Kaizen #90 - CRM Variables and APIs

Kaizen #90 - CRM Variables and APIs

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!

This week, we will discuss what are CRM Variables and variable groups, how to create, update, and delete them through an API and the UI, and a simple example in Deluge of using a CRM variable in a function. 

Let's get started!

What are CRM Variables?

Often, we have the need to reuse certain data in CRM at various places. Instead of creating separate fields to hold such values in every module, we can create an org-level field and use the same value across the CRM system. This field is called a CRM Variable. 
These variables can be of any of the following data types:
  • Decimal
  • Single line
  • Multi line
  • Integer
  • Long integer
  • Percent
  • Currency
  • Date
  • DateTime
  • Email
  • Phone 
  • URL
  • Checkbox

Where can you use CRM Variables?

You can use CRM variables in mail merge templates, email templates, functions, workflows, buttons etc,.

What are Variable Groups?

When you have multiple variables, you can group them together for easy accessibility. For example, it makes sense to group all the authentication variables such as access token, refresh token etc., under a group called "Auth parameters".

How can you create a CRM Variable?

You can create CRM Variables from the UI or through the CRM API.

1. From the UI

  1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Zoho CRM Variables > Create New Variable.
  2. In the Create Zoho CRM Variable pop up, enter the following details:
    a. The name of the variable in the Variable Name field.
    b. The API name of the variable in the API name field.
    c. A brief description of the variable in the Description field.
    d. The data type of the variable from the Variable Type drop-down.
    e. The group that the variable must belong to in the Grouped Under drop-down.
  3. Click Save.


2. Creating a variable through an API

Request URL: {api-domain}/crm/{version}/settings/variables
Request method: POST
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.variables.ALL or ZohoCRM.settings.variables.CREATE

Input JSON keys

{
    "variables": [
       {
            "name": "Company Address",
            "api_name": "Company_Address",
            "variable_group": {
                "api_name": "General",
                "id": "3652397000004992001"
            },
            "type": "textarea",
            "value": "#24, Austin, TX",
            "description": "The address of the company when the state is Texas"
        }
    ]
}
where,
Key name and data type
Description
name
string, mandatory
The name of the variable.
api_name
string, mandatory
The API name you want to set for the variable.
variable_group
JSON object, mandatory
The API name and the ID of the variable group you want to group your variable under. If you do not have a variable group, you can only group it under "General". Use the Get Variable Groups API to get the ID and name of the variable group.
type
string, mandatory
The data type of the variable. The possible values are integer, text(for single line), percent, decimal, currency, date, datetime, email, phone, url, checkbox(for Boolean), textarea(for multi-line), and long.
value
string, mandatory
The value of the variable.
description
string, optional
A short description of the variable.

Sample Response


How can you update a CRM variable?

1. From the UI

  1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Zoho CRM Variables.
  2. Hover over the variable you want to edit. 
  3. Click the "Edit" icon on the left-corner of the variable.
  4. In the Edit Zoho CRM Variable pop up, update the relevant details.

  5. Click Save.
Note
You cannot edit the Variable Type and Grouped Under fields.

2. Through an API

Request URL: {api-domain}/crm/{version}/settings/variables (or)
{api-domain}/crm/{version}/settings/variables/{variable_API_name or Variable_ID}
Request method: PUT
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.variables.ALL or ZohoCRM.settings.variables.UPDATE

Input JSON keys
Note that besides "id", all the keys are optional based on what details you want to update.
{
    "variables": [
       { 
"id":"3652397000012482002";
            "name": "Company_Address",
            "api_name": "Company_Address",
            "value": "#24, Austin, TX",
            "description": "The address of the company when the state is Texas"
        }
    ]
}

where,
Key name and data type
Description
id
string, mandatory
The ID of the variable you want to update. You can get this ID from the Get Variables API.
name
string
The name of the variable.
api_name
string
The API name you want to set for the variable.
value
string
The value of the variable.
description
string
A short description of the variable.

Sample Response

How can you delete a CRM variable?

