 

This time, we are diving into a two-part series where you will learn how to build a Timer and Worklog Widget for Zoho CRM. This widget helps track active work time and log multitasking sessions using Zoho CRM APIs, Client Script, Functions, and Workflows.

Why It Matters?

Zoho CRM effectively captures stage/status transitions, like tracking when a case moves from Open to In Progress or On Hold. However, in dynamic work environments, employees juggle multiple work items and engage in impromptu tasks or conversations. 

Let’s take the On Hold status as an example. 

While it can be used to indicate pauses in progress, it does not always align with real-world workflows. Consider these scenarios:

Not all interruptions justify a status change 

Moving the case to On Hold for every minor detour (to clarify something with a colleague or respond to another emergency work item) would be impractical and could lead to under reporting actual work hours. Over time, this untracked effort adds up, creating a gap in visibility.

Frequent status changes may dilute their meaning 

In many teams, On Hold signifies a legitimate blocker like waiting on customer input or an external dependency. Using it frequently to reflect quick shifts in attention could compromise that clarity. 

A timer widget solves this by:
  • Capturing hands-on work items.
  • Logging context switches (unrelated tasks) with descriptive entries.
  • Feeding structured entries into a custom module for reporting and subform sync.

Business Scenario: IT Service Desk & Ticket Resolution

A tech support team uses the Cases module to resolve customer issues. Some tickets are straightforward; others require follow-ups, escalations, or cross-team coordination. While CRM timestamps (like stage transitions or picklist tracking) track when changes happen, they do not reflect how long someone actively worked on a case.

This Timer Widget can be the ultimate solution to track down the active time spent on each case through out the day.

What are we Building?

By the end of this two-part guide, you will know how to:
  • Build a timer widget to track time per task or any CRM record.
  • Log work sessions into a custom module every time the timer is started/stopped.
  • Automatically populate a subform in the corresponding record module using workflows and Deluge functions.
  • Leverage the Reports module to analyze work patterns, SLA adherence, and productivity trends.
 In Part I, we will focus on:
-> Building and configuring the Timer Widget.
-> Capturing each timed session as a record in a custom module.

Prerequisites

1. Create a Custom Module

Create a custom module named Timer Entries to log work details and generate reports from the Reports module. A new record will be added to this module each time a timer is started.

Set up the following custom fields in the Timer Entries module:

Custom Fields
Data Type
Start Time
DateTime
End Time
DateTime
Total Duration (in mins.)
Formula 
DateBetween(${Timer Entries.Start Time},${Timer Entries.End Time},'Minutes')
Related to Case
Lookup to Cases module
Work Description
Multi Line


2. Add a custom picklist option

Add a custom picklist option called In Progress to the Status picklist field in the Cases module for precisely identifying the status of the cases. 

Follow this Add/Remove Picklist Values help section for more details. 

3. Setup Custom Views for Contextual Filtering

To streamline the widget experience and ensure users only see relevant records to associate while tracking time, set up two smart custom views—one in the Cases module and another in the Timer Entries module. 

Active Cases View (Cases Module)

Create a custom view in the Cases module to list only the active tickets the logged-in user is working on. Use the following criteria tips:
  • Use the Status field to filter records with values like In Progress, On Hold, or Escalated.
  • Use the Case Owner field to show records that are assigned only to the currently logged-in user.
This view powers the drop-down inside the widget where users select the case they want to start the timer for.
Active Timers View (Timer Entries Module)

Set up a second custom view in the Timer Entries module to track entries where the timer has been started but not yet stopped. These represent active timers. Use the following logic for criteria:
  • The End Time field is empty (i.e., timer still running).
  • Timer Entry owner field matches the logged-in user.
This view is used internally by the widget to detect if a timer is already running and update the same entry once the timer is stopped.
Follow the Managing List View help page and use the specifications shown in the following image.

Building the Timer Widget 

Step -1: Review Basics

Refer to our earlier Kaizen on CLI Installation, Creating a Widget Project, and Internal hosting of the same.

Step 2 - Develop the Widget

After initializing your widget project using CLI, implement the timer logic:

Fetching Active Cases

On page load, the populateRecordsDropdown function initiates a Get Records API call to the Cases module, using the Active Cases custom view ID. This fetches all active case records assigned to the logged-in user. 

