Eighth Insight - Oversee module relationships with Lookups
The Wheels of Ticketing - Desk Stories
Oversee module relationships with Lookups
Learning about lookups
A lookup field provides a powerful way to display and utilize data from another module directly within a field of your current module. This functionality establishes a seamless connection between different data sources, enabling users to access and work with related information effortlessly. Rather than duplicating data, which leads to inconsistencies and increased data management complexity, a lookup field acts as a bridge that consolidates information.
A lookup field enables users to retrieve and display data from a specific module based on an established relationship between two records. The data from the associated record is displayed within the lookup field, making it easy to view and use related information. Lookup fields are generally editable and show information retrieved from the associated record.
Lookup fields help display related information, filter data based on related fields, and manage complex relationships between different modules.
In a ticketing system, the Contact ID field in the "Tickets" module is a lookup field that retrieves contact information from the "Contacts" module. Linking modules
To create connections between two custom modules, it's essential to incorporate lookup fields. These fields are added to module layouts to establish relationships across different modules, whether they are standard-standard, custom-standard, or purely custom. For example, an "Assets" custom module can connect to another custom module or a standard module, such as "Contacts."
This connection allows users to link relevant records (such as contacts) with their respective items (like assets), making it easier to access and view information from either module. Adding a lookup field establishes a direct relationship, which enables users to perform actions such as linking, viewing, unlinking, or generating new tickets without needing to navigate away from the current module.
The importance of linking two modules through a lookup field lies in its ability to enhance information flow and improve data accessibility. By forming distinct relationships between various data points (such as assets and contacts), Zoho Desk facilitates more effective tracking, management, and resolution of customer inquiries and operational tasks.
Users with the "Manage Layouts and Fields" permission or those in a support administrator role can connect custom or standard modules by adding a lookup field to the module's layout (Standard layout for custom modules) through an easy drag-and-drop interface.
How it works in practice
There was a small but mighty help desk company called "Fix Tickets." The team at Fix Tickets was dedicated to resolving customer issues promptly and efficiently. One day, they decided to improve their ticketing system with a new feature: lookup fields.
On Monday morning, a customer named Amy reached out with a problem. Her internet was down, and she submitted a ticket through the help desk portal to request assistance. As her ticket entered the system, a lookup field allowed the help desk staff to view relevant information from the Accounts module instantly, the Contracts module, as well as any past tickets.
Using lookup fields eliminated the need for manual search, and a support agent quickly realized that Amy's account required verification. Meanwhile, Gunther received an email update regarding the status of the customer's ticket. They sent Amy an email update with instructions to verify her account and restore her connection. The entire process was seamless, all thanks to the lookup field functionality, which allowed Fix Tickets to access information quickly and enhance customer satisfaction.
As the week progressed, more tickets came in, and the team continued to rely on the lookup fields. They noticed a significant increase in their efficiency and a decrease in the time spent per ticket. Soon, customer satisfaction scores began to increase as positive reviews poured in from happy customers like Amy.
Uses of Lookup Fields
Data integrity
Lookup fields ensure that data entered into Zoho Desk is valid and consistent. By referencing existing data, such as user accounts or product information, you minimize the chances of errors and maintain the overall integrity of the database.
Consistency across records
Lookup fields ensure that the same values are used consistently across different records. This benefits teams by reducing duplication, enhancing the quality of data available in tickets, and providing team members with more insight into relevant information by linking records across modules.
Improved user experience
By allowing users to select from predefined options, lookup fields make data entry faster and easier. This reduces the time spent typing and searching for information, providing a more efficient ticket submission process.
Improved reporting and analytics
Lookup fields facilitate more accurate and meaningful reporting. By linking tickets to specific accounts, departments, or products, you can generate insights that help improve service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Streamlined workflow automation
Lookup fields can be utilized in workflow rules to automate ticket assignments and efficiently escalate issues. For instance, if a ticket pertains to a specific product, it can automatically be routed to the relevant product team.
Better relationship management
By associating tickets with customers or contacts through lookup fields, support teams can easily view related interactions and history. This context enables agents to provide more personalized and informed responses.
Simplified data management
Lookup fields enable organisations to manage relationships and processes involving various entities, such as users, products, and departments. Changes to the data automatically reflect wherever it’s invoked by a lookup field to ensure that all users are working with the most current and relevant information.
Faster issue resolution
Providing agents with quick access to related data through lookup fields speeds up the resolution process. Whether it’s identifying the correct department to solve a problem or accessing customer history to investigate an account issue, lookup fields enhance data quality, user experience, and operational efficiency.
Takeaway
Lookup fields can help your organization leverage its data to enhance all aspects of customer service, including routing and managing tickets, resolving customer inquiries, and reporting and analysis. This approach equips users with insights into exactly when and where they need them, which empowers them to make well-informed decisions and deliver effective service.