1. From the UI

  1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Zoho CRM Variables.
  2. Hover over the variable you want to delete. 
  3. Click the "Delete" icon on the left-corner of the variable.

  4. Click Delete in the pop up that asks for confirmation.

2. Through an API

Request URL: {api-domain}/crm/{version}/settings/variables/{variable_id} (or) 
                       {api-domain}/crm/{version}/settings/variables?ids=id1,id2..
Request method: DELETE
Scope: ZohoCRM.settings.variables.ALL or ZohoCRM.settings.variables.DELETE

Sample Response


Use cases

Here are a few use cases where you can use CRM Variables.

  • Consider that you have integrated with RazorPay and want to send payment links to deals that you have won. Here, you can store the payment link in a variable and use it in the function that sends the link to the deal through an email.
  • You can improvise the above function, and have a condition that checks whether the payment link is valid or has expired. If it is invalid or expired, you can send an alternate payment link that is stored in another CRM variable.
  • Consider you have scheduled a function to run everyday. Now, you want to run this function except on Saturday and Sunday of a particular month. In this case, you can hard-code the Saturday and Sunday in CRM variables of the DateTime type, and check this while running your function. You case would be "if datetime =={CRM variable}, stop execution".
  • Another classic example of using CRM Variables would be in the banking sector. Consider that you have multiple modules that deal with the rate of interest. This rate will differ based on the tenure, the type of loan, the age of a person etc, and used at multiple places across the org. Here, you can set up variables for the different rates of interests and use them in various places. The best part is, when the rate of interest changes, you have to just change it at one place - CRM Variable. 

Let us see this example in detail.

I have a module called Loans. For home loans, the rate of interest is 10% for all, irrespective of the tenure. 
So, I have created a CRM variable called Interest, whose data type is decimal, and has the value 10.

In the Loans module, I have the following fields:
  • Customer Name(single line) to represent the name of the customer who has opted for the loan.
  • Principal(decimal) to represent the principal they have borrowed.
  • Tenure(number) that depicts the number of years they will repay the loan in.
  • EMI(decimal) to represent the monthly installment.
  • Total(decimal) to represent the total amount they will repay including the interest.
I have a function that calculates the EMI and the Total. Here is the code.

// In this function, we are getting principal, tenure and record id from the record and Interest from CRM Variables. 
//Calculate Total 
Total = Principal + Principal * Interest / 100 * Tenure;
info Total;
//Calculate EMI 
EMI = Total / (Tenure * 12);
info EMI;
//Variable with MAP type to hold the fields and values
record_info = {"EMI":EMI,"Total":Total};
info record_info;
info zoho.crm.getRecordById("Loans",record_id);
//Updating the record
zoho.crm.updateRecord("Loans",record_id,record_info);

The following image shows the function argument mapping.


I have now set up a workflow that is triggered upon record creation. This workflow has the Calculate EMI function associated to it as shown in the following image.


As you can see, in Argument Mapping, I have chosen the CRM variable Interest.

Here is a demo of how the workflow is triggered and function execution.


As you can see, based on the value in the CRM variable, the Total and EMI is calculated through the function triggered by the workflow upon record creation.

We hope you liked this post. We will see you next week with another interesting topic.

Please let us know if you have any questions in the comment section or write to us at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!

    • Sticky Posts

    • 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

    • Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

      Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Map integration tasks have changed - you need to "Locate all instances of Zoho Map integration tasks in your Deluge scripts by searching for the v1 marker... before 16 January 2026"

      Details of an issue specific to Zoho CRM + Deluge Functions (originally posted in this forum) can be found here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/zoho-map-integration-tasks-have-changed-you-need-to-locate-all-instances-of-zoho-map-integration-tasks-in-your-deluge-scripts-by-searching-for-the-v1-marker

    • filter broke my data

      I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they

    • Request to remove domain "greentechcoatings.vn" from previous Zoho account

      Hello Zoho Support, I would like to register the domain "greentechcoatings.vn" in my new Zoho Mail account, but I receive the message "This domain is already associated with another account". Please remove the domain from any previous/unknown account

    • Trigger actions in third-party apps using Zoho Flow

      Greetings, I hope you're all doing well. We're excited to share an enhancement to Bigin's workflow capabilities. Zoho Flow Actions are now available in Bigin, enabling you to automate tasks across third-party applications directly from your workflow and

    • Enroll, Script, Win: Hackathon 2025!

