Kaizen 231 - Embedding Zoho Desk Tickets in Zoho CRM

Hello, CRM Wizards!

This week, let us enhance cross-team visibility between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk.

We will use the Zoho Request Client inside a Related List widget to display open Zoho Desk tickets directly within the Contact record in Zoho CRM. This integration allows Sales and Support teams to access active support issues without switching applications.

Business Problem

At Zylker, a manufacturing company that manages high-value distributors and enterprise buyers, sales operations run in Zoho CRM while customer support manages warranty claims and service issues in Zoho Desk.

This separation creates operational friction during critical customer interactions.

1. Lack of visibility into open support tickets 

Sales representatives cannot see ongoing support tickets when interacting with customers in CRM. This results in: 

1. Sales conversations happening without awareness of active complaints.
2. Poor customer experience when unresolved issues surface unexpectedly.
3. Reduced productivity due to frequent system switching between CRM and Desk.

2. No Controlled Escalation Mechanism

There is no structured way to initiate ticket escalations from within Zoho CRM.

Solution

This week we will focus on solving the visibility gap. 

We will embed a related list widget within Contact detail page and provide real-time visibility of open tickets. 

Prerequisites

1. Create Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk under the same Zoho Organization. 

2. A two-way sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk is required to keep Contacts and Accounts consistent across both applications.

With this support, any change made to a Contact or Account in either application is automatically reflected in the other.

Additionally, each record in Zoho Desk stores the corresponding Zoho CRM record ID. This allows you to reference the CRM record directly and perform further customizations or integrations using that unique ID.

Follow the steps to create the two-way sync:

1. Log into Zoho Desk.
2. Go to Settings > Integration > Zoho. 
3. Choose Zoho CRM and click Integrate. 
4. On the Authentication page:
   
1. Enter your email address.
2. Choose the CRM organization you want to integrate with.
5. Click Authorize.
6. Once authenticated, the sync configuration page opens.
7. Select the sync type as Two-way Sync.
8. Map the fields of Accounts and Contacts modules between Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM.
9. Click Start Sync to initiate the integration. 
   

Refer to the Integrating Zoho Desk with Zoho CRM help page for more details. 

3. Create a Zoho Desk connection in Zoho CRM with Desk.tickets.READ and Desk.contacts.READ scopes. 

Refer to the Connections help doc for more information. Store the Connection Link Name to use while making API calls. 

4. Create a local project folder for widget using Zoho CLI as mentioned in Creating your First Widget help guide. 

Step-by-Step Implementation

In the widget project directory, code the following logic in the widget.html file.

Step - 1: Get the Current CRM Contact ID

On page load, you can capture the entity ID with the help of PageLoad event listener. 

Also create a reusable ZRC instance configured with the Zoho Desk base URL and OAuth connection name. 

// Initialize the embedded app ZOHO.embeddedApp.on("PageLoad", async function(data) {     console.log("PageLoad data:", data);     // Step 1: Get the entity (module) and entity ID (Contact record ID)     if (data && data.Entity && data.EntityId) {         entityModule = data.Entity;         entityId = data.EntityId;         console.log("Entity:", entityModule);         console.log("Entity ID (CRM Contact ID):", entityId);         // Create reusable ZRC instance for Zoho Desk API         deskZrc = zrc.createInstance({             baseUrl: 'https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1',             connection: 'desk_oauth_connection'         });         await loadTickets();     } else {         showError("No contact context found");     } }); ZOHO.embeddedApp.init();

Step - 2: Fetch Desk Contacts and Match the CRM Contact ID

Make a GET Contacts API call to the Zoho Desk API using the ZRC instance. Loop through the returned contacts and find the one whose zohoCRMContact.id matches the current CRM Contact ID.

// Step 2: Make GET contacts API call to Desk using ZRC const contactsResponse = await deskZrc.get('/contacts', {     params: {         limit: 100     } }); console.log("Desk Contacts Response:", contactsResponse); if (contactsResponse && contactsResponse.data) {     // Parse the response data      const contactsData = typeof contactsResponse.data === 'string'          ? JSON.parse(contactsResponse.data)          : contactsResponse.data;     // Find the object where zohoCRMContact.id matches Contact record ID     if (contactsData && contactsData.data && Array.isArray(contactsData.data)) {         const matchingContact = contactsData.data.find(function(contact) {             return contact.zohoCRMContact &&                     contact.zohoCRMContact.id &&                     contact.zohoCRMContact.id === entityId;         });         if (matchingContact) {             // Pick the id (Desk contact record ID)             const deskContactId = matchingContact.id;             console.log("Desk Contact ID:", deskContactId);             // Proceed to fetch tickets             await fetchTickets(deskContactId);         } else {             showEmptyState("No Desk contact found linked to this CRM contact");         }     } }

Step - 3: Fetch Open Tickets and Filter by Desk Contact ID

Make a GET Tickets API call to Zoho Desk with the following parameters:

1. Specify status with Open value to retrieve only open tickets. 
2. Specify include with value set to contacts fetch each ticket details with its associated contact details. 

