Kaizen #103 - Bulk Write API using PHP SDK (v5) - Part I
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:
- Prepare your CSV file
- Upload your file in zip format
- Create a bulk write job
- Check the job status
- 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 | 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
New to Zoho Recruit?
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Anu Abraham
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore howKaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications
Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
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
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
【Zoho CRM】作業リスト機能リリースのお知らせ
ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、作業リスト機能リリースのお知らせ情報をご紹介します。 目次 作業リスト機能 概要 機能① 自分の未完了の活動 機能② 処理待ち 機能③ 自分の作業リスト 作業リスト機能 概要 営業チームでは、CRM内に業務やデータが分散しているため、管理が煩雑になりがちです。この断片化は、機会の見逃しや生産性の低下につながります。 作業リスト機能は、タブを横断する業務項目をひとつのカスタマイズ可能なダッシュボードに集約し、業務を効率的に管理できるようにします。SalesIQとPageSenseの利用について
初めての投稿で場違いだったらすいません。 弊社ではSalesIQを運用しているのですが、追加でPageSenseの導入もしたいと現場からの声があります。 両サービスともクッキー同意バナーが必要なサービスなのですが 弊社では同意無しに情報はとりませんという方針なので 2つ入れると2つバナーを出す必要がでてきます・・・ 両サービスを運用されてる方があれば運用状況とか教えてほしいです。 PageSenseについては詳細まで機能を理解してないなかでの質問です。Parent-Child Tickets using API or Deluge
Hi Everyone, We are looking at the parent-child ticketing features in Zoho Desk. We want to be able to create a parent ticket at customer level and nest child tickets underneath. The issue we are facing is to be able to automate this. I'm checking theClosing connected ticket after closing WA conversation
Hi, At the moment, once someone sends a message to our WA number, a corresponding ticket is automatically created. After the question is answered, our support department closes the chat/conversation. However, after that, the connected ticket is stillNote sync turn off
Hi, Is it possible to turn off notes sync between task notes and the parent module? (Account/Deal)Basic Plan Active but Survey Creation Still Limited to 3 Surveys
I have an active Basic (Monthly) subscription (valid period: Dec 24, 2025 – Jan 24, 2026), but the system still limits survey creation to only 3 surveys, which matches Free plan behavior. The subscription appears active in Portal Information, however2025 in Review: Powering Field Services Forward—One Feature at a Time
As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to pause and reflect on a year of meaningful progress at Zoho FSM. This year was all about listening closely to our customers and partners, building with purpose, and continuously improving the way field service teamsSyncing with Google calendar, Tasks and Events
Is it possible to sync Zoho CRM calendar, task and events with Google Calendar's tasks and events. With the increasing adoption by many major tool suppliers to sync seamlessly with Google's offerings (for instance I use the excellent Any.do task planningCRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users
Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storageNew to automation - please help
Hi there! We are new to automations in Zoho. We built out one automation campaign and it seems to be firing off for some people but others not. Please advise what's the best practice or if anything we should tweak. Thank you so much!Unable to Create Zoho Booking via the Book Appointment API
Its giving the below error { "response": { "errormessage": "Error setting value for the variable:customer_details\n null", "status": "Error" } } Request: POST Url: https://www.zohoapis.in/bookings/v1/json/appointment attached Zoho-oauthtokenTask Details on task template
When creating a task template in settings that task details seem to be missing. Is it not possible to set the details of a task, such as the priority, type, reminder settings, and custom field values?Building Toppings #3 -Testing and publishing Bigin toppings
Hey Biginners! In previous forum posts, we discussed what a Bigin topping is and explored the Bigin Developer Console's features. In this post, we're going to create a topping from scratch and discuss how to test and publish it. Our topping will automatemarkdown files?
How can I import a markdown file into a note?Mail to Zoho Notebook
In the Instuctiosn I faound as email add@notebook.app In my account I see add@eu.notebook.app What is correct pleaseAuto-Invite Users to Portals in Zoho CRM based on Conditions
Hello Everyone, You can now automate portal invitations in Zoho CRM with the new Auto-Invite users feature in Portal management. No more manually enabling portal access one by one. With this enhancement, you can automatically send invites for users toGrowth You can Count On: Zoho Billing's 2025 Journey
As we wrap up 2025, we’re reflecting on a year rooted in steady progress and meaningful growth for Zoho Billing. Every enhancement we have introduced was built to support scalable and reliable billing growth for your business. From launching the EnterpriseNeed help with creating workflow with Bigin and Clickup
Can you please help me with this? I am trying to create a workflow in Zoho Flow wherein a bigin Pipeline deal moves to Decision Closing, it will create a task and subtasks in Clickup, under the condition/filter that the Deal name contains the word Social[Webinar] Automate generation of wills, trusts, POAs, and other estate planning documents with Zoho Writer
Managing the lifecycle of the estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, and POAs, from client intake to final storage, can be complex and time-consuming. Join our live webinar to learn how Zoho Writer transforms this process by automating documentCreate / Update Rule in TeamInbox when record is updated in ZohoCRM using flow?