      Hello CRM Developers! Are you ready to create some magic with Client Script, Widgets and Functions in Zoho CRM? Let’s make Hackathon 2025 an unforgettable adventure! The Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is here, and it’s your time to shine! REGISTER

    • Zoho Help Desk - Not receiving emails

      Hello… I am on your trial version of help desk… and I am having trouble getting emails from Zoho Help Desk to my MS Outlook Exchange Server… So when a customer sends ticket request I am not getting an email with a notification? I have read your articles

    • Almost all Flows are being queued

      A few days ago I saw one of my Flows status was Queued. This was the first time this had ever happened. Now, almost every Flow that triggers is Queued for at least a few minutes. If I re-trigger the Flow (which causes separate problems) they sometimes

    • Employment Contract / HRMS Documents - Zoho People

      How do I create customized HR documents for disbursal from Zoho People ? Example, say offer letters ? appointment letters ? Memos ? We want to be able to preset these in one or ther other form and issue them to employees who are in Zoho People.

    • Live webinar: Craft and deliver impactful slides with Show’s desktop apps

      If you love the comfort of working on your desktop and want a setup that keeps you focused and uninterrupted, this session is made for you. We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming live webinar: "Craft and deliver impactful slides with Show's desktop

    • Enhancements to Bigin's forms

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin's forms. We'll go over each one in detail. Merge field support in auto-filled forms The auto-fill option in Bigin's forms lets you predefine

    • Table dimensions

      I try changing the dimensions of the table on my computer but it doesn't change. Do I have to be a premium member or does it only work on the app?

    • Direct link to Record Summary

      Hi everyone, In one of my reports, I have built a Record Summary template to display the details of one record. I would like to be able to link directly to this Record Summary once I submit a new record, without having to go to the list of records first and click on View. Is there a possibility to do so ?  Should I use the URL by passing some parameters ? Thank you very much for your help ! Guillaume

    • Amendment effective date

      Hi everyone, I noticed that the amendment effective date mentionned in my amendment is not right. Indeed, when a contract is amended several times, it states the previous amendment and their effective date. However, the effective date stated is always

    • Show both Vendor and Customers in contact statement

      Dear Sir, some companies like us working with companies as Vendor and Customers too !!! it mean we send invoice and also receive bill from them , so we need our all amount in one place , but in contact statement , is separate it as Vendor and Customer, 

    • STOCK history in zohosheets

      is it possible to get historical stock value using stock function in zoho sheets? i could not see from and to period in the helper document.

    • Auto sync Photo storage

      Hello I am new to Zoho Workdrive and was wondering if the is a way of automatically syncing photos on my Android phone to my workdrive as want to move away from Google? Thanks

    • Agent password reset

      Hi Zoho support, I would like to ask if there is a way the admin can reset a password of an agent? Regards

    • Can receive but not send messages in Zoho Mail

      Hello! I was able to configure my email client successfully in that I can receive messages just fine. However, when I send messages out, they seem to go out fine (I don't receive any errors or anything), but the recipient does NOT receive those messages.

    • Mail is sent twice!

      Been using Zoho for a while now. Installed Zoho for someone else and some weird things are happening. Mails are being sent twice. He is using Thunderbird as an email client. I already read about email being duplicated in the sent folder. But in my case

    • Can't login IMAP suddenly

      Since this evening I'm getting the error: You are yet to enable IMAP for your account. Please contact your administrator... IMAP always been enabled in my account and was workign fine for the past 7 years. Already tried turning IMAP off and on again.

    • Sending of username did not succeed: Mail server pop.zoho.com responded: User already specified

      I am having issues receiving emails from Zoho in Thunderbird. I am getting the above error. The first error tells me Authentication failed, and prompts me to enter in my password. Then I get the above error. I can receive emails when I log in online to

    • Bug tracking

      Hi, does anyone know how to track errors during picking or packing? This way I can keep track and see how to improve and prevent errors in this area.

