Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data?

Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field.



What is a Zoho CRM field?

A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM account to prefill the form.

This field accesses the CRM record using a unique key to identify which record you are searching for. The records can be identified by their last name, company, or any other unique field.

Setting up the integration

First you need to add the Zoho CRM field to your form. In the setup configuration, determine the following:
  1. Which field to use to identify the CRM record. For example, the Last Name of the record.
  2. Which details should be prefilled in the form. In the example below, the record's First Name , Email, and Phone are set to be prefilled. 



Notes on using Zoho CRM fields  
  • The Zoho CRM field will not work for embedded forms, or if forms are shared via public link(URL). It can only be used when the form is shared privately (within the organization). 
  • The person updating the data must be a user of both Zoho Form and Zoho CRM and have View/Edit access to records in CRM. 
Send out prefilled forms to your leads/contacts

If you need to share forms with people outside the organization and want the forms to be prefilled with the data from your CRM records, you can send the link to the form as an email in Zoho CRM. This allows a prefilled form to reach the end respondent, with a disabled Zoho CRM field. This keeps the data secure, because the disabled field will not reveal any information from other records.

How prefilling works?

The fields in the form are not populated when the form reaches the respondent. They will need search for a particular CRM record using a unique key, in this example, it is Last Name (as configured above). When the record is found, the mapped values in the Zoho CRM field setup will be autofilled into the form fields.

As shown in the example below, the First Name, Phone and the Email fields are automatically populated with data from the CRM record. The user can further modify the autofilled values, and also fill out the remaining form fields.



Now that you know how to prefill forms, we will discuss how this can be used to update or add data in the upcoming series.



Stay tuned!
Prasana.



If you have any questions or feedback to share, feel free to comment below or drop us an email at   support@zohoforms.com


    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #10: Automatically add tags to Zoho CRM records using form responses

      You may be using tags to filter records, create reports based on specific tags, or let your sales team to know which clients to give priority to. Don't skip tagging for the crm records added via forms. The tags can be set to be automatically captured during the form submission. How it works When you set up a configuration to push form entries into CRM, you can add a tag to them automatically. The tag value can vary based on the respondent's input (captured using form fields), or you can include a
    • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

      How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM
    • Tip #8: Pass Adwords data (GCLID) and UTM parameters to Zoho CRM using forms

      When you are using forms to capture leads, you may wonder: " How did they find me? Which marketing campaign worked best?"  You can answer this question by capturing the Google Adwords data (GCLID) or the UTM parameter details in your CRM using forms. This can be a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the most effective ways to capture leads.  Capturing GCLID parameters How it works If a person finds your form by clicking an ad, a GCLID gets created. When they fill out
    • ZUG (Zoho User Group) In-person Meetups - Maximize Data Efficiency with Zoho Forms & Beyond

      Hello Zoho Community, Join us for our upcoming meetups in ANZ, where we'll dive into seamless data handling and maximizing efficiency through Zoho Forms and beyond. Explore the potential of Zoho Forms customization and integration, from mastering the
    • Tip #9: Modify deal properties in Zoho CRM using form responses

      How to modify deal properties of Zoho CRM records using form responses? Deal properties in Zoho CRM records are constantly modified based on the status of the deal. You can automatically modify deal properties (like the deal closing date, or deal name) and even update the deal stage, using form inputs. This can drastically reduce the work your team would otherwise do to search and change individual record details manually. How it works This works by integrating the form with the Deals module of Zoho
    • Recent Topics

    • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

      Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files
    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24
    • Super Admin Logging in as another User

      How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working
    • sending email with another account

      Hello there, i write there for an our costumer request. They want to send email from CRM with a different email (confirmed and added to zoho profile). For example they use account@zilium.com but with this account they want to send (not only with email
    • What's New in Zoho POS - February 2026

      Hello everyone, Welcome to Zoho POS’s monthly updates, where we share our latest feature updates, enhancements, events, and more. Let’s take a look at how February went. Purchase and sell items on different units We have introduced a unit conversion functionality
    • Regarding the integration of Apollo.io with Zoho crm.

