Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

Dear Customers,

We hope you're well!

By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record.
With Zoho CRM, you can include such calculations within records using the formula field. Today, we're introducing some new enhancements that aim to improve the accuracy and usability of formulas in your business processes.


Let's look at them!

Enhancement 1: Auto-refresh time-based formulas to view real-time values.

Businesses rely on time-based computations to conduct various analyses. Some computations measure time like a stopwatch. For example:
  • To ascertain the possibility a customer might churn, you would compute the age of their deals.
  • To validate an applicant's eligibility for an insurance policy, you would calculate the age of the applicant as of the current date.

The above examples are ongoing calculations that show the age of the record or of the customers. For these types of computations, you might expect that the formula is constantly ticking and rendering an accurate time measurement whenever you view the record. However, formula fields in fact compute and render the latest result only when the record is edited manually or updated via automation. By simply viewing a record, an agent may not be seeing accurate results. This enhancement addresses this.
Though formulas that provide the latest values include a "now" function in their syntax, computing all of these formulas continually and concurrently across all records poses a significant technical constraint. To address this constraint, we've introduced a checkbox to the formula field property labeled, Automatically refresh formula fields containing the Now function in real time.

If checked, the auto-refresh checkbox makes the relevant formula run every time the user visits or edits the record. This means users will always see the correct time measurements.

Info
Limitation:
  • You can apply the auto-refresh only for two fields with the Now function per module.
  • Formulas with date/ date time return types cannot be used in workflows that are based on date/time -based triggers.
  • Fields enabled with auto-refresh will have updated values every time you view them. But, this doesn't qualify for record edit. If you have automations based on edit of a record, this record will not be used unless the record is really "edited".
  • Also, creating custom views and filters using these fields cannot be done.

Enhancement 2: Stop formula executions based on criteria

In contrast to the case above—where you'd expect the formula to run constantly—there are scenarios wherein you may want to stop a computation from executing. Let's say a customer has churned, and you want to calculate the time it took them to churn. In that case, you might want the formula to stop computing under certain conditions.

Accordingly, you can use this new function to:
  • Calculate the number of days the deal was under negotiation
  • Calculate the number of days spent in trial before conversion
  • Calculate the number of days taken to ship a product
You may want to stop ongoing computations whenever there are events acting upon a given record. By doing so, you can determine the amount of time the record spent in a particular stage.

Previously, there hasn't been any functionality in Zoho CRM that effectively stops a formula from computing. Even when a cutoff date has passed, formulas continued to compute durations. With this enhancement, you can stop computations or freeze values based on specific criteria.

With these two enhancements, you can choose how you want your time-based formulas to be computed—to keep them running or to stop at a given time.

Info
Limitation:
A formula field that has auto-refresh and stop criteria enabled, then those fields cannot have multiline fields, picklists, and lookup fields as participating fields.

Enhancement 3: Include an existing formula as part of another formula's component

A formula is only as powerful as its components. Zoho CRM enables you to construct various complex formulas, but one missing piece has been the inability to include an existing formula field to construct a new one.

Thus far, you could do this by building a long and linear syntax.

For example, let's say you want to determine the discounted value and overall discount percentage for your finalized quotes. Firstly, to determine the discount value, you'd write a formula.

Next, to find the discount percentage, you'd write another formula that looks something like this:

As you can see, the structure of the formula involves an existing computation. In Zoho CRM, to achieve this, you'd first formulate the discount value, and then—to find the percentage—you have to repeat the discount formula to get the percentage.

For a simple formula like this, the syntax is fairly easy to understand. But imagine calculating commissions, which would involve several smaller formulas—in which case, you have to repeat the entire formula structure even if you already have them computed in your record layout.

This is complex, redundant, and time-consuming—problems that this latest enhancement addresses.

A formula field looks like any other field in Zoho CRM. Thus, in addition to the list of fields available under the fields part of the formula configuration, all the existing formula fields will also be listed. Admins can construct new formulas using the existing formulas without having to repeat syntax.