These records are then listed in a dropdown, allowing users to quickly select the relevant case they are about to work on.

async function populateRecordsDropdown() {
            const recordsDropdown = document.getElementById("moduleRecords");
            recordsDropdown.innerHTML = ""; 

            try {
                const recordsResponse = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({
                    Entity: casesModule,
                    cvid: casesCVID,
                    per_page: 10
                });

                if (recordsResponse.data && recordsResponse.data.length > 0) {
                    recordsResponse.data.forEach(record => {
                        const option = document.createElement("option");
                        option.value = record.id;
                        option.textContent = record.Subject || "Unnamed Record"; 
                        recordsDropdown.appendChild(option);
                    });
                } else {
                    const placeholderOption = document.createElement("option");
                    placeholderOption.value = "";
                    placeholderOption.textContent = "No records found";
                    placeholderOption.disabled = true;
                    placeholderOption.selected = true;
                    recordsDropdown.appendChild(placeholderOption);
                }
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error fetching records:", error);
            }
        }

Starting the Timer and Creating an Entry

Once the user starts the timer, The createRecord function triggers a Create Record API call to log the session in the Timer Entries custom module. The record captures the start time and the related case and description (if provided).

Even if no details are entered or case is selected, a timer entry is still created with the start time. This ensures that spontaneous work sessions are tracked and not lost.

async function createRecord(startTime) {
            try {
                const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;
                const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;
                const selectedRecordText = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").options[
                    document.getElementById("moduleRecords").selectedIndex
                ].text;

                const data = {
                    Start_Time: startTime,
                    Owner: currentUserId,
                    Work_Description: workDescription,
                    Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId, 
                    Name: selectedRecordText 
                };

                const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.insertRecord({
                    Entity: timerModule,
                    APIData: data
                });

                console.log("Start time recorded successfully");
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error creating record:", error);
            }
        }


Stopping the Timer and Updating the Entry

When the timer is stopped, the widget uses the Active Timer Entry custom view to locate the most recent Timer Entry record created by the logged-in user that does not have an end time. 

The updateRecord is then triggered to update that active entry using the Update Record API call. It updates the End time of the session and the related case, descriptions, if it was not already provided when the timer was started.

async function updateRecord(endTime) {
            try {
                const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;
                const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;

                const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({
                    Entity: timerModule,
                    cvid: timerEntriesCVID,
                    per_page: 1
                });

                const latestRecord = response.data[0];
                if (latestRecord) {
                    const recordId = latestRecord.id;
                    const data = {
                        id: recordId,
                        End_Time: endTime,
                        Work_Description: workDescription,
                        Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId 
                    };

                    await ZOHO.CRM.API.updateRecord({
                        Entity: timerModule,
                        APIData: data,
                        RecordID: recordId
                    });
                    console.log("End time updated successfully");
                }
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error updating record:", error);
            }
        }

Step 3 - Validate and Pack the Widget

  • Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget.
  • Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.
  • Fill in the required details as shown in this image and ensure to select Button as the widget type.

Step 4 - Associate it with Flyout

  • Go to Setup > Developer Space > Client Script. Click New Script.
  • Enter a name and description for the script. Choose Command type in Category. 

  • Create a Flyout and render a widget within it using its details like the API name of the widget, title, size, and animation type. You can get the Widget API name from the widget's detail page. 
let allowedUserEmails = [];
allowedUserEmails.push('user1_email_address');
allowedUserEmails.push('user2_email_address');
allowedUserEmails.push('user3_email_address');
let currentUserEmail = $Crm.user.email;
if (allowedUserEmails.indexOf(currentUserEmail) == -1) {
    ZDK.Client.showMessage('Command access resticted', { type: 'error' });
    return false;
}
ZDK.Client.createFlyout('myFlyout', {header: 'Timer', animation_type: 4, height: '600px', width: '500px', top: '10px', left: '10px', bottom: '10px', right: '10px' });
ZDK.Client.getFlyout('myFlyout').open({ api_name: 'Timer', type: 'widget' });
return true;

Refer to Creating a Client Script help page for more details. 

Try It Out!

A complete working code sample of this widget is attached to this post.

Now, let us see how this Timer widget works:

1. Start the Timer 

Open the widget and select an active case from the dropdown. As soon as you start the timer, a new record will be automatically created in the Timer Entries module to capture the session.

2. Stop the Timer 

When the task is complete, provide a description of the work you have done and stop the timer. The same Timer Entry record (created when the timer was started) will be updated automatically with the end time and your work description.

This forms the foundation for accurate time tracking at the record level. 

In Part 2, we will show how to:

-> Use a workflow and Deluge function to transfer these entries into the Work Log subform inside the relevant Cases record.
-> Use CRM Reports to slice and dice work time for better SLA and productivity insights.

In the meantime, would you like us to address any of your pain-points or have a topic to discuss? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com.

Until next time, Happy Coding! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Reading

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Idea
Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for Subforms | Kaizen Collection: Directory


    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

      Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs

    • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

      🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

      Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

    • Recent Topics

    • Tip of the Week #66– Use internal comments to collaborate and resolve issues faster!