Filter the API response with the matched Desk Contact ID and render the results. 

async function fetchTickets(deskContactId) {     try {         // Step 3: Make GET Tickets API call using ZRC          const ticketsResponse = await deskZrc.get('/tickets', {             params: {                 include: 'contacts',                 status: 'Open',                 limit: 100             }         });         console.log("Tickets Response:", ticketsResponse);         if (ticketsResponse && ticketsResponse.data) {             const ticketsData = typeof ticketsResponse.data === 'string'                  ? JSON.parse(ticketsResponse.data)                  : ticketsResponse.data;             // Filter tickets where contact matches deskContactId             if (ticketsData && ticketsData.data && ticketsData.data.length > 0) {                 const matchingTickets = ticketsData.data.filter(function(ticket) {                     return ticket.contact && ticket.contact.id === deskContactId;                 });                 if (matchingTickets.length > 0) {                     renderTickets(matchingTickets);                 } else {                     showEmptyState("No open tickets found for this contact");                 }             } else {                 showEmptyState("No open tickets found");             }         }     } catch (error) {         console.error("Error fetching tickets:", error);         showError("Failed to fetch tickets: " + (error.message || error.toString()));     } }

Step - 4: Validate and Pack the Widget

Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget. A complete working code sample is provided as attachment at the end of this post.

Creating a Related List Widget

1. Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.

2. Fill in the required details such as:

1. Name: Zoho WorkDrive
2. Type: Related List 
3. Hosting: Zoho 
4. File Upload: Upload the ZIP created in the dist folder within the widget project directory after packaging in the Step 4. 
5. Index page: /widget.html
   

3. Go to Customization > Modules and Fields > Contacts > Standard > Detail View. Then, create and associate the related list widget. 

Refer to the Customize Related Lists help page for more information on creating a related list.

Try it Out! 

Let us look at the output from the Contacts detail page in Zoho CRM. 

Key Points to Remember

1. Two-way sync is mandatory to link Desk contacts with CRM contacts. 
2. Connection setup in Zoho CRM for Desk is mandatory with Desk.tickets.READ and Desk.contacts.READ scopes. Ensure to replace the connection name in line 21.
3. If the account has a large number of contacts or tickets, implement pagination using from and limit parameters to ensure all records are evaluated. 
4. Ensure to replace the Desk URL to ticket in line 181 with your portal name and company name.
   

We hope this Kaizen helps your sales team to see active issues instantly. Next week, we will look at how to establish a ticket escalation mechanism from Zoho CRM. 

Have questions or suggestions? Drop them in the comments or write to us at  support@zohocrm.com. 

On to Better Building!

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

Related Reading 

1. Widgets - An Overview, CLI Installation, Working with Widgets, ZRC Methods, Mobile Compatibility of Widgets and Kaizens 

2. Connections - An Overview

3. CRM Customizations - Related Lists

4. Desk APIs -  GET Tickets API and GET Contacts API
5. Desk Customizations - Integrate Zoho Desk with Zoho CRM

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

Previous Kaizen: Smart Discount-Based Quote Approvals Using CRM Functions and Approval Process | Kaizen Collection: Directory

• Topic Participants

• Kiruthiga G

  

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

  Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

• Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

• Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

• Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

• Recent Topics

• 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

• 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

• Unable to Change Display Name for my outlook mail ID

  Hello, I recently added my personal outlook mail to Zohomail (in the web interface) using POP3 options. I tried to change the display name of the outlook account, but it changes for a brief moment and reverts back to the old name. Kindly help me with

• 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.

• 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

• 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,

• 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

• 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.

• 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

• 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

• 【Zoho CRM】やりとりの要約機能リリースのお知らせ

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、新機能のやりとり要約機能をご紹介します。 Zoho CRMのやりとりの要約は、Ziaが生成する機能で、データに関連付けられた最近のやりとりを簡潔にまとめて提供します。 メール、通話、ミーティング、メモなどを1つの明確な要約にまとめ、重要なポイント、過去の話し合いの要点、結果、次のステップを表示することで、日常的な課題に対処します。 Ziaの強みは、単なる要約にとどまらず、内容の解釈も行える点です。やりとりの要約では、顧客との会話に潜む遅延、フォローアップ漏れ、約束、期限、感情、意図を特定します。

• Recent post analytics not very useful

  Hi, I'm enjoying some aspects of the Zoho Social. like being able to schedule posts to multiple channels. However, the recent posts analytics is disappointing. For example, I put up a reel on Instagram and Facebook yesterday. Instagram insights shows

• What happens to the files created by user, whose account is deleted.

  Hello, I created a folder in the My folders names "Quote" I shared the same with my colleague. She created some files and folders in that folder over the period of 1 and half year. Now she left company, and I deleted her account from Zoho. What happens

• Internal Error When Accessing Team Inbox.

