Zoho CRM Community Digest - May 2024

This May, we shipped several features and enhancements requested by the Community. Dive in to learn more about them and explore the engaging conversations awaiting you in the Zoho CRM Community. 

Product Updates:

New Capabilities for Custom Buttons:

Buttons in Zoho CRM got an upgrade! You can now tailor buttons to specific layouts, adding more context and reducing clutter. Even better, buttons are now available for Zoho CRM portals. This extended functionality allows your customers to launch a pre-configured Kiosk from within the portal with a single click, taking customisation to a whole new level. Check out the announcement post for more details, complete with use cases to help you understand this update better. 

Zoho CRM timeline: New look, new features! 

Zoho CRM's timeline has received a major makeover with some exciting new capabilities. We've extended the timeline view to three years, replacing the previous six-month limit, allowing you to see more of the record's history at a glance. This highly requested enhancement from our community doesn't stop there. You can now add notes directly to timeline entries for quick updates, filter events to zoom in on specific information, and even see email statuses — all within the timeline view. Check out this post to learn all about these enhancements.

Introducing Custom Email Field Support in Zoho CRM:

Zoho CRM now lets you send emails and sync conversations with email addresses added to custom email fields in Zoho CRM. This feature, in addition to the existing support for primary and secondary email fields, provides a more comprehensive email history across multiple email addresses within the CRM record. Supported for Leads, Contacts, Vendors, and custom modules, this feature is optional. Follow the steps in this announcement post to enable it for your CRM account. 

Introducing Lead History for Converted Leads: 

The timeline view stores the historical changes made to records, helping with the audit trail. Previously, lead history became unavailable once leads were converted to contact records, a major pain-point expressed by many of our community members. With the revamped timeline view, we have addressed this gap by making the lead history of converted leads accessible within the timeline view of the corresponding Contact, Account, or Deal record. This update is tied to the revamped timeline feature, which is being rolled out in a phased manner. For more details and updates on the availability of this feature, follow this announcement post. 

Column customization of Contact Roles in Deals:

You can now customize the columns displayed in the Contact Roles section inside the Deals module of Zoho CRM. This update allows you to rearrange the information and choose which details are most important for your team to see quickly. Check the latest comment by @Anonymous User in this post for the specifics.

Enhancements in Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM Integration:

We've enhanced the integration capabilities of Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects. A new Client Configuration section has been added in the setup to ensure you're aware of how your project clients are mapped to CRM Contacts and Accounts. Alongside the previously supported modules (Contacts, Accounts, and Deals), we've now included support for additional Zoho CRM modules like Products, Cases, Quotes, Invoices and Campaigns. This enables seamless access to all project-related information across related CRM modules. Automatic field mapping ensures that relevant details from the source module are populated when you create a project, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Additionally, the permission management of this integration is now simpler. Check out the post for more details!

Enhanced Validation Rules: 

The recent enhancements to validation rules introduce much-needed flexibility, allowing for quick validation of data at the individual field level. You can choose to prevent saving or allow it with a prompt when a validation fails, and decide where error messages appear —either at the field level or at the top of the page. Additionally, validation rules now extended to lookup fields. Dive into the post to learn more in detail. 

Useful discussions:

Moving Mail Merge Templates Between Modules:
@Caroline wanted to change the module associated with existing Mail Merge templates in Zoho CRM. Check out @838536863@zohoclosedAccount.com's suggested workaround in this post: download the original template, import it to the required module and re-map the merged fields. 

Mailchimp Extension for Zoho CRM:
Use this extension to seamlessly sync your campaigns and subscribers in Mailchimp with Zoho CRM. Send personalised emails based on your customers' interests and trigger email Campaigns with automated workflows based on CRM actions. To learn more about this extension, check out this post!

Enabling Clients to Update Data and Track Progress in Zoho CRM: 
@Salmaswco wants their clients to fill out a form in Zoho CRM, fetch previously filled data, review and update details, and track their progress over time. Depending on the depth of the requirement, this can be done natively in CRM using customer portals or by integrating with Zoho Forms or Survey. Check out this post for suggestions from @Anonymous User and @Amy on how to make this work. 

Auto-Send Emails to Deal Contacts on a Monthly Basis: 
@Pam wants to send recurring emails every month to Deal contacts based on specific criteria. They figured out that Workflow rules are the way to go for this but needed some reassurances on whether they are doing it the right way. @Anonymous User and @Anonymous User provided some pointers to reassure them and added more details to it in this post.

Automating VAT Calculations for Quotes:
@Coen | Heative was struggling with manually setting the VAT on quotes each time. which lead to sending incorrect quotes to their customers when missed. Check out @Ishwarya SG's suggested solution in this post to add an aggregate field that automatically rolls up the VAT values from individual products to the quote. 

