Kaizen #155 - Frequently Asked Questions on Subforms

Kaizen #155 - Frequently Asked Questions on Subforms

Hello all!

Welcome back to another post in our Kaizen series.
In this post, we will address the most frequently asked questions about Zoho CRM Subforms from the Zoho CRM Developer Community Forum.

Subforms

Subforms allow users to capture multiple records related to a single record in a structured format. They represent one-to-many relationships, such as listing multiple products associated with a single quote.

1. Can subforms be marked as required?

Yes, subforms can be marked as required.



2. What happens if I mark a subform as required?

When you mark a subform as required, the subform must contain values in at least one row for the record to be saved. 

3. Can fields be marked as mandatory in subforms?

Yes, individual fields within a subform can be marked as mandatory.



4. What happens if I add data to a Subform that is not mandatory, but leave the mandatory fields empty?

Your subform will not be saved unless all the mandatory fields are populated. If you have data to add to a subform, you must fill in all mandatory fields in a row you populate. 

5. Are subform fields supported in the Blueprint transition?

System-defined subforms(Line Items) in the Inventory modules can be associated with the "During Transition" phase. These subform fields can be found under "Associated Items." To access them, go to During Transition > Add > Associated Items, where you can see the Inventory modules. Note that, by default, the line items will be marked as mandatory.



6. Can I use custom subform fields from the Inventory modules in the "During Transition" phase?

Only system-defined subform fields are supported in the "During Transition" phase. Custom subform fields cannot be used.

7. How many records (rows) can be added to system-defined subforms in Inventory modules such as Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, and Purchase Orders?

A maximum of 200 rows can be added to system-defined subforms in the Inventory modules.

8. What happens if I add a custom subform to an inventory module?

 By default, inventory modules have a total limit of 200 rows across all subforms in the module, including custom and system-defined subforms. If you add a custom subform with a row limit (e.g., 50 rows), you will need to reduce the row limit for the Line Item subform accordingly (e.g., to 150 rows). If the total limit is not within 200, you will get an error when you try to save the module.

You can update the row limits using the "Maximum row entries allowed" option. To do this, go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields > Select the module (e.g., Quotes) > Subform Section > Gear Icon > Edit Properties > Maximum row entries allowed.

9. How many subform rows can be created per subform in modules other than Inventory modules?

A maximum of 100 rows can be created per subform in modules other than Inventory modules.

10. How many columns can a subform support?

A subform can support up to 25 columns, meaning you can add a maximum of 25 fields.

11. How many subforms can be created per module?

The number of subforms that can be created per module depends on the edition:
  • Enterprise and Zoho One: 2 subforms.
  • CRM Plus and Ultimate: 5 subforms.

12. Can we create a custom subform in the Professional edition?

System-defined subforms are available in inventory modules like Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, and Purchase Orders. However, custom subforms can only be created in the Enterprise edition and above.

13. Can we trigger workflows based on changes to subform fields?  

As of September 2024, triggering workflows based on changes to subform fields is yet to be supported.

14. Can we use custom functions to manipulate subforms?

Yes! You can use custom functions to manipulate subforms through the parent record. 

15. How do I retrieve subform data in a module using the Search and COQL APIs?

To retrieve subform module data via the Search and COQL APIs, you need to use its corresponding subform module's API name instead of its parent module API name. For more details, refer to our Kaizen post: Kaizen #124 - Manipulating Subform using Zoho CRM APIs.

16. Can subforms be included in reports?

Yes, you can create reports based on subforms present in the module to analyze related data.

17. Can I import subform records when I import records in bulk to Zoho CRM using the Bulk Write API?

Yes, you can insert subform records along with the parent record using the Bulk Write API. For more details, refer to our Kaizen post: Kaizen #131 - Bulk Write for parent-child records using Scala SDK.





    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.






                              Zoho Developer Community




                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts



                                                              • Sticky Posts

                                                              • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

                                                                Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
                                                              • 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 this
                                                              • 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 how
                                                              • Kaizen #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 are


                                                              Manage your brands on social media



                                                                    Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                        Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                          Zoho Books Resources


                                                                            Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                              Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                                Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                  Qntrl Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                        Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                          CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                        • Kaizen

                                                                                          Kaizen

                                                                                        • Functions

                                                                                          Functions

                                                                                        • Meetups

                                                                                          Meetups

                                                                                        • Kbase

                                                                                          Kbase

                                                                                        • Resources

                                                                                          Resources

                                                                                        • Digest

                                                                                          Digest

                                                                                        • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        • MVP Corner

                                                                                          MVP Corner







                                                                                            Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                            Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                            Get Started Now


