Kaizen #187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)

Kaizen #187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)



Howdy Tech Wizards!

Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! 

This time, we are diving into a two-part series where you will learn how to build a Timer and Worklog Widget for Zoho CRM. This widget helps track active work time and log multitasking sessions using Zoho CRM APIs, Client Script, Functions, and Workflows.

Why It Matters?

Zoho CRM effectively captures stage/status transitions, like tracking when a case moves from Open to In Progress or On Hold. However, in dynamic work environments, employees juggle multiple work items and engage in impromptu tasks or conversations. 

Let’s take the On Hold status as an example. 

While it can be used to indicate pauses in progress, it does not always align with real-world workflows. Consider these scenarios:

Not all interruptions justify a status change 

Moving the case to On Hold for every minor detour (to clarify something with a colleague or respond to another emergency work item) would be impractical and could lead to under reporting actual work hours. Over time, this untracked effort adds up, creating a gap in visibility.

Frequent status changes may dilute their meaning 

In many teams, On Hold signifies a legitimate blocker like waiting on customer input or an external dependency. Using it frequently to reflect quick shifts in attention could compromise that clarity. 

A timer widget solves this by:
  • Capturing hands-on work items.
  • Logging context switches (unrelated tasks) with descriptive entries.
  • Feeding structured entries into a custom module for reporting and subform sync.

Business Scenario: IT Service Desk & Ticket Resolution

A tech support team uses the Cases module to resolve customer issues. Some tickets are straightforward; others require follow-ups, escalations, or cross-team coordination. While CRM timestamps (like stage transitions or picklist tracking) track when changes happen, they do not reflect how long someone actively worked on a case.

This Timer Widget can be the ultimate solution to track down the active time spent on each case through out the day.

What are we Building?

By the end of this two-part guide, you will know how to:
  • Build a timer widget to track time per task or any CRM record.
  • Log work sessions into a custom module every time the timer is started/stopped.
  • Automatically populate a subform in the corresponding record module using workflows and Deluge functions.
  • Leverage the Reports module to analyze work patterns, SLA adherence, and productivity trends.
 In Part I, we will focus on:
-> Building and configuring the Timer Widget.
-> Capturing each timed session as a record in a custom module.

Prerequisites

1. Create a Custom Module

Create a custom module named Timer Entries to log work details and generate reports from the Reports module. A new record will be added to this module each time a timer is started.

Set up the following custom fields in the Timer Entries module:

Custom Fields
Data Type
Start Time
DateTime
End Time
DateTime
Total Duration (in mins.)
Formula 
DateBetween(${Timer Entries.Start Time},${Timer Entries.End Time},'Minutes')
Related to Case
Lookup to Cases module
Work Description
Multi Line


2. Add a custom picklist option

Add a custom picklist option called In Progress to the Status picklist field in the Cases module for precisely identifying the status of the cases. 

Follow this Add/Remove Picklist Values help section for more details. 

3. Setup Custom Views for Contextual Filtering

To streamline the widget experience and ensure users only see relevant records to associate while tracking time, set up two smart custom views—one in the Cases module and another in the Timer Entries module. 

Active Cases View (Cases Module)

Create a custom view in the Cases module to list only the active tickets the logged-in user is working on. Use the following criteria tips:
  • Use the Status field to filter records with values like In Progress, On Hold, or Escalated.
  • Use the Case Owner field to show records that are assigned only to the currently logged-in user.
This view powers the drop-down inside the widget where users select the case they want to start the timer for.
Active Timers View (Timer Entries Module)

Set up a second custom view in the Timer Entries module to track entries where the timer has been started but not yet stopped. These represent active timers. Use the following logic for criteria:
  • The End Time field is empty (i.e., timer still running).
  • Timer Entry owner field matches the logged-in user.
This view is used internally by the widget to detect if a timer is already running and update the same entry once the timer is stopped.
Follow the Managing List View help page and use the specifications shown in the following image.

Building the Timer Widget 

Step -1: Review Basics

Refer to our earlier Kaizen on CLI Installation, Creating a Widget Project, and Internal hosting of the same.

Step 2 - Develop the Widget

After initializing your widget project using CLI, implement the timer logic:

Fetching Active Cases

On page load, the populateRecordsDropdown function initiates a Get Records API call to the Cases module, using the Active Cases custom view ID. This fetches all active case records assigned to the logged-in user. 

