Tips and Tricks #20: How to prevent contact duplication with existing leads from Zoho CRM

Tips and Tricks #20: How to prevent contact duplication with existing leads from Zoho CRM

In this week's tip, we'll be taking a look at how you can prevent contact duplication when existing leads from Zoho CRM subscribe to one of your plans in Zoho Subscriptions.


This post is part of a series of tips and tricks that we post every week. If you missed last week's post about the 3 C's of data in Zoho Subscriptions, go ahead and check it out. 

Business Scenario

Managing and qualifying leads is an important part of any business' sales routine. The Zoho Subscriptions-Zoho CRM integration offers a tight sync between both applications and helps your sales teams take control of their targets. With the integration enabled, customers that subscribe to your plans in Zoho Subscriptions will be created as accounts or contacts in Zoho CRM, based on your sync preferences. 

However, there may be cases where leads that you're trying to qualify in Zoho CRM subscribe to one of your plans in Zoho Subscriptions without your sales teams knowing about it. This can lead to your sales teams wasting time on already converted leads, which could also get you on the wrong side of customers because of sales calls even after they've subscribed to your service. This week's tip will help you avoid this. 

Setting It Up

Like most of our previous tips and tricks, this one can be implemented by using a custom function. After a new customer signs up to your service from the hosted payment pages, the custom function will check whether they're already stored as a lead in Zoho CRM and if they are, the lead in Zoho CRM will be converted to a contact instead of creating a new contact in Zoho CRM. This custom function is not limited to hosted payment pages alone and will be triggered as soon a new subscription is created in Zoho Subscriptions (for example, it also works if one of your staff creates a new subscription using Zoho Subscription's web or mobile apps). Here's how to set it up: 
  • Go to Zoho Subscriptions > Settings > Automation > Custom Function.
  • Click + New Custom Function in the top right.
  • Enter a name for the custom function and select the module as Subscriptions.

  • Select the predefined event as New Subscription.
  • Copy the script for this custom function, which can be found on GitHub, and paste it in the Deluge script editor. 
  • Click Save.
A few points to note
  • This custom function will not be triggered if a customer alone is created from Zoho Subscriptions and will only be triggered when a new subscription is created.
  • The leads in Zoho CRM will be converted into an Account or Contact based on your sync settings
  • The Deluge script for the custom function requires an Auth Token, which can be generated here.
Now, you're good to go and will no longer be faced with contact duplication because of leads from Zoho CRM.

Try it out and let us know how it goes, we'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below. We'll be back next week with a new post, so stay tuned!

Cheers,
Varun Steven
The Zoho Subscriptions Team

    Access your files securely from anywhere

          Zoho Developer Community




                                    Zoho Desk Resources

                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                    • Digest


                                    • Functions


                                    • Meetups


                                    • Kbase


                                    • Resources


                                    • Glossary


                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                    • MVP Corner


                                    • Word of the Day



                                        Zoho Marketing Automation
                                                • Sticky Posts

                                                • Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

                                                  Hello everyone, We've been coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which can be implemented for your business. In continuation to the previous post, this week we will be seeing about how you can implement the Refer and Earn Workflow system to acquire more customers. Why are Referrals important? Customer Acquisition is crucial for any business to sustain itself in a constantly evolving market. It involves persuading new consumers to purchase your products. Customers
                                                • Tip #2 - Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date

                                                  Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a custom function workflow every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation of this previous blog, this week we will be seeing about Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date. Business Scenario: In general, for any business, the customers make payments via online as well as offline. In case of subscription where the automatic collection of charge is enabled (aka online subscription), the customer's
                                                • Tip #3 : Send SMS Reminders for your Subscription Business

                                                  Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation to the previous blog, this week we will be seeing how you can use SMS reminders for your Subscription Business. Using SMS messages for your Subscription Business: While managing your subscription business, more often than not, you need to keep your customers informed about upcoming renewals, payment reminders and cancellations. By keeping them informed in advance, you can
                                                • Tips And Tricks - Announcement

                                                  Hello everyone, Every business is unique and each of them follows a specific workflow. While managing your customers' subscriptions with Zoho, you might have some needs unique to your business. Custom Functions helps you address such needs. This is a start to a series of posts, where we will be coming up with a custom function workflow every week that addresses specific business scenarios. Watch this space for further updates! Also, if you have any specific business scenario which needs to be addressed,
                                                • Tip #6 : Accessing external URLs from Zoho Subscriptions

                                                  Hello everyone, We have been sharing a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which you can implement for your subscription business. Last week, we shared a tip about implementing the Approval Workflow system. This week, let's look at how you can access external URLs with the help of Custom Link. Business Scenario: Every business functions differently and has its unique requirements. At times, businesses might want to access other websites or applications by appending specific information


                                                Manage your brands on social media



                                                      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 Campaigns 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

                                                                                                  • Delete a department or category

                                                                                                    How do I delete a Department?  Also, how do I delete a Category? This is pretty basic stuff here and it's impossible to find.
                                                                                                  • Remove or hide default views

                                                                                                    I'm looking to only have the views pertinent to my organization.  Is there a way to show only my custom views (or separate them to a different area or something)? If not, this should be a feature as switching from Zendesk we had this option...
                                                                                                  • Analytics Module: Can you move items from one dashboard to another?

