CRM Hack #3: How to update formula functions for already created records.

CRM Hack #3: How to update formula functions for already created records.

Hello everyone!

 

It’s Wednesday and we are back with yet another hack.. 

 

I'm sure you've used formula fields to meet some requirements specific to your business. Let's consider an example each for external (customer-facing) and internal facing scenarios where you'd have used formula fields. 

 

i) You are an insurance company and have added a formula to determine the age of your customers to check eligibility for a particular policy. 

ii) You have over a hundred potentials and have created a formula to calculate the commission for your sales representative based on the amount in the potential and stage.

 

Now, in both these cases, you'd want to apply to the earlier records as well, right? Here's a simple hack that lets you do update the formula to the records already created.

 

1. Click on the tools icon at the top right corner and go to Setup.



2. Go to the module concerned, say Leads.




3 You'll find a list of new fields that can be used inside the layout on the left side panel. Select the check box, and drag and drop the field inside the layout and rename it appropriately and save the layout. 





4.Go to leads and select the records that are already available using the corresponding checkbox and click on the three dots at the top. Now,select mass update for the checkbox field that you created .



 




What happens now is a mass update of all the records triggering the formula action as well.


PS: Please note that you can only mass update up to 500 records at a time, by selecting 100 records and navigating to the next 5 pages thus selecting 500 in total.

 

 

Try this and let me know if it helped! Until next Wednesday!


PS: Edit to the post. Initially we had the option to update the formula field based on a field update, but this would update the formula field every time when a record is updated. Hence, now to update a formula field you have to make sure the field to be updated must be invoked with the formula field. Here is a example based on a user a requirement. I have a checkbox field called "Mass update check" In order for the formula field to update based on the checkbox field I have to invoke this field within the formula. Here is the formula with the "Mass update check" check box field invoked.

If(Tostring(${Candidates.Mass update check})=='true',Abs(Datecomp(${Candidates.Candidate Updated Time},${Candidates.Phone screen complete}))/24/60,0)

Check and let us know if you have any further clarification.





    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner




                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.

                                                              Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity.  We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbers
                                                            • Function #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.

                                                              Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is just
                                                            • Zoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas

                                                              <br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,
                                                            • Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM

                                                              Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practical
                                                            • CRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.

                                                                Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,


                                                            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

                                                                                                            • Add VAT/Tax line to bank adjustments

                                                                                                              When categorising transactions and matching bank feeds with transactions such as customer payments, we use the "Add Adjustment" to add things like fees/bank fees. It would be useful to choose a VAT/Tax rate here. Whilst there is a bank charges option when adding a payment, this goes into the default bank charges account. We use the adjustments so that we can choose the account and separate our fees. We use different card providers and Worldpay charges VAT so we are stuck. We cannot integrate with
                                                                                                            • New Menu Layout Feedback

                                                                                                              I'd really like to see the banking item back on the top of the menu. I'm sure part of it is just because that's what I'm accustomed to. However, for a bookkeeping program, I think there's a logic to having banking be on top. Not a giant issue, but something
                                                                                                            • How to use Rollup Summary in a Formula Field?

                                                                                                              I created a Rollup Summary (Decimal) field in my module, and it shows values correctly. When I try to reference it in a Formula Field (e.g. ${Deals.Partners_Requested} - ${Deals.Partners_Paid}), I get the error that the field can’t be found. Is it possible
                                                                                                            • Form Accessibility

                                                                                                              Hi, is there an update on the accessibility standard of Zoho forms? Are the forms WCAG 2.1 AA compliant? 
                                                                                                            • Cannot schedule report delivery

                                                                                                              The only 'send option' available when exporting reports is 'immediately' The option to schedule the report is missing.
                                                                                                            • adding attachment in sendmail script where attachment is in a CRM field

                                                                                                              Hi all, I have a custom field of type 'File Upload' in one of my modules in my CRM. I want to include the file in that field as an attachment to an email - which is done from a button on  the 'Results' module. I have created a script and a button to initiate an email from that module. The Deluge scripting window has allowed me to add arguments for all the fields I need to use except for the one file upload type field. My script currently looks like the below (content of the email omitted). As you
                                                                                                            • Signature field is showing black

                                                                                                              Hello, When customer signed the service form, it is showing as below picture Phone model: iPhone 16 Pro We tried delete and install application, but it not solved. This has on phone of a few person. There is any advice to solve this?
                                                                                                            • [Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - AI-Enhanced Insurance Claim Management in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. Struggling with lengthy claim processes, a lack of visibility into
                                                                                                            • How to update changed purchase account of item in invoice

