What's New - September 2024

What's New - September 2024

Hello everyone,

 

We spent the past month rolling out exciting new features to make event management easier. In addition, we’ve improved Backstage's performance and fixed bugs to ensure a smoother event management experience.

 

So, in case you missed them, here are the latest updates from Zoho Backstage.

 

1. API guide

We are excited to announce the release of the API guide for Zoho Backstage! Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting out, our comprehensive guide will help you seamlessly integrate with Backstage and unlock its full potential.
 
The Zoho Backstage API is built using REST principles, ensuring predictable URLs and easy application development. Following HTTP rules, our API supports a wide range of HTTP clients, allowing for flexible interaction.

Check it out here: Zoho Backstage API Guide

 

2. India tax


Zoho Backstage now complies with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations in India. Collecting taxes on event tickets is now available for customers in the Essential plan and above.

 

Tax application varies by event type:

 

  • In-person/hybrid events: Tax is applied based on the place of supply.



  • Online events: Tax is applied if the attendee is in India. For attendees outside India, no tax is applied (considered an export of services).


     

To configure:

 

  1. Set the organization’s location and configure the tax rates in your portal settings.

  2. Manage the Tax Type and Place of Supply for an event from the Registrations tab.

  3. While publishing the event, the tax preview will be shown based on event and attendee locations.

 

If the event location is outside India, GST will not be applicable.

 

Businesses with turnover above the threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh or Rs.10 lakh as the case may be must register for GST and collect tax on event tickets. Zoho Backstage is not responsible or liable for collecting taxes. We recommend that you contact your local authority for advice on tax procedures or information regarding tax regulations. Tax invoice is in early access. Contact support for access.

 

3. Apple Pay and Bancontact Stripe payment modes  

 

We’ve added two new payment methods for Stripe: Apple Pay and Bancontact. With Apple Pay, participants can make quick, secure payments directly from their Apple devices using Safari. No extra fees, and payments are processed instantly! Simply enable Apple Pay in the Payments section of your event, spaceor portal.

 

Bancontact is now available for attendees in Belgium who wish to make payments in Euros. This popular payment method will automatically display on the payment page when:

  1. The organization's location in Zoho Backstage is set to Belgium.

  2. The currency is set to Euros.

  3. The attendee's location (country) is Belgium.


 

4. Companion tickets (Early access)  

 


 

We’re excited to introduce a new feature that expands flexibility for your registrants, Companion Tickets. This feature, currently available in early access, allows attendees to register additional guests, such as friends, family, or colleagues.

 

Event organizers can enable the Companion Tickets feature, which allows attendees to bring guests by purchasing secondary tickets linked to their primary ticket. Companion tickets can be selected only when the associated primary ticket is chosen during registration.

Companion tickets can be paid or free, and offer the following key features:

  • Separate registration forms

  • Promo codes

  • Refund options

  • Individual check-ins

 

 

Registration approval: In some cases, event organizers may have to screen all the registrations before confirming their participation. When the Companion Tickets feature is configured along with the Registration Approval option, the primary and companion tickets are sent for review as part of the same order. Organizers can then approve or reject the entire order and have greater control over who can participate in the event.

 

 

The example in the screenshot includes one VIP primary ticket and two Family companion tickets.

Other upgrades

 

Registration Approval: The Registration Approval tab now displays all pending, approved, rejected, and completed orders. You can also export orders based on specific filters.

 

Forms: All forms (Registration, Exhibitor, Sponsor, Session Feedback, Get in touch, and Custom Forms) now support importing data for dropdown, single-choice, and multiple-choice fields.

 

Gamification: Organizers can now configure new challenges for Session Check-in and Event Sign-in from both the web and mobile app, boosting engagement throughout the event.

 

Font support for badges: You can now use Noto Sans JP and Jost fonts in badge designs for more customization.

 

Badge customization: You can now move and edit multiple badge elements simultaneously, such as text fields, logos, and QR codes.

 

Currency options: AED and SAR currencies are now available in the Exhibitor and Sponsor modules.

