Well-defined and efficient project management is really important while working on any kind of project. There are generally many steps that must be managed for a project irrespective of the size.
In case you are out in the market looking for a project management tool then chances are highly likely that you have heard about the benefits offered by Zoho Projects. In case you have not then Zoho Projects is probably the best tool in the form of an online project management software that helps businesses keep track of tasks, collaborate, and stay in tune with updates.
It is a useful platform that can be very helpful for resource allocation and project management processes. What separates Zoho Projects from its counterparts is that it is a huge platform that allows integration between different applications.
In this blog, we will be taking an in-depth look into all the features and the advantages of Zoho Projects.
What is Zoho Projects?
Zoho offers powerful project management software that consists of four basic modules available in each package as well as in the free version. The modules that are included in the Zoho Projects are Tasks and Milestones, Project, Documents, Meetings and Forums, and Calendars. All of these tools are an important part of the off-the-shelf capabilities of this excellent application.
As the requirements in a company keep scaling up and need intensification, the add on modules like time tracking, wiki, chat, and billing can be added without any problems to the application so that an economical solution can be provided for smaller businesses.
After understanding what is Zoho Projects, we will now see the various methods in which this software facilitates a seamless task allocation.
1. Project Planning and Collaborating
Planning the projects and collaborating with other team members can be very difficult, but it is important for the businesses. Fortunately, Zoho Projects makes it simple for everyone to get on the same page by enabling to import documents from different applications like Open Office, Photoshop, PDF, ZIP files, and Microsoft Office.
In case you wish to take this a step further you can create intranet pages or wiki pages where the team members can create, share and respond to the project-related content like documents, presentations, video clips, spreadsheets, etc.
Zoho implementation offers drag and drop tools that make it simple to build and update customized pages within minutes.
In case the priority is on what you need then Zoho Projects also offers message boards where one can create a thread to post topics, spark conversations, and encourage collaboration. If you wish to keep the conversation going on, there is also an option to create a chat room where team members of a company can be invited. With the built-in chat feature, everyone can come together to discuss some important things, share different ideas, and also solve problems in real-time. There is no need for app installation as Zoho Projects includes the chat feature and the most amazing thing is that the complete transcript is saved so that the team members can go back later for reviewing the conversation in case it is necessary.
2. Configure a Staff Portal
With the help of
Zoho Projects login, it becomes possible to add your staff users from your own organization while also adding customers to the project portal. This makes it much simpler for the complete staff and customers to effortlessly coordinate tasks that happen in one place.
In addition, it is also possible to create multiple projects. In fact, you can assign the staff and customers to some of the dedicated projects just as you wish and feel as necessary. The customers don’t need a Zoho account to be added to the portal.
While you create a project, there is also a dedicated email for that specific project. Anybody who emails this address can automatically log in for an issue for the project.
3. Setting Tasks and Milestones
With the help of task management, task dependency views, and project milestones, it becomes possible to carry out resource allocation and report on any function. You can set the tasks and assign them to the staff just as you feel it is necessary.
Other than this, it is also possible to set the due dates for tasks so that they can be delivered in a timely fashion. With every task, there is a timer equipped anyone who is assigned a task can log in their hours while undertaking and completing that task.
A task can have attachments and instructions and it is also possible to form a dependency where beginning one task will depend on the completion of another. Right after the task is completed; the dependency can be set to close. Additionally, custom statuses of tasks can also be configured. The milestones must be logged separately. Either they can be associated with tasks or you can set a milestone for a set of tasks.
4. Log Issues at the Time of Project
Almost no project is perfect and there is always an underlying issue to be found. A separate tab with the names of Issues or Bugs can most likely exist so that the customers can log issues or problems that are likely to occur. As it has been mentioned previously, a fixed email address can be mailed in order to log into an issue.
Issues also have time tracking and other times so that one can log on how long it takes for fixing something. There is also a scope to add the attachments wherever it is necessary. The default statuses available are open and closed but the custom statuses can also be added.
The issue section is actually a centralized platform where the customers can communicate their issues and an organization can respond to them and fix the problems accordingly.
5. Gantt Charts
Gantt Charts can be just another way to visualize the progress of the tasks that are underway. They allow you to see every detail of a project including the task lists, percentages of completeness, overdue tasks, dependencies and milestones. Every category is assigned a different colour which makes it easy to identify and distinguish the tasks.