      Ever found yourself stuck on a customer query because you needed inputs from your teammate? Or sent a reply too soon and realized later that someone else on your team had a better context? When you rely on back-and-forth messages in external chats or

    • Using Zoho One to manage two (or more) businesses

      We are one company that operates two business, a scenario that Zoho One doesn't really seem to handle very well, and one which I can't imagine is at all unique to us! (It is basically designed to facilitate branding and use for one business only per subscription).

    • Skip order confirmation step in commerce?

      We have a store to sell products that are not shipped to a customer. Right now, when the order is placed, we have to manually 'confirm' the order so the sales order can convert to an invoice and charge the customer.  Is there a way to skip the manual

    • Free Shipping Coupon - Zoho Commerce

      I love the Zoho platform. Zoho Commerce is no exception; however, I'm struggling with a few common features I cannot find or are missing that I hope someone can help me with. Is there a way to create a coupon code for free shipping?

    • Is there a way to link an item to a liability account?

      I collect customer deposits for certain services and hold them in a liability account. However, Zoho Books doesn't let you create an item and assign it to a liability account so how do I create an invoice with an item that records it as a deposit into

    • Select a balance sheet account when creating an invoice

      Hi, it would be very helpfull to be able to select a balance sheet account when invoicing clients. We bill 30% of the job at signing and we would like to add to deferred revenues.  I have to create a transit revenue account and then tranfer to the right

    • How to work out commission in zoho commerce based on coupons

      HI There Is there any way to produce report based on coupon name in zoho commerce We need to pay commission to various channels who are helping us to increase the online sales so we have number dedicated coupons assigned to the above mentioned channels

    • Request for Subform Styling Feature in Zoho CRM Canvas

      Dear Zoho CRM Team, We have observed that in the Zoho CRM Canvas view, it is currently not possible to set presets or manage the styles of subform fields. Additionally, the ability to edit subform data directly within the Canvas view appears to be limited

    • How to Delete Old Tasks/Streams Assigned by Deactivated Users? 'Operation Not Permitted' Error

      Hello, I’m using Zoho Mail and have several old tasks assigned to me in Tasks and Streams. These tasks were created by former employees whose accounts are now deactivated. When I try to delete these tasks, I get an "Operation Not Permitted" error. These

    • Zoho Books - Sales Person Contact Details on Quotes

      Hi Zoho Books Team, I've had various clients ask me about showing the phone number and email of the sales person on Quotes to help eliminate any barriers to closing sales. When I tell them that it is not possible they are always surprised and say something

    • Related products category instead recommended products.

      Hi there, It is possible to show related products of the same category (as it works in the rest of the ecommerce) instead of showing recommended products.

    • Uploading PDF files

      How do I upload a PDF file to my ZOHO site?

    • How to send invoices to 2 emails?

      Hi! We are sending invoices to the "Customer email" field that is defined Zoho Books and is obtained/synced from a custom email field in Zoho CRM. But in some clientes, the invoices have to be sent to 2 emails and we are wondering how this could be accomplished.

    • It returns 1 record

      Var1= Tools_Request[Liability_Receipt == input.Liability_No]; for each rec in Var1.Tool_Request_Description { Var2= (ET_Inventory[SKU == rec.Tools_SKU].SKU).getAll(); } info call for Var2 It only fetch 1 record On record file

    • Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 5: The essential role of SLAs Every organization that interacts with customers establishes a timeframe within which agents should respond to queries as part of a service level agreement

    • Nextdoor Integration

      Does Zoho social work with Nextdoor? www.nextdoor.com? Are there any plans for an integration?

    • My email sending has beed blocked due to high bounce rate. NEED HELP

      User ID: 886739811 Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. My account (User ID: 886739811) was blocked from sending emails last week due to an unusually high bounce rate. This spike was caused by a bot attack on our platform, which led to

    • Can Zoho CRM Emails be used in Zoho Analytics in any capacity?

      We're wanting to display details about Lead Activity in regular reports through Zoho Analytics but we're having difficulty integrating Emails at all. We'd like to be able to note when an email is received and when it is sent somewhere other than just

    • IF Statement in Zoho CRM Formula Field

      Hi, I am attempting to write a formula field that will give me one result if one statement AND another statement are true, then a different value if the first statement AND a different statement are true, else 0. Stated differently: if account = destination

    • Scheduled Maintenances

      Hi, Why is adding scheduled maintenance so arduous. It should be a simple process and take very little time for basically a recurring job. Creating 3 records with similar data seems crazy to me. Is there a easy way to do this? I have to create hundreds

    • Subform Fields for Form Rules & Subform Fields as a Condition with Form Fields as the Action

      Hi, The Subform in Field Rules is great, but it is missing completley from Form Rules and it lacks being able to have Subform Fields in the Condition while having Form Fields in the Action, it works the other way around. Thanks Dan

    • Power of Automation :: Implementing Deadline-Based Task Scoring with Custom Fields

      Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate

    • Zoho Forms - Subform Integration with Zoho CRM?