That's all for the updates. If you have any feedback or questions, please drop them in the comments section. Let's connect!

QuoteRelease plan: These enhancements are lined up for release DC by DC, gradually. We will keep you posted on the comments accordingly.

Thanks and have a good one!
Kind regards,
Saranya Balasubramanian

    Access your files securely from anywhere








                    Zoho Campaigns Resources


                          Zoho Developer Community



                              Bootcamp
                              Community
                              Pricing
                              Webinars
                              What's New
                              Integrations
                              Contact Support
                              Contact Sales

                                Zoho Survey Resources
                                  Features
                                  Survey Templates
                                  Integrations
                                  Community
                                  iOS Mobile Surveys
                                  Pricing
                                  Android Mobile Surveys
                                  Insurvey Blogs
                                  Insight Blogs
                                  Tips & Tricks






                                              Latest Feature Updates

                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts




                                                    Zoho SalesIQ Resources


                                                          Manage your brands on social media
                                                          Access Zoho Social

                                                            Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                                  Zoho DataPrep 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 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

                                                                                                          • square up and Zoho books

                                                                                                            Since we set up the app connection between square up and Zoho books we have realised that when the amounts are getting transferred Zoho is adding VAT again making the numbers 20% more than they should be. We have checked our settings and they VAT/ Tax

                                                                                                          • How to provide Access rights to specific Bank accounts

                                                                                                            We have several bank accounts. I want to provide certain members access to only 2-3 accounts. It appears that when I give permissions, they are for ALL bank accounts. How do I do that?

                                                                                                          • Errors Getting a Bank Transaction

                                                                                                            Using Postman(for testing), I am receiving errors when attempting to get a single bank transaction. I am able to receive the list of bank transactions with https://www.zohoapis.com/books/v3/banktransactions/?organization_id={org_id} but when I try to

                                                                                                          • Subscriptions Plans and CRM Products Integration?

                                                                                                            Is there any way to set up plans and pricing in Zoho Subscriptions and have those available as Products in the CRM? We are trying to set up the CRM and the Products seem to be more geared toward selling products that are not subscription based.  So if we sell annual or monthly contracts which are $10/seat/month, I can set this up as a plan in Subscriptions, but how can I set the same thing up in the CRM for the salespeople to sell/quote? What is the best practice for setting up the CRM Products to

                                                                                                          • Mapping Zoho Subscription Plans and Products to CRM and Books

                                                                                                            We have products that are one time products and subscription products.   1) We would like to have the ability to create an opportunity in CRM that includes both one-time charge products and subscription products.  Currently the only way of creating a subscription product is by defining a "Product->Plan" hierarchy in Zoho Subscription.  It appears that the only SYNC between Subscription and CRM is around contacts and the Product->Plan hierarchy doesn't sync to CRM, thus, you would need a duplicate

                                                                                                          • Zoho People Attendance Module - Split Shifts

                                                                                                            Hello, Our business employs a number of college students who often split their workdays between work hours and class schedules, resulting in split shifts. For example: Employee 1 works 9am to 11:30am and then leaves for class, returning to work at 3pm

                                                                                                          • Bulk update fields based on date

                                                                                                            Hi! I need all the quotes with "Quote Stage" set to "Next Year" to update to "Draft" every January 8 (every year). Can you help?

                                                                                                          • Target for a campaign

                                                                                                            Hi, Hope you can help me. I need to create a report (for a marketing campaign) that combines Deals and Contacts to export all the contacts with closed deals. I can easily do that, what I cannot do is to remove from the target the contacts that have more

                                                                                                          • Zoho Desk + Jira integration - Email notifications and comments posted by administrator instead of real user

                                                                                                            Dear All, I set up the integration under my admin account, and now when users leave comments in Jira (to created tickets in Zoho Desk), the email notifications show that the ‘Administrator’ left a comment, not a real user. The same happens in the ticket

                                                                                                          • Celebrating the power of visuals

                                                                                                            On World Photography Day, we would like to highlight the power of visuals in customer service. Visuals promote learning and understanding in less time. A photograph can rekindle a memory, convey more than words, and give a fresh perspective. How does