These records are then listed in a dropdown, allowing users to quickly select the relevant case they are about to work on.

async function populateRecordsDropdown() {
            const recordsDropdown = document.getElementById("moduleRecords");
            recordsDropdown.innerHTML = ""; 

            try {
                const recordsResponse = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({
                    Entity: casesModule,
                    cvid: casesCVID,
                    per_page: 10
                });

                if (recordsResponse.data && recordsResponse.data.length > 0) {
                    recordsResponse.data.forEach(record => {
                        const option = document.createElement("option");
                        option.value = record.id;
                        option.textContent = record.Subject || "Unnamed Record"; 
                        recordsDropdown.appendChild(option);
                    });
                } else {
                    const placeholderOption = document.createElement("option");
                    placeholderOption.value = "";
                    placeholderOption.textContent = "No records found";
                    placeholderOption.disabled = true;
                    placeholderOption.selected = true;
                    recordsDropdown.appendChild(placeholderOption);
                }
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error fetching records:", error);
            }
        }

Starting the Timer and Creating an Entry

Once the user starts the timer, The createRecord function triggers a Create Record API call to log the session in the Timer Entries custom module. The record captures the start time and the related case and description (if provided).

Even if no details are entered or case is selected, a timer entry is still created with the start time. This ensures that spontaneous work sessions are tracked and not lost.

async function createRecord(startTime) {
            try {
                const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;
                const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;
                const selectedRecordText = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").options[
                    document.getElementById("moduleRecords").selectedIndex
                ].text;

                const data = {
                    Start_Time: startTime,
                    Owner: currentUserId,
                    Work_Description: workDescription,
                    Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId, 
                    Name: selectedRecordText 
                };

                const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.insertRecord({
                    Entity: timerModule,
                    APIData: data
                });

                console.log("Start time recorded successfully");
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error creating record:", error);
            }
        }


Stopping the Timer and Updating the Entry

When the timer is stopped, the widget uses the Active Timer Entry custom view to locate the most recent Timer Entry record created by the logged-in user that does not have an end time. 

The updateRecord is then triggered to update that active entry using the Update Record API call. It updates the End time of the session and the related case, descriptions, if it was not already provided when the timer was started.

async function updateRecord(endTime) {
            try {
                const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;
                const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;

                const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({
                    Entity: timerModule,
                    cvid: timerEntriesCVID,
                    per_page: 1
                });

                const latestRecord = response.data[0];
                if (latestRecord) {
                    const recordId = latestRecord.id;
                    const data = {
                        id: recordId,
                        End_Time: endTime,
                        Work_Description: workDescription,
                        Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId 
                    };

                    await ZOHO.CRM.API.updateRecord({
                        Entity: timerModule,
                        APIData: data,
                        RecordID: recordId
                    });
                    console.log("End time updated successfully");
                }
            } catch (error) {
                console.error("Error updating record:", error);
            }
        }

Step 3 - Validate and Pack the Widget

  • Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget.
  • Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.
  • Fill in the required details as shown in this image and ensure to select Button as the widget type.

Step 4 - Associate it with Flyout

  • Go to Setup > Developer Space > Client Script. Click New Script.
  • Enter a name and description for the script. Choose Command type in Category. 

  • Create a Flyout and render a widget within it using its details like the API name of the widget, title, size, and animation type. You can get the Widget API name from the widget's detail page. 
let allowedUserEmails = [];
allowedUserEmails.push('user1_email_address');
allowedUserEmails.push('user2_email_address');
allowedUserEmails.push('user3_email_address');
let currentUserEmail = $Crm.user.email;
if (allowedUserEmails.indexOf(currentUserEmail) == -1) {
    ZDK.Client.showMessage('Command access resticted', { type: 'error' });
    return false;
}
ZDK.Client.createFlyout('myFlyout', {header: 'Timer', animation_type: 4, height: '600px', width: '500px', top: '10px', left: '10px', bottom: '10px', right: '10px' });
ZDK.Client.getFlyout('myFlyout').open({ api_name: 'Timer', type: 'widget' });
return true;

Refer to Creating a Client Script help page for more details. 

Try It Out!

A complete working code sample of this widget is attached to this post.

Now, let us see how this Timer widget works:

1. Start the Timer 

Open the widget and select an active case from the dropdown. As soon as you start the timer, a new record will be automatically created in the Timer Entries module to capture the session.

2. Stop the Timer 

When the task is complete, provide a description of the work you have done and stop the timer. The same Timer Entry record (created when the timer was started) will be updated automatically with the end time and your work description.

This forms the foundation for accurate time tracking at the record level. 

In Part 2, we will show how to:

-> Use a workflow and Deluge function to transfer these entries into the Work Log subform inside the relevant Cases record.
-> Use CRM Reports to slice and dice work time for better SLA and productivity insights.

In the meantime, would you like us to address any of your pain-points or have a topic to discuss? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com.

