Bulk Write API in Zoho CRM with PHP SDK: A Comprehensive Guide

Bulk Write API in Zoho CRM with PHP SDK: A Comprehensive Guide

Hi everyone and welcome to another amazing Kaizen week!

This week, we will discuss and explore Bulk Write API in detail, and how to implement the same using Zoho CRM PHP SDK. Please note that the information in the article holds true for Zoho CRM PHP SDK supporting version 5 of Zoho CRM APIs.

What is Bulk Write API?

The Bulk Write API enables you to efficiently insert, update, or upsert a large dataset into your CRM account. As this is an asynchronous API, the records will not be added immediately, instead a job will be scheduled to do so. You will receive a notification at the specified callback URL or you can periodically check the job status.

The Bulk Write API allows you to insert, update, or upsert up to 25,000 records in a single API call. This is much more than the maximum of 100 records that you can insert, update, or upsert using the Insert, Update, and Upsert Records API. 

When to use Bulk Write API?

  • When you want to schedule a job to import a huge volume of data in your CRM account.
  • When you want to insert, update, or upsert more than 100 records in a single API call. 
  • When you want to perform background processes like migration and initial data sync between Zoho CRM and external services.

However, the Bulk Write API consumes 500 credits per job, while the Insert, Update, and Upsert records API consumes 1 credit per 10 records. So, if you only need to insert, update, or upsert a small number of records (5,000 or less), it is economical to use the Records API as it will consume fewer credits.

Here are the major differences between Record APIs and Bulk Write API.

Insert, Update, Upsert Records API
Bulk Write API
You can insert, update, or upsert only up to 100 records per API call.
You can insert, update, or upsert 25000 records per API call.
The response is available instantly.
The response to the Bulk Write API request will not be available immediately. You can check the status of the job by polling for it, or you can wait for the status to be available in the callback URL after the job has completed.
The API consumes 1 credit per 10 records.
Bulk Write API consumes 500 credits per API call. 

Bulk Write API 

To insert, update, or upsert records in bulk, follow the below steps:
  1. Prepare your CSV file
  2. Upload your file in zip format
  3. Create a bulk write job
  4. Check the job status
  5. Download the result

1. Prepare the CSV file

To use the Bulk Write API, you must first create a CSV file containing the data you want to import to Zoho CRM. The first row of the CSV file must contain the field API names, and each subsequent row must contain the data. You can insert, update, or upsert records in a single module using one Bulk Write API call.

Input format for each data type:

Datatype
Description
Single Line
Accepts up to 255 characters.
Accepts alphanumeric and special characters.
Ex: Mike O'Leary
Multi-Line
Small - accepts up to 2000 characters.
Large - accepts up to 32000 characters.
Ex: This is a sample description.
Email
Accepts valid email IDs.
Phone
Accepts up to 30 characters. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Number of characters allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.

Accepts only numeric characters and '+' (to add extensions). 
Ex: 9800000099
Picklist
You can pass an existing pick list value. If you give a new one, it is automatically added to the pick list set.
The pick list value accepts all alphanumeric and special characters.
Ex: auto mobile
Multiselect Picklist
You can either pass the existing pick list values separated by a semicolon(;) or add a new one.
The pick list value accepts all alphanumeric and special characters.
Ex: Analytics;Bigdata
Date
Accepts date in different formats as mentioned here.
Ex: 2023-05-03
DateTime
Accepts date in different formats as mentioned here.
Ex: 2023-05-03T20:39:19+05:30
Number
Accepts numbers up to 9 digits. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Maximum digits allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI. The accepted formats are mentioned here.
Accepts numeric values.
Ex1: 350
Ex2: 123,344
Currency
Before decimal point - accepts numbers up to 16 digits.  This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Maximum digits allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.
After decimal point - accepts precision up to 9 digits. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Number of decimal paces' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.
Please note that comma separated digits are accepted.
Ex1: 250000.90
Ex2: 123,456.657483
Decimal
Before the decimal point - accepts numbers up to 16 digits. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Maximum digits allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.
After the decimal point - accepts precision up to 9 digits. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Number of decimal places' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.
Accepts comma separated numeric values.
Ex1: 250000.50
Ex2: 123,235.345
Percent
Accepts numbers up to 5 digits.
Accepts only numeric values.
Ex: 25
Long Integer
Accepts numbers up to 18 digits. This limit may vary based on the value configured in 'Maximum digits allowed' in the properties pop-up of the field, in UI.
Accepts only numeric values.
Ex: 0012345600012
Checkbox
Accepts only Boolean values(true,false).
Ex: true
URL
Accepts valid URLs.
Lookup
Accepts the unique ID of the record, which you can get through the get records API.
Use the dot(.) operator to link the record. For instance, if there is an account lookup in the Contacts module, you can give the column name as - Account.id
Ex: Account.id : 4150868000001136302
User
This is a default look-up field for users in Zoho CRM. Accepts the unique ID of the user, which you can get through the get users API.
Ex: User.id