Besides this, the rescheduling and reorganizing of the tasks are also made simple with the use of Gantt Charts. You can alter your plans by adding the tasks, dragging and dropping a task from one area of the chart to another and then editing the milestones just as it is needed.
Moreover, you can also switch the views on a chart depending on the kind of information that is needed. If you wish to know which projects are due in the coming time then you can switch the view of the Gantt chart for showing the upcoming due dates first. Finally, the Gantt Chart can be customized based on your preference including scaling a chart, filtering the information and exporting the task data just as needed.
6. Timesheets
Zoho Projects makes accounting simple by having all the individuals working on projects to log their working and non-working hours into the Zoho platform. Timesheets can record the beginning and end date of tasks for tracking the cost and time spent on parts of a project. You can set the timers for a task and once you stop the timer, the entries of time spent get automatically logged in the timesheets.
The timers help greatly in calculating the real working hours consumed by a project. In case you need it then the Zoho Projects contains a detailed breakdown of all tasks complete all through the duration of each project. Furthermore, there will also be an option to log time daily or weekly based on the kind of project.
You can establish an approval process and billing status for the timesheets. Make sure that you select a default billing status for the entries before logging time. You can also establish a well defined approval process for the entries so that it becomes simple to filter and view approved and unapproved entries.
In just a single click, you can send your customers, stakeholders, project managers and timesheet reports with regards to specific projects so that they can understand what work has been completed. With so many timesheets being logged in the system, you can also choose to view the reports based on the users, billing or even some window of dates. Once the reports have been viewed, you can choose to export the timesheet data as the PDF, xls or csv files.
7. Automating Tasks
Automation is yet another core benefit of the different tools offered by Zoho and Zoho Projects is by all means no exception to this rule. With the help of Zoho Projects, you can create automated email notification rules for letting all the important parties know when an issue is logged in and when an issue is assigned accordingly.
Other than this, it is also possible to set business rules where the automated tasks can be done when a project issue offers a high security level. You can also use a webhook that allows a third party application to perform an action that is based on a Zoho Projects task.
A perfect example of a webhook is sending a message to a user whenever there is an urgent escalation. Zoho has custom functions that make configuration for customized automation possible which is not available straight out of the box in Zoho Projects.
Finally, Blueprints can be used to refine the project’s processes. It helps in configuration of custom statuses and actions that follow much before, during and right after the custom status. When you are working on an issue, you can set the status to “In Progress”. Right after this happens, the customers are notified that a task is in progress. When the task is finished, the status can be set as “To be tested” so that the customer can review. Blueprints are highly useful for segmented task automation.
8. Zoho Reports
An advanced analytics and a business intelligence application, Zoho Reports helps in pulling up data and clearly mapping it visually. The integration of a project management software like Zoho Projects with Zoho Reports can offer an in-depth insight on the team’s progress while turning the data into actionable insights.
Zoho Reports offers a bigger picture with a customizable and an insightful dashboard. You can easily create a wide range of reports such as project status, burning down charts, using hours, planning and executing actual reports that help a team connect dots and putting project insights into action.
9. Zoho Invoice Integration
The built in integration with the help of Zoho Invoice helps in automatically generating invoices with logged timesheets. In case you wish to streamline that process for accounting, ensure that you check out the Zoho Invoice application as well.
Zoho Projects provides time tracking functionalities that optimize the performance of a project, calculate the task time, and help in exporting timesheet data in the desired format while sending invoices for payments using the Zoho Invoice. It is possible to load the timesheet data into the Zoho Invoice by clicking the Create Invoice option.
10. Document Management
Acting as an effective and a safe place for storing and sharing the files, Zoho Projects helps in keeping the files organized while allowing a team to share and access files as needed. It does not matter if it is a document, video, report, clip or spreadsheet, you can easily send and save all files in the Zoho Projects.
A good feature of Zoho Projects is that it saves the previous version of files while making it simple to recover files and return to previous versions when it is needed. Finally, Zoho Projects includes a powerful search tool that also helps in finding the files without searching through everything. Zoho Projects helps in making document sharing simple from any location.
Conclusion
As it has been mentioned above, Zoho Projects helps in making project management processes simple and efficient. However, the platform also makes it simple to automate many processes and save time with automatic reporting and workflows.