                                                                                                          • Customer address in Zoho Bookings

                                                                                                            Hello,  Is it possible to add customer address information to the Zoho bookings appointment screen? Or have it pull that information automatically from the CRM? We are wanting to use this as a field management software but it is difficult to pull the address from multiple sources when it would be ideal to have a clickable address on the appointment screen that opens up the user's maps.  It would also be advantageous for the "list view" to show appointment times instead of just duration and booking

                                                                                                          • Blocking / black listing customers

                                                                                                            Hi, We have a situation, we observed that certain customers are blocking multiple appointments with our advsiors but not showing up. Some of these are repeat offenders. This leads to those service hours getting blocked and not available for genuine customers.

                                                                                                          • Option to block bookings from specific email address or ip adresss in zoho booking

                                                                                                            Sometime few of our client keep booking irrelevant booking service just to resolve their queries and they keep booking it again and again whenever they have queries. Currently its disturbing our current communication process and hierarchy which we have

                                                                                                          • Feature Request: Email Templates for notifications accross all services

                                                                                                            Currently in Zoho Bookings, email notifications (such as booking confirmations, reminders, and cancellations) must be customized individually for each service. This becomes time-consuming and error-prone when managing multiple services that require consistent

                                                                                                          • Allow customers to choose meeting venue and meeting duration on booking page

                                                                                                            My business primarily involves one-to-one meetings with my clients. Given the hybrid-work world we now find ourselves in, these meetings can take several forms (which I think of as the meeting "venue"): In-person Zoom Phone call I currently handle these

                                                                                                          • Approval-based booking with Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings

                                                                                                            Hi community members, We have developed a workaround for approval-based booking using Zoho Creator and Zoho Bookings! This provides a temporary solution as we work on the native feature, and it's useful for anyone needing an approval workflow when confirming

                                                                                                          • Member Accounts in Related List

                                                                                                            Hi Team, Currently, when a parent account is associated with an account in FSM, there is no related list displaying the associated member accounts under the parent account’s related list section. To view member accounts, I have to manually search using

                                                                                                          • how do i remove a specific Zoho Service from my account

                                                                                                            I no longer need Zoho CRM, ZRM Assist nor ZRM BugTracker. How do I remove them from the list of apps for my account?

                                                                                                          • I Want migarte all invoice details to zoho sheets

                                                                                                            I want to migrate all existing invoice details to Zoho Sheet, and automatically update the sheet whenever a new invoice is created.

                                                                                                          • were can i find my invoices i need this for my accountant

                                                                                                            were can i find my invoices i need this for my accountant, how can i get id direct to my email?

                                                                                                          • ONLY email field not populating Writer fillable document (randomly)

                                                                                                            I have a Zoho Writer fillable document that has pulled all my data from my Zoho Sheets file, EXCEPT the email column. It pulled every data before and after that column with no issues. Screenshots attached. It's not my first time using the app or the feature,

                                                                                                          • My number is marked as spam

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Mail Support, My phone number was incorrectly flagged as “spam” during sign-up. This is my personal number, and I have not engaged in any spam activities. Kindly review and verify my account so I can proceed with my email setup. Thanks.

                                                                                                          • Personnalisation des paramètres dans Zoho Mail

                                                                                                            Pourquoi cela compte-t-il ? La personnalisation des paramètres dans Zoho Mail permet aux administrateurs de configurer l’environnement de messagerie en fonction des besoins spécifiques de leur organisation. Que ce soit pour alléger l’interface pour certaines

                                                                                                          • How To Save Data Into Zoho CRM Sandbox

                                                                                                            Hi Community, I want to save data into my zoho sandbox , for this I am using this api endpoint - https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/Patients but I am getting this error - { "success": false, "message": "Zoho API request failed", "error": { "code": "INVALID_MODULE",

                                                                                                          • Automate pushing Zoho CRM backups into Zoho WorkDrive

                                                                                                            Through our Zoho One subscription we have both Zoho CRM and Zoho WorkDrive. We have regular backups setup in Zoho CRM. Once the backup is created, we are notified. Since we want to keep these backups for more than 7 days, we manually download them. They

