Extension pointers #15: Create blueprints to carry out business processes smoothly
When the various stages of a business process are well-planned and executed efficiently, the entire process runs smoothly and the overall functionality is efficient.
Blueprint is a useful feature available in Zoho CRM that is currently supported in the Zoho Developer platform. It allows you to plan different stages of a business process and set up predefined transitions between the stages to achieve the desired results. Along with defining the stages for a blueprint, you can associate people to each stage, guide them through the process, mandate information, validate information, and automate routine processes if necessary.
Components of a blueprint
A blueprint is made up of two major components or blocks: states and transitions. We’ll discuss each below.
State
A business process might involve one or more stages that need to be crossed for its completion. A state is a stage that is involved in a business process. It’s a particular condition/stage that a process is in at a given point of time.
Transition
A transition acts as a connecting factor or link between stages. It consists of the conditions that must be met to move from one stage to another.
Let's consider an example that demonstrates how blueprints can be effectively implemented/incorporated through an extension to achieve desired business processes.
Assume you run a campaign management organization. Several companies hire (outsource) you as a vendor to work on campaigns to help their businesses grow. Depending on your clients’ business needs, you manage the processes involved in preparing these campaigns using the Campaigns module in Zoho CRM. Campaigns can be of different types, such as webinar, advertisements, emails, etc.
Each of these campaign types will require following a different flow in order to be organized and executed. For example, for a webinar, you’ll need to check on resource availability and target audience, whereas for advertisements, you must check on content and banner design. It would be difficult to manually ensure that all of your team members assigned to a client’s campaign follows the correct flow each time.
A blueprint would be useful in this situation because a fixed process can be designed for a specific campaign type. This way, whenever one of your team members is assigned to handle that campaign type, they follow the defined process flow to execute it.
Similarly, different blueprints can be designed for different campaign types and collectively rendered as an extension to help your campaign management process as a whole. In this post, we'll build the overall blueprint flow for a webinar-type campaign.
A company contacts your campaign management organization about organizing a webinar to promote their business. You plan a webinar idea based on the needs of the company, gather the requirements to organize the campaign, generate or execute your campaign plan and share it with the manager, decide whether the plan is active or inactive based on feedback and discussion, and, finally, complete the campaign by finalizing (active) or closing (inactive) based on discussion.
Creating a blueprint for the Campaigns module in Zoho developer console
Here are the process steps for creating a blueprint flow:
- Go to the Extension's detail page in the Zoho Developer console.
- Choose Workflow under Automate from the left panel of the Zoho CRM console under Build, and then click Blueprint.
- Click Create Blueprint.
- Enter the necessary details. You can refer to this link to get detailed information on creating a blueprint. In our example, the module is Campaign, the layout is Standard and the field is Status.
Note: You can create picklist fields through the extension and choose them as the field for the blueprint. This helps you run blueprints specific to your campaign’s organization-related Zoho CRM fields as well.
- When the basic details are filled in, next you’ll define the criteria based on which records will be associated with this blueprint. In our example, we choose the campaign records of the webinar type to be associated with this blueprint.
- There’s an option to create continuous blueprints, i.e., with the completion of a transition the next transition is automatically triggered, and so on. To achieve this, click Advanced configuration. Enable the Is this a continuous Blueprint? option. Choose the owners who will be eligible to view the transitions as buttons in the record's detail page.
Note: In our example, we don't enable this option; we manually execute transitions one after the other when the preceding transition's conditions are met and the next one is ready to be implemented. Click Next.
- Below is the blueprint created for our example.
- The states and the transitions involved in our example are listed below.
States | Transitions |
Plan idea | Plan |
Requirement gathering | Requirement analysis |
Plan generation | Generate plan |
Active | Active |
Inactive | Inactive |
Complete | Complete |
- Next, add the criteria to be met at different stages of the transition (BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER). These transitions are conditions to be met to cross from one state to another, and will appear as buttons on the record details page.
- Let's see the criteria involved in our example for each transition.
Plan: Notes on the webinar plan and tags are mandatory during this transition.
Requirement analysis: Create a checklist for analyzing the requirements by using the Add > Checklists during the transition.
Generate plan: Make attachments of the contents or related documents required for the webinar mandatory during the transition.
After the transition, generate an email notification to your manager with the campaign plan details. We’ve associated a campaign plan email template that includes the description of the campaign record as part of the email body.
Active: Upon discussion with the manager, if the plan is approved, the campaign plan is active and is to be executed further. Make tags mandatory during the transition.
Schedule the campaign start date for 15 days from the current execution date (i.e., the date the plan changes to active status) after the transition is completed.
Inactive: After discussion with the manager, if the plan is not approved, the campaign plan is inactive and is then moved to an inactive state. When you click Inactive, the campaign is automatically moved to Complete status.