Note:
  • To give multiple values for a multi-select pick list field, enclose them in double quotes("") and separate each value with the semicolon(;).
  • If your multi-line field has more than one line, input them directly by enclosing them in double quotes("").
  • You can only zip one CSV file to upload for bulk write. Adding more than one CSV file into the zip file will result in an error.
  • You can specify a specific format for your number, currency, decimal, date and datetime fields using format key.

Subform Data in Bulk Write API:

The Bulk Write API allows you to import and update records with subforms. To insert or update records with subforms, you must import the parent records first with Bulk Write API, and then the subform records with another Bulk Write API. 

For example, consider an instance where you have a subform named "Contact Details" in the Account module. The subform has the following fields - Contact_Name, Contact_Email and Contact_Phone. You must first create a csv file with the parent records, compress it as a zip file, upload it, and create a bulk write job. 



This is an example csv file. Note the Field API names are in the first row, and the record data is in the subsequent rows.

Once you have imported the parent records, you can upload the subform data CSV. When you prepare the subform data CSV file, it is mandatory to have the parent record ID in the subform data file, along with the subform data. 



This is a sample CSV file for the subform data. The subform data in each row will be added to the corresponding parent record. 

Multiselect Lookup Fields in Bulk Write API

To upload records with multiselect lookup fields, you can follow the same steps as for subforms. First, import the parent records. Then, import the multiselect lookup field data. The CSV file should contain both the parent record ID and the multiselect lookup field data. Please note that this method does not work for line items.

User Lookup in Bulk Write API

To import records with user lookup fields, you can include them in the same CSV file as the parent records. Use the field API name of the user lookup field in the CSV header, and add the unique IDs of the lookup records in the data column for each record.

Once you have prepared the CSV file, compress it as a zip file to upload in the next step. We will add examples of how to add subform data, user lookup and multiselect lookup field data in subsequent sections.

2. Upload your zip file

Once you have your csv file ready and compressed into a zip file, you should upload the same using a POST request. Use the following code snippet to upload the file.


<?php
namespace bulkwrite;

use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\FileBodyWrapper;
use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\BulkWriteOperations;
use com\zoho\crm\api\util\StreamWrapper;
use com\zoho\crm\api\bulkwrite\UploadFileHeader;
use com\zoho\crm\api\HeaderMap;

require_once "vendor/autoload.php";

class UploadFile
{
  public static function initialize()
  {
      // Add init code here.
      // Refer to this post for more details
  }

  public static function uploadFile1(string $orgID, string $absoluteFilePath)
  {
    $bulkWriteOperations = new BulkWriteOperations();
    $fileBodyWrapper = new FileBodyWrapper();
    $streamWrapper = new StreamWrapper(null, null, $absoluteFilePath);
    $fileBodyWrapper->setFile($streamWrapper);
    $headerInstance = new HeaderMap();
    //To indicate that this a bulk write operation
    $headerInstance->add(UploadFileHeader::feature(), "bulk-write");
    $headerInstance->add(UploadFileHeader::XCRMORG(), $orgID);
    //Call uploadFile method that takes FileBodyWrapper instance and headerInstance as parameter
    $response = $bulkWriteOperations->uploadFile($fileBodyWrapper, $headerInstance);
    // Add your code to handle the response received in the $response.
  }
}

UploadFile::initialize();
$orgID = "add_your_org_id_here"; // add your zgid which you can obtain using Get Organization API.
$absoluteFilePath = "/Users/test/bulk-write.zip"; //add the absolute file path of your zip file here.
UploadFile::uploadFile1($orgID, $absoluteFilePath);