I'm currently evaluating options and trying to work out if the possible scenario is possible; If a record in ZohoCRM is updated, take 2 of the fields from that - lets call them 'OrderRef' and 'OrderTo'. Using flow, if a record is added or updated, addPlans to allow more columns of monitoring, and monitoring not only your own channels?
Are their any plans to allow more columns of monitoring, and monitoring not only your own channels? Here's why - I'm sure I'm not alone in that we sell other brands products, so not only am I interested in my own brand social channels, but also the socialUnwrapping the best practices for the Zoho Desk mobile app: Part 1
In focus: Empowering the field and frontline customer support representatives Imagine having to carry your computer everywhere to respond to customers, handle escalations, and update your process. This series presents you with efficient tips to handledealing with post dated cheques
Hi, can you help me please the best way to deal with this We sell an item of three months duration that is paid for with post dated cheques in monthly stages example - item is sold £3000 Cheque 1 is for £1000 due at time of sale (say Sept) cheque 2 is dated 25th of next month (Oct) cheque 3 is dated 25th of next month +1 (Nov) Now, with invoice number one it's simple - i send a standard invoice as usual But with the other two here's what i want zoho to do next month i want it to send an invoice onIs there a way to sell in a practical method multiple subscriptions of the same product? i.e. domain names
In evaluating Zoho Billing, a hurdle to adopting it is that Zoho Billing does not seem designed to support businesses that sell multiple subscriptions of the same product. In our case, we need to sell and manage several domain names per client. Am I rightPaid Support Plans with Automated Billing
We (like many others, I'm sure) are designing or have paid support plans. Our design involves a given number of support hours in each plan. Here are my questions: 1) Are there any plans to add time-based plans in the Zoho Desk Support Plans feature? TheBug Report: "Name A-Z" sorting fails when Note titles start with an Emoji
Hello, I recently migrated from Evernote (~2600 notes across 23 notebooks). I use emojis at the start of my note titles for visual organization. The Issue: When I set the view to Sort by: Name (A to Z), the sorting logic breaks for any note starting withCopy & Paste not working
I could create and save 10 new documents but when I go to copy and paste content (just text) into them, only 1 of 10 would save the content. It would appear to save the content but when I go back into the documents, they are empty.editing/applying online payments
We have customers who pay part or all of an invoice and then cancel their service and want the payment as a credit to future work. It would be ideal if we could make it an excess payment and then void the invoice. I can't make it an excess payment becauseContacts per department
Hello, Is it possible to limit Contacts to a Department? ThanksThis site can’t be reached mail.zoho.com took too long to respond
In my office at any system, we couldnt able to login zoho email. it shows " This site can’t be reached mail.zoho.com took too long to respond". please fix it soon.Can send email from zoho mail, but can't receive any.
Hi, My domain is sattvameditationresort.com. I've updated MX records with those of Zoho. But i can't send any mails to this email id from gmail. I have checked the MX status with MXTOOLS, its showing the correct entry either. The error is as shown below:My domain did not activate
Hi, my domain (apsaindustrial.com.ar) did not activate, and the phone verification message never arrived. Please would you solve this problem? Thanks.Host not found?
Howdy! So i'm trying to add my custom domain for with the mail server. I have 100% control of my DNS and have tried every single option (TXT, CNAME, and even HTML) multiple times, ensuring i did it properly, to no luck. I get the same error message everyEmails are going to notification folder and not in inbox
emails are going to notification folder and not into inboxError AS101 when adding new email alias
Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.Report on opportunities showing only the last note added.
Hi I need to create a report that shows the most recent note added to each opportunity. This is so management can see what the latest update is according to the assigned salesperson. One workaround is to use the status field but this implies added manual work and mistakes as the salesperson would have to copy the existing status to a note before adding the latest status... otherwise the activity history would be lost. My current workaround is a report on Notes with Opportunities as the related module.Please add Zelle as an online payment option
Hello, I would like to request Zelle be added to the online payment service providers for Zoho Invoice. Considering how ubiquitous Zelle has become as a way to pay people via the major banking institutions, I feel like many freelancers would benefit fromThis user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details
Hello, Just signed up to ZOHO on a friend's recommendation. Got the TXT part (verified my domain), but whenever I try to add ANY user, I get the error: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details I have emailed as well and writing here as well because when I searched, I saw many people faced the same issue and instead of email, they got a faster response here. My domain is: raisingreaderspk . com Hope this can be resolved. Thank youGetting Project Template List using the REST API
I am trying to confirm that I can use the REST API to create a project using a project template. The API documentation indicates this is possible by providing the Template ID, but it is not clear at all how to get a list of available Project TemplatesHow to display the CONTACT ID in the Contact page
Hi, I've seen this conversation below and it is exactly the same question I'm raising now, but unfortunately the last message is not solved https://help.zoho.com/portal/community/topic/show-contact-id-while-editing-contact-form I need to show the ContactId and I don't know how to do this. The last message included in the conversaton shows the way but not it is not completed. "I am sorry by default we do not have the option to show the record ID for the contacts in the field in a record. When youNext Page