Auto-number Field - Word of the day #95
In the Zoho CRM module layout, the 'Auto-number' field enables you to associate a sequential numeric value to each entry your users submit through your layout form. The number held by this field is automatically assigned immediately after your users submit an entry in the module, thus the auto number is a field for which your users cannot enter an input. Here's a knowledge-base article on how to create an Auto-number field. Previous 'Word of the Day': Super Admin Next 'Word of the Day': Segmentation
Group - Word of the day #93
In Zoho CRM, you can create different types of groups (set of users) to manage a set of common records. Groups can be used for setting up team selling, team support, event management by a group of marketing users, etc. Users associated with a particular group can access the records shared to a particular group and perform the necessary operations on the records. You can also create a group directly from the Feeds tab by clicking on the Create Group icon. For example, specify the Group Name as Product
Wizards - Word of the day #92
A Wizard helps you divide a long form into a series of screens, where users can enter data on each screen as they proceed to the next step until completion. A step-wise approach is less overwhelming and reduces chances of erroneous data entry, as the partially completed form can be saved as draft and submitted later. Here's a knowledge-base article on how Wizards can be useful for you and how you can create it. Check this video from Lior Izik on working with Wizards. Previous 'Word of the Day': Web
Web Tab - Word of the day #91
Web tabs help you to open web pages like company-wide announcements, web applications, etc. inside Zoho CRM. All the Zoho CRM users across the organization can view these web tabs. You can also create your own applications using Zoho Creator and access them inside Zoho CRM. By default, the web tabs functionality is available only to the users with Administrator privilege. However, you can also activate this functionality for other users. Here's a knowledge-base article on working with Web Tabs. Check
Community Digest - July 2020
Announcements: Zia is now a separate category in the setup page. Take a look. Rolling out new changes in CRM logo and Menu bar. Introducing Zoho Directory integration with Zoho CRM. Enhancement in Portals: Edit records and access subforms added by other portal users. Trimming down the list of Timezones in Zoho CRM. Associate emails with records using Outlook in Zoho CRM. Depreciating the old OAuth tokens for sandbox environment APIs. Zoho Marketplace houses a wide range of extensions to enrich your
Activities - Word of the day #90
An important aspect in CRM is to keep track of various sales activities such as tasks, meetings (previously called 'Events') or calls. You can neatly organize the numerous records along with the activities associated to them such as follow-up, pre sales and post sales activities, phone conversations etc. They can be very useful in initiating and tracking pending action items and in recording the results of meetings or events. In Zoho CRM, the Activities module is where you can create and associate
Multi-page Layout - Word of the day #89
Zoho CRM allows you to run a separate sales process with its fields, records, views, workflows, reports, and dashboards. This way, multiple departments in your organization can use the software without the need for multiple CRM accounts. Check this video from OscilloSoft Pty Ltd. Previous 'Word of the Day': Email Parser Next 'Word of the Day': Activities
Ask the Experts - Q&A discussion on building customer experience and foundation in CRM 2020
Last month, Zoho CRM delivered a mammoth release of 16 brand-new features. These span across developing customer insight, experience, intelligence and foundation in Zoho CRM. To help our users implement and understand the functionality of these new features, we've scheduled live Q&A sessions on this forum. The first session will be held on 9th July, between 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM EDT | 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM BST and cover features falling under categories of Experience and Foundation in Zoho CRM. Our
Email Parser - Word of the day #88
Simplify the process of lead generation by fetching lead data directly from incoming sales enquiry emails. An Email Parser is designed to automate the process of adding records to Zoho CRM by extracting information from incoming emails. The leads' details can be extracted by the email parser and added directly to your CRM records. Here's a knowledge-base article on how Email Parser works. Check this video from 'SaaS on a Shoestring' on Email Parsers. Previous 'Word of the Day': Escalation Rules Next
Escalation Rules - Word of the day #87
If cases aren't being solved quickly, Zoho CRM automatically escalates the overdue cases to the relevant manager or sales rep. You can configure a simple set of rules based on various criteria like priority, case name, or the time at which it was created to govern these actions and manage cases more efficiently. Here's a knowledge-base article on how to set escalation rules. Check this video from TheMarksGroup. Previous 'Word of the Day': Review Process Next 'Word of the Day': Email Parser
Review Process - Word of the day #86
The impact of your sales team depends on the quality of information they get from your CRM. Inaccurate or missing information can hurt a sales rep's chances of closing a deal. Zoho CRM helps your organization define a review process where a user or team of your choice can vet incoming information before approving or rejecting it. They can add comments as well as state reasons for rejection to ensure your sales team has access to information of the highest quality. Here's a knowledge-base article
Improving banking process efficiency with Zoho CRM
Banks act as a bridge between borrowers and lenders, thereby facilitating millions of transactions each day and play a key role in the functioning of the economy. Some of the many functions performed by banks include: Acting as a custodian for people's money Helping corporate organizations in disbursing salaries to employees Providing loans for real estate, business, personal, educational and healthcare purposes. Offering credit & debit cards. Insurance schemes for people, assets and organizations.
