Tip #5: Create or update Zoho CRM records using a single form

Tip #5: Create or update Zoho CRM records using a single form

How to create or update Zoho CRM records through a single form using the Upsert option?

In the past, inserting or updating a record using form entries required two different actions.

Sometimes, an existing record in Zoho CRM can be duplicated when the same information is again added as a new entry from the form. The solution in this situation is to use the newer values entered in the form to update the existing CRM record, rather than creating a new record (duplicate record) with the updated values. 



How it works
You will need to enable the Upsert Record option when you set up the configuration to add form entries as new CRM records. If this option is enabled, when a form is submitted, the system checks if the record already exists: 
  • If yes, the existing CRM values are updated with the newer form entries.
  • If no, a new record is created in Zoho CRM.

How to configure
Finish your integration setup to add the form entries as new records in a Zoho CRM module. Before configuring the integration, enable the Upsert Record option.

Now, you can choose which value to use to check whether the record already exists, e.g. Email, Phone number. Note that only the fields marked as "Allow no duplicates" in Zoho CRM will be displayed under Upsert Options.

In the example below, when a form entry is submitted, the system checks whether the record already exists by checking the value in the specified Order. According to this, the system first checks if the Email  entered in the form exists in Zoho CRM. If not, it then looks for the Secondary Email and if still does not find a match, it finally checks for Phone Number.




If none of these three fields match, then a new record is created as per the integration for the specific module the integration is set up for. 

Over to you
How do you think this is will be useful for your business? Comment below. That's not all! For more discussion on the different workflows in Zoho Forms that can help you work more efficiently with Zoho CRM, check out our upcoming series.






    Access your files securely from anywhere









                          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

                                                          • Tip #10: Automatically add tags to Zoho CRM records using form responses

                                                            You may be using tags to filter records, create reports based on specific tags, or let your sales team to know which clients to give priority to. Don't skip tagging for the crm records added via forms. The tags can be set to be automatically captured during the form submission. How it works When you set up a configuration to push form entries into CRM, you can add a tag to them automatically. The tag value can vary based on the respondent's input (captured using form fields), or you can include a
                                                          • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

                                                            How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM
                                                          • Tip #8: Pass Adwords data (GCLID) and UTM parameters to Zoho CRM using forms

                                                            When you are using forms to capture leads, you may wonder: " How did they find me? Which marketing campaign worked best?"  You can answer this question by capturing the Google Adwords data (GCLID) or the UTM parameter details in your CRM using forms. This can be a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the most effective ways to capture leads.  Capturing GCLID parameters How it works If a person finds your form by clicking an ad, a GCLID gets created. When they fill out
                                                          • ZUG (Zoho User Group) In-person Meetups - Maximize Data Efficiency with Zoho Forms & Beyond

                                                            Hello Zoho Community, Join us for our upcoming meetups in ANZ, where we'll dive into seamless data handling and maximizing efficiency through Zoho Forms and beyond. Explore the potential of Zoho Forms customization and integration, from mastering the
                                                          • Tip #9: Modify deal properties in Zoho CRM using form responses

                                                            How to modify deal properties of Zoho CRM records using form responses? Deal properties in Zoho CRM records are constantly modified based on the status of the deal. You can automatically modify deal properties (like the deal closing date, or deal name) and even update the deal stage, using form inputs. This can drastically reduce the work your team would otherwise do to search and change individual record details manually. How it works This works by integrating the form with the Deals module of Zoho


                                                          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

                                                                                                          • Different MRP / Pricing for same product but different batches

                                                                                                            We often face the following situations where MRP of a particular product changes on every purchase and hence we have to charge the customer accordingly. This can't be solved by Batch tracking as of now so far as I understand Zoho. How do you manage it as of now? 
                                                                                                          • Add a 'Log a Call' link to three dot icon in Canvas

                                                                                                            Hi, There's a three dot element when creating a canvas called 'More'. I would like to modify this to add a link that says 'Log a Call' in order to quickly record the details of a cellphone call. I'd also like this to be a simple 'contact' selection and
                                                                                                          • Syncing Zoho Forms with Bigin - Embedding issue?