The uploadFile() method takes two parameters: the organization ID ($orgID) and the absolute file path ($absoluteFilePath) of the file to be uploaded. Within the uploadFile() method, an instance of BulkWriteOperations is created to call the Bulk Write API.  This API is used to upload files to the Zoho File System. The HeaderMap instance is created to hold the necessary headers for the API request. The UploadFileHeader::feature() and UploadFileHeader::XCRMORG() methods are used to set the feature and organization ID headers, respectively. These headers are required to identify the type of operation being performed and the organization that the file is being uploaded.
 The uploadFile() method is called on the BulkWriteOperations instance, passing the FileBodyWrapper and HeaderMap as parameters. The response from the API call will be stored in the $response variable, which contains the file ID as well. We will use this file ID in the next step, creating a bulk write job.

We hope you found this post on the Bulk Write API useful. In next week's post, we will cover how to create a bulk write job, including lookup and user lookup fields and subform data. We will also show you how to check the job status and download the job result.

If you have any specific questions about the Bulk Write API, please leave a comment below,  or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com. We are happy to help!

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for more useful posts in the series. See you all next week!

    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


                                                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

                                                                                                  • Chart with Filtered Data vs Unfiltered Data

                                                                                                    I am looking to create a chart view that displays the full data set vs a subset of the data filtered by user filter. However I do not seem to find any method by which to exclude a plot from the applied filter or any other method by which to display the
                                                                                                  • Storage addon failed to upgrade

                                                                                                    Hi, I am trying to purchase addon storage, but i am getting upgrade failed error Sorry! We are unable to process your information. Please try again after some time. If the problem occurs again, please visit our Contact Us page to reach out to the appropriate
                                                                                                  • Meetups Gratuitos Junio 2024 - Profundiza en las funcionalidades de tu Zoho CRM

                                                                                                    Este junio, aprende a sacar el máximo provecho de tu Zoho CRM en la segunda edición de los Zoho Meetups 2024. Los días 18 a 21 de junio, Zoho organiza los Meetups gratuitos para usuarios de Zoho CRM en Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid y Sevilla, donde expertos
                                                                                                  • How to get the Dashboard page to be the first page when you open the app

                                                                                                    So when it opens on a tablet or phone it opens on the welcome page, thanks.
                                                                                                  • Integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho WorkDrive

                                                                                                    I'd like to search Zoho for an invoice I've added as an attachment (pdf) to an account. The name of the invoice is 1388-advertiserx-July.pdf - but I can't find it using the search function for any of these terms: 1388 1388-advertiserx 1388-advertiserx-July.pdf
                                                                                                  • Tip #17: How to mandate partial payment for your appointments

                                                                                                    When you require partial payments during the booking process, customers can only schedule with you after paying a certain amount in advance. This deposit acts as a commitment between both parties. Apart from that, it has many more advantages. Benefits
                                                                                                  • Why option for 'include form submission in the body of the email' check box is missing

                                                                                                    Hi In all our forms we have configured an <Email Notification> (<Rules> <Form Rules>) In some forms, there is an option to <include form submission in the body of the email> in the <Additional Options> section, however, this option is not available in
                                                                                                  • no puedo recibir correos

                                                                                                    Hola, en la cuenta de la empresa desde hace unos tres días dejamos de recibir correos y no hemos realizado ningun cambio de configuracion, requerimos asistencia urgente por favor
                                                                                                  • NO PUEDO RECIBIR CORREOS EN MI CUENTA ZOHO MAIL

                                                                                                    LO QUE SI PUEDO HACER ES ENVIAR CORREOS PERO NO PUEDO RECIBIR CORREOS. Y LA CONFIGUIRACION DE MI DNS YA ESTA CORRECTA Y APUNTAN A ZOHO PERO AUN ASI NO PUEDO RECIBIR  NECESITO AYUDA URGENTE YA QUE EN MEXICO NO HAY FORMA DE COMUNICARNOS VIA TELEFONIA CON
                                                                                                  • Mozilla Vault extension will not Unlock even once.