                                                                                                              I have selected the wrong purchase account for various articles and created invoices. I had to adjust the purchase account in the article afterwards, but the old purchase account is still posted in the transaction-journal of the invoice. To adjust the
                                                                                                            • Zoho Suite is very slow

                                                                                                              Since today Zoho is incredibly slow over all applications! What's going on?
                                                                                                            • Not sure how to use credits to my account

                                                                                                              Hi I have a $50 credit to my account. I'm just wondering how I can apply that to either a current invoice or to try a new service. Any advice would be great, thanks. Kind Regards Chris
                                                                                                            • Control who sees Timeline and Interactions in Zoho CRM through Profiles

                                                                                                              The feature has been enabled for all DCs (except US, EU, and IN DCs). We will be rolling it out to the other DCs in the upcoming days. Dear All, In a CRM, not all users would require access to the history of a record. For instance, a Marketing Operations
                                                                                                            • Zoho Desk Integration - Add the option to send the estimate from the Zoho Desk Ticket Integration

                                                                                                              Hi, Currently in the Zoho Desk integration, the user is able to create an estimate from a ticket, once the estimate is created the user can see the estimate under the ticket (see screenshot below), but is not able to send that estimate from Zoho Desk.
                                                                                                            • Utilisation de Zoho en conformité avec l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI)

                                                                                                              Cher(e) client(e), Conformément à l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI) impose aux entreprises assujetties à la TVA d’utiliser des systèmes de caisse ou de gestion commerciale certifiés lorsqu’elles enregistrent des ventes à des particuliers.
                                                                                                            • Issue showing too many consultations in my workspace link.

                                                                                                              Hi Team, I’ve set up two Workspaces to track meetings from different sources. So far, this has been working well, and the two Workspaces are differentiated without any issues. However, when I navigate to Consultations and share the link to my personal
                                                                                                            • 👋 Welcome to the Zoho MCP Community

                                                                                                              Hello all, glad to have you here! This is your space for everything AI agents, MCP tools, and intelligent business apps. This community is for you — developers, partners, creators, and businesses exploring how agents can transform work. Whether you’re
                                                                                                            • CRM Validation Rules Support Only Single Condition

                                                                                                              Simply put, CRM validation rules support only a single condition for each field on "All Records". You also cannot specify additional validation rules on the same field because it has already been used in an existing validation rule. The ONLY solution
                                                                                                            • Unapproved Leaves are hard to distinguish in Attendance View

                                                                                                              This is a an unapproved leave request It appears in the Attendance view without any visual indicator if its approved or not For a whole day request this might be manageable but for hourly requests it gets very hard to know which are approved, which are
                                                                                                            • Performance Appraisal Probation Period

                                                                                                              Hello All,  Is there any possible way to create an appraisal cycle for new staff members, at the end of probation period? Many thanks!
                                                                                                            • Zoho Creatorの一括操作における処理の同期/非同期について

                                                                                                              現在、Creatorのレポート機能を利用して、複数のレコードに対して一括で処理を実行しようとしていますが、処理の実行順序について確認したいことがあります。 レポート内の複数レコードに一括で処理を実行した際、処理は同期的に行われるのでしょうか?それとも非同期的に行われるのでしょうか? 【同期処理の場合】 レコード①に対する処理が開始され、終了後にレコード②に対する処理が開始され、最後にレコード③に対する処理が実行されるように、処理が順番に行われる場合。 【非同期処理の場合】 レコード①、レコード②、レコード③の処理が一斉に開始され、それぞれ並行して処理が行われ、全処理が終了する場合。
                                                                                                            • Adding Chargebee as a Data Connector

                                                                                                              Is it possible to get Chargebee added as a Zoho Analytics data connector?
                                                                                                            • Delete commerce website

                                                                                                              I need to delete a commerce website, but the only option is to click on settings, REQUEST DELETE, choose an urgency notice, add a message....AND THEN nothing, no way to send the request. Why is nothing simple!?!?!  I just want to delete the store.  The
                                                                                                            • Adding external users to Zoho Social under Zoho ONE licence - how to best achieve this

                                                                                                              My client has a small business, and we are looking to implementing Zoho ONE with a single flexible user licence as that is all they really need and offers the best pricing for the range of modules we eventually wish to set them up with, one of which will
                                                                                                            • Has anyone built a custom AI support agent inside Zoho (SalesIQ/Zobot)?

