Cliq - Get connected with External Users

Cliq - Get connected with External Users

Scenario:
You are part of the admin team in your company and incharge of interior decor for the new block coming up. You collaborate with your furniture vendor - FurnSquare (FS) . Numerous round table meetings take place within your team to arrive at the design theme - Ethereal nature. Now you being incharge of this decor, is the mediator between your team and FS team. As always email is the mode of communication. Based on your theme, the designers in FS come up with few sample designs and send them over to you. Guess what happens next? Yup, you are jam packed with back and forth email threads of design change requests from your team to the FS designers team. To and fro round table discussions with your team and then endless emails to FS team for each tiny requirement and change, phew! You're so done.

Now let’s get down to business and analyse why this process taxes you!

# The primary mode of communication email, is not instant. At times the reply to the previous mail is after hours.
# When sharing design attachments along with the numerous existing back and forth conversations, it becomes difficult to keep up with the mail threads.
# You are the mediator between your company and FS. For a project like this, which involves major work, i.e. agreeing on a design, changes in minor details, ideas of each team member, etc... you have to convey all this to FS team.
# Each time designers from FS send you designs, you need to get to your team about it.


Throw in a few more calls and basic onsite meetings with designers from FS and you are tied up (well not literally). This whole process is demanding and leaves you with very little time for your other works.

How would you feel in a situation like the above one? You may not exactly be the mediator of a design project, but you will for sure establish communication with other people like vendors, distributors, clients etc... Would you like to go about it in the old fashioned way of sending emails to and fro or would prefer to have instant communication?

Instant communication it is!

Instant communication is achieved by Cliq - the Team messaging software within your organization, but what about the users who are not part of your Cliq organization, say your vendors, clients, etc... We at Cliq know the importance and necessity of workplace communication of our clients with external users and hence we offer External Channels and 1-1 chats. Let me brief on how this can be useful for you.

For the above scenario with FurnSquare, an external channel #vendor-furnsquare can be created. (psst.. if you are new and wondering what a channel is, then head over here ) In this channel the designers from FS can be invited as participants and your team can collaborate seamlessly in a single chat window. Through this channel, all the designs can be shared, discussions and ideas can be hosted, request for changes can be made and so on. This mode of communication is instant, easy and not taxing. Video discussions can be hosted through PrimeTime and furthermore 1-1 individual chats can also be established with the FS designers if needed.



There you go :) Hope this brief example helped you get an idea of how you can make use of our External Channels and 1-1 Chats for communication and collaboration with users from other organizations. For more info regarding this feature, please refer our help doc on External Users . You can also write to us through comments below letting us know of what you think.



Until next time!
Princy


    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.






                              Zoho Developer Community




                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts



                                                              • Sticky Posts

                                                              • What's new in Zoho Cliq - Our 2020 updates

                                                                Hi Everyone!  We work arduously around the clock to ensure that Cliq is constantly improving by releasing new features and updates, aimed towards enhancing user experience and productivity. Here we have put together the list of all new features and improvements to make sure that you stay up to date on what's new at our end. Remote Work - Set up your office workspace with Cliq We delved into the challenges attached with remote working and came up with a swift solution that integrates your office space
                                                              • Cliq works in Hindi across all interfaces

                                                                We're thrilled to announce that Cliq has added Hindi to the list of supported languages. Read on to know how you can localize Cliq with just a few clicks! Cliq Web & Desktop App  Tap on your display picture to open the user panel Click on My Zoho Account to land on your account set up view and click on My Profile Info In the Language field, search and select हिंदी   Save your preference!  Cliq Android  Go to Settings, then Language and input, and switch to हिंदी . Now, Cliq will adapt to the language
                                                              • Simplify and Centralize your workflows with Forms

                                                                Hello Everyone, We're thrilled to kickstart this new year with a feature release! Forms in Cliq - just got bigger and better. Forms allow you to work with multiple pieces of information at one go! Creating a survey, assigning a task in your project management software, raising a request with your IT team, or anything else that requires you to perform a multistep task, across single or multiple applications— Forms can do it all. A quick rundown of the uniquely powerful features of Forms Dynamic -
                                                              • Farewell, Zoho Chat! Welcome, Zoho Cliq!