Approval Process - Word of the day #85
There are several instances in your business where your sales team needs approval from their senior managers—for example, pricing discount requests, contract review requests, capital expense approvals, vacation time approvals, and document approvals. Zoho CRM offers a dedicated approval management system running behind the scenes to standardize approval processes and save time by creating a dependable, repeatable system. Here's a knowledge-base article on creating an Approval Process. Check this
Process Management - Word of the day #84
Building a standardized sales process based on your most effective sales strategies provides your company with a consistent roadmap to success. From lead creation to deal closure and everything in between, Zoho CRM can capture your organization's sales process and make sure everyone in your team follows the right process, even when you're not looking. Zoho CRM offers some easy-to-use features that can help build flowcharts and create logical steps for the process to make it repeatable, productive,
Recycle Bin - Word of the day #83
All the records and files that are deleted from the Zoho CRM account will be stored in the recycle bin. You can restore the records from the recycle bin within 60 days, after which they will be permanently deleted from your CRM account. You can also manually delete the records from the recycle bin before the default deletion period. Here's a knowledge-base article on working with recycle bin. Check this video from Aspen Technology Group. Previous 'Word of the Day': Export Next 'Word of the Day':
Export - Word of the day #82
The Export Data feature in Zoho CRM allows you to export data (in CSV format) from individual CRM modules. After exporting the data, you can further validate or store the data in your own server(s). You can export a maximum of 3000 records from a module. Here's a knowledge-base article on how to export data from Zoho CRM. Check this video on data exporting. Previous 'Word of the Day': Import Next 'Word of the Day': Recycle Bin
Import - Word of the day #81
Data can be gathered through various sources such as, purchasing a record database, collecting from trade shows and campaigns, and so on. Importing records from such external sources to Zoho CRM is one of the most important lead creation activities in any business. For that reason, importing should be easy and should help you maintain clean data without duplicates. If the import file is in .XLS, .XLSX or .VCF format, you can import a maximum of 5000 records/batch for all CRM editions. However, to
My Zoho Story #05 Tiffany Stillwell - Adapting a cloud solution for business growth
In this community interview series, we hope to have users across various industries share their learnings and experiences on leveraging Zoho to empower their business. Tiffany Stillwell is the Vice President of Marketing at Patten Title Company. Listen to her story on how going cloud empowered their business.