                                                                                                              Hi all, I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI support assistant and wanted to see if anyone here has tackled something similar within Zoho. Right now, I’ve set up a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline outside of Zoho using FAISS. It
                                                                                                            • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

                                                                                                              Problem Description: One of our sales agents in our organization is unable to sign in to Zoho Mail. When attempting to log in, the following message appears: This mobile number has been marked as spam. Please contact support at as@zohocorp.com @zohocorp
                                                                                                            • What’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025

                                                                                                              Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additions
                                                                                                            • When Zoho Tables Beta will be open to EU data center

                                                                                                              Hello all, We in EU are looking at you all using and testing and are getting jealous :) When we will be able to get into the beta also? We don't mind testing and playing with beta software. Thank you!
                                                                                                            • Pass current date to a field using Zoho Flow

                                                                                                              I am trying to generate an invoice automatically once somebody submits a record in Zoho CRM. I get an error in the invoice date. I have entered {{zoho.currentdate}} in the Date field. When I test the flow, I get "Zoho Books says "Invalid value passed
                                                                                                            • API: Mark Sales Order as Open + Custom Status

                                                                                                              Hi, it's possible to create Custom Status (sub-status actually) states for the Sales Order. So you have Open, Void. Then under Open you can have Open, and create one called Order Paid, Order Shipped, etc etc...which is grouped under Open. I can use the
                                                                                                            • Zoho Quartz Screen Recording

                                                                                                              Hello, can we get access to Quartz, please, as a standalone solution? It would be great for creating training videos for current and future staff on how to use Zoho software according to our company requirements. Thank you
                                                                                                            • Tip 26: How to hide the "Submit" button from a form

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, Hope you're staying safe and working from home. We are, too. By now, we at Zoho are all very much accustomed to the new normal—working remotely. Today, we're back with yet another simple but interesting tip--how to hide the Submit button from your forms. In certain scenarios, you may want to hide the submit button from a form until all the fields are filled in.  Use case In this tip, we'll show you how to hide the Submit button while the user is entering data into the form, and then
                                                                                                            • filter broke my data

                                                                                                              I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they
                                                                                                            • How do I move Notes around within a Group?

                                                                                                              It says here: " You can now sort notes by title (alphabetically), or by date modified and date created. You can even organize your notes by dragging and dropping them into a particular order. To sort your notes, simply go to Settings and tap “Sort By.” Please note: all sort settings will be saved and synced across devices, except for custom sorting. Custom sorting will be device specific."However, I am unable to 'custom sort' in either Notebook for Mac or on the Web. In addition, I can't find the
                                                                                                            • Zoho Sign: need to leave document pending for up to a year, or maybe there's a better way?

                                                                                                              I have zoho one, maybe there's a better way to do this with another service than sending a zoho sign template from zoho crm. At the end of the day this requirement is due to regulations, no matter how dumb it may seem. I'm just looking for a way of getting
                                                                                                            • Separate Items & Services

                                                                                                              Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank you
                                                                                                            • What's New in Zoho Inventory | Q2 2025

                                                                                                              Hello Customers, The second quarter have been exciting months for Zoho Inventory! We’ve introduced impactful new features and enhancements to help you manage inventory operations with even greater precision and control. While we have many more exciting
                                                                                                            • Mastering Zia Match Scores | Let's Talk Recruit

                                                                                                              Feeling overwhelmed by hundreds of resumes for every job? You’re not alone! Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit, where we break down Zoho Recruit’s features and hiring best practices into simple, actionable insights for recruiters. Imagine having an assistant
                                                                                                            • We are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

                                                                                                              I cannot sign up and return the error of we are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com
                                                                                                            • Multi-currency - What's cooking ?

                                                                                                              Hi,       We have been doing this feature for sometime and we would like to give you some glimpses of it.  Working with Multi Currency :        Multicurrency support gives you the ability to handle business transactions in multiple currencies. You can define a base currency for your organization and add more currencies with exchange rates based on the base currency.  Setup :        From the setup page, you can manage all the currencies supported by your organization.       Currencies page        
                                                                                                            • Integrating Chatbot with Zoho Creator Application

                                                                                                              Is it possible to integrate a chatbot with a Zoho Creator application?
                                                                                                            • Next Page