      I have been seeing for the last 3 months that your Apollo.io beta version is available in Zoho Flow, and this application has not gone live yet. We requested this 2 months ago, but you guys said that 'we are working on it,' and when we search on Google
    • Message as bot

      I would like to be able to send a Cliq message truly as a bot. the current implementation of this function, while it sends the message as a bot it sends that message inside a chat from the user how authenticated the flow cliq connection instead of directly
    • Using a custom single line External ID form as merge fields in templates

      Hey everyone, We're looking to integrate a few external systems better with our Zoho CRM, and we had hoped to use external fields for this purpose. In this case, it would mean being able to use our own inoice system's invoice numbers are a direct id compatible
    • Build an approval management system with Custom Modules

      Dear users, Task management is at the heart of project management. But not all tasks are created equal. You can have your tasks reviewed before any work begins, to improve transparency or stay within budget or as part of your process. Zoho Projects allows
    • CRM's sandbox now supports the Zoho Desk integration

      Hello everyone, Sales and customer support teams often collaborate to solve tickets and identify pain points. In Zoho's suite of products, sales teams primarily use Zoho CRM while customer support teams work in Zoho Desk. These two tools are often integrated
    • Countries List Global Set- Complete with Phone Country Code and Continent.

      Dear Zoho Team I saw your recent addition to the Global Sets regarding the Countries list and states. While working on it, why didn't you also add things like Continent and Phone Country Code? Also, some ISO codes from some Countries/regions are mis
    • mask Customer phone number and agents cant see customer phone number

      Is there any way we can integrate Zoom Phone with Zoho CRM while ensuring that customer phone numbers remain masked? We need a solution where agents can make outbound calls but cannot see customer phone numbers. Please let us know if there is any solution
    • Zoho Community Digest — Marzo 2026

      ¡Hola, comunidad! Un mes más os traemos las novedades más interesantes de Zoho para marzo de 2026, incluyendo actualizaciones de producto publicadas oficialmente, cambios de políticas y noticias del ecosistema. ¡Gracias por venir a los Workshops de Madrid!
    • Files Uploaded to Zoho WorkDrive Not Being Indexed by Search Engines

      Hello, I have noticed that the files I upload to Zoho WorkDrive are not being indexed by search engines, including Google. I’d like to understand why this might be happening and what steps I can take to resolve it. Here are the details of my issue: File
    • How can we get payment status updates for payment links in Zoho Books using webhooks?

      When we create and share a payment link in Zoho Books, is there a way to know when the payment is updated? Can we use webhooks to get real-time updates for payment link status instead of checking manually?
    • Adding Images to a Quote in Zoho CRM

      We are currently preparing to use Quotes in Zoho CRM and we are building out our Quote templates.  We came across an issue of not being to add Images of the products to the Quote - specifically in the body of the Quote templates.   This is a problem,
    • Uplifted homepage experience

      Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:
    • 【Zoho CRM】住所項目のアップデート:構造化された正確な住所入力を実現

      ユーザーの皆さん、こんにちは。Zoho コミュニティグループの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、住所項目に関するアップデートをご紹介します。 アップデートの概要 これまでの住所項目は、自由入力形式のテキスト欄が中心でした。 そのため、入力者によって書き方がバラバラになりやすく、データの検索やレポート集計が難しいという課題がありました。 今回追加された新しい住所項目では、住所を構造化されたフォーマットで管理できるようになりました。 以下の要素をそれぞれ個別の項目として分割して管理します。
    • How to hide Activity Side Panel

      How do you hide the activity side panel? Clicking on the link and reviewing the activity does not remove it and it does not seem to timeout. I have any activity that have been listed there since January. Thank you.
    • This version of app doesn't support this notecard type Error

      So this problem is happening for any notes created within the last week, as well as any note recently edited on Android. I can open them on my phone fine, but they don't open on the website version. They DO work on the desktop app version. It's just web
    • Edit a previous reconciliation

      I realized that during my March bank reconciliation, I chose the wrong check to reconcile (they were for the same amount on the same date, I just chose the wrong check to reconcile). So now, the incorrect check is showing as un-reconciled. Is there any way I can edit a previous reconciliation (this is 7 months ago) so I can adjust the check that was reconciled? The amounts are exactly the same and it won't change my ending balance.
    • Choose Component for User Filter

      This filter in the Choose Component for User Filter would be better if had an Order or Group by function. Also, the Specify the default filter values: is very confusing and limiting.
    • Preventing auto-redirect to Parent Record on Save...