Complete: Finally, whether the plan is active and ready to be executed, we can move it to a closed state by making tags mandatory to establish that the record for creating the webinar campaign plan has been completed.
- Now that the blueprint is designed, click Publish.
- You can now publish the extension and install it in your Zoho CRM account.
Sample Output
You can view the sample output attached as a video.
In this manner, any webinar campaign will follow the blueprint process to completion. Similarly, you can create blueprints for each campaign and efficiently manage your campaign management process.
We hope you find this information useful. Keep following us for more inputs!!
Access your files securely from anywhere
Centralize Knowledge. Transform Learning.
All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.
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
Nanditha Somasundaram Somasundaram
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint
Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In thisKaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore howKaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #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 are
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
How to hide Activity Side Panel
How do you hide the activity side panel? Clicking on the link and reviewing the activity does not remove it and it does not seem to timeout. I have any activity that have been listed there since January. Thank you.This version of app doesn't support this notecard type Error
So this problem is happening for any notes created within the last week, as well as any note recently edited on Android. I can open them on my phone fine, but they don't open on the website version. They DO work on the desktop app version. It's just webEdit a previous reconciliation
I realized that during my March bank reconciliation, I chose the wrong check to reconcile (they were for the same amount on the same date, I just chose the wrong check to reconcile). So now, the incorrect check is showing as un-reconciled. Is there any way I can edit a previous reconciliation (this is 7 months ago) so I can adjust the check that was reconciled? The amounts are exactly the same and it won't change my ending balance.Adding Images to a Quote in Zoho CRM
We are currently preparing to use Quotes in Zoho CRM and we are building out our Quote templates. We came across an issue of not being to add Images of the products to the Quote - specifically in the body of the Quote templates. This is a problem,Choose Component for User Filter
This filter in the Choose Component for User Filter would be better if had an Order or Group by function. Also, the Specify the default filter values: is very confusing and limiting.Preventing auto-redirect to Parent Record on Save...
Our users often create records from the related list on th left side of the screen. They click the blue "plus" button to create the record. This is handy, but for some modules, or situations, they would like to remain on the record AFTER clicking "Save",Uplifted homepage experience
Editions: All editions. Availability update: 17th February 2026: All editions in the CA and SA DC | JP DC (Free, Standard and Professional editions) 23 February 2026: JP (All Editions) | AU, CN (Free, Standard, Professional editions) 27 February 2026:Zoho Desk - Event Calendar View
Hi Desk team, Are there any plans to introduce a calendar or timeline view for Events in Zoho Desk? It would be very helpful if we could see Events visually in a calendar and/or timeline. This is very helpful when desk side support activities need toRe-Apply SLA When Ticket Reopened from Closed Status?
If you have an SLA applied, timers are deactivated when going to "On Hold" status type and reactivated when going back to an Open status type. What we discovered is when a customer replies to a closed case and it reopens, the SLA is not applied and timersOption to Delete Chats in IM
Currently, there is no option to delete any chats in IM, regardless of their source.Is it possible to make tags "required"
We would like to be able to make the tag field a requirement for agents before they can close a ticket. This would help with monthly reporting, where a lot of tickets end up with no tag, causing manual work to go back and add the correct tag for eachShowing the map along with mileage expense
When you use the GPS to track mileage, it shows you the map of the actual path travelled. It would be very useful and practical to save that map with the mileage expense, so that when the report is created, it provides a map of each mileage expense associatedID:2406331
Hello, I have sent the form (ID:2406331) but no answer after two days. This is a paid subscription, I am not allowed to use the eighth paid slot of 50GB email space anymore, only 7 are being used. Is anyone going to help me please so I can use the eighthCRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive
Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage filesApproval Workflow for Purchase Orders Abrir
The requirement is , that all purchase orders greater than or equal to 5000 go through an approval process from certain people, but within books I only see that the approvers can be by levels or any approver but we cannot enter a rule like these. CanI would like to know wich person viewed the file
I have a franchise and my Operative Manual is in WorkdriveI, the user can´t download but despite I know How many views the file had, I would like to know wich person viewed the file Is it possible? thank youTransaction Rule Matching
Q1. Is there a method to have the Transaction Rules applied across multiple Bank Accounts? Q2. To match "contains" text in Transaction Rules, is a wildcard or regular expression required? Is it case sensitive? Would searching for "issue" in the followingNotebook on Mac: Fuzzy fonts in list view
Hi, I am running Notebook on Mac OS 26. Generally it works fine, and the font display in the notes themselves is crisp. However, in the notes list (left of the open note) the font of the note titles as well as first lines is noticeable fuzzy. AttachedTrigger workflows from SLA escalations in Zoho Desk?