Functions: 

Automatic Field Updates Between Contacts and Deals Module:
@Tyler Christie sought a way to automatically update select fields in deal records whenever related fields are updated in the Contact module. In the discussion thread, @Hugh Marshall provided a Deluge script function to achieve this. Tyler even shared an enhanced version of the code that allows mirroring multiple fields at once. Check out the post to learn more!

Chain Workflows in Zoho CRM: 
@Oscar brought up an interesting use-case that involves two workflows working in tandem. The first workflow triggers a field update in the Contacts module whenever a Deal is marked as "Closed Won". This in turn triggers the second workflow from the Contacts module to send an email to Deal Contact. They got it all right except for a parameter that needs to be added in the Function code to make the output of the first workflow trigger for the next one. Check out the solution, shared by @Vigneshwaran K and @Ishwarya SG in this post.

Dev's Corner: 

Connect Your Website with Zoho CRM: 

@Reynald needed help integrating their website with Zoho CRM. They were unsure of specific API details such as the URL, API Key, client ID, etc., as well as how to integrate them. @Ishwarya SG suggested using Zoho APIs to push website information to the CRM and shared the API documentation. Meanwhile, @Bhoomi Joshi explained the steps to generate the required credentials. Join the discussion to learn the process. 

Automatically Count Emails Open for Lead Engagement Tracking:
@Antonio wanted to track lead engagement with emails sent through mass emails. He needed a way to increment a numeric field each time an email is opened. Check out @Vigneshwaran K's response in this post, which provides an API-based solution to achieve this. 

Prevent Editing In Lookup Fields: 
@kparikh44444 wants to make a lookup field in a subform with the Deals module as read-only once the deal reached specific stage. They had successfully made other fields read-only using client scripts but were stuck with the lookup field. Check out this post for the script provided by @Hugh Marshall to achieve this requirement.

Auto-fill Time Zones Based on Postal Codes:
@K-CRM wants to populate the Time Zone field for Contacts automatically and Leads. Their goal is to send bulk emails to these Contacts/Leads at the beginning of their local day, and wanted to know if this can be done using their client's Postal Code. Check the solutions shared by @Vigneshawaran K and @Haiku Technical Support in this post.

Hiding Custom Based on Lead Stage: 
Revisiting an old discussion on hiding/disabling the convert button unless the lead reached a specific stage, @Dan had a similar requirement with a custom button but wanted it to work without reloading the page. @Hugh stepped in with a solution, prompting @Dan to post a glowing tribute for Hugh, quoted below! 

Check out this post for an interesting discussion.

Kaizen: 

Kaizen#136 - Zoho CRM Widgets using ReactJS:
Learn how to create custom widgets for Zoho CRM using frameworks like ReactJS. check this post for step-by-step instructions on setting up the project, including installing, creating, building and packaging the widget for Zoho CRM. 

Kaizen #137 - Lead Conversion using Zoho CRM APIs: 
Learn how to leverage Zoho CRM APIs to convert Leads into Contacts, Accounts, and Deals while avoiding duplicate records in this post. 

Kaizen #138 - How are Widgets used in Zoho CRM Settings?Interested in learning more about Widgets in Zoho CRM? Check out this Kaizen post for an interesting use-case on how to leverage Widgets to make your Knowledge Base resources accessible right within CRM. Don't forget to explore the recommended reads section at the end of this post to learn more about Zoho CRM Widgets. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's round-up. Keep tabs on the digest every month for the latest ideas and discussions. Stay tuned and engage in the forums to be included in the next month's digest. Have a wonderful month ahead!

• Topic Participants

• Swetha S

  

• Sticky Posts

• How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.

  Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity.  We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbers

• Function #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.

  Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is just

• Zoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas

  <br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,

• Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM

  Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practical

• CRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.

    Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,

• Recent Topics

• Import from /csv file, some items fail with the error "Specify Tax Or Tax Exemption".

  Hello! I am trying to import a csv file of all of my expenses for a complete financial year. I get errors for some items with the error message "Specifiy Tax or Tax Exemption". These errors only occur on lines where I have "Postage" as the expense account.

• About maximum number of requests per minute

  Hi, Our company has integrated Zoho inventory and we're using the shipping order creation and update functions and so on. Currently we're receiving "For security reasons you have been blocked for some time as you have exceeded the maximum number of requests

• Approval - Report/Views

  Hi, On Zoho Desk - Is there a way to report on pending approvals, or a view or similar?