                                                                                                    Is there a way to move items from one dashboard to another? I want to rearrange my dashboard now that I know what i'm doing but i don't want to remake my various widgets? Edit: Hey Zoho, This would be a good feature: to be able to move/copy widgets to
                                                                                                  • Copy Widget to another Dashboard

                                                                                                    I can see the option to clone a widget to the same dashboard but is it possible to copy it to another dashboard?
                                                                                                  • Introducing Record Summary: smarter insights at your fingertips

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, Building on the recent launch of Zoho's in-house Zia Large Language Model (Zia LLM)—a major milestone in Zoho CRM’s AI capabilities—we’re excited to introduce the Record Summary feature. This powerful addition makes use of Zia LLM to simplify
                                                                                                  • Suppress "spreadsheet will not be saved" message on published sheet

                                                                                                    I have published a sheet and have one column on that sheet that the user can edit (a dropdown picklist where the user can select the status for each line). Is there a way to suppress the Zoho Sheet message "Any changes made to this published spreadsheet
                                                                                                  • Missing "Email Authentication" tab

                                                                                                    Backstage is alerting users about "Unauthenticated Domains" with a large prompt in the backend. It adds a link to learn more. On this tutorial page, it shows where to find the "Email Authentication" tab in this screenshot. However, in our Backstage, that
                                                                                                  • Show item Cost value on Item screen

                                                                                                    The Item screen shows Accounting Stock and Physical Stock. It would be very helpful if value information could be displayed here as well, for instance Cost Price. Currently, to find the Cost Price (as used for inventory valuations) from inside the item
                                                                                                  • Default reminders on Emails

                                                                                                    I have seen that it is possible to set, for each email, a reminder when the email remains unresponded for some time. This is very useful, so useful that I would like to set it for all my emails, by default. Because an unanswered email usually requires
                                                                                                  • Este domínio já está associado a esta conta

                                                                                                    quando digitei meu domínio recebi essa mensagem que meu domínio estava associado a uma conta que eu nem faço idéia de quem seja. Como que faço pra resolver isso?
                                                                                                  • Integration with Moodle

                                                                                                    Greetings, I hope find all doing well and safe. I've recently returned to using Zoho Flow after a break and was hoping to connect my WooCommerce store with Moodle, the world's most widely used learning management system. My goal was to automatically enroll
                                                                                                  • How to Record Loan with interest

                                                                                                    I have received loans from friend he give me like 2 loans so far one is one year repayment and one short, how to properly record his payment, and repayment and give him statement  for each loan he give me 
                                                                                                  • Task status - completed - other options

                                                                                                    I have a dumb question I know i can make custom statuses for the tasks - but is there anyway to make additional "completed" statuses like for instance if i have a task "call back customer" and i leave a vm for them to call back marking it "completed -
                                                                                                  • Task module and related-to field

                                                                                                    In modules other than the Task Module I can add several lookup fields to provide a variety of relationships. In the Task module lookup fields are not available. There is only one "related to" field which I want to use for Company. But I want to relate
                                                                                                  • Add Lookup Field in Tasks Module

                                                                                                    Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/custom-fields-on-task-module).
                                                                                                  • migrating from Zoho Invoices (CRM) to Zoho Books

                                                                                                    Good day, I was wondering if there was a easy way to migrate all the quotes and invoices from Zoho Invoices CRM to Zoho Books. We plan to move to using Zoho Books in a few weeks and would like to have all the quotes and invoices from the past 3 years
                                                                                                  • Zoho MA and Custom Module

                                                                                                    I am trying to create a sync between Markting Automation and Zoho CRM. I am mapping a custom module from the CRM. The custom module has email field mobile phone field However I cannot finish the integration since the system keeps asking me for email or
                                                                                                  • When is partial reimbursement going to be launched?

                                                                                                    Hi there. I saw somewhere that the partial reimbursement feature is in the work. What is the update and ETA of that? Our clients and prospects have been asking us and we agree that that is an important feature to have.
                                                                                                  • Year-End Wrap: Declutter Your Inbox Using Email Filters

                                                                                                    Ping!—an email drops in. And another. And another! It's finally that time of the year when your inbox will be bursting with messages from team members, clients, and marketing agents, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and distracted. Sounds familiar? Now
                                                                                                  • Unified Notes View For Seamless Collaboration

                                                                                                    To facilitate better coordination among different departments and team members, the notes added to a record can now be accessed in all its associated records. With this, team members, from customer service representatives to field technicians, can easily
                                                                                                  • Q4 Europe In-person Zoho User Group Meetup: Streamlining Your Business Processes & Introduction to Zoho CRM for Everyone