Hey everyone, I’m currently working with SLA escalation rules in Zoho Desk and ran into a limitation that I’m hoping someone here has solved more elegantly. As far as I can tell, SLA escalations only support fairly limited actions (like changing the ticketZoho CRM Email Templates 100% Width No Background How?
Hi, On the Zoho CRM Email Templates in setup > customization > templates > new templates > I choose blank template, but still it puts in a gray background and a max width for the email. I just want to make an email that looks like an email I would send from gmail that has no background or max width. How do you do this?ZOHO CRM Quote Export / Quote Report
How can I either Export my quote list, or create a Report that shows all quotes AND includes the NOTES field in a column. I attempted to Run a Report which includes ALL FIELDS, however it does not include the Notes Field (but oddly does include the fieldsIntroducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM
Release update: 1. 2 March 2026: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. 2. 26 March 2026: CA, SA, AU, JP, CN DCs - Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate, CRMAll new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24Adding a Mark Up
Can you use the discount column to be a mar up column on estimates and invoices?URGENT. Recovering email without eArchive
Hello, I have deleted some email from my trash but do not have eArchive. Is it possible to recovery without this? many thanks!Subscription Statuses - Dunning
How are other companies handling the scenario when customers don't pay and dunning takes over? Our issue is that in my situations, we want our customers to be able to catch up their late payments and continue their subscription after the dunning processLogo Doesnt appear on email
Hi, 1. PROBLEM: mails sent to customer from zoho invoice ( Estimates and incoices etc.) Logo doesnt appaer on email. 2. SUGGESTION: there must be an option to select from google fonts if we want specific font to the pdf templates. thanksHow to see Statement Details Shown in Unclassified Transactions in All Transactions?
All, The list of Unclassified Transactions show the Statement Details and Descriptions. What is the method to see that column in the All Transactions list? -Thanks!Non-Avalara Tax Automation wtih Zoho Books
We are paying a ridiculous amount for Avalara. Our team wants to make a change, but they're the only software fully integrated with Zoho. We also don't have the bandwidth to do this manually, so we do need some sort of automated software solution. WeMigrating to the new outgoing webhook model in Zoho Connect
Dear User, Outgoing webhooks configured across the Zoho Connect Integrations page, Zoho Flow, and Zapier will stop working after May 31, 2026. This is due to an upcoming upgrade to our outgoing webhook flow. This update is mandatory only for networksCreate formula calculations in Assemblies for scaling quantities
Something we have been encountering with our composite items is dealing with scaling of quantity of one or more items within the composite assembly relative to the number of complete units being sold. I.e. running the equation 2(n-1) on one of the assemblyLastest update
The latest update to notepad has completely trashed all my notes. If I go to view it it just opens up a screen with a box with dotted lines around it for me to add something I can import saved nodes but you can't view them at all. Anybody else havingTip #67- Exploring technician console: Disable Input Devices- 'Insider Insights'
Hello Zoho Assist Community! Picture this: you are in the middle of a critical remote session, carefully configuring a system or running an important update, and the customer accidentally clicks somewhere or types something that undoes your progress.What matters more in Zoho implementations: tools or system architecture?
I recently worked on a full-stack migration for a catering equipment business using Zoho One with Shopify, and it raised a few interesting observations. The setup included migrating a large product catalog (around 9,700+ SKUs), integrating multiple supplierFacturation 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,[Webinar] Solving business challenges: One tool for documents, forms, PDFs, e-signatures, and more
Hi Zoho Writer users, Most businesses rely on multiple tools, such as a word processor, form builder, e-signature provider, and PDF editor, for their document workflows. Managing multiple subscriptions, switching between tools, and moving data acrossDeposit on invoice
I'm trying to figure out how to customize an Estimate to include a Deposit/Retainer Invoice line within the Estimate. I tried creating my own custom field called "Deposit" where I manually inputted the deposit amount, which was nice. However, my employerZoho NOTEBOOK: What are file size restrictions?
I understand that Zoho NOTEBOOK is a free product, and what it offers is great. But I'm wondering what the file size restrictions are. When I record an audio note in Zoho Notebook, what is the maximum length of recording time/audio file size? When I wish to upload MP4 video, what is the maximum video size I can upload per Zoho Notebook restriction? Moreover, does Zoho Notebook use its own storage structure, or can I upgrade my storage for Zoho Notebook to add larger file attachments, videos and audioConcern Regarding Stock Validation in Inventory Management
Hi Zoho Team, We would like to highlight a concern regarding stock validation in the inventory system. As per standard inventory management practices, if the stock level is zero, the system should not allow users to create a shipment, packing slip, orAutomation Series #2: SLA vs Supervisor Rule in Zoho Desk
SLA vs Supervisor Rule: Keeping tickets on track in Zoho Desk This post is part of the "Desk Automation Series," Chapter 1. Through this series, we will help you choose the right automation type in Zoho Desk by comparing commonly confused automationsNext Page