                                                                Hello all,   As the heading says, Zoho Chat is now Zoho Cliq with power packed features that will keep you hooked. Cliq is designed to provide you with topnotch collaborative services that will keep you connected at all times.  Let me list a few features outlining it's functions:  Audio & Video calls: The calls are available in 1-1 Chats. Get connected instantly with your contacts and colleagues from anywhere.  Commands and Bots: You can now create Commands and Bots to integrate your internal tools


                                                              Manage your brands on social media



                                                                    Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                        Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                          Zoho Books Resources


                                                                            Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                              Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                                Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                  Qntrl Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                        Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                          CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                        • Kaizen

                                                                                          Kaizen

                                                                                        • Functions

                                                                                          Functions

                                                                                        • Meetups

                                                                                          Meetups

                                                                                        • Kbase

                                                                                          Kbase

                                                                                        • Resources

                                                                                          Resources

                                                                                        • Digest

                                                                                          Digest

                                                                                        • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        • MVP Corner

                                                                                          MVP Corner









                                                                                            Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                            Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                            Get Started Now


                                                                                              Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                Zoho Writer

                                                                                                Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                                Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                  Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                        ご検討中の方




                                                                                                                • Recent Topics

                                                                                                                • Timesheet Tasks in Zoho Books: associate to service item

                                                                                                                  How do we associate a service item to timesheet tasks in Zoho Books? For example: Joe spent 5 hours on project:task1 which is Service Item#1 (Income:Service1). When the invoice is issued thru the Project Invoice section, this is not available. When the
                                                                                                                • Task/Activity indicator in SalesPipeline overview has disappeared

                                                                                                                  I Just logged in my ZOHO CRM first 2026 checking my salespipeline overview , Every record card used to show an indication that there was an open task (Yellow if the expiry date was close, red if the expiry date was today and grey when it had expired).
                                                                                                                • Tip #56- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Hearing- 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                                  As we begin the new year, it’s a great time to focus on making our tools more inclusive and accessible for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varying lighting conditions, and users with diverse accessibility needs.
                                                                                                                • Zoho Desk Android app update: Table view for All Departments view, custom button

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9.25) of the Zoho Desk Android app update, we have introduced Table view for the 'All Departments' view in the ticket module. We also have supported an option that allows tickets in the Table view to be sorted
                                                                                                                • What's New - December 2025 | Zoho Backstage

                                                                                                                  In December, Backstage introduced a focused set of updates that improve how you manage registrations, communicate with attendees, and track participation. These enhancements are designed to give organizers greater flexibility and clearer control across
                                                                                                                • Add multiple users to a task

                                                                                                                  When I´m assigning a task it is almost always related to more than one person. Practical situation: When a client request some improvement the related department opens the task with the situation and people related to it as the client itself, the salesman
                                                                                                                • A Roundup of Zoho Sprints 2025

                                                                                                                • Sorting Custom Date in API isn't working w pagination limit

                                                                                                                  How can we sort a custom field with DATE using pagination? Starting at page=1 then moving to page=2 with a limit of 10 each, its all messed up and even shows some of the same records as page 1? https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v2/INVOICE_MODULE/search?criteria=(FM_Contact_ID:equals:1234)&sort_by=Invoice_Date&sort_order=desc&per_page=10&page='
                                                                                                                • SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

                                                                                                                  We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration
                                                                                                                • Enhancement in Role and Profile mapping of agents in Sandbox

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! We have brought in a modification in the way users are mapped to a particular role and profile in Sandbox. What has changed? When agents are copied from production to Sandbox: If a user's current role and profile is available in Sandbox,
                                                                                                                • 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
                                                                                                                • Decimal places settings for exchange rates

                                                                                                                  Hello, We are facing issues while matching vendor payments with banking feeds. As we often import products/services exchange rate comes into play. Currently, ZOHO allows only six digits for decimal places. We feel that conversions like JPY to INR require
                                                                                                                • Zoho removed ability to see all Scheduled Reports!

                                                                                                                  If you are not the owner of a scheduled report, Zoho recently removed the capability to see each scheduled report. As an admin who relies on seeing all scheduled reports being sent, this is a terrible update. Now I cannot see ANY scheduled reports...even the ones I am being sent!!  This should be a setting for admins to control.  This is a bad update.
                                                                                                                • Automate Backups

                                                                                                                  This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.
                                                                                                                • GCLID and Zoho Bookings

                                                                                                                  Is there anyway to embed a Zoho Bookings signup on a landing page and pass the GCLID information? More specifically, can this be done using auto-tagging and not manual tagging the GCLID? I know Zappier has an integration to do this but is there a better
                                                                                                                • Merge Items

                                                                                                                  Is there a work around for merging items? We currently have three names for one item, all have had a transaction associated so there is no deleting (just deactivating, which doesn't really help. It still appears so people are continuing to use it). I also can't assign inventory tracking to items used in past transactions, which I don't understand, this is an important feature moving forward.. It would be nice to merge into one item and be able to track inventory. Let me know if this is possible.
                                                                                                                • Create PO from an invoice

                                                                                                                  We are a hardware and software sales company which receives orders over the internet. We drop ship most of our products from a warehouse outside of our company. Our orders get sync'd into Zoho from our store via onesaas as invoices. It would be great
                                                                                                                • Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books

                                                                                                                  Can I implement Blueprint or Validation Rules for Invoices in Zoho Books? Example, use case could be, Agent confirms from client that payment is done, but bank only syncs transactions tomorrow. in this case, Agent can update invoice status to done, and
                                                                                                                • Resetting auto-number on new year

