Feature Spotlight: Employee Custom Fields

Feature Spotlight: Employee Custom Fields

The next topic in the Community Learning Series focuses on custom fields and how to use them in various scenarios.
 
Think about what happens when a new employee joins your organization. Their information is immediately fed into the HR and payroll system, which is set up to collect certain types of employee information automatically. Here's how a typical employee profile looks in Zoho Payroll. The system automatically collects certain types of information, organized into Basic, Personal, and Payment categories.

Employee information

What are custom fields?

Employee custom fields can help collect any additional information about the employees that is not mandated in the payroll system. There are various instances where it's helpful to collect additional PII on top of the data collected automatically with Zoho Payroll (such as Aadhar card details, emergency contact info or blood group). Once the custom fields are created, the information they collect will be automatically available under Personal Information > Other Details in the employee’s profile.

How to create custom fields

Here's an example. Follow the steps below to create a new custom field called Aadhar card no. 

  • In Zoho Payroll, go to Settings -> Preferences -> Employee Custom field 
  • Click Create New
  • Create a new field called Aadhar card no
  • Choose the data type called Number 
  • Provide Help Text for reference
    (In this case, the number of digits of the Aadhar card number can be indicated in the help text like this: "1234-1234-1234") 
  • Choose whether to encrypt the information 
    (This ensures only users with access can view this information) 
  • Choose whether to make the field mandatory and whether it will be available within the ESS portal 
  • Click Save 

The status of the field created will be Active. The field can be made inactive, edited, or even deleted at any point. 

Custom Field creation

Where to view this information

The data collected by this field will be available within the Employee module, under Personal information. A new section called Other information will be created where all the custom fields you create will appear automatically. 

Custom fields
You can refer to our help docs for a detailed explanation of how to create and set up your custom fields.

Adding custom field information with a large employee count

Entering custom field data manually when there are hundreds of employees on your payroll can get hectic. This is where Zoho Payroll's import functionality helps, by letting you add details for all of your employees in one go. 

Here's how to add the Aadhar card information for a payroll process with many employees: 

  • In the employee import file, add a new column called Aadhar card number
Note: In the absence of an employee import file, the file can be exported by going to Employee Module -> Export data -> Employee Personal Details, choosing Active employees and the file type of .xls or .csv, and clicking on Export. In the exported file, add the new column.

  • Add the Aadhar card information of all the employees under the column you created 
(Ensure that the employee data is mapped to the right employee ID in the import file)
  • Save the file and go to the employee module inside Zoho Payroll
  • Click Import Data and select Employee Personal Details 
  • Upload the import file
  • Map the custom field called Aadhar card no to the column in the import file called Aadhar card number 
  • Tick the checkbox below to save the preferences for the future 
  • Click Next to import the custom field data

Under the employee module, choose any employee. The Aadhar card details will automatically appear under the employee's personal details. 

Adding custom fields from Zoho People to Zoho Payroll

How do you add custom fields when the payroll system is integrated with the HR management tool Zoho People? It's pretty simple. 

Before going ahead, ensure that the integration between Zoho Payroll and Zoho People  is active. You can check by navigating to Integrations. The status of the Zoho People integration with Payroll should be Active.

Zoho People integration

Next, ensure that the custom field to be added to Zoho Payroll already exists in Zoho People. 

To add the Aadhar card information of all the employees within Zoho People to Zoho Payroll: 

  • Create a custom field called Aadhar card number inside Zoho Payroll using the steps in the first section of this post. 
    (Once that's complete, the data can be synced within the two platforms)
  • Go to Settings -> Integrations and click Zoho Apps 
  • Choose View details in Zoho People
  • Select Edit field mapping. The custom field created will appear under the section Other information
  • Now map the right field name within Zoho People with the corresponding custom field
    (In this example, Aadhar card number <----> Aadhar card no)
  • Click Save
  • Once complete, select the Instant sync option on top of the window

Employee Custom Field sync between Zoho People and Zoho Payroll

A notification that the sync is complete will appear within a few seconds, showing that the custom fields have been mapped from Zoho People to Zoho Payroll successfully. As in the previous case, this information can be viewed for all the employees within the employee module.

Hope you found this post useful! If you have any questions about custom fields and their uses, let us know in the comment section below, or email us at support@zohopayroll.com and we will get back to you.

Until next time! 