• "Zoho CRM Integration" option is missing in Zoho Social Settings

  I am trying to integrate my Zoho Social account with my Zoho CRM account. I am on the Professional Trial plan and my user role is "Brand Admin". However, I cannot find the "Zoho CRM Integration" or "Lead Generation" option anywhere in my Zoho Social settings.

• Error 553

  Não estou conseguindo enviar ou receber e-mail, sempre dando o erro 553, sendo que há mais de um mês o domínio está pago e liberado. Preciso de um suporte urgente

• Automate insurance document workflows with Zoho Writer

  Insurance companies have to deal with creating and managing complex documents and forms, such as policy applications, explanation of benefits documents, brochures, renewals, and claim forms. Handling all of this manually is hugely time and effort intensive,

• Create PDFs with Text so that we can copy from a generated PDF

  Currently, any information that a user enters into a field cannot be highlighted and copied from the PDF that Zoho Sign renders. For example, if someone were to provide a phone number in a Zoho Sign text field, you would not be able to copy the phone

• How To Insert Data into Zoho Table using Api

  Hi Community, I have created a table inside zoho tables. How do I insert data into table using API. Please tell the exact endpoint and payload , I just have to insert data into table columns. Also tell how to find tableid, viewid, baseid etc. which are

• How do I delete a folder in Marketing Automation?

  Folders are used across contact lists and segments, and email templates. How do I delete a folder once it's been created?

• Portal Approval Process

  Hi Zoho team and fellow users, I am seeking a method to establish a multi-step approval process between a Zoho user and a portal user (Custom Portal) to review and approve requests through the Custom Portal. For instance, within this setup, one of the

• Narrative 8: Intelligent in-app support that's instantly available anytime and anywhere

  Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system - BTS Series Narrative 8: Intelligent in-app support that's instantly available anytime and anywhere The App Support Across Platforms (ASAP) add-on for Zoho Desk is an independent application that integrates

• Navigation issue — unable to return to Customer page after opening Receipt from Transactions

  Steps to reproduce: Open a Customer record. Go to Transactions tab and open a Receipt by clicking its receipt number. After viewing the receipt, clicking browser Back or closing the receipt does not reliably return me to the original Customer record (I

• Thermal Printer Option Needed for Delivery Challan Templates

  Currently in Zoho Books, the Delivery Challan template only supports A4 and A5 page sizes. However, in many businesses (especially retail and hardware), we use thermal printers (like 3-inch or 4-inch rolls) to print delivery challans. It would be very

• Separate Default Payment Modes for Receipts vs. Payments

  Right now, when I set a default Payment Mode via a customer invoice or Payments Received screen, that same mode shows up for vendor payments (Purchases → Payments Made). 🔹 Request: We need different default modes for: Customer receipts (e.g., default

• Update/Change GSTIN in GST Settings of zohobooks

  We are trying to update our GSTIN under the GST settings section of our Zohobooks account Initially, we had entered a dummy GSTIN (123456789123456) to generate a sample invoice before obtaining our official GST registration. After receiving our actual

• Link Payment Mode and Paid Through Accounts

  For most users, it's very difficult for them to understand that the Payment Mode is totally independent of the Paid Through account when paying bills. It seems (and is) redundant for them to have to select what is basically the same thing twice. The current

• Lets enable business to choose the default payment mode

  Lets enable business to choose the default payment mode so that we do not have choose payment mode again and again for each and every transsctions

• Add Attachment Support to Zoho Flow Mailhook / Email Trigger Module

  Dear Zoho Support Team, We hope you are well. We would like to kindly request a feature enhancement for the Mailhook module in Zoho Flow. Currently, the email trigger in Zoho Flow provides access to the message body, subject, from address, and to address,

• South African Payment Gateways

  Since the "Demise" of Wave many South African users have moved over to Zoho and yet for years users have been requesting Integration with a South African Payment Gateway to no avail. Payfast was the most commonly requested gateway as it supports recurring

• Has anyone verified if Zoho is PCI compliant?

  We are planning on using Zoho to process payments via Authorize.net. We have everything set up and are attempting to complete the PCI DSS SAQ-A requirement for our merchant account. This requires us to prove Zoho has completed the SAQ-D for Service Providers. We need a way to verify compliance, or a copy of an attestation of compliance signed by the appropriate officer at Zoho. I assume I'm not the first person to use Zoho to process payment, and therefore not the first to require this information

• Bigin Plugin for Outlook

  Could we get this added? The Gmail version already exists, and I would like to avoid having to make a switch.