                                                                                                    I have been using the Vault extension in Chrome based browsers for years, yet after installing the Mozilla Extension in Firefox, it will not unlock. Initially it did redirect me to log into my account, and then enter the master password. However, it did
                                                                                                  • Unable to Download CRM Contact Data: WorkDrive Integration Issues

                                                                                                    ## Problem Description We need to let users download contact information from CRM as CSV files to their local computers. Since we couldn't implement a direct download option, we're trying to use WorkDrive as a workaround - but we're encountering issues
                                                                                                  • Sort mail by name and subject

                                                                                                    I don't see sort function on columns FROM and Subject. I see only sort functio by date. Could add it ?
                                                                                                  • Zoho Creator monthly roundup - September 2024

                                                                                                    Hello all, We're back with an exciting set of new features and enhancements that will elevate your Creator experience even further. In case you missed it, we’ve recently revamped our Product Roadmap page, now with a refreshed design and showcasing all
                                                                                                  • Kiosk Studio Session #1: View paid customers in the same industry

                                                                                                    Update | 15 Oct 2024: Session #2 is now available here! Hello everyone! We're excited to launch our new series of posts on Kiosk Studio today. Called Kiosk Studio Sessions , these posts will be packed with actionable ideas to help you get the most out
                                                                                                  • Issues hosting Zoho Desk Web Form on SharePoint and/or Power BI

                                                                                                    Zoho Desk onboarding support has no experience with embedding their web form in either SharePoint or Power BI. Microsoft states that SharePoint and Power BI only support iframe HTML. And unfortunately, the web form embed code that Zoho generates is not
                                                                                                  • "Send with Zoho Sign" broken

                                                                                                    Our company uses hyphens in our file name conventions. Our users have been sending the files from other modules with the "Send with Zoho Sign" shortcut in the upper right buttons. Since around June 10, 2024, this stopped working. Our users can send the
                                                                                                  • Not able to change colors help center

                                                                                                    Hi. How can I change the orange color in the help center? You can change everything besides this font color And how can I remove the part on the bottom?
                                                                                                  • Transform Numeric Values using st, nd, rd, th or Convert Numerals to Ordinal Form - Deluge

                                                                                                    Please Use this sample Code This_Day_Date = zoho.currentdate.toString("dd"); value1 = "th"; if(This_Day_Date.right(1) ="1" && This_Day_Date != "11") { This_Day_Date = This_Day_Date+" "+"st"; } else if ( This_Day_Date.right(1) = "2" && This_Day_Date !=
                                                                                                  • Kaizen #166 - Handling Query Variables in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                    Hello, Code Enthusiasts! Welcome to another week of Kaizen! This week, we'll dive into handling variables in Zoho CRM Queries and see how they can be deployed in Kiosk to dynamically retrieve data. This technique is especially useful for integrating data
                                                                                                  • Automate User Invitations on Zoho Desk with API

                                                                                                    Automate User Invitations on Zoho Desk with API Hello Team, We are excited to announce that you can now automatically invite users to the Zoho Desk portal using the API! ### How It Works For example, when a contact is created in Zoho Desk and you enable
                                                                                                  • Is there a way to add clients who don't have organisation in Zoho Books/Payroll/Expense ?

                                                                                                    The Zoho Practice software is only allowing a total of 15 such clients who are not organisations in Zoho Books/Payroll/Expense. i.e. 5 organisation in each of the software by creating a new organization for them and adding the accountant as the admin
                                                                                                  • Email with attachments saving attachments into Zoho CRM from Zoho Mail

                                                                                                    Hi, I get a lot of emails from prospective clients asking if we would bid their project. Those projects usually have many documents associated with them that I link to.  I would like to have those documents be saved as an attachment in my Potential or Contact or Account. I don't see a way to do that that isn't multi-step. As of now I do the following: 1.) Open email 2.) If email sender isn't in my Zoho CRM database I enter them creating a Potential 3.) I download the attachment and save it to a different
                                                                                                  • Fixed assets recording

                                                                                                    Hello there, I recorded a bill for a vendor contain (Computer) so the PC is a fixed assets, do I need to do a manual journal to include this PC under the fixed assets category (furniture & equipment)? If yes, please take me through the manual journal
                                                                                                  • Multi-Select lookup field has reached its maximum??