    • Migration of corporate mail environment from Yandex 360 to Zoho mail

      I have to migrate a corporate mail environment with an existing domain from Yandex 360 to Zoho mail. It is vital to migrate all users with all the data. I have read the article on this topic using MacMister Email Backup Software just now and have some

    • I'm unable to send mail pthrough Zoho SMTP programmatically

      This has been working for years, but today it's been offline all day long. I see nothing anywhere on your site about this. I'm not the only one experiencing this. Downdetector has a spike of reports today

    • Can no longer send email via Django site

      This was working fine as of 11/7/25. Now I am unable to send user verification emails from a Django site on a AWS lightsail sever. When a user attempts to register the following error occurs. I have also attempted to send a test email via the shell and

    • unable to send email but able to receive email

      my email address is info@securityforceservices.ca

    • Login to server failing

      When trying to retrieve my mail, I am getting this error message -- Login to server pop.zoho.com with username (my email address) failed. It gives me the option to retry, enter password, or cancel. Then I get this message -- Sending of username did not

    • Configuration failed: 200 response not received for POST request.

      Hello, I am trying to set up a webhook to connect with an Salesforce but I receive the following error from Zoho: Configuration failed: 200 response not received for POST request I have tried testing it on webhook.site as well and receive the same error

    • Zoho Migration Assistant not working

      Hello, I am trying to use you Migration assistant to migrate emails from Rediff to Zoho. I am stuck in the first step. After downloading the migration tool, I copied the link to verify user credentials, however, after pasting the link in the browser,

    • Contacts Missing — PeopleSync/Zoho Mail

      English: In our company we use ManageEngine Mobile Device Manager (MDM), Free edition, to manage corporate mobile devices. Our usage policy does not allow personal Google accounts on these devices; therefore, Google account sync is blocked through MDM.

    • Best way to integrate Zoho with mobile app for managing customer requests with real-time notifications?

      Hello, I'm building a solution for a travel company where customers submit requests through a website, and the sales team manages these requests through a mobile app. The Requirement: Customers fill a form on the website (name, email, number of children,

    • Kaizen #57 - Mass Update API in Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen series. This week, we will discuss the Mass Update API in Zoho CRM. In this post, we will cover the following: 1. Introduction 2. Mass Update Records API  3. Schedule Update and Get Status

    • Getting Attachments in Zoho Desk via API

      Is there a way to get attachments into Zoho Desk via an API?      We have a process by which a zoho survey gets sent to the user as a link in a notification.    The survey has several upload fields where they can upload pdf documents.    I've created

    • Pincode based Product Restriction

      we have different types of products. 1) Very bulky items like plywood. 2) Too delicate items like glass These type of products we want to sell to local customers. Other products we want to supply all over India. There should be an option to restrict products

    • Related Lists filter

      I have Contacts showing in our Accounts module. I customized the Contacts module with an Employment Status field, with the following picklist options: "Primary Contact", "Secondary Contact", "Active Staff(not a main contact)", and "No longer employed".

    • Standalone custom function not generating logs

      Why dont't standalone custom functions generate logs when the're called from another function? I have some functions (workflow, buttons and blueprint) that have common parts, so I put that part in a standalone function which is called from the others.

    • Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users

      Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,

    • Urgent Security Feature Request – Add MFA to Zoho Projects Client Portal Hello Zoho Projects Team,

      Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit an urgent security enhancement request regarding the Zoho Projects Client Portal. At this time, as far as we are aware, there is no Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) available

    • Creator HTML page refresh

      Hi, I have added around 5 different html snippets in single creator page. I understand, I can refresh the entire page from page script using Navigational URLs https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/creator/developer-guide/others/url-patterns/articles/navigational-urls

    • Zoho Desk - Custom Module Related List Columns on Tickets

      I have a custom module in Zoho Desk called Asana Tasks, each task has a lookup to a Ticket. On the Ticket I want to see the columns of the Asana Tasks in the related list . Is there a way to do this? Right now it just has the name of the record and I

    • Next Page