Kaizen #9 - Handling Product Line Items in the Inventory Modules #API

Kaizen #9 - Handling Product Line Items in the Inventory Modules #API

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!
This week, we will discuss handling product line items associated with the inventory modules—Quotes, Invoices, Purchase Orders, and Sales Orders.

What is a product line item?

On the Quote, Invoice, Purchase Order, Sales Order create or edit page, you add individual products in the Product Details section. This section also contains other details like the List Price, Quantity, Amount, Discount, and Tax. Every product and the corresponding details are called product line items.

In this post, we will discuss 
  1. Adding product line items while inserting a quote (through the Insert Records API)
  2. Updating a quote by adding another product line item (through the Update Specific Records API)

The JSON input is similar while adding/updating an invoice, purchase order, and sales order.

1. Adding Product Line Items to a Quote

While adding a product to a quote you can,
      a. Select a price book to associate with the product
      b. Specify a different list price for the product

1. a. Selecting a price book to associate with the product
To associate a price book with the product, you must pass the ID of that price book in the input.

What happens when you pass the Price Book's ID?
  • The discount on the product is automatically applied based on the range you specified in the price book.
  • The cumulative tax (specified for the product) is automatically calculated based on the amount (after the discount).
  • The List Price of the product specified in the associated price book is automatically taken for calculating the amount.

The sample input for Product_Details is as follows.

"Product_Details": [
    {
      "product": {
        "id": "3652397000000491147"
      },
      "quantity": 100,
      "product_description": "product_description",
      "book": "3652397000000616007"
    }
  ]

The following table gives information about each key in the Product_Details JSON Array.
Key
Data Type
Description
product
JSON Object
The ID of the product in the quote.
quantity
Number
The number of units of the product the quote is generated for. Accepts only positive integer values. The amount is calculated based on this number and the price for each unit.
book
String
The ID of the Price Book you have associated with the product.
product_description
String
Description of the product.

Here is a screenshot from the UI.


1.b. Specifying a different list price for the product
When the product does not have an associated price book or you want to give a different list price, you must specify the list price and the discount in the Product_Details array. 
Otherwise, the system enters the value for the discount as 0 and takes the list price you specified while creating that product.
The sample input for the Product_Details JSON array is as follows.
"Product_Details": [
    {
      "product": {
        "id": "3652397000000491147"
      },
      "quantity": 150,
      "product_description": "product_description",
      "Discount": 1000,
      "list_price": 1100,
      "line_tax": [
        {
          "percentage": 1,
          "name": "VAT"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

The following table gives information about each key in the Product_Details JSON Array.

Key
Data Type
Description
Product
JSON Object
ID of the product the quote generated for.
quantity
Number
The number of units of the product the quote is generated for. Accepts only positive integer values.
Discount
Currency
The discount, in decimals, you want to apply for the product. Accepts up to 16 digits before the decimal, and up to 9 digits after the decimal. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Maximum digits allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in the UI.
product_description
String
Description of the product.
list_price
Currency
The list price of the product.
line_tax
JSON Array
Contains the percentage and the name of the tax associated with the product.
percentage
Percent
The percentage of tax applied on the product. Accepts only numeric values, up to 5 digits.
name
String
The name of the tax applied on the product.

As mentioned earlier, the Product Details section encompasses the taxes applied for each product and the aggregate tax applied to the Sub Total of the quote or any other inventory module.

You can specify the different taxes you want to apply for your products in the CRM UI.
You can add them under Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Products as shown in the below image.


You can use these configured values as inputs in the API.

Adding taxes to the product while creating/updating an inventory module
When you add a product to an inventory module, to apply the taxes to that product, you must specify the tax details in the line_tax JSON array inside Product_Details.

You must specify the percentage and the name of the tax associated with the product as JSON objects.
You cannot specify the amount as the system calculates it automatically based on the quantity.