                                                                                                    Hi there, I want to create a multi-select lookup field in a module but I can't select the model I want the relationship to be with from the list. From the help page on this I see that you can only create a max of 2 relationships per module? Is that true?
                                                                                                  • Zoho Sheet-Pulling in Data

                                                                                                    I have a module where we track POs, Bills etc (its easier for us this way). In this PO Module, we have a task related to a Job/Deal and various fields for costs. A Supplier on a Job might have several POs in this module for the job. I want to generate
                                                                                                  • Can't get ZFS file ID of a field via specific module record

                                                                                                    I have a `fileupload` field on a custom module that I need to replace the file for but I don't know how to get the ZFS ID from the module record. # Getting the current fileupload GET https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v7/<MODULE>/<ID> # Response { data: [{ //
                                                                                                  • Contemplating moving my site from WordPress to Zoho Sites

                                                                                                    Hi Everyone, We currently find ourselves in a situation where we ant to review and update our current sites content. We are small business owners, not developers. We currently use a wide range of Zoho products. We sometimes think about the possibility of either moving or just starting from scratch on Zoho Sites. I would like to know if anyone has done this and of course the things that need to be considered. We have spent quite a bit of time getting our current site positioned organically and I guess
                                                                                                  • Multiple Salesperson against an invoice

                                                                                                    Hello, Against a particular invoice, we have multiple sales people working. The reason we combine the invoice is becuase we are an exporter and often consolidate cargo for our customer to save them freight costs. How do I capture the contribution of each
                                                                                                  • Allow a brand to connect multiple facebook pages at the same time

                                                                                                    Our company have multiple facebook pages to represent, every branch, right now we can only link one facebook page, so we can only recive messages from one branch. It would be nice to be able to connect all pages.
                                                                                                  • Whatsapp reply not reflected under Tickets for offline agent

                                                                                                    Hi, We are encountering a situation where WA response from customer is not reflected under tickets (if the agent handling the case previously is not active due to off day/ MC). The ticket will remain in the offline agent's queue until agent is back to
                                                                                                  • Select CRM Custom Module in Zoho Creator

                                                                                                    I have a custom module added in Zoho CRM that I would like to link in Zoho creator.  When I add the Zoho CRM field it does not show the new module.  Is this possible?  Do i need to change something in CRM to make it accesible in Creator?
                                                                                                  • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

                                                                                                    Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number
                                                                                                  • Increase Round Robin Scheduler Frequency in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Team, We hope this message finds you well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Round Robin Scheduler in Zoho Desk to better address ticket assignment efficiency. Current Behavior At present, the Round Robin Scheduler operates
                                                                                                  • Separate One-Time Mentions from Ongoing Ticket Following in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are writing to request an enhancement to the mention functionality within Zoho Desk. Currently, when an agent is mentioned in a ticket, they receive notifications for all subsequent activity on that ticket, similar to being
                                                                                                  • Mass update Accounts in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                    We used the integration feature to bring in all of our accounts from Zoho CRM. While all of the names and links are in place, on the Zoho Desk side the email, phone, website, and address fields are blank. By going into each account I can select "Update
                                                                                                  • Vivaldi will not open the Zoho Mail app when I click a email link in the browser

                                                                                                    I'm running Vivaldi on Arch with the Plasma desktop and have under default applications Zoho Mail set as my default email client. Whenever I click a email link in Vivaldi I get the below when it should be launching Zoho. Any ideas on rectifying this issue?
                                                                                                  • Digital publisher

                                                                                                    Kinetic Digital Publisher provides comprehensive digital publishing services, including eBook creation, formatting, cover design, and marketing. We help authors publish and promote their work across online platforms with ease.
                                                                                                  • Time Zone Correction with Daylight Savings Time

                                                                                                    Hey, I'm writing a series of reports where the source data is synced from an external source which stores the date/time information in GMT, but I want the reports to be in local time. Now, I understand there is the CONVERT_TZ function which allows me
                                                                                                  • Load form in iframe without header

                                                                                                    I am trying to load a form into an iframe without the header, but I am not having any luck. I am using openUrl() to load the iframe with the form URL and zc_Header set to false, e.g. #Form:Add_Case?zc_Header=false but it is still loading the header. Any
                                                                                                  • Filter embedded report

                                                                                                    How to filter embedded report in a page, below code is not working. dateField => startDate & dateField=< endDate The report should print on page containing records from startDate to endDate. params='zc_Header=true&amp;Service_Date__gte=<%=startDate%>&amp;Service_Date__lte=<%=endDate%>'
                                                                                                  • Next Page