  All our users are seeing this error in teaminbox. Because its a critical tool kindly resolve this issue ASAP.

• Sharing URLs and direct access

  Hello, I am storing my team's email signature images on Workdrive. I am creating a public image download share and adding “?directDownload=true” so that the image can be accessed without the Workdrive interface. A few questions: 1) Can we generate friendly

• Zoho Mail Android app update: Calendar enhancements

  Hello everyone! In the most recent version of the Zoho Mail Android app update, we have introduced various new enhancements for the calendar module. Let's explore what's new. Drag and drop events to update the date and time We have enhanced the calendar

• Enhance Delay Configuration in Zoho Flow

  Dear Zoho Flow Support Team, We are writing to request an improvement to the delay configuration process within Zoho Flow. Currently, users are required to manually enter the exact delay duration (e.g., "2 days") in the delay block. This can be time-consuming

• Contratação ProdutivosX

  Bem-vindo(a) ao processo de contratação da ProdutivosX. Este formulário tem como objetivo coletar informações essenciais para análise de perfil profissional, alinhamento de competências e possível integração ao equipamento ProdutivosX. A ProdutivosX é

• Unified WhatsApp Number Management in Zoho Desk and SalesIQ

  Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are currently utilizing both Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ for our customer support operations. While both platforms offer WhatsApp integration, we are facing challenges due to the requirement of separate WhatsApp numbers

• Plug Sample #15 - Enable Human-Like, Contextual Interactions in SalesIQ with Zia Agents

  Zia Agents are conversational AI assistants designed to understand user intent and respond intelligently, helping businesses automate conversations and offer personalized support at scale. While Zia Agents are yet to be publicly released, access is currently

• Best way to schedule bill payments to vendors

  I've integrated Forte so that I can convert POs to bills and make payments to my vendors all through Books. Is there a way to schedule the bill payments as some of my vendors are net 30, net 60 and even net 90 days. If I can't get this to work, I'll have

• Seamless Round-Trip Navigation for Related Blocks (Detail View)

  As highlighted previously in this post (and here, here, here, and here), we still lack a fundamental capability for seamless navigation in Related Blocks. The popup that appears when adding a related record doesn't exist for viewing/editing existing records,

• Social Profile Logo Format

  Hello, I'm using Zoho Sites and am attempting to add a couple of social media accounts to my profile that aren't included in the default platforms that are available. What format is the logo required to be in? I have tried .png and .jpg with no success.

• How to create Sepa Direct Debit XML file: solution and code

  Even though Books provides a payment integration for Stripe and Gocardless (in Europe) there are customers that want to use the Sepa services of their own bank. Mainly because Stripe and Gocardless are quite expensive. In that case they would need a Sepa

• Traditional Spreadsheet vs Zoho Tables

  Hello everyone, This article explains the differences between Spreadsheet applications and no-code databases, such as Zoho Tables. While both tools belong to the "grid" family, the core difference lies in their purpose. A spreadsheet (such as Zoho Sheet,

• RFQ MODEL

  A Request for quotation model is used for Purchase Inquiries to multiple vendors. The Item is Created and then selected to send it to various vendors , once the Prices are received , a comparative chart is made for the user. this will help Zoho books

• Delegate Access - Mobile iOS/iPad

  We’re over the moon that delegate access is now available in Zoho Mail as we were nearly ready to switch platforms because of it! Is there a timeline on when delegate mailboxes will be accessible from the iOS and iPad OS applications? Thanks, Jake

• Request For Quotation (RFQ) module

  Hello, Do you have any plans to implement a RFQ module in to ZOHO Inventory? I would like to chose items that I require a price for, select a number of different suppliers to e-mail and have them submit there pricing online. I would then like to see a

• Support for Developing Zoho Recruit Extensions via Zoho Sigma

  Hi, I’m interested in building an extension for Zoho Recruit using Zoho Sigma. However, when I navigate to Sigma and attempt to create a new extension (via the "New Extension" option), Zoho Recruit does not appear as a listed service—only options like

• FOLDER DISAPPEARED

  Hello Zoho Community. I recently found a problem with no explanation: a folder in Zoho Analytics just disappeared, but the tables and SQL sentences still existed, the folder was not deleted. The solution for me in this case was to create a new folder,

• How to create estimates/Invoices with sub-totals

  Every other accounting package can create estimates and invoices with Sub-totals. How can I do that in ZohoBooks?

• Deluge scripts

  Why is there not a search function to make it easier to find the script of interest when modifications are required.

• Social media simplified with Zoho Social: Why should brands have a Threads profile?

  Just over a year ago, Instagram launched Threads, the all new social media app primarily focusing on sharing text online. It was welcomed by people worldwide with more than 10 million users in just seven hours, and it currently has over 175 million active

• Next Page