Until next time, Happy Coding! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Reading

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Idea
Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for Subforms | Kaizen Collection: Directory


    • Recent Topics

    • billing

      hi, I am being billed $12/year, and I can't remember why. My User ID is 691273115 Thanks for your help, --Kitty Pearl

    • Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

      Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these

    • Unable to confirm Super Admin assignment — confirmation button not working

      I’m trying to change the roles within my organization. I am currently a super admin and would like to add another user as a super admin. When I attempt to confirm the action, a screen appears asking for my password to verify my identity. However, when

    • Inactive Items - Make Less Prominent by Default

      Currently, when one marks an Item as "Inactive", it really doesn't do much of anything to hide it or get it out of the way. Search and reporting within Finance should, by default, hide inactive Items from standard reports, searches, etc. If one specifically

    • How to unlink a SAML user from the existing Zoho Desk user (domain change case)

      Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand how to handle a situation where a customer changes their company domain. In our setup, users authenticate via SAML, so when the domain changes, the SAML system treats them as a new user. However, in Zoho Desk, I’d

    • Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition

      Hello Everyone, This week’s edition focuses on configuring a custom function within Zoho Desk to streamline time tracking within the Blueprint. In this case, we create a custom field, and request the agent to enter the spending time within the single

    • Feature Request: Reviews

      Any chance we could get a "Reviews" element to put on sites? It should be extremely simple to do. Basically just take the comments box and add an option for a star rating. At the very least, it would be nice to have more customization options for the comment box so the text could be changed from "Comments" to "Reviews". I've looked at a bunch of embeddable review widgets but nothing meets my needs so this would be a great feature to have added to the site builder.

    • Can we handle a support like (incident management) project in Zoho Projects?

      Hi, I have a new profile of a project whereby we provide "ticket" base support to a client. They have a request and ideally we would handle comms via a email exchange logged in Zoho. Today we use Zoho Projects for all out projects, which means that we

    • Trying to show the actual Terms & Conditions on PDF

      Hi, On Zoho forms I am trying to have the actual terms and conditions that the user needs to accept also show on the pdf that they receive after. Right now it only says "Agreed". Please help.

    • 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://stumbleguyzzapk.com/, https://fakservices.com/ is using CF,

    • Enhancements to Zoho Meeting Annotator

      Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to share a few improvement suggestions regarding the Zoho Meeting Annotator used during screen sharing. While the current version provides helpful annotation tools, there are several limitations

    • Triggering rules on lead conversion

      There is no field on the Rule list for rule conversion to trigger an alert on liead conversion to a potential. I assigned a rule to file on any creation or update of a lead. The lead was changed a lead to a potential but no rule was fired. Rajesh Bhadra

    • Add "Fetch Composite Item" Action for Inventory

      I want to make a Flow that uses information returned in the GET call for Composite Items, and it's not currently available in Zoho Flow. Please consider adding this functionality.

    • Zoho Social/Marketing Plus - Addition to "Monitor" function

      It would be very helpful if the Monitor function would allow us to add a column to monitor hashtags in addition to pages and mentions. This is a common and very valuable function in other social listening tools.

    • Almacenamiento

      Hola, Quisiera saber como podría hacer para bajar el almacenamiento de 5gb a mis usuarios, en otras palabras los quiero ir limitando de la cuota real, y luego ir agregando poco a poco la cantidad hasta llegar a los 5gb que me dan en el plan free. 

    • Zoho Invoice Now Supports VeriFactu for Businesses in Spain

      Starting from January 1, 2026, Spain requires real-time invoice reporting for all B2B transactions. From July 2026, this requirement will extend to B2C transactions as well. All reporting must be carried out through the VeriFactu to AEAT (Agencia Estatal

    • Will I Get a Refund If I Downgrade Zoho Mail?

      Hello, We upgraded an email account for our new employee. However, the employee left after one month, and now I've reduced the number of Zoho Mail users from 7 to 6. Can we get a refund for the remaining portion of our annual payment?

    • Zoho Billing Now Supports VeriFactu for Businesses in Spain

      Starting from January 1, 2026, Spain requires real-time invoice reporting for all B2B transactions. From July 2026, this requirement will extend to B2C transactions as well. All reporting must be carried out through the VeriFactu to AEAT (Agencia Estatal

    • how to add subform over sigma in the CRM

      my new module don't have any subform available any way to add this from sigma or from the crm

    • Introducing the revamped What's New page

      Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that Zoho Campaigns' What's New page has undergone a complete revamp. We've bid the old page adieu after a long time and have introduced a new, sleeker-looking page. Without further ado, let's dive into the main