• Date does not fit the field

  Hi There. I am having fun learning zoho sign API. Today I noticed the "Signed Date" field does not fit, or alternatively the font is to large for the auto field space. See screenshot below. The signed date field is created by putting {{Signdate}} on the

• Tip of the Week #69 – Automate your Zoho TeamInbox tasks with n8n integration.

  Don’t waste time repeating the same tasks—like sending follow-up emails or adding new contacts. Let automation save the day. With n8n, an open-source automation tool, you can connect your favorite apps and let them handle the busywork for you. You don’t

• Multi Page/Step Forms in creator

  Greetings i was wondering if it's possible to create multipage/step forms on creator similar to what we have on zoho forms. is that possbile? Thanks

• Package Geometry

  how can i add the dimensions and weight capacity of the available boxes to be default in the system everytime we use it ?

• How to create a Master Kanban Board that syncs with Child Projects?

  Hello, We're currently using Zoho Sprints for managing our interdepartmental teams, and we're looking to enhance our workflow using Kanban boards as part of a company-wide productivity improvement initiative. Our goal is to implement a project structure

• Writer.. Broken?

  Hello,  Writer has been really good to me during the months I've used it, up until now.  I usually launch the app by tapping the icon and I could immediately pick up where I left off.  Now I'm greeted by a loading circle not reaching 100% and I only have the option to create a new account.  By pressing that button it now switches to a login screen and I can access my account. However, it seems (only speculating ofc) to be stuck in cell-phone mode? everything looks scrambled.  I can't access any of

• How to access Recruit Variables in a Deluge function?

  I have set up Recruit Variables in Zoho Recruit, and I would like to know how to retrieve these variables from within a Recruit custom function (Deluge). Could someone please explain the correct way to access them? I tried the following code, but it did

• Upon De activate a user what name doe sthe contacts candidates go under?

  When deactivating a user, does the user name remain the same, as the candidate owner? If not what/who, does it change to? Do I need to change the user name in contacts and candidates before I deactivate the user?

• Weekly Tips: Customize alerts from your Priority Users

  You might receive hundreds of emails daily, but messages from your manager, clients, or team leads often require immediate attention, as they may contain urgent requests or critical updates. How would you ensure you never miss important messages from

• Maximum 100 records in Sheet View is limiting. How can I increase this?

  Thanks in advance for any help with this. There was a similar post that showed answered but it did not help with increasing the number of records you see in a Sheet View. Editing in the Sheet View is fast and efficient but I have 3500 records and I need

• Revenue Management: #3 Revenue Recognition Simplified

  In continuation of the previous post on how to compute revenue recognition, let's explore a solution that helps businesses handle real-world complexities. While the Accounting Standards provide a clear framework for recognizing revenue, the real challenge

• Tip #40- Strengthen Remote Support with IP-based Restrictions in Zoho Assist– ‘Insider Insights’

  Protecting sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access is a top priority for any organization. With IP-based restrictions in Zoho Assist, you can ensure that only users from trusted networks can initiate remote support sessions. Say your IT team

• Push Invoices to Xero Manually

  Hi guys, I'm wondering if anyone has wanted to do this and has a workaround or knows of an app that may be able to help with this. I sell B2B and B2C. The customers can purchase on our website or through marketplace, all of which send sales to zoho. The

• OpenAI error code: 1010 in a Zobot

  Please see short linked screen recording. Insights welcome. Please and thank you! https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/external/f3247ba9c872639157b707700c0300c433c7664aea924a034f4da3c3ad2e355f

• Ability to Create Sub-Modules in Zoho CRM

  We believe there needs to be a better, more native way to manage related records in Zoho CRM without creating clutter. Ideally, Zoho would support "sub-modules" that we can create and associate under a parent module. Our use case: We have a custom module

• Installing EMAIL Setup in New Domain

  Respected Support team, I'm facing an issue with cloudflare in Pakistan, I want to setup Zoho Mail Setup but I Don't know how to enable Zoho mail setup without cloudflare. My Website https://stumbleguymod.com/ is using CF, and I want a different Zoho

• Signature change

  I cannot see how to change signature or out of office details easily now in the new format.

• Inventory API - Retrieve all uploaded product / item images

  I know that I can get the primary image for each product / item or composite item, by using the /image endpoint.  https://inventory.zoho.com/api/v1/compositeitems/<item-id>/image?authtoken=<TOKEN> This will return only one photo, even if the item has multiple images uploaded. Is there a way to retrieve all images stored for an item via the Zoho Inventory API?

• Ebay Integration malfunction

  My eBay integration in Inventory has always worked well. It suddenly malfunctioned. It is creating its own parts in Inventory that are unavailable instead of selling the parts I've always sold. Tech help was unable to resolve this. The latest sale attempt

• Next Page