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 #226: Using ZRC in Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In thisKaizen #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 achieved
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 Calendar 2024: A Year in Review
Hello, community members! Happy new year from all of us here at Zoho Calendar. As we turn the page to a new year, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to every member of our Zoho Calendar community for your continued support and enthusiasm. Your feedbackZoho Calendar not syncing correctly with personal Google Calendar
Coming to this forum as Zoho Calendar support team is not responding, any more. For the past 8 weeks, I have been having an issue with Zoho Calendar not syncing with my personal Google Calendar correctly. I subscribed to Zoho Calendar iCal in my personalZeptomail API error 500 internal server error
Hi Everyone, getting this eror continuously! Can anyone please guide around the same! Zeptomail API error 500 internal server error Best RegardsWaiting multiple days to buy credits, causing my website to suffer
So I own a fairly large website that gets a lot of registered users. I use transmail send activation emails, and also forgot password emails. I sent an email to zoho's presales team when I was only at 4K/10K emails sent, hoping to buy more credits beforeFollow up
Hello, I sent a message 2 days ago but I don't receive any response and I cannot find my ticket here. this is the ticket: Your ticket has been created with the ticket ID 68925465 and subject "Fwd: Fishing-alert" looking forward to seeing your response.What's new in TransMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! We've recently crossed the 6 months mark of TransMail's launch. In this time post our launch, we have been constantly working on updating our platform and adding new featuresJune 2021 in TransMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! Hope you and your loved ones are doing well. If you're doing less than fine, we truly hope that things only get better for you. We've had a few updates in the past monthTransMail has a new name—ZeptoMail!
Tried navigating to TransMail's community forum but see a different name now? That's because TransMail has a new name. TransMail is now ZeptoMail! As we’ve grown from an internal service used mainly by other Zoho products to an up-and-coming competitorJuly 2021 in ZeptoMail!
Note: TransMail is now ZeptoMail. Click here to know more. Hello again, everyone! Hope you and your loved ones are doing well. We've had a few updates in the past month in ZeptoMail—some new features and some important announcements. Take look at whatSend Email From the ZeptoMail BY API
What is Zeptomail:- Transactional email service with reliable and fast delivery How we can Create a Connection for Zeptomail in Zoho CRM Go to the Setup Click on Connection Enter Connection Details:- Generate Consumer Key & Consumer Secret Using ZohoCustomer email on Opencart 3
When I place an order, 2 emails are sent: 1) administrator 2) to the user The administrator receives a beautiful letter, but the user receives a damaged letter (see screenshot). What could be the problem?[Announcement] Insert image from URL changes in Zoho Writer
Hi Zoho Writer users! We'd like to let you know that we've changed the behavior of the Insert image from URL option in Zoho Writer for security reasons. Earlier behavior Once you inserted an image URL in a Writer document, the image would be fetched fromWriter sing up problom
Zoho writer sing up prolom faceUnable to copy into a new document
Whe I create a new Writer doc and attemp to copy and past I get this message. The only way to copy into a document is I duplicate an existing document, erase the text and save it under a different name and then paste the information. Not ideal. Can you[Webinar] Live demos and user Q&A with Zoho Writer product experts
Join us on June 12, 2025 for live demos based on your use cases and real-world scenarios raised via form. This is also an opportunity to get your questions answered directly by product experts from the Zoho Writer team. Webinar agenda Live demos basedZoho Writer's built-in citation and bibliography generator
Hey researchers and writers! Do you manually format citations and bibliographies, spending hours jumping between apps and tabs? If so, then check out Zoho Writer's built-in "Citations and Bibliography" feature. Imagine you're writing a thesis on the futureSingle and group checkboxes in Zoho Writer's fillable forms
Hey Writer Fam, Are you making the most out of single and group checkboxes in fillable forms in Zoho Writer? Here is a handy tip to optimize your use of checkboxes, both single and group, and enhance your data collection process. Single checkboxes: SingleCollaborate efficiently with Zoho Writer's track changes feature
Hi Zoho Writer Community, Zoho Writer's track changes feature is a simple, built-in solution that helps you and your team work together efficiently. Instead of juggling multiple versions of a document or building up a long email chain of comments, eachZoho Writer's WordPress extensions
Hey Zoho Writer users! Say goodbye to all your WordPress content publishing woes with Zoho Writer's WordPress extensions. Publish content with all your formatting and images, republish content when you update a document, and more—from a single windowTime-saving table hacks
Hey Zoho Writer Community, Do you find yourself using a lot of tables in your documents? We're here to share some of our time-saving hacks that will help you work more efficiently, organize your data, and make your documents look neat and professional.Automating document approval and signing with Zoho Writer and Zoho Sign