Example:

"Product_Details": [
    {
      "product": {
        "id": "3652397000001363004"
      },
      "quantity": 100,
      "Discount": 20.1,
      "product_description": "product_description",
      "line_tax": [
        {
          "percentage": 10,
          "name": "Sales Tax"
        },
        {
          "percentage": 1,
          "name": "Vat"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

Adding aggregate tax to the quote or other inventory modules
This is the tax that you want to apply to the Sub Total of the line items while generating the invoice, quote, sales order, or purchase order. The taxes you specify in the $line_tax key are added to the ones already applied to the product through the line_tax key.
The $line_tax key is present outside the Product_Details JSON array.

The structure for this JSON array is as follows.

"Product_Details": [
    {
      "product": {
        "id": "3652397000001363004"
      },
      "quantity": 100,
      "product_description": "product_description",
      "line_tax": [
        {
          "percentage": 10,
          "name": "Sales Tax"
        },
        {
          "percentage": 1,
          "name": "Vat"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "$line_tax": [
    {
      "percentage": 1.5,
      "name": "Common Tax",
      "id": "3652397000001376005"
    }
  ]

Key
Data type
Description
$line_tax
JSON Array
Contains the name, ID, and the percentage of the tax you want to apply to the quote.
percentage
Percent
The percentage of tax applied on the quote. Accepts only numeric values, up to 5 digits.
name
String
The name of the tax.
id
String
The unique ID of the tax.

Note
Make a GET request to "{{api-domain}}/crm/v2/org/taxes" to obtain the IDs of all the taxes for your organization.

The below image shows the data corresponding to the line_tax and $line_tax keys in the UI for a quote.


Points to note
  • For Product_Details
    When you have associated a price book with an inventory module, and you include the key and value for Discount inside Product_Details, this discount value overrides the discount calculated from the price book.
  • For line_tax
    You must specify the percentage of tax in every JSON object inside the line_tax array.

2. Updating a Quote by adding Product Line Items
You can associate multiple products to a quote.
While updating a quote, you can add/update/remove a line item.
Let us consider an example where you have five line items in a quote, and you want to remove two line items, and add a new one.
In this case, you must
  • Pass the IDs of the line items you want to retain as individual JSON objects.
  • Add the new line item with the required details as a new JSON object.
  • Do not include any details about the line item you want to remove. When you do not specify the ID of any line item, the system deletes it automatically.
A sample JSON structure for the above scenario is as follows.         

"Product_Details": [
    {
      "id": "3652397000001377174"
    },
    {
      "id": "3652397000001378168"
    },
    {
      "id": "3652397000001379172"
    },
    {
      "product": {
        "id": "3652397000001351002"
      },
      "quantity": 100,
      "book": "3652397000000616007"
    }
  ] 

To obtain the ID of the existing line item, make a GET request to fetch the Quote you want to update. The response contains the ID of the existing line item in the Product_Details array.

Note
  • You can add a maximum of 200 line items to an inventory module.

We hope you found this post useful. Please reach out to us if you have any questions, or let us know in the comment section.

Cheers!










    • Recent Topics

    • add employees and customiz

      I want a Zoho software to track employees record. I logged in a demo so now I tried adding employee, first thing when I click on add employee it takes me to a page where it says add user maximum 10 users, my first doubt why users I don't want employees

    • Revenue Management: #9 Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

      Media & Publishing industry has evolved in recent times. It offers subscriptions, bundles digital and print access, runs sponsored content, and sometimes even sells ad spaces. If you run a media or publishing business, you will always get into a situation

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 2:

      Hello, Everyone! We’re closing out July with a can’t-miss highlight: Zoholics Europe 2025! Happening from September to October, it’s your chance to level up your CRM skills, covering everything from automation and CPQ to dashboards and advanced workflows.

    • How can I trigger a flow action only once while updating contact?

      Hi, we have a trigger to merge&mail file when the field YYY is filled out. For this acion I used "Create or update module entry". But unfortunately we get tens of email on a day with this merged file, because the contact is being regularly updated. The

    • Copy a Record Template from one Form to another

      I have a Creator application with several forms.  I developed a record template for one of the reports/forms but want to use most of it for another of the form/report combinations in the application. Is there a way to copy the template (code or otherwise) to another form?