    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





                                                          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 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

                                                                                                          • List of hidden features

                                                                                                            Hi Friends, I had another support chat today and low and behold the feature that I wanted just simply needed to be "enabled". I thought I'd share, and maybe see if others had some similar experiences. 1. This one is from 5 ish years ago. I asked if there
                                                                                                          • Items Below Reorder Point Report?

                                                                                                            Is there a way to run a report of Items that are below the Reorder Point? I don't see this as a specific report, nor can I figure out how to customize any of the other stock reports to give me this information. Please tell me I'm missing something s
                                                                                                          • customize payment page

                                                                                                            Is there a way to customize, other than the theme colour, the payment page that customers are taken to from invoices? I can't seem to find a way. I just don't like the formatting of the current page and would like to make it look better. I've looked at
                                                                                                          • Are Environments Worth It?

                                                                                                            In concept, Environments in ZC is a great idea. I think the flow is pretty smart when you compare it to GitHub, especially for a low code audience. However, in practice, I've found it to be unpredictable, and I've only used it a few times. Aside from
                                                                                                          • Enhanced duplicate check for Leads in CRM

                                                                                                            Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce that you can now check for duplicate entries in leads by comparing them with similar records in the Contacts Module. Previously, when you added a lead, only the converted leads were checked for duplicates. This
                                                                                                          • Pause(1);

                                                                                                            I'm using scheduler to invoke an interaction via http post with an external service. The schedule code uses a for-each loop that runs so fast my external application's log files get messed-up (they are named by date-time stamp). What I'm suggesting is
                                                                                                          • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

                                                                                                            The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Managing addresses
                                                                                                          • Integration Request: Elementor

                                                                                                            Integrating Zoho CRM forms with Elementor, the most popular page builder on Wordpress, would be great. I use it for our site, goenergylink.com, and I have had to use Zapier webhooks to be able to connect it with Elementor. The one issue I have run into
                                                                                                          • Ability to Change Visibility of Published YouTube Videos

                                                                                                            Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Social regarding the management of already published youtube videos. Currently, after publishing a youtube video through Zoho Social, there is no option to change its visibility
                                                                                                          • Published Course Not Reflecting In Hub

                                                                                                            Hi! I am trying to create micro-learning courses for our team to be available for self-guided learning. I have published the courses with enrollment settings open to all users of the hub, but they don't appear to be available for enrollment. Am I missing
                                                                                                          • Adding anchor links in Zoho CRM email templates

                                                                                                            I know you can add anchor link in Campaigns, but I dont see the option to that in the CRM email template. Am I missing something?
                                                                                                          • Support “Never End” Option for Recurring Meetings in Zoho Meeting

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request support for creating recurring meetings with no end date in Zoho Meeting. Currently, when scheduling a recurring meeting, Zoho Meeting requires us to select a specific end date.
                                                                                                          • openUrl in blueprints

                                                                                                            My customer wants to open a URL at the end of a blueprint transition. Seems this isn't possible right now but it would be very useful. In this thread, https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/openurl-not-working the Zoho agent said that it's logically
                                                                                                          • Is it possible to pull the Zoho desk data into Zoho analytics in real time

                                                                                                            Hi - I am looking to add more dashboards and reports of Zoho Desk in analytics. I see there is a schedule to pull the data into analytics, but I'm wondering if there is an option to pull the data in real time instead of a specific interval?
                                                                                                          • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

                                                                                                            Is this a new feature??? its in both books and inventory.
                                                                                                          • CRM 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 files
                                                                                                          • Introducing the revamped What's New page

                                                                                                            Hello everyone! We're happy to announce that Zoho Campaigns' What's New page has undergone a complete revamp. We've bid the old page adieu after a long time and have introduced a new, sleeker-looking page. Without further ado, let's dive into the main
                                                                                                          • Ability to Add YouTube Video to Playlist During Publishing

                                                                                                            Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? While publishing YouTube videos through Zoho Social, we noticed that the platform currently does not allow selecting a playlist at the time of publishing. Instead, we can only add the video to a playlist after it has
                                                                                                          • Nouveauté dans Zoho Writer - Création de documents et de modèles assistée par l'IA

                                                                                                            Zia, l’assistant IA de Zoho Writer, soutient les utilisateurs dans l’amélioration de leur écriture et la création de contenus : correction orthographique et grammaticale en temps réel, suggestions adaptées au contexte, détection du plagiat, révisions
                                                                                                          • Canvas View in Zoho Recruit

                                                                                                            Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?
                                                                                                          • Sharing Form Ownership Among Multiple Users