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone! We have an auto-number with prefix "D{YYYY}-", it generates numbers like D2025-1, D2025-2, etc... How can we have it auto-reset at the beginning of the next year, so that it goes to D2026-1? Thanks!
                                                                                                                • The Social Wall: December 2025

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! As we wrap up the final edition of the Social Wall for 2025, it’s the perfect time to look at what went live during December. QR code generator From paying for coffee to scanning metro tickets, QR codes are everywhere and have made everyday
                                                                                                                • Custom AI solutions with QuickML for Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, Earlier, we introduced Custom AI Solutions in CRM that let you access QuickML for your custom AI needs. Building on that foundation, we’ve now enabled a deeper integration: QuickML models can be seamlessly integrated into CRM, and surface
                                                                                                                • Helper Functions and DRY principle

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, I believe Deluge should be able to use 'Helper functions' inside the main function. I know I can create different standalones, but this is not helpful and confusing. I don't want 10000 different standalones, and I dont want to have to
                                                                                                                • Introducing workflow automation for the Products module

                                                                                                                  Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin's Products module. The Products module in Bigin now supports Workflows, enabling you to automate routine actions. Along with this update,
                                                                                                                • Zia Formula Expression Generator for Formula fields

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! Formula fields are super useful when you want your CRM to calculate things for you but writing the expression is where most people slow down. You know what you want, but you’re not fully sure which function to use, how the syntax should
                                                                                                                • Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration

                                                                                                                  Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside
                                                                                                                • 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
                                                                                                                • Restrict Users access to login into CRM?

                                                                                                                  I’m wanting my employees to be able to utilize the Zoho CRM Lookup field within Zoho Forms. For them to use lookup field in Zoho Forms it is my understanding that they need to be licensed for Forms and the CRM. However, I don’t want them to be able to
                                                                                                                • Unknown table or alias 'A1'

                                                                                                                  I would like to create a subquery but i am getting the following error: Unknown table or alias 'A1' used in select query. This is the sql statement:  SELECT A1.active_paying_customers, A1.active_trial_customers, A1.new_paying_signup, date(A1.date_active_customers), 
                                                                                                                • in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null i want to show as blank

                                                                                                                  in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null ,i want to show as blank instead of showing null. input.Billing_Address.address_line_1 = ifNUll(input.Customers_Name.Address.address_line_1,"");
                                                                                                                • Question about upgrade and storage space Zoho Notebook

                                                                                                                  After upgarding my Zoho Notebook plan, I am running into the following issue. I just upgraded from a free Zoho Notebook subscription to Pro Lite after I got a notification in my Window Zoho Notebook desktop app saying that I had run out of space. However,
                                                                                                                • Printing to a brother label maker

                                                                                                                  I see allot of really old unanswered posts asking how to print to a label maker from a zoho creator app. Has their been any progress on providing the capability to create a customized height & width page or print template or whatever to print labels?
                                                                                                                • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

                                                                                                                  Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:
                                                                                                                • Track online, in-office, and client location meetings separately with the new meeting venue option

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce meeting enhancements in Zoho CRM that bring more clarity and structure to how meetings are categorized. You can now specify the meeting venue to clearly indicate whether a meeting is being held online, at the
                                                                                                                • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.32.0)

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce the latest updates to Trident, which are designed to reinforce email security and protect your inbox from evolving threats. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. Deliver quarantined emails. Organization admins
                                                                                                                • Marketing Tip #5: Improve store speed with optimized images

                                                                                                                  Slow-loading websites can turn visitors away. One of the biggest culprits? Large, uncompressed images. By optimizing your images, your store loads faster and creates a smoother shopping experience leading to higher sales. It also indirectly improves SEO.
                                                                                                                • SMS to customers from within Bigin

                                                                                                                  Hi All, Is there anyone else crying out for Bigin SMS capability to send an SMS to customers directly from the Bigin interface? We have inbuilt telephony already with call recordings which works well. What's lacking is the ability to send and receive
                                                                                                                • Admins cannot see each others' Scheduled Reports?!

                                                                                                                  Very frustrating that as an admin I cannot see what my reports my fellow admins have created and scheduled.  After asking about this on the help chat, I was told the issue is trust and security.  By giving someone Admin status, it means we trust them with those responsibilities. Please change this, it is not a good process to have to bother other users to change a report or change users within a report.
                                                                                                                • Writer update results in BitDefender blocking it as malware

                                                                                                                  After updating Writer to latest update, Bitdefender blocked the app and writer no longer runs.
                                                                                                                • Missing Import Options

                                                                                                                  Hello, do I miss something or is there no space import option inside of this application? In ClickUp, you can import from every common application. We don't want to go through every page and export them one by one. That wastes time. We want to centralize
                                                                                                                • Zoho CRM Portal Field Level Permission Issue

                                                                                                                  Hi Support Team, I am using the Zoho CRM Portal and configuring field-level editing permissions. However, we are unable to restrict portal users from editing certain fields. We have created a portal and provided View and Edit (Shared Only) access for
                                                                                                                • Next Page