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, I created a Zoho Form for a page on my GoDaddy website to collect leads, which then transfers the data to Bigin. However, I'm facing an issue where it doesn't seem to work properly. I've integrated Zoho Forms with Bigin and tried embedding
                                                                                                          • Can not add fields to a Section

                                                                                                            I feel like I'm missing something obvious: I can add new Sections to my form but I can not add fields to the Sections. I've tried fields already on the form as well as dragging and dropping new fields into the Section but nothing will go into it. What
                                                                                                          • Record Logged in User while using CRM lookup field

                                                                                                            Is it possible, while using the Zoho CRM lookup field, to automatically use the user account logged into Zoho CRM in a hidden field? I was hoping to add employee accounts to my current plan. But would like a record on the Form submission of who submitted
                                                                                                          • Form Rules for Suburb Categories to alternate landing pages or Making a Fields Contents ALL CAPS

                                                                                                            I need to send differentform submissions to two to three different thank-you URLs (for Meta/Google pixels) depending on which suburb a user selects in a form. I have ~400 suburbs split into two categories (A and B, based on business value). Current challenges:
                                                                                                          • Collaps Notes

                                                                                                            There are times when long/large notes are added to a record i.e. Accounts or Deals etc. Currently, the full note is displayed in the notes related list section. It would be great if by default only 5 to 10 rows of the note are displayed when the note
                                                                                                          • Zoho Down

                                                                                                            I have a drop in my Zoho One services.
                                                                                                          • Runing RPA Agents on Headless Windows 11 Machines

                                                                                                            Has anyone tried this? Anything to be aware of regarding screen resolution?
                                                                                                          • Problem for EU users connecting Zoho CRM through Google Ads for Enhanced conversions

                                                                                                            Has anyone else experienced this problem when trying to connect Zoho CRM through Google Ads interface to setup enhanced conversions? Did you guys get it fixed somehow? The Problem: The current Google Ads integration is hardcoded to use Zoho's US authentication
                                                                                                          • Why am I getting event Pop-up Notification for events that have been cancelled?

                                                                                                            Why is Calendar Notification still popping up for events that have been cancelled or changed? Each time events are cancelled or changed, I have observed that I am still getting notifications for them. Below is a sample pop-up notification for one of the
                                                                                                          • Create a draft in reply to an email via Emails API

                                                                                                            Hi, I’d like to use the outgoing webhook to automatically create a draft reply to incoming mail. How can I use the Emails API to create a draft reply that is linked to an existing email thread? I couldn’t find the relevant method in the documentation.
                                                                                                          • India Tech Support

                                                                                                            Is there no phone tech support number for India? And no chat facility either?
                                                                                                          • Billing Management: #1 Billing a Universal Business Routine

                                                                                                            Hello, As the saying goes, "Do the hardest job first." We started with the complex subject of finance and revenue management, which is considered the backbone of any business. Now, let's shift our focus and take a deep dive into this Billing Management,
                                                                                                          • What is a a valid JavaScript Domain URI when creating a client-based application using the Zoho API console?

                                                                                                            No idea what this is. Can't see what it is explained anywhere.
                                                                                                          • 5名限定 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ (9/25)

                                                                                                            ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの藤澤です。 9月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 諸事情につき、今月の開催回は中止となりました。 次回は10/31(金)14時からの開催を予定しています。 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは? Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした「Zoho ワークアウト」を開催します。 Zoho
                                                                                                          • need a packing list feature

                                                                                                            In our business, goods listed on an invoice are packed in separate boxes and shipped off. for e.g. an invoice may have 10 items. each item could then be packed in different boxes depending on qty of each item. this packing list is as important as the invoice for purposes of shipping documents.  Request you to add this feature asap.
                                                                                                          • Workdrive 5.0 / API Documentation Workflows

                                                                                                            Hi Zoho, When will the API documentation of the workflows be published? We are interested in using it to trigger manual workflows from an external application. Greetings, Justin
                                                                                                          • Zoho Error: This Operation has been restricted. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

                                                                                                            Hello There, l tried to verify my domain (florindagoreti.com.br) and its shows this error: This Operation has been restricted. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details. Screenshot Given Below -  please check what went wrong. Thanks
                                                                                                          • How many ZOHO-Sites does the ZOHO-One Suite allow for?