Please stay tuned for more Desk Feature stories.
Cheers,
Kavya Rao
The Zoho Desk Team
Also read:
Access your files securely from anywhere
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Kavya Rao Addepalli
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
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
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Bug in Zoho Cliq Signup Flow – "%s" Placeholder Visible Instead of Product Name
Hi Zoho Team, I would like to report a UI bug in the Zoho Cliq signup/enable flow. During the step where Cliq asks to enable the product for the company, the following text appears: Great! Your company is already available in Zoho, so you just have toZoho Invoice Customer Login Portal
Are there any plans for a customer portal to Zoho Invoice, ala Freshbooks? I would like customers that I invoice to be able to login to review invoices and invoice history. I have not switched from Freshbooks for this very reason.Exporting tickets
I went to Setup -> Organization -> Import/Export in order to export tickets but found 2 issues: 1. The email body never gets exported. 2. There are some large numbers (like 5.57E+16) under certain columns of the exported CSV file. I could not find any export options. Please can you help with this?Editing the Ticket Properties column
This is going to sound like a dumb question, but I cannot figure out how to configure/edit the sections (and their fields) in this column: For example, we have a custom "Resolution" field, which parked itself in the "Ticket Information" section of thisCopy field information to clipboard
I need to be able to transfer some field information in to the clipboard, so that I can then paste it in to our helpdesk system. Is there a way I could add a button to a detail report that does this?Issuing reconciling a bank statement
HELP! I'm trying to reconcile a bank statement. The prior month reconciled perfectly. Beginning balance is correct yet I'm off by the same amount each time. Both myself and my office manager, separately and together, have tried to complete this reconciliationUnknown 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),Detect and ignore bots in visitors
The SalesIQ visitor numbers are basically useless to us because there is no bot detection. We get the same bots coming in from the same countries looking at the same pages every day. It can't be that difficult to tell the difference between an actualAdd Real-Time Microphone Audio-Level Indicator During Screen Recording
Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement to the Zoho WorkDrive screen-recording experience. Current Limitation: During a recording session, there is no visual indication that the microphone isZero Personalization of the File Sharing Experience
By now (2025) this is the maximum level of personalization available for a Zoho sharing link. We gently asked Zoho if we could modify at least the background, and they replied that it cannot be customized. We're truly disappointed – and surprised everyExternal Share > Edit: Cannot Create Zoho Files
Hi Zoho, When we create an external share link with Edit permission, our external users are unable to create a Zoho file (Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show). They can only upload files. They can edit the Zoho files if we create them internally andTwo factor authentication for helpdesk users
The company i work for wants use the helpdesk site in Zoho desk, as a place for their distribution partners to ask question and look for information about our product. The things there is suppose to go up there is somewhat confidential between my companyKiosk can't merge picklist or multiselect
There is no ability to load a multiselect or picklikst field into a kiosk with the values that have been previously selected. So, I essentially have 3 unacceptable options: 1.)Load the value into a text string and include instructions like this: "PicklistAGE field from DATE OF BIRTH Field.
HI! I have a field called date of birth in my CRM (LEADS, CONTACT etc…) How can I know the AGE today I would like to create a field AGE. I now how to create a field but I don´t which calculation (CUSTOM FUCTION) to make ¿ANY HELP?How to update/remove file in zoho creator widgets using javascript API
Hi Team, I have developed a widget which allows inserting and updating records I have file upload field with multiple file upload. Now while doing insert form record, I am using uploadFile API to upload files for that record. I am using updateRecord APIIntroducing Enhanced Storage Management
We’re excited to roll out two new enhancements in Zoho Recruit, Subscription Information and Storage Management — designed to give admins complete visibility into subscription details, feature limits, and storage consumption — all from one place insideAnnouncing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.34.4.0)
Hello Community! Trident for Windows just got better! With this update we have features that make your daily work easier and more efficient. We've added some features that are exclusive to our app and we're sure you'll find them useful. Let’s dive intoReport Hover Setting
Would be great if we will able to show information to the user while hovering a record in a report.Vertical images displayed as horizontal
Some pictures that originally are in vertical position are displayed in horizontal after the upload. It seems that system rotates them by 90 degrees. How can I fix this issue?Zoho Desk iOS app update: Saved filters and sort options
Hello everyone! Saved filters created on the web(desk.zoho.com) for tickets are now accessible on the Zoho Desk iOS app. You can easily rename, delete, or clear filters on the go. We have also introduced Sort options on the ticket listing screen, allowingIntroducing VeriFactu Support in Zoho Books