Hey Zoho Writer Community! Here's another automation tip to make your processes more efficient! Question: Can I send a document for client approval first, then automatically send it for signing with Zoho Sign if they approve? Since it's the same personCustomization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 2
Hey community, We're back with some more tricks to personalize your documents, save time, and get in the zone when you work in Writer. Check out part 1 of this post if you haven't already. Let's dive right in! Document ruler units Imagine you're creatingSimplify your tax calculations with Zoho Writer
Hello Zoho Writer Community! Tax season can be stressful, but with Zoho Writer, managing your income tax calculations becomes straightforward and efficient. Here’s an example of how you can use the tables and formulae of Zoho Writer to calculate incomeEnhance document navigation with headings and TOC
Hey Zoho Writer Community! We're back with some useful features in Zoho Writer that can simplify your document creation and navigation process. Let's dive right in! Check out our video on how to make the most of Zoho Writer's heading and table of contentsUse and download in PDF format of Zoho wirter Merge template using deluge
Hello Zoho Developers. Here is some information about Zoho Writer. Writer is not just another online word processor, it's a powerful tool for editing, collaboration, and publishing. Even with its wide range of features, Writer's pared-down user interfaceCustomization hacks in Zoho Writer - Part 3
Hello everyone, Welcome back to Part 3 of our customization tips in Zoho Writer! In this third installment, we'll be diving into some essential customization settings that can enhance your document creation experience. Sender email address in mail mergeDaytime saving timezones messing up writer pdf
Hi, I need help for something I can't figure out. I created a Form to collect data and it is set up with my current Daylight Saving Time (GMT-3). This form is used to generate a contract (pdf Writer) with dates from an event that is being held in 4 monthsIssue with locked content in Writer
Hi, I have seen the documentation which outlines how to lock specific content within a Writer document so that it can't be modified by collaborators, but I have come across an issue. When the editor locks a paragraph for example, then a collaborator can'tDeprecation of certain URL patterns for published Zoho Writer documents
Hi Zoho Writer users! We'd like to let you know that we have deprecated certain URL patterns for published and embedded documents in Zoho Writer due to security reasons. If the published or embedded documents are in any of these URL patterns, then theirUsing Mail Merge Template to Print Documents with One Subform Record's Fields per Document
Hello, We have a Mail Merge template created in Zoho Writer which is not able to perform the functionality which is currently required to automate the documentation task portion of our process. The CRM module we are primarily using is based on a "Loans"Problem with Writer and Workdrive
Hi team, I’m the super admin for our Zoho One org. WorkDrive is active, and Zoho Docs is deprecated for our org. However, Zoho Writer cannot connect to WorkDrive at all — we’ve cleared cache, tried incognito, and restarted several times. I was able toSet to Review for all
We are testing the use of Writer as part of an internal review process for statement of work documents and have found that when the document is changed from Compose to Review by one person, that is not reflected for all others who view the document. IsI’ve noticed that Zoho Sheet currently doesn’t have a feature similar to the QUERY formula in Google Sheets or Power Query in Microsoft Excel.
These tools are extremely helpful for: Filtering and extracting data using simple SQL-like queries Combining or transforming data from multiple sheets or tables Creating dynamic reports without using complex formulas Having a Query-like function in Zohostock
bom/bse : stock details or price =STOCK(C14;"price") not showing issue is #N/A! kindly resolve this problemSOME FEATURES ARE NOT IN THE ZOHO SHEET IN COMPARISION TO ZOHO SHEET
TO ZOHO sir/maam with due to respect i want to say that i am using ZOHO tool which is spreadsheet i want to say that some features are not there in zoho sheet as comparison to MS EXCEL like advance filter and other Features which should be there in ZOHOZoho sheet for desktop
Hi is zoho sheets available for desktop version for windowsTip #18: 6 Trendlines and when to use them in your spreadsheet data?
Charts are a great tool for visualizing and interpreting large chunks of data in spreadsheets. Zoho Sheet offers you 35+ chart options, along with AI-powered chart recommendations based on the data set you select. There are various chart elements thatPerform customized calculations with the new LAMBDA functions!
We released the LAMBDA function in Zoho Sheet in 2021, enabling customized calculations inside predefined functions. Now, we're extending LAMBDA's capabilities with six new functions. Each of these functions applies LAMBDA to the given input, performsTip #17: Easily share spreadsheets with non-Zoho account users
With efficient, collaboration-friendly options, Zoho Sheet is a popular choice among users. Sheet's external share links help you collaborate more effectively by sharing your spreadsheets with anyone outside your organization, including users who do notWork seamlessly with Sheet's shortcuts without affecting the browser
Navigating your worksheets and performing specific actions should be a quick and easy process. That's where keyboard shortcuts come in. Shortcut keys help you accomplish tasks more efficiently, eliminating the need to move away from the keyboard. WhatNext Page