It is simple to view all your projects, who is working on the projects and share the documents relevant to a project. You can also integrate different applications to Zoho Projects that makes everything even simple to manage. All in all, Zoho Projects is a powerful platform that comes with many advantages.
In case you need any more assistance in setting up Zoho Projects for an organization or even if you need support for integration tasks, get in touch with
Encaptechno for expert help. Our team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals will be delighted to support you.
Recent Topics
Create CRM Deal from Books Quote and Auto Update Deal Stage
I want to set up an automation where, whenever a Quote is created in Zoho Books, a Deal is automatically created in Zoho CRM with the Quote amount, customer details, and some custom fields from Zoho Books. Additionally, when the Sales Order is converted
%PaymentLink%
Does not work. Software creates a BAD link. ....and yes payment options are turned on. Link on the invoice pdf once opened will work but this template is a joke.
Google Photos
I am hoping that my question already has a fix. I current have Google synced accounts that I want to get away from. One in particular on is Google photos. Is there any software, or 3rd parties that I can join to back my photos up straight to specifically designated file in the ZOHO cloud that's tied to Docs? Please advise... Mike
1stDibs Integration to Zoho Inventory
Hello is it possible to integrate my Zoho inventory and 1stDibs?
Zoho Books Items Categorisation/Grouping/Folder
Is there a way to do items categorisation? a folder structure? Product Type A - Option 1/2/3 Product Type B - Option 1/2/3 Current problem : I have more than 50 items on the list, its hard for team to navigate.
Cash payments before invoice date
We have been using zoho books for our hospitality business for some time and have been very happy with the system. However in 2025 an update was pushed through and we are now not able to record payments for invoices before the invoice date. the case scenario
Copy / Duplicate Workflow
I have workflows setup that are very similar to each other. We have a monitoring system watching servers, and all notifications - no matter what client it is about - will come from a noreply@ address which is not very helpful in having it auto assigned to the right account. I have setup a workflow that will change the contact name of the ticket (currently it would say noreply@) to the correct customer which is based on the subject line, as that mentions which server the alert it is about. I need
Transfer between two customers (Peters Rental account to Peters Private account)
we are a Property Management company. Our customers have to accounts (registered as two customers - Peter Rental and Peter Private On the rental account all income and costs fron rental activities are noted. On the private account all private are noted
Automation#18: Automatically Fetch Values from Contacts to the Tickets Module
Hello Everyone, Welcome to this week's edition, where you can seamlessly sync fields from the Contacts to the Tickets module. For efficient business operations, it's crucial to have details mapped across different modules. Zylker Secure offers antivirus
Charge multiple invoices
We use auto-charge/recurring invoicing for 100's of clients. If we create a single manual invoice we can charge it to the credit card for these clients with the CC added to their recurring invoices. If a client has multiple outstanding invoices, is there a way to make one charge for all of the invoices instead of a separate charge to the cc for each invoice?
Handling/tracking escalation management in Zoho
Hi all, I am working on finding a tool to register and track our escalation management process. Specifically, this is about client escalations, typically related to project delivery issues. The idea is that we could have some sort of form with core questions
CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more
Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),
Global Choice List share ownership
I have created several forms that use one or more Global Choice Lists. These lists have been published to Org. I would like to allow one or more admins to edit the choices in these lists. Any help appreciated. Geoff
Setting up property management in Zoho Books
Hi, I run a property management business that manages property complexes. There are multiple owners, some owning more than one property on the same complex. My role is to manage the fees they pay for maintenance of common areas, such as the swimming pool
How to prevent users from switching price lists in an order?
Hi, I have Zoho Finance integrated with Zoho CRM. My team will be placing orders through the CRM using the Finance module. When creating a new customer I will assign it a price list, I don't want the sales rep to switch to a different Price List, other
Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM integration
I would like to see an integration between Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM. 1. To be able to add articles in a related list in all modules 2. Zia to suggest related articles in a Deal or Case or Lead 3. Ability to read / search articles during a call / follow
Mollie Connect in Zoho Books
Have noticed that Zoho Books is missing the most popular payment provider in Europe: Mollie. Knowing that Mollie has a solid Java SDK, why is this not yet implemented in Zoho Books for European customers? More info: https://docs.mollie.com/oauth/ov
Unable to change Lookup field from Multi Select to Single Select
I am trying to change a Lookup field in my Zoho Creator form from Multi Select to Single Select, but I am unable to find any option to do this.