    • Zoho Books - France

      L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité

    • Name autocomplete

      Hi, During searching emails the web tool does not always propose the auto-completion of the saved emails. As a result I either have to go to contacts and look up the exact email, or the exact full name including the middle name and any dots, which is very annoying. For example I have a contact that I emailed in the past that has "First M. Last" <email@email.com> type of contact. When I start typing 'First' the email may or may not pop up in the autocomplete menu. Then if I start typing "first last"

    • Using a CRM Client Script Button to create a Books Invoice

      Hello, I need help handling error messages returned to my client script from a function. The scenario I have setup a client script button which is available from each Deal. This CS executes a crm function, which in turn creates an invoice based on the

    • How do i follow up my email campaign in-thread

      Is there a way to follow up the email campaign so that it is in-thread using zoho campaigns? eg customer gets original email with subject line "hello" then 5 days later follow up would be with subject line "RE: hello".

    • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.29.0)

      Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v1.29.0) is here with new features and enhancements to enhance your business communication. Let's take a quick look at them. Access shared mailboxes. You can now view and access shared mailboxes in Trident, which are

    • Books is extremely slow again today !

      Everything is running slowly even with 500mb connection speed

    • Cyclic dependencies in many-to-many relationships...

      I have an application which includes a form for companies, and a form for contacts. Each company can be assigned 1 technical and 1 administrative contact. I have this working okay so far, but I want to copy the scripts used so far to a new empty application. When I import the scripts it fails with a message that says: Problem encountered while creating the application Error in resolving form dependency:Cyclic dependency among the forms:[Company, Contact] What can I do to resolve this? After all,

    • Zoho Workdrive for Office, "vsto runtime not found"

      Hi all, I have been trying to get ZohoWorkdrive_MS-addin_1.4.exe installed, but I keep getting the error "VSTO Runtime Not Found!" - even though I have installed it ... Anyone else hear had problems with the MS addin?  FYI, I am using O365 on A Dell laptop running Win 10 Home - fully patched and up-to-date.  I have tried compatibility modes and running explicitly as Administrator - the usual steps. Any advice would be appreciated.

    • Zoho API to create ticket

      I'm developing an integration to create tickets via API, but, locally it works (send and recieve requests). In production it also works sending requests, but, my file don't recieve any response data. My URL is available in Zoho API Console and I have

    • Automate Timesheet Approvals with Multi-level Approval Rules

      Introducing Approval Rules for Timesheets in Zoho Projects. With this automation, teams can manage how timesheets are reviewed and approved by setting up rules with criteria and assigning approvers to handle submissions. Timesheet, when associated to

    • Building Toppings #1 - Serving your needs with Bigin Toppings

      Hey Biginners! We're excited to kick off our Developer Community series on building toppings for Bigin, and our goal is to provide an accessible, beginner-friendly, and relevant path for every developer. Imagine creating tiny pieces of software that unlock

    • Can we create Sprint with tasks from Multiple projects?

      Hi Team, We were using Zoho Sprints for quite sometime. Currently we have started the process of Sprint method. We couldnt create the active sprint board with the tasks from multiple projects. I would like to know whether this is possible or Any timeline

    • Tip of the Week #74– Create automated workflows in MS Power Automate

      Zoho TeamInbox now connects directly with Microsoft Power Automate, letting you streamline everyday routines tasks such as from sending emails to managing threads, with automated workflows. About the integration Zoho TeamInbox integrates with Microsoft

    • Account validation

      Hello everyone, I registered my account on ZeptoMail to use the system, but the problem is that the verification period on Zepto's end has already passed and I have limited functionality.

    • Paste issues in ZOHO crm notes

      Hi, since a week or so I have issues with the paste function in ZOHO CRM. I use "notes" to copy paste texts from Outlook emails and since a week or so, the pasting doesnt function as it should: some text just disappears and it gives a lot of empty lines/enters.....

    • Is it possible to add a gradient color to a newsletter im designing?

      From where i sit it looks like you can only choose a single color but not combine 2 colors?

    • New Feature: Audit Log in Zoho Bookings

      Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re excited to introduce Audit Log, a new feature designed to help you track all key actions related to your appointments. With Audit Log, you can maintain transparency, strengthen security, and ensure accountability.

    • Custom validation in CRM schema

      Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'

    • Account disabled

      I have an issue I need help with. Whilst trialing ZOHO CRM I created the following: Account1 (-------------) using m__ame@m__rg___s__i__.___.__ and 2 personal emails Account2 (-------------) using a personal email and 2 users _al__1@______________._o_.__

    • Blocked Email

      We are a Zoho One subscriber and use Yahoo as our MX provider. A few times each year, for the past four years, CRM blocks one or more of my Zoho One users from receiving internal email from CRM. This includes "@mentions" in all modules, and emails from

    • Next Page