                                                                                                            I would really like the ability to share form ownership among multiple users. It's frustrating to me that if a co-worker wants to make an edit to a form, I have to transfer ownership to them. It would be great if forms could act like google forms, where multiple people can edit a form and view responses. 
                                                                                                          • How to go to the next open ticket in the queue when agents closes ticket

                                                                                                            Zoho Desk When agent closes a ticket - eg when they choose 'Send and Close" - where is the setting that automatically redirects them to the next open ticket in the queue?
                                                                                                          • How to Automate Email Sequence

                                                                                                            I'm having trouble trying to set up a workflow to automate an email sequence. Once a group of emails in a Task has been tagged by a certain tag, I want an instant email template to be sent. After 7 days with no response, another email template would be
                                                                                                          • Marketer’s Space - Ace Your Spooky-Season Marketing with Pre-designed Templates in Zoho Campaigns

                                                                                                            Hello marketers, Welcome back to another post in Marketer’s Space! We’re in Q4, which means that you have endless opportunities to connect with your audience, starting with Halloween campaigns! In this post, we’ll show you how to design the perfect Halloween
                                                                                                          • Turning off the new UI

                                                                                                            Tried the new 'enhanced' UI and actively dislike it. Anyone know how to revert back?
                                                                                                          • Zia expands to China with native features and DeepSeek-powered generative AI features

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, We are glad to support Zia native features and Zia generative AI features for our customers in China. From hereon, all AI-features in Desk will be accessible in China data center with the integration of DeepSeek generative AI model. DeepSeek
                                                                                                          • Email in each module

                                                                                                            We have a contact ,module which then has a link to customer assets which in turn the asset has a multiple link to service visits. When we link assets to customers we choose by name and it brings over the associate email via the lookup. Great feature.
                                                                                                          • Create custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions were
                                                                                                          • Global Search placement in the new UI

                                                                                                            Having a hard time with the global search placement in the UI redesign. Surely I can't be the only one. Previously global search placement was perfect. A bar at the top/center of the page. Exactly where you would expect it to be. Since the new UI has
                                                                                                          • Introducing Skill-Based Ticket Assignment

                                                                                                            The goal of every support team is to provide great support, and to do so as fast as they can. To make this possible, it is important that agents spend their time judiciously, especially when they're dealing with a large number of tickets of varying urgency
                                                                                                          • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                            Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals
                                                                                                          • Kaizen #213 - Workflow APIs - Part 1

                                                                                                            Welcome to another week of Kaizen! If you have ever managed complex business processes, you know that Workflows are the quiet backbone of any well-run business process. They keep things moving; assigning owners, sending alerts, keeping deals on track,
                                                                                                          • Browser and address bar hide

                                                                                                            Hi, How i can do hide the address bar with browser headline when i am working on the sheet, because i am using (freeze panes) which i want visible for full work. For your reference here i am attached the screen shot and marked yellow lines which really
                                                                                                          • Cells Border

                                                                                                            Hi I am using Zoho Sheet on S Tab , is there any option to make all border of any cell at once. I think this is very basic which we are missing. This is available in mobile but not in tab or suggest if i am missing this function. And for Tab can you give
                                                                                                          • Credit Management: #2 Configuring Right Payment Terms for Credit Control

                                                                                                            Think about the last time you ordered something online and saw that little note at the checkout, "Pay on Delivery" or "Pay later". It's simple, but it actually sets the tone. As a business owner, you know exactly when payment is expected. Now, imagine
                                                                                                          • Zobot and Sales IQ

                                                                                                            What will happen to the Zoho Sales IQ being integrated to the website after creating the Zobot on the website too
                                                                                                          • Workflow workdrive rollout

                                                                                                            Hi! When will workflow be rolled out to all users? Thanks.
                                                                                                          • Task Due Date greater than 10 years.

                                                                                                            We use recurring tasks in Projects where every week, month, year etc Some of our projects are greater than 10 years and we are unable to set a new due date because the difference between start date and due date is greater than 10 years. As an example
                                                                                                          • Zoho Analytics - Make text clickable in underlying data

                                                                                                            Hi Community, I have a simple sales report based on a Invoice query table. I have included a link on to each invoice on the table and sent the Invoice number URL to the link. This works find in the query table, but when I click underlying data on the
                                                                                                          • Custom Modules - Where are Comments??

                                                                                                            In the standard ticket module and in the tasks module, we have an interactive comment box that we can post important details/notes and can tag others if needed. Where is this functionality for Custom Modules? Ideally, custom modules would have very similar,
                                                                                                          • Next Page