                                                                                                    Hello Zoho Community, We are excited to announce our upcoming Zoho User Group meetup in Europe! This session is designed to help you streamline your business processes using Zoho CRM, with a special focus on enhancing customer interactions and leveraging
                                                                                                  • Formula fields - Request for dynamic recalculation / proper implementation

                                                                                                    Hi Guys, I have a big problem with Zoho formula fields. They don't recalculate each time the record is viewed - only when a record is edited. Formula fields should be updated dynamically each time a record is retrieved. As an example: I have a formula
                                                                                                  • Items attribute questions

                                                                                                    Many of my items have attributes, such as size and color. How can I add new fields to the "New Items" screen to capture that in my Purchase Orders, Items, and Sales Order pages? I only see these attribute fields when adding an Item Group. Also, on the
                                                                                                  • Organize and Track Phases with Phase Custom Views

                                                                                                    Phase Custom Views let you filter and display phases based on specific criteria. This helps you focus on what’s most relevant for you and your team. Filter phases using criteria such as budget, status, and more. Share views with specific users or teams
                                                                                                  • Record Asset Received as Payment

                                                                                                    How exactly would you account for this in books? For example, I receive a mini computer for a review and I get to keep it after the video is published. Would debit my normal asset account (e.g. Computers) and credit an income account (e.g. Other Income).
                                                                                                  • Invoice Line Item Report

                                                                                                    Is it possible to run an 'Invoice Line Item Report'? The 'Invoice Details Report' shows one row per invoice. I would like one row per Invoice Line Item.
                                                                                                  • Transform Your Customer Support with AI-Powered Chatbots in Zoho SalesIQ

                                                                                                    Ever wondered how some companies seem to have superhuman customer support? Let's uncover their secret! In the digital age, customer expectations are skyrocketing. Did you know that according to McKinsey, 75% of consumers expect a response within five
                                                                                                  • Progressive Invoicing

                                                                                                    Progressing invoicing is needed for many industries. It would be great to see it implemented into Zoho Books as well. Set up and send progress invoices in QuickBooks Desktop (intuit.com)
                                                                                                  • Client Script - mapping data from different module

                                                                                                    Dear ZOHO Team Firstly I need to describe the need - I need to have data from Contacts module based on lookup field - the 5 map limit is not enough for me because I have almost 20 fields to copy So I have decided to make a Customer Script - and from unknown
                                                                                                  • DORA compliance

                                                                                                    For DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) compliance, I’ll want to check if Zoho provides specific features or policies aligned with DORA requirements, particularly for managing ICT risk, incident reporting, and ensuring operational resilience in
                                                                                                  • Files Uploaded to Zoho WorkDrive Not Being Indexed by Search Engines

                                                                                                    Hello, I have noticed that the files I upload to Zoho WorkDrive are not being indexed by search engines, including Google. I’d like to understand why this might be happening and what steps I can take to resolve it. Here are the details of my issue: File
                                                                                                  • Customer can't comment on SO or Invoice

                                                                                                    Hi I just saw that my customers are not able to submit a comment either on invoices or sales order. What happens if my customer hits submit is just nothing. only a red line appears on top of the page which probalby indicates an error. I'm not able to
                                                                                                  • Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One

                                                                                                    I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)
                                                                                                  • See Calendar When Creating Meetings On Record Page

                                                                                                    It would be a great user experience to see you calendar while you are creating a meeting on a record page. Here is how I imagine it could look:
                                                                                                  • Saved filters, layout rule support, related list quick navigation, and more

                                                                                                    Hello Everyone, We're excited to share some new features and enhancements in the Zoho CRM iOS and Android apps that will improve your mobile experience. These updates will make your CRM journey more efficient and user-friendly. Here's a look at what's
                                                                                                  • Power of Automation: Automatically send an email to all portal users with today's list of Open tasks.

                                                                                                    Hello Everyone, A Custom Function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as to when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-
                                                                                                  • Introduction of Robotics Process Automation in Zoho products

                                                                                                    It will be great if Zoho can start advancing from automation to robotics process automation. For a start, it can be started with smart document understanding. Provide OCR engines Google cloud, Microsoft Azure Computer vision OCR, Microsoft OCR, Omnipage
                                                                                                  • Lock a custom field on a deal record but keep all other fields editable?

                                                                                                    I have a custom field, which auto-populates a job number upon converting a lead to a deal but the automation breaks if someone accidentally edits that field. I want to lock that field but keep all other fields open. Is this possible? I've tried through
                                                                                                  • Add Feature To Hide Plugin Sections On Record View

                                                                                                    Hi team, I'm trying to help a client tidy up their CRM. When it comes to record view some sections and fields are visible no matter what Layout Rules are applies and they are not removeable from the layout editor. I would like to see an option to hide
                                                                                                  • Creator Simplified #10: Predefine Form Field Values and Make Them Read-Only for Users

                                                                                                    Hey Creators, Ready for this week's tip in the Creator Simplified series? Today, we will explore how to have read only fields in a form. Use Case: Assume a scenario where the default value for a Department field needs to be English Literature, but you
                                                                                                  • Next Page