Hello users, Spain has introduced the VeriFactu system under Real Decreto 1007/2023 to ensure integrity, traceability, and anti-fraud compliance in e-invoicing. Starting January 1, 2026, all B2B invoices must be reported to Agencia Estatal de AdministraciónBig Things Just Dropped in the SalesIQ Universe: Top Upgrades You’ll Love in Nova’25
Nova'25 has landed, and it’s packed with meaningful upgrades to help you engage smarter, work faster, and scale with ease. Whether you're into proactive messaging, smarter automation, or better admin control, there's something here for everyone. Here'sTime Entries in Analytics
I am trying to import a zoho sheet into zoho analytics. In my sheets one of the columns has "time Entries" in this "format HH:MM am/pm" example 11:00 PM. After import, i noticed that analytics converted the time to "00 Jan 1900 23:00:00".. how do i maintainAmazon invoice in Zoho Books
I have just made my first few sales on Amazon India. Amazon Seller account generates invoices for the sales made on Amazon. These invoices are sent to customers also. Now when I was only making offline sales, I used to create Invoices in Zoho Book. NowZoho Creator Upcoming Updates - November 2025
Hello everyone, Welcome to your monthly roundup of new features and enhancements! We hope you've already taken a look at Release Projection 2—it details the features coming your way for the rest of the year. And this month, we're excited to start rollingZoho Webinar + HubSpot : Simplifiez la gestion de vos données de webinaires
Les webinaires sont aujourd’hui essentiels pour interagir avec vos prospects et vos clients. Cependant, la gestion des données entre plusieurs plateformes peut vite devenir complexe. Grâce à la nouvelle intégration entre Zoho Webinar et HubSpot, vos outilsI am trying to give access to one of our educators access to 3 forms in Zoho and she is not able to view the data - Access issue
Hi Team, When I try to provide read access to one of our educators on Zoho for Pre-training , post training and Impact survey forms submit form access which also allows them to read , it does not show them dataHow to book GST paid in zoho books
hi, i am a new user to Zoho books and not able to book GST paid in books, kindly suggest how i can book it in books. thanks, siddharthPUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (CORPORATE) INDIA - NOT AVAILABLE IN BANKING
Dear sir, Kindly fix it. PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (INDIA) is available but PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (CORPORATE) is not available. Kindly enable this banking since we need to categorize the entries. Regards, Sanjay Jena email id/ user id : travewithmerchant@Is it possible to create a word cloud chart in ZoHo Analystics?
Hi there, I have a volume of transaction text that I would like to analyse using word cloud (or other approcah to detect and present word frequency in a dataset). For example, I have 50,000 records describing menu items in restaurants. I want to be ableKaizen #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 areFacturation électronique 2026 - obligation dès le 1er septembre 2026
Bonjour, Je me permets de réagir à divers posts publiés ici et là concernant le projet de E-Invoicing, dans le cadre de la facturation électronique prévue très prochainement. Dans le cadre du passage à la facturation électronique pour les entreprises,Your bot just got smarter: AI-Powered routing that reads between the lines
What if your bot could tell the difference? Between a visitor who just needs a quick answer, someone actively comparing options, and a frustrated customer one click away from leaving? Most bots can't. They deliver the same response to everyone, missingWeekly Tips : Master Keyboard Shortcuts in Zoho Mail
If you spend a lot of time managing emails, switching between your mouse and keyboard can slow you down. Whether you are replying to clients, organizing your inbox, or searching for messages, every second counts. So, how can you streamline your emailIntroducing custom lookup fields in the Tickets, Contacts, and Accounts modules
Hello all, We are excited to announce a new enhancement that will empower you to further customize the Tickets, Contacts, and Accounts modules. Now, you will be able to create custom lookup fields in your Tickets, Contacts, and Accounts layouts for moreDKIM cannot be enabled for the domain as no verified default selector present
Can't get the DKIM working. May you please check my account (nksy.us) to see what's wrong?Contacts per department
Hello, Is it possible to limit Contacts to a Department? ThanksCollections Management: #3 Tackling Payment Failures
Sam refreshed the dashboard. "Payment failed". Same customer. Same subscription. This is happening for the third time. He sends a usual email: "Your renewal payment failed again. Could you please check and retry?" A couple of days passed, and there wasHow do I increase the email attachment size in Zoho CRM ?
It looks like I'm limited to 10MB when sending an attachment using the email widget on a record in Zoho CRM. Is there a way to increase the size? Or can I use some other tool? From what I'm reading online, I'm maxed out at 10MB. Any insight would be greatlyCustom Field in Zoho Projects pulling into Analytics
We have a client that we have built our their new business process using Zoho Projects, and we have build a lot of custom fields with their their Projects where they are capturing specific data points that we want to be able to track and pull data, asNext Page