Cliq iOS can't see shared screen
Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards
Simple Callback Notifications Needed
My team are terrible at remembering their CRM callbacks, often due to how long in the future they are set for. Is there a way i can set an e-mail notification for when a callback is due? For example we set it for 9am one day and five minutes before they
Personal Data (RODO), Cookies / Trackers - ePrivacy
I have noticed several issues that should be addressed on the customer support page. Zoho Desk provides the support portal, but it currently lacks the following options: A GDPR and personal data processing consent checkbox before logging in, located in
email association with CRM
Why is it 2024 (almost 2025) and Zoho has not figured out how to integrate email with CRM? It is so inconsistent at associating emails within CRM. I am an attorney. I have clients and work with other attorneys. Attorney John Doe is associated with multiple
How to set a multi-lookup field as mandatory?
Allow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support
Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when scheduling
Audit Log for Zoho One Admin Panel
Dear Zoho One Team, We would like to request the addition of an Audit Log feature in the Zoho One Admin Panel. This log should provide visibility into any changes made within the Zoho One admin panel and directory, including but not limited to: Adding,
Can I re-send the Customer Satisfaction Survey after a ticket closure?
Hello, Some customers does not answer the survey right after closure, is it possible to re-send after a few days or weeks? Best Regards!
Personalize your booking pages with Custom CSS
Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re introducing Custom CSS for Zoho Bookings, designed to give you complete control over the look and feel of your booking pages. With this new feature, you can upload your own CSS file to customize colors, fonts,
Bug: OAuth 2.0 State Parameter fails with Pipe Delimiters (RFC 6749 Non-Compliance)
I've discovered a bug in how Zoho's API Console handles the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow when the state parameter contains pipe characters (|), and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. The Issue Zoho's OAuth 2.0 implementation
Custom Function to increment a value by one
Hi, I'm trying to find a solution to set up a counter on CRM records that tracks how many times certain actions have taken place. As a specific example: We have a field on Deals called "Times Close Updated". This starts at 0 on record creation. I'd like
Zoho Books Extension: What Happens If Custom Fields Already Exist?
When developing Zoho Books extensions, what happens if the target Zoho Books organization already has a custom field with the same API name as one defined in the extension? I’m asking because we originally created an on-Books version of this functionality,
Access token generate from the refresh token not working for API
Dear Sir/Madam, When I use my refresh token to obtain new access_token, that token return INVALID_TOKEN when the same API is called. I made sure that my api site is correct and match the auth web site. However the original access_token work fine.
To print Multiple delivery notes in batches
In Zoho Books, we can print a Delivery Note from an Invoice using the Print Delivery Note option, but it is non-editable and always prints all line items from the invoice. Our requirement is to deliver invoiced items in batches and print delivery notes
Feature Request: Enable Custom PDF Layout Editor for All Modules (Including Package Slips)
Hello Zoho Community and Product Team, I am writing to share a suggestion that would significantly enhance the customization capabilities within Zoho Books. We all appreciate the power of the Custom PDF Layouts (the "New" template engine) that allows
why does my campaign move back to draft?
Every time I try to send my email campaign, it reverts back to Draft status.. this has happened three times in a row..how do i find out what the problem is? Thanks
Integration with...
Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more
Peppol: Accept Bill (Belgium)
Hi, This topic might help you if you're facing the same in Belgium. We are facing an issue while accepting a supplier bill received by Peppol in Zoho Books. There is a popup with an error message: This bill acceptance could not be completed, so it was
Remove the “One Migration Per User” Limitation in Zoho WorkDrive
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to raise a critical feature request regarding the Google Drive → Zoho WorkDrive migration process. Current Limitation: Zoho WorkDrive currently enforces a hard limitation: A Zoho WorkDrive
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
Service and Parts Line Item Limitations
Hi FSM Team, We work with clients who deliver large-scale field service projects. In many cases, a single work order can contain 200+ service and parts line items. Currently, Zoho FSM limits work orders to 30 service and parts line items. While this works
Critical Need for Global Search in Zoho FSM
Hello Zoho FSM Team, We are currently in the process of deciding whether to fully transition to Zoho FSM for managing our field service operations. At present, our team actively uses Zoho Desk (with over 50 users) and Service Fusion, which we are considering
Next Page