Introducing Record Category in CRM: Group options to see record status at a glance.

Introducing Record Category in CRM: Group options to see record status at a glance.

Info
Release update: Currently available for CN, JP, AU, CA, SA, UAE, EU, and US DCs (all editions); IN DC (Standard and Professional editions).

Hello everyone,

We are pleased to introduce Record Category in Zoho CRM - a new capability where the user can get an overview of the current state of the records, view their progress at a glance, and focus on what matters the most. Record Category allows the user to group picklist values to multiple or broader categories which gives a quick and high-level view of where the record stands, without you having to worry about the exact detailed stage.

  

Let us consider an example to understand Record Category. In the Leads module, the Lead Status field captures detailed stages like New, Contacted, Lost, Unqualified, Qualified, Junk, etc. While these values provide depth, understanding a lead's overall state often requires scanning individual records, or reviewing status columns in list views. However, viewing lead progress at a high level or understanding a record’s overall state at a glance remains a challenge.

What does Record Category help you achieve?


Record category makes this easier by allowing you to group related Lead Status values into broader categories. This gives you a consolidated view of similar records, helps you instantly understand where the lead stands, and enables quicker navigation and action without you losing access to the detailed status information.


In the above scenario, for the Lead Status options, we have a common grouping: we saw that the user configured Record Category for the Lead status picklist field. Each existing value was then mapped to one of these categories based on its outcome. Users can see this and infer the status of the records. Besides, users can also view, filter, and act on records based on these categories by using Record Category which you will see in detail below.

To achieve this, the user needs to enable Define Record Category. On doing so, the user can now define the categories Open, Success, Failed.


Record Indicators and Transitions
Once the records are categorized, additionally, if the user wants to give a visual cue to indicate the nature of the category, they can make use of the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down icons.

Additionally, if the user wants to get a bird's eye view of the record progress, instantly navigate from status to status, or quickly shift to a status in the Success or Failed categories, they can enable Display Transition for options.
This will provide a transition path in the record's details page for the user.



Criteria and Filters
Once the options are categorized, the record’s overall progress is clearly visible on the details page. To go a step further, users can also view, filter, and act on records based on these categories by using Record Category as a criterion in filters and views.



Key Benefits


  • High-level status categorization: Group multiple picklist stages under broader record categories, making it easier to understand a record's overall state at a glance.
  • Visualize transitions along with visual indicators: Use intuitive icons and an optional status strip to clearly display record categories and make transitions easy to understand at a glance.
  • Criteria and filter: Record Categories can be used as a common criterion across CRM, allowing you to filter and group records by their overall state without accounting for every individual stage.

Let's look at some other examples as well:


  1. In the Payments module, multiple deal or payment related stages such as Payment Declined, Transaction Failed, or Refund Initiated, can all be classified under a single category such as 'Failed'.



  2. In the Contacts module, each contact represents the primary user being onboarded, and their progress is captured using a picklist field such as Onboarding Status.



Notes

Notes.

  1. Limits: A maximum of 5 categories can be assigned to the options. This can be enabled only for a single picklist per module.
  2. Module supported: All modules, except a few (Users, Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, and Purchase Orders) will be supported. 
  3. Record categories can be configured for picklists with up to 200 options.
  4. Editions supported: The feature will be supported in all paid editions.

We hope you find this update helpful. 

To learn more, check out our help page.

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