IMAP - Word of the day #80
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is an email retrieval and storage protocol, which syncs with the servers and maintains the status of messages across multiple email clients. Zoho Mail can be accessed via IMAP on any standard IMAP client using the configuration details provided in this guide. Log in to your webmail and Enable IMAP Access for your account before you configure IMAP in the email client. (You might require an Application-specific Password to set up the account for other devices
POP - Word of the day #79
POP or Post Office Protocol enables you to access the emails in any email client of your choice. POP performs one-way email retrieval and there is no sync between the email clients and server. That means, emails are downloaded in the client and deleted from the server unless "Keep a copy on server" option is provided. Zoho Mail can be configured in any standard POP email client providing the POP and SMTP server settings. Here's a knowledge-base article on setting up POP account. Previous 'Word of
Translation - Word of the day #78
Zoho CRM provides an option for Administrators to translate the fields and picklist values to other languages for CRM users. The first step is to turn on the translations setting. Then, you may add as many languages you need from the list of 26 pre-defined languages available in Zoho CRM. Read this knowledge-base article to learn the step by step process of adding languages. Previous 'Word of the Day': Data Backup Next 'Word of the Day': POP
Data Backup - Word of the day #77
The Data Backup feature allows Zoho CRM users with Administrator privileges to take a complete backup of the CRM data. The data backup takes a few minutes to hours depending on the size of the data that needs to be archived. Smaller the data, lesser time it takes to complete the backup. The backup can be downloaded from Setup > Data Administration > Data Backup. Backup download link remains active for a maximum of 7 days from the date of backup creation. Here's a knowledge-base article on working
Notes - Word of the day #76
Notes are the digital equivalent of paper sticky notes. You can use the notes to write questions, reminders, and anything you would write on notepaper. These are useful for storing bits of information related to customers, which you may need later. In Zoho CRM, you can associate notes to the records by specifying the required details. [You can create notes only if you have the permission.] Here's the knowledge-base article on working with Notes. Previous 'Word of the Day': Kanban View Next 'Word
Kanban View - Word of the day #75
Kanban view is a card-based view that displays the data in an organized manner for better comprehension. For example, you can sort the leads based on their status or categorize the sales depending on different stages. This sort of information gives better insights about potential bottlenecks and lets you fix them effectively. In comparison to List View, where all the records are listed one after the other, a Kanban view segregates your data based upon the lead status giving a clearer picture. You
List View - Word of the day #74
In Zoho CRM, you can sort, categorize, and choose to view your records in three different ways: List view, Kanban view, and Canvas view. (We would cover Kanban view tomorrow, while you can learn more about Canvas view here.) In the List View, the records are grouped under a defined set of criteria. List views are categorized under 'Created By Me' and 'Shared With Me'. You can also mark list views that you often use as Favorites and those will be listed first in the List View drop-down. There are
Filter - Word of the day #73
With Filter option in Zoho CRM, you may narrow down large volumes of data to the specific view you want to see. Create Advanced Filters that add context to your search, so you can filter out the records that you need to concentrate on and decide on the best course of action. You may use advanced filters to discover untapped leads, discover records that are likely to convert, filter contacts based on their deal stages among other examples. Here's a knowledge-base article on working with Advanced Filters.
Widget - Word of the day #72
The provision to include external services to Zoho CRM helps to extend the functionalities of your application. Zoho CRM's Widgets, enable you to build embeddable UI components in the CRM and integrate them with the external application seamlessly. Widgets in Zoho CRM are embeddable UI components that you can create on your own, using our JS Software Development Kit. These widgets can be used to perform certain functions that utilize data from third-party applications seamlessly. Read this article
Multi-select Lookup Field - Word of the day #66
The Multi-Select Lookup Field enables you to establish what we call a many-to-many relationship between two modules in CRM. For instance, consider the example an insurance company. A single policy may be held by many policy holders. Similarly, a single policy holder may hold many policies. If you have two modules - Insurance Policies and PolicyHolders - there is a need to associate multiple records from each module to each other. This is not possible with a regular look-up field, as it allows only
COQL - Word of the day #71
COQL (CRM Object Query Language) is a SQL like language for querying data in Zoho CRM. It has some major advantages over the searchRecords API: you can use extra search operators (like, not equal, greater than etc.) and you can join multiple modules together. Read this article for an overview on COQL. This video shows you how to use it. Previous 'Word of the Day': API Next 'Word of the Day': Widget