      Our users often create records from the related list on th left side of the screen. They click the blue "plus" button to create the record. This is handy, but for some modules, or situations, they would like to remain on the record AFTER clicking "Save",
    • Zoho Desk - Event Calendar View

      Hi Desk team, Are there any plans to introduce a calendar or timeline view for Events in Zoho Desk? It would be very helpful if we could see Events visually in a calendar and/or timeline. This is very helpful when desk side support activities need to
    • Re-Apply SLA When Ticket Reopened from Closed Status?

      If you have an SLA applied, timers are deactivated when going to "On Hold" status type and reactivated when going back to an Open status type. What we discovered is when a customer replies to a closed case and it reopens, the SLA is not applied and timers
    • Option to Delete Chats in IM

      Currently, there is no option to delete any chats in IM, regardless of their source.
    • Time Zones for Users

      I've searched for this topic, but the only answers I see are from years back. We have users all over the country. is there a way for them to set their own time zone? This is important and should be a standard setting, but I do not see how to do it.
    • Is it possible to make tags "required"

      We would like to be able to make the tag field a requirement for agents before they can close a ticket. This would help with monthly reporting, where a lot of tickets end up with no tag, causing manual work to go back and add the correct tag for each
    • Showing the map along with mileage expense

      When you use the GPS to track mileage, it shows you the map of the actual path travelled. It would be very useful and practical to save that map with the mileage expense, so that when the report is created, it provides a map of each mileage expense associated
    • ID:2406331

      Hello, I have sent the form (ID:2406331) but no answer after two days. This is a paid subscription, I am not allowed to use the eighth paid slot of 50GB email space anymore, only 7 are being used. Is anyone going to help me please so I can use the eighth
    • Approval Workflow for Purchase Orders Abrir

      The requirement is , that all purchase orders greater than or equal to 5000 go through an approval process from certain people, but within books I only see that the approvers can be by levels or any approver but we cannot enter a rule like these. Can
    • I would like to know wich person viewed the file

      I have a franchise and my Operative Manual is in WorkdriveI, the user can´t download but despite I know How many views the file had, I would like to know wich person viewed the file Is it possible? thank you
    • Transaction Rule Matching

      Q1. Is there a method to have the Transaction Rules applied across multiple Bank Accounts? Q2. To match "contains" text in Transaction Rules, is a wildcard or regular expression required? Is it case sensitive? Would searching for "issue" in the following
    • Notebook on Mac: Fuzzy fonts in list view

      Hi, I am running Notebook on Mac OS 26. Generally it works fine, and the font display in the notes themselves is crisp. However, in the notes list (left of the open note) the font of the note titles as well as first lines is noticeable fuzzy. Attached
    • Trigger workflows from SLA escalations in Zoho Desk?

      Hey everyone, I’m currently working with SLA escalation rules in Zoho Desk and ran into a limitation that I’m hoping someone here has solved more elegantly. As far as I can tell, SLA escalations only support fairly limited actions (like changing the ticket
    • Zoho CRM Email Templates 100% Width No Background How?

      Hi, On the Zoho CRM Email Templates in setup > customization > templates > new templates > I choose blank template, but still it puts in a gray background and a max width for the email. I just want to make an email that looks like an email I would send from gmail that has no background or max width. How do you do this? 
    • ZOHO CRM Quote Export / Quote Report

      How can I either Export my quote list, or create a Report that shows all quotes AND includes the NOTES field in a column. I attempted to Run a Report which includes ALL FIELDS, however it does not include the Notes Field (but oddly does include the fields
    • Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM

      Release update: 1. 2 March 2026: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. 2. 26 March 2026: CA, SA, AU, JP, CN DCs - Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate, CRM
    • Adding a Mark Up

      Can you use the discount column to be a mar up column on estimates and invoices?
    • URGENT. Recovering email without eArchive

      Hello, I have deleted some email from my trash but do not have eArchive. Is it possible to recovery without this? many thanks!
    • Next Page