 

Order approval emails: The "requesterName" merge tag has been added to Approve Orders emails, allowing for more personalized communication.

 

We hope these updates make Zoho Backstage even more powerful and user-friendly for you. For early access to new features or any product-related questions, contact us at support@zohobackstage.com.

 

Thank you for choosing Zoho Backstage!

 

 

 

 


    • Recent Topics

    • Where can we specify custom CSS in Zoho Forms custom theme ?

      I'm using a form with a dark theme. The OTP popup window is unreadable, because for some reason, the OTP popup background fixes color to white, but still takes the font color specified in the custom theme. This ends up as white on white for me, rendering

    • MCP no longer works with Claude

      Anyone else notice Zoho MCP no longer works with Claude? I'm unable to turn this on in the claude chat. When I try to toggle it on, it just does nothing at all. I've tried in incognito, new browsers, etc. - nothing seems to work.

    • Enable History Tracking for Picklist Values Not Available

      When I create a custom picklist field in Deals, the "Enable History Tracking for Picklist Values" option is not available in the Edit Properties area of the picklist. When I create a picklist in any other Module, that option is available. Is there a specific reason why this isn't available for fields in the Deals Module?

    • The reason I switched away from Zoho Notebook

      My main reason for switching to Zoho was driven by three core principles: moving away from US-based products, keeping my data within India as much as possible, and supporting Indian companies. With that intent, I’ve been actively de-Googling my digital

    • Add RTL and Hebrew Support for Candidate Portal (and Other Zoho Recruit Portals)

      Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to set the Candidate Portal to be Right-to-Left (RTL) and in Hebrew, similar to the existing functionality for the Career Site. Currently, when we set the Career Site

    • Ability to Edit YouTube Video Title, Description & Thumbnail After Publishing

      Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Social that enables users to edit YouTube video details after the video has already been published. Your team confirmed that while Zoho Social currently allows editing the

    • Send Supervisor Rule Emails Within Ticket Context in Zoho Desk

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope this message finds you well. Currently, emails sent via Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk are sent outside of the ticket context. As a result, if a client replies to such emails, their response creates a new ticket instead of appending

    • Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics

      Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn

    • Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

      Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted

    • Hide/Show Subform Fields On User Input

      Hello, Are there any future updates in Hide/Show Subform Fields "On User Input"?

    • Cloning Item With Images Or The Option With Images

      Hello, when I clone an item, I expect the images to carry over to the cloned item, however this is not the case in Inventory. Please make it possible for the images to get cloned or at least can we get a pop up asking if we want to clone the images as

    • Archiving Contacts

      How do I archive a list of contacts, or individual contacts?

    • WorkDrive and CRM not in sync

      1/ There is a CRM file upload field with WorkDrive file set as the source: 2/ Then the file is renamed in WorkDrive (outside CRM): 3/ The File in CRM is not synced after the change in WorkDrive; the file name (reference) in CRM record is not updated (here

    • 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'

    • Adding Default Module Image into mail merge field

      As with most people finding their way to these forums i have a specific requirement that doesn't seem to be supported by Zoho I have created 2 custom modules to suit my purpose 1 is an inventory type module that lists aluminium extrusions, and all relevant

    • Sync Data from MA to CRM

      Currently, it's a one-way sync of data from the CRM to MA. I believe we should have the ability to select fields to sync from MA to the CRM. The lead score is a perfect example of this. In an ideal world we would be able to impact the lead score of a

    • Is it possible to roll up all Contact emails to the Account view?

      Is there a way to track all emails associated with an Account in one single view? Currently, email history is visible when opening an individual Contact record. However, since multiple Contacts are often associated with a single Account, it would be beneficial

    • Update CRM record action

      Currently, MA only offers a "Push Data" action to push data to a CRM module. This action is built to cover the need to both create a new record and update an existing record. Because it has been implemented this way all required fields on the CRM module

    • Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

      Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated

    • What's new in Zoho One 2025

      Greetings! We hope you have all had a chance by now to get hands-on with the new features and updates released as part of ZO25. Yes, we understand that you may have questions and feedback. To ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of these updates,

    • Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

      Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities

    • Add deluge function to shorten URLs

      Zoho Social contains a nice feature to shorten URLs using zurl.co. It would be really helpful to have similar functionality in a Deluge call please, either as an inbuilt function or a standard integration. My Creator app sends an email with a personalised

    • Edit default "We are here to help you" text in chat SalesIQ widget

      Does anyone know how this text can be edited? I can't find it anywhere in settings. Thanks!