                                                                                                            The free version of ZOHO-Sites allows for two sites, but it seems that the professional version (which is included in the ZOHO-One Suite) only allows for two websites. Is that correct? How many sites can I have within one ZOHO-One account?
                                                                                                          • Webhook from Zobot to Zoho Flow fails

                                                                                                            I'm trying to connect from zobot to zoho flow. When testing in zflow, I am receiving all entered data from the connector correctly. The SalesIQ connector's "outputreaction" is {} (is this normal or is there a problem?). But as soon as I try my chat bot
                                                                                                          • Transition from Sole Proprietorship to GmbH (Limited Liability Company) – Best Approach in Zoho Books / Zoho One

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, I am currently operating under a Zoho One plan with a sole proprietorship in Switzerland. As of January 1st, 2026, I will be incorporating a new legal entity – a GmbH (Swiss equivalent of a Limited Liability Company). While the business
                                                                                                          • Issue Connecting My Domain to Zoho Sites Despite Purchasing It from Zoho

                                                                                                            Hello, I am facing an issue connecting my domain to my website on Zoho Sites. Details of the issue: I purchased the domain directly from Zoho. I am already using the same domain successfully with Zoho Mail. However, when I try to assign this domain to
                                                                                                          • Insert auto number from main form into subform rows

                                                                                                            Hello. I'm trying to take from my main form "order number" which i have setup as an auto generated number into every line created in my subform. So when a row is created in my subform i want the "order number " from the main form to be inserted automatically.
                                                                                                          • Dark Mode - Font Colors Don't Work

                                                                                                            When editing a document in Dark Mode and selecting font colors, they don't show up on screen.  Viewing/editing the same document in Light Mode shows them just fine.
                                                                                                          • Integrate Bunq with ZOHO Bookes

                                                                                                            We are new users of ZOHO Books, and our bank (BUNQ, in the Netherlands) isn't listed on the bank integrations. Is there a way to handle this?
                                                                                                          • Access Denied

                                                                                                            I am iOS Developer and updating our clients project and shifted ZohoDeskPortalCore SDKs from cocoapods to SPM and changed few lines of code but now i am get access denied, the help center app is unavailable. please contact administrator.
                                                                                                          • Using Zoho Desk to support ISMS process

                                                                                                            Hi, I am evaluating using Zoho Desk for security incident management. This seems to be aligned with Zoho Desk purpose as its just another type of incident. However in security incident management, ideally I can link incidents (tickets) with a risk from
                                                                                                          • Bin Locations

                                                                                                            Dear all, I am wondering if someone has the ability to develop the bin locations option for zoho inventory (integrated with zoho books) Regards, Ryan
                                                                                                          • TaxJar vs Avalara

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm evaluating adoption of a sales-tax service for US based business. Anyone else have experience with TaxJar and Zoho Books? I am a Zoho One subscriber so anticipate needing to use Flow to make this work. It seems like Avalara are simply too expensive
                                                                                                          • How to check Leads with no Task (open activity)

                                                                                                            Hi everyone, I was wondering if there’s a way to view leads that don’t have any tasks assigned or open activities linked to them.
                                                                                                          • What can we do on our end to improve the Answer bot answers?

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm using the Answer bot card in the Codeless bot builder. I've input several questions and their answers in the FAQ section to feed the Answer bot. The text is all in French, as this is the language our customers communicate in. I've tried testing
                                                                                                          • How to upload file to Connect using API?

                                                                                                            Hi there. I looked at the API documentation and nowhere did it mention how to use the API method to upload a file even though it is mentioned that it is possible to be done so. Please help.
                                                                                                          • Group Tax in Service Line Items

                                                                                                            Hi FSM Team! I noticed that when you update a tax in the service line item the group tax is not showing up as an option. Let me know what can be done thank you!
                                                                                                          • FSM Improvement Idea - Show an Import button when there is no data

                                                                                                            I am setting up FSM for a client and I noticed that there is no option to import data, see screenshot below. Even when you click Create Contact there is only an option to Import from Zoho Invoice. It is only after you add at lease 1 record that the Import
                                                                                                          • OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH Error for Marketing Automation APIs with CRM Plus Account

                                                                                                            I'm trying to integrate Marketing Automation journey triggering via API but getting OAUTH_SCOPE_MISMATCH errors. I need clarification on API access for CRM Plus users.
                                                                                                          • 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.
                                                                                                          • Function #4: Schedule Customer Statements

                                                                                                            Regularly sending statements to customers is an imperative part of many business processes as it helps foster strong customer relationships and provides timely guidance on payments. While you can generate the statement of accounts and have it sent over
                                                                                                          • Limiting search or dependencies with an asterisk "*".

                                                                                                            I have a form with several dependency fields with options still developing for each field. Since these options were developing and not yet ready to be a selection in the field, I placed a filter for the dropdown field. In this filter, I selected fields
                                                                                                          • Cross Data Center Support for 1:1 Chats with External Users

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We hope you're doing well. We appreciate the recent enhancement that enables cross data center collaboration in external channels, which has already improved communication across distributed teams. However, we’ve noticed that this
                                                                                                          • Next Page