API - Word of the day #70
API stands for Application Programming Interface. An API is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. In other words, an API is the messenger that delivers your request to the provider that you're requesting it from and then delivers the response back to you. Use Zoho CRM's APIs to connect multiple data sources, enhance your workflows with additional data, and maintain a single point of truth. REST APIs: Access and work with almost all of Zoho CRM's components using
My Zoho Story#3 - Hannah Eversole on Zoho, the need for remote collaboration, and adaptability in 2020
In this community interview series, we hope to have users across various industries share their learnings and experiences on leveraging Zoho to empower their business. This interview features Hannah M Eversole, Global Strategy Analyst at Accurate Technologies Inc. Hannah is the driving force for Zoho in her company, implementing Zoho for various aspects of their business. Hannah also talks about the need for remote collaboration for businesses in 2020 and the solution offered by Zoho with its wide
Calendar - Word of the day #69
Plan your demos with prospects, calls with customers, training sessions, and just about anything sales-related using Zoho CRM's built-in calendar. You can use your group calendar to check a lot more than just your colleagues' availability to attend calls or meetings. Filter your colleagues based on territories and other relevant criteria when you have to pass on specific information. Call prospects directly from your calendar and avoid the hassle of searching for phone numbers. Turn a one-time event
Custom Module - Word of the day #68
Zoho CRM comes with standard modules for Sales, Marketing, Customer Support and Inventory management etc. However, module requirements can vary widely from business to business. Custom modules give you the flexibility to create the niche solutions that maximize operational efficiency. With the Custom Modules functionality in Zoho CRM, you can develop new modules using built-in tools that need no programming skills. These custom modules can seamlessly integrate with core CRM modules and need not be
Community Digest - June 2020
Announcements: We are elated to announce our most awaited features of 2020. Check out the posts below: Understand customers' expectations Offer a personalized selling experience Evaluate how your business processes are performing Improve work environment for your employees Here's a list of Zoho Marketplace releases: WeChat Pay, Bold BI and 4 more Zoho CRM extensions. Events module renamed as Meetings. The 'Need Help?' section inside the CRM profile page is revamped. Kaizen: Kaizen#34 - API Credits
Linking Module - Word of the day #67
A linking module is one that serves as a junction between two modules associated with a multi-select lookup field. Each association between two modules (created via a multi-select lookup field) is created as a record in the linking module. Here's a knowledge base article on working with Linking Module. Previous 'Word of the Day': Multi-select Lookup Fields Next 'Word of the Day': Custom Module
Currency Fields - Word of the day #64
The currency field in Zoho CRM module layouts enable your users to enter a monetary value. It displays a currency symbol and allows entering a decimal value. Here's a knowledge-base article on working with Currency Field. Watch this video by Paul Nicholson on working with multiple currencies. Previous 'Word of the Day': Dependency Fields Next 'Word of the Day': Lookup Fields
Small Business Heroes: Podcast #2 - Jeniffer Weise, Founder of Bee Free Gluten-free Snacks
'Small Business Heroes' is a new podcast series where we hope to covering stories from small business owners on how they use Zoho CRM to scale their businesses. In this second episode of Small Business Heroes podcast series, we have with us a dynamic
Dependency Fields - Word of the day #63
In Zoho CRM module layouts, there could be certain fields whose values depend on another field's value. This can be defined as a parent-child relationship. For example, let's say there are two fields - Country and State - in your Leads module. The values in the State field will depend on the country that you select from the Country field. Similarly, the values for the Sub-Department field will depend on the Department field that you select. This kind of relationship is established by mapping dependency
Tip #25: Customizing the Search Results layout in Zoho CRM
As part of our weekly Tips and Tricks series, we are back with a quick tip on customizing the search results layout in Zoho CRM. As you already know, you can search records using the Global Search option. For instance, you want to fetch the details of a contact called Smith, simply enter the keyword "Smith" in the Search text-box and Voila! You will see the details listed as related lists from all matching modules. But here, each related list you see above displays a standard set of columns. Say
Pick List Field - Word of the day #62
Pick List (or Drop-down) field is a field type in Zoho CRM that allows you to set a list of options for the CRM users to choose from, when submitting data. For example, when creating a new lead, you would want users to select an industry from the drop down list in field called 'Industry'. As an administrator of Zoho CRM account, you can edit the default pick list options provided in Zoho CRM. Multiple pick-list option enables selecting multiple values when creating or editing a record. For instance,
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