    • Quick way to add a field in Chat Window

      I want to add Company Field in chat window to lessen the irrelevant users in sending chat and set them in mind that we are dealing with companies. I request that it will be as easy as possible like just ticking it then typing the label then connecting

    • How to create a two way Sync with CRM Contacts Module?

      Newbie creator here (but not to Zoho CRM). I want to create an app that operates on a sub-set of CRM Contacts - only those with a specific tag. I want the app records to mirror the tagged contacts in CRM. I would like it to update when the Creator app

    • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

      Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?

    • Allow Manual Popup Canvas Size Control

      Hello Zoho PageSense Team, We hope you're doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the PageSense popup editor regarding popup sizing. Current Limitation: Currently, the size (width and height) of a popup is strictly controlled by the selected

    • Where is the settings option in zoho writer?

      hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards

    • How to set page defaults in zoho writer?

      hi, everytime i open the zoho writer i have to change the default page settings to - A4 from letter, margins to narrow and header and footer to 0. I cannot set this as default as that option is grayed out! so I am unable to click it. I saved the document

    • Develop and publish a Zoho Recruit extension on the marketplace

      Hi, I'd like to develop a new extension for Zoho Recruit. I've started to use Zoho Developers creating a Zoho CRM extension. But when I try to create a new extension here https://sigma.zoho.com/workspace/testtesttestest/apps/new I d'ont see the option of Zoho Recruit (only CRM, Desk, Projects...). I do see extensions for Zoho Recruit in the marketplace. How would I go about to create one if the option is not available in sigma ? Cheers, Rémi.

    • How to import data from PDF into Zoho Sheet

      I am looking to import Consolidated Account Statement (https://www.camsonline.com/Investors/Statements/Consolidated-Account-Statement) into zoho sheet. Any help is appreciated. The pdf is received as attachment in the email, this document is password

    • Zoho Projects Android app: Integration with Microsoft Intune

      Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce that Zoho Projects now integrates with Microsoft Intune, enabling enhanced security and enterprise app management. We have now added support for Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM) policies through

    • Cant't update custom field when custom field is external lookup in Zoho Books

      Hello I use that : po = zoho.books.updateRecord("purchaseorders",XXXX,purchaseorder_id,updateCustomFieldseMap,"el_books_connection"); c_f_Map2 = Map(); c_f_Map2.put("label","EL ORDER ID"); c_f_Map2.put("value",el_order_id); c_f_List.add(c_f_Map2); updateCustomFieldseMap

    • Wrapping up 2025 on a high note: CRM Release Highlights of the year

      Dear Customers, 2025 was an eventful year for us at Zoho CRM. We’ve had releases of all sizes and impact, and we are excited to look back, break it down, and rediscover them with you! Before we rewind—we’d like to take a minute and sincerely thank you

    • About Zoneminder (CCTV) and Zoho People

      Hi team I would like to implement a CCTV service for our branches, with the aim of passively detecting both the entry and exit of personnel enrolled in Zoho Peeple, but my question is: It is possible to integrate Zoho People with Zoneminder, I understand

    • Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space

      Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,

    • 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

    • How to show branch instead of org name on invoice template?

      Not sure why invoices are showing the org name not the branch name? I can insert the branch name using the ${ORGANIZATION.BRANCHNAME} placeholder, but then it isn't bold text anymore. Any other ideas?

    • Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account

      Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?

    • Unable to remove the “Automatically Assigned” territory from existing records

      Hello Zoho Community Team, We are currently using Territory Management in Zoho CRM and have encountered an issue with automatically assigned territories on Account records. Once any account is created the territory is assigned automatically, the Automatically

    • Next Page