    • Tip of the Week #70 – Create common team signatures for your shared inboxes

      Did you know that a small detail, such as an email signature, can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived? One simple yet smart way to enhance your team’s communication is by creating common team signatures for your shared inboxes. Instead

    • Enhanced data export features: XLSX format, custom character encoding, and selective record export

      Greetings all, Here are a few enhancements related to exporting CRM data, including the ability to export data in XLSX file format now. The Export feature under Data Administration now offers new options that expand its flexibility and enable users to

    • Tip #42 – How to manage data security with Privacy Settings – 'Insider Insights'

      Data privacy is a cornerstone of trust in remote support. Through Privacy Settings in Zoho Assist, you can set up how data is gathered, stored, and handled in your organization. These settings ensure compliance, data protection for sensitive details,

    • Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

      I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex

    • Introducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM

      Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience for

    • Quick Item Search & Auto-suggestion for Invoices

      Hi Team, I am facing an issue while creating invoices in Zoho Books. Currently, I have to type the full item name in the correct sequence and spelling for it to appear. For example, my item name is: "Distemper Acri Silk Special White 10kg" If I type something

    • Ticketbai! en el Pais Vasco

      Hola a todos, En enero de 2.022 se va a implantar en el país vasco un nuevo sistema de facturación, denominado ticketbai!, ¿hay alguna previsión de realizar las adaptaciones en zoho books o zoho invoices? Ignoro la cantidad de clientes que tienen estas

    • Zoho CRM mobile app feature update: home page widgets, field tooltips and user image upload

      Hello everyone! Your business doesn't pause when you're on the move, and neither should your CRM. That's why in our latest update, we've introduced a few new features to make your mobile CRM experience smoother and more efficient. Let's take a quick look

    • Zoho CRM Plain Text Template: Line Breaks and Formatting Issue

      Hello, I'm following the instructions to create email templates in Zoho CRM, but I'm having a problem with the plain text version. https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zoho-sign/integrations/zoho-apps/zoho-crm/articles/zoho-crm-email-templates#Steps_to_create_a_custom_email_template

    • Optimizing Task Handling: Auto-Remove Recurrence for cancelled Tasks.

      Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:

    • Important updates to your connectors

      Hello everyone, Greeting from Zoho Creator! We're excited to announce that we'll be rolling out significant backend updates to Zoho Creator's built-in connectors to enhance security by following the latest frameworks. The existing version of some of the

    • Create, collaborate, and manage agreements with Zoho Sign

      Agreements drive business. We launched Zoho Sign in 2017 as a simple digital signature tool to sign agreements from anywhere, at any time. Over the years, we've learned that most agreements go through last-minute changes before they're signed. Our users

    • Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

      We kicked off the "Function Fridays" series with the goal of helping you automate your everyday accounting tasks. As we delve into today's post, I'm delighted to announce that we're here to present the 25th custom function in this series. While it is

    • DNS set up

      I want to create an email with my company domain. When I tried to add new record with cloudflare it didn't work. The DNS record can't be manually added. I followed the instruction but still can't add it. Could you help?

    • hiding a topic from all but one segment (or list)

      My organization sends out a number of newsletters using Zoho Campaigns. One of those newsletters is for volunteers. In order to become a volunteer, a person has to first go through our volunteer orientation (training). After that, they can receive newsletters

    • How do I set up this automation correctly?

      When contacts enter my Subscribers list, I want it to reference a custom field to see if it is empty. Then I want it to do two things: If empty: Assign a tag based on a different custom field. If that custom field is empty, assign a different tag. If

    • Function #62: Display associated Quote on Invoice details screen

      Hello everyone! Today, we are sharing a Related List script that makes it easy to view and access the quote from which an invoice was created right from the invoice details screen. This Related List displays the Quote number and Amount, allowing you to

    • Desk x CRM Integration

      Howdy! We currently use SalesIQ but we are considering moving across to Desk as it seems to have more functionality that we want. One of the pulls is the ability for our customers to self serve. But, I might be getting over excited and not actually need

    • Function #53: Transaction Level Profitability for Invoices

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! We have previously provided custom functions for calculating the profitability of a quote and a sales order. There may be instances where the invoice may differ from its corresponding quote or sales order.