                                                                                                          • Question about retrieving unsubscribed contacts (outside of lists) via API

                                                                                                            Hello, I am currently using Zoho Marketing Automation and would like to integrate it with our company’s core system. For this purpose, I am exploring the API options available to retrieve contact information. Specifically, I would like to know if there

                                                                                                          • Getting “mandatory field missing: Service_Line_Items” When Creating Work Order via Zoho Flow Deluge

                                                                                                            Hi Team, I’m trying to create a Work Order in Zoho FSM with only a Service Line Item (no Parts). However, I keep getting this error: Work Order Response: {"code":"MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND","details":{"api_name":"Service_Line_Items"},"message":"required field

                                                                                                          • How to customize the colors of the Client Portal login screen and add the company logo?

                                                                                                            As title, how to customize the colors of the Client Portal login screen and add the company logo?

                                                                                                          • Daily updates/fixes and how to see what was changed?

                                                                                                            When I receive the notification that zoho was updated and I need to refresh it. How can I see what was changed or fixed? Sometimes they change things that effect my books and I need to know what they did. For example over this past weekend something was

                                                                                                          • Upcoming Change: Snowflake Username/Password Authentication Deprecation – Action Required

                                                                                                            Hello Users, Snowflake has officially announced that username and password-based authentication will be deprecated by November 2025. You can find the official announcement [here]. If you're using a Snowflake connection in Zoho Analytics to import data,

                                                                                                          • Why should I choose Zoho Inventory vs Odoo?

                                                                                                            Hello there! I have used Zoho in different companies I've worked in, and I have a positive perception of it. I am starting a new import business for pipes, tubes, fittings, valves, elbows, etc., which all have serial numbers, cast numbers, etc., so I

                                                                                                          • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | July 2025

                                                                                                            Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this July. Zoho Mail Import bookmarks from Pocket Worried about losing your Pocket bookmarks? Don't worry we have got you.

                                                                                                          • PLEASE FIX YOR BUGS

                                                                                                            PICTURES ARE BEING REJECTED DESPITE THEM FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES ON DIMENTIONS.

                                                                                                          • Kaizen# 204 - Answering Your Questions | Perform Field Updates before Blueprint transition via Client Script

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. One of the questions we received through your Kaizen feedback was: “How can I update fields before Blueprint transition and how to prevent a transition based on a condition using Client Script?”

                                                                                                          • Create online meetings for Booking Pages with Zoho Meetings and Zoom

                                                                                                            Greetings, We hope you're all doing well. We're excited to share some recent enhancements to Bigin's Booking Pages. As you know, Booking Pages let you create public pages to share your availability so that your customers can easily book time slots with

                                                                                                          • Filters in audit logs

                                                                                                            Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin. We'll go over each one in detail. Previously, there were no filters available to narrow down data in audit logs. Now, we've introduced

                                                                                                          • Enhanced help options in Bigin

                                                                                                            Greetings, We're excited to introduce a new enhancement to Bigin's Help section: a comprehensive Help Options panel that brings together all your support resources in a single, well-organized space. Previously, the Need Help? menu provided only a limited

                                                                                                          • Zoho FSM API Developer Needed

                                                                                                            Hi, I’m looking for a developer with experience using Zoho FSM APIs. Scope: Connect WordPress website booking form to Zoho FSM Check availability (date, time, region) Create Work Orders + Service Appointments automatically Notify both customer and scheduler

                                                                                                          • Revenue Management: #4 What if there are uncertainties in project or service delivery?

                                                                                                            Our previous post taught us how Zoho Billing makes life easy for businesses with its automated revenue recognition rule. However, certain businesses have more challenges that an automated system cannot handle, and there are certain situations where automated

                                                                                                          • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com

                                                                                                            Bom dia, estou tentando colocar o número 11 94287-6695 e esta com erro "This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com" pode me ajudar, por favor?

                                                                                                          • Next Page