      I created a form in Zoho Forms that includes a sub-form for information that I want to integrate with the CONTACTS module. I am unable to find a way integrate/map the fields in the sub-form with the Contacts module in Zoho CRM. Is there a way to do this

    • Filter by user in Pivot Chart

      I have a Pivot chart where the data should be filtered by user. The user enters the system and should see only the data that correspond to it. Can anyone help me?

    • Is ZeptoMail Still Supported? No Response to API Query in Over a Week

      Is ZeptoMail Still Supported? No Response to API Query in Over a Week I’m posting here to express my growing frustration and concern over the lack of professionalism I’ve experienced with Zoho's ZeptoMail support. On July 21st, I received a response asking

    • Add ID to the recycling bin page

      Feature request to add the ID to the recycling bin page. This would be helpful for reference when trying to recover things. This is the long zoho ID for each item. - ticket ID - contact ID - account ID - etc.

    • Remove System Defined Ticket Layout

      Hi ZohoDesk, I have created a new Ticket Layout and made it the default and I want to remove the original default one so there is only one to choose from. It won't allow me to do this, or go into the options and take the tick out of the show in Help Center.

    • ZOHOLICS Japan 2025 開催のお知らせ

      ユーザーの皆さま こんにちは、Zoho コミュニティチームの中野です。 年に一度の自社最大イベント、「ZOHOLICS Japan 2025」（ゾーホリクス）の開催が決定しましたので、こちらでお知らせします。 今年の開催回は、特別ゲストやZoho のエキスパートが、 最新のDX事情や皆さまのビジネスプロセス改善、業績アップのヒントとなる情報をお届けします。 Zoho コミュニティからは、Zoho Championの西尾さん（@西尾　真言）、 コミュニティアンバサダープログラム（ZCAP）メンバーの箕輪さんにご登壇いただき、

    • Unable to connect Zoho Learn to other Zoho Tools

      Hello Zoho, Can you work on Zoho Learn. I am unable to connect it with other Zoho tools like Zoho people or even Zoho SalesiQ. This is needed, especially if I am connect Ai to my systems. Please work on connecting your applications better, especially

    • Chatbot for Urdu language

      Hello, I have successfully set up Zoho Desk and integrated it with Moodle using ASAP. I am now looking for a chatbot that supports the Urdu language to enhance student support. My goal is to enable the chatbot within ASAP so that students can ask questions,

    • Multi Level Hierarchical Query

      Hi guys I have a situation where i am trying to extract the descendants of a particular entry. So long story short, i have the Account table with Agency (A) id = 1, and that has child Agency (B) id = 2. This child agency (B) has a child agency (C) id

    • AI-Powered Grouping and Tagging of Related Issues and Tasks in Zoho Projects

      Dear Zoho Projects Team, Greetings, We would like to suggest a feature that would greatly enhance how we manage feature requests and bug reports submitted through the Zoho Desk to Zoho Projects integration. Use Case: Our support agents handle customer

    • How to change side bar from dark mode to light mode?

      The side bar on the left side in workdrive doesn't appear to have a way to fix it from dark mode - is there a way to? I can't read in dark mode without excessive headaches, and I would really like to be able to see while I have workdrive open, as workdrive

    • How to see history on Bulk send of Customer Statements

      Hi, We bulk send statements to customers every month via Books - every month we have customers emailing requesting a statement. Currently I have no visibility on if a customer was sent the statement or not and if our process is being followed or overlooked

    • Guided Conversations - Ticket Creation

      Hi there, Using Guided Conversations to Take Customer Data and apply it into a Support Ticket for internal use, Is there a way to take multiple Textual Variables Inputs (A series of questions), and have the answers all appear in the Description of the

    • How to add buttons elements in the Header

      I am trying to add CTA (Call to Action) buttons in the right side of the main navigation menu. This is a common practice for sites but I can't seem to figure this out for Zoho Sites. Is there a custom workflow that could be shared with me? 

    • Automatic back up - Zoho Recruit, books, people,crm, analytics

      Hello, Has anyone found a good way of automatically backing up Zoho (CRM, expense, recruit, people, books, analytics).? I have found with tool that does, but it doesn't include recruit or analytics It's a bit annoying and time consuming having to go to

    • delete departments on zoho desk

      I created test departments on zoho desk. how can i delete them now?

    • Validation, checking if a file has been attached to the ticket

      A very useful option would be to allow checking, under specific conditions, whether the user has attached a file to the application, e.g., a bug report. Some applications require files to be attached, and the system could enforce this after the system

    • AI & Zoho Recruit

      Hello, I guess we all are using AI in our personal and professional lives. Now, let's imagine. Recruitment is just a succession of stages and steps. For which step would you like to see AI implemented into Zoho Recruit ? I'll start : - Automatic translation

    • Next Page