    • Issue with Save & Share Link – Works for Others but Not Creator

      I’ve enabled the "Save and Share" feature in Zoho Forms, and it works correctly for all users accessing the public link—except for me (the form creator). Issue Details: When I save and share the link, recipients see a “no permission” error. The form is

    • Save the pdf report from a registration form in a Folder

      Through Zoho Forms I created a registration form with quite a lot of rules to handle different variables (TEAM types, payment in installments, etc.), and the result is pretty good. The automatic PDF that is sent to the respondent upon submission is already

    • zoho forms integration to zoho work drive

      Scenario: A user fills out a Zoho Form, entering details such as email, mobile number, and other required information, and uploads supporting documents like PAN, Aadhaar, etc. Upon submission, the data is available in Zoho Forms Reports. Requirement:

    • Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM Integration failed - can I restart it?

      The integration of Zoho Form to Zoho CRM has failed. Is there a way for me to restart it for the impacted entry?

    • insert an equation, but in document, it shows an image not available.

      I'm new to Zoho writer and used Zoho writer in desktop app version . When I inserted an equation, I got an image not available sign. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Charles

    • Zoho Desk Android app update - Swipe action customization

      Hello everyone! We have brought in support for the swipe action customization in latest version(v2.9.13) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, enabling you to configure left and right swipe gestures on tickets to carry out the actions swiftly without opening

    • Import KB template OR Export template for zoho desk?

      Greetings. Can you tell me if there is a way to get an EXPORT of my KB articles? OR is there a template you supply for importing KB articles into my zoho desk? I am looking for a method of understanding what fields can be imported, and what their possible

    • XML format to import knowledgebase into Zoho Desk

      Hi, We just started to use Zoho Desk and want to import our knowledgebase from our old support system (Freshdesk) to Zoho Desk. Can anyone give us information about the format of xml file to import? There is no explanation on the related page.

    • Zoho Desk integration with Power BI

      Hi, I want to be able to create a Power BI report which has live updates of ticket data from zoho desk, is this possile at all? Thanks Jack

    • Arranging Ticket Templates

      Is there any way to arrange our ticket templates? It doesn't look very organised when it's just arranged according to when they were created. We want the list to look more organised, by arranging/grouping them by topics, or even just by alphabetical

    • What they mean with "Portal"?

      I just downloaded this app to take my personal notes on digital art studio because it seemed to me the most comfortable app to do it, I use it very often, what do they mean by “no activity on your portal”? I have about 1 year of work here and I don't

    • favorites no longer listed

      Hello, I can no longer navigate to my Favorites from the pulldown at the top of my grid view (see attached screenshot). I wasn't able to find it anywhere! Please help me display my Favorites. Thank you!

    • Notecards Disappeared

      Got a new phone. Downloaded and signed in Zoho Notebook. Not finding the Note cards. Just Empty Note books. Frustrating.

    • Table Errors

      Hello, I'm new to Zoho Notebook and using it on several Mac/Apple devices. My question is regarding tables: Why do they become broken, and how to fix the error without retyping all my data? (Please see the screenshot attached.)

    • Online Calculator with Zoho Forms?

      I'd like to build a custom calculator on my website. Zoho Forms seems to offer all the fields for basic calculations performed live without pressing any "Calculate" buttons. Unfortunately, there is still that "Submit" button at the bottom. There is nothing

    • Zoho Tables instead of Zoho Creator Spreadsheet reports <3

      That would make my day for sure. Zoho Creator is create, but miss data entering as AirTable/Spreadsheet can. Seeing Zoho putting effort in this makes me think maybe one day we could see a similar interface for Zoho Creator spreadsheet reports. B.

    • Next Page