                                                                                              Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                Zoho Writer

                                                                                                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

                                                                                                                • Standard practice rerun updated deluge function over existing recordes

                                                                                                                  Hi folks, we have a function which is triggered via webhook from a third-party solution which then calls another api with a contact-id and gets a json payload back and then parses that data to custom fields in our CRM to the record id. As requirements
                                                                                                                • Zoho Campaigns API endpoint for contact details

                                                                                                                  there is some REST API support for Zoho Campaigns, however, I am not able to find an endpoint for "get contact details".  in particular, I'd like to access contact's subscription status and also their topic. ideally there is all profile available including
                                                                                                                • Specifying time increments on a Date/Time field

                                                                                                                  Hi all, Im using a Date/Time field in my CRM module. At the moment the increments are 30 minutes. How can I change these to be 15 minutes? Thanks
                                                                                                                • Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

                                                                                                                  Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration
                                                                                                                • Sort by Project Name?

                                                                                                                  How the heck do you sort by project name in the task list views??? Seems like this should be a no-brainer?
                                                                                                                • Maximum limit of bank accounts

                                                                                                                  I'm currently setting up Zoho Books in order to migrate at the start of our next financial year (April) and while adding bank accounts I've tried to add a second account from the same bank and receive an error about the maximum limit of bank accounts.
                                                                                                                • Account and Email and Password

                                                                                                                  I'm signing up as a Partner so I can move my website clients across to a separate email server from their current cPanel one.. So I have a Zoho account and then I moved one of my emails across to that account to test the import process... So the question
                                                                                                                • Zoho Sprints iOS and Android app update: Global view. Screen capture control, file encryption, tags enhancement(iOS)

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new features in the latest version(v2.1) of the Zoho Sprints iOS app update. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. 1. Global view Global view brings all your project items into one centralised space. You can
                                                                                                                • Creating Restaurant Inventory Management on Zoho

                                                                                                                  Hi,  We run a small cloud kitchen and are interested to use Zoho for Inventory and Composite Item tracking for our food served and supplied procured to make food items.  Our model is basically like subway where the customer can choose breads, veggies,
                                                                                                                • Price Managment

                                                                                                                  I have been in discussions with Zoho for some time and not getting what I need. Maybe someone can help explain the logic behind this for me as I fail to understand. When creating an item, you input a sales rate and purchase rate. These rates are just
                                                                                                                • How do I create an update to the Cost Price from landed costs?

                                                                                                                  Hi fellow Zoho Inventory battlers, I am new to Zoho inventory and was completely baffled to find that the cost price of products does not update when a new purchase order is received. The cost price is just made up numbers I start with when the product
                                                                                                                • only 100 entry download entries in Zoho Form

                                                                                                                  Is there a way to download more than 100 entries in a form at a time? It is capped (unless I am not doing the export correctly). This is very frustrating as I want to make sure I don't miss a record when downloading data. Thanks!
                                                                                                                • Zoho FSM Premium Edition is Here

                                                                                                                  As your field service operations grow, so do the complexities — managing large distributed teams, keeping sensitive data secure, generating the right reports at the right time, and ensuring every technician dispatched is the right fit for the job. The
                                                                                                                • Seeking a WhatsApp Business App (not API) Zoho CRM integration

                                                                                                                  We have a business need to integrated WhatsApp Business App (not API) into Zoho CRM to centrally manage communications between our Sales team and Leads & Contact. Is there a reputable integration available for this scenario of ours? Core features we would
                                                                                                                • Zoho Recruit mailserver get blocked by Microsoft!

                                                                                                                  Hi, We have experienced this issue twice now, where Zoho Recruit outbound IP addresses are being blocked by Microsoft. We are confident that Microsoft is the blocking party, as all outbound emails to candidates with @hotmail.com, @live.com, and @outlook.com
                                                                                                                • Auto-sync field of lookup value

                                                                                                                  This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.
                                                                                                                • How are other Books users integrating crypto and digital assets into Books?

                                                                                                                  If my company owns some digital assets I would want those to exist in Books as assets, and also be able to change the value as needed when generating reports. My company would also be receiving payment in cryptocurrencies and may sell at the time of payment
                                                                                                                • Lets Talk Recruit: Key takeaways from our India community meetups

                                                                                                                  Welcome back to Let's Talk Recruit — the series where we bring you real stories, product insights, and community highlights from the world of recruitment. Our last post covered how Resume Harvester can take the follow-up out of hiring. This edition is
                                                                                                                • Edit a previous reconciliation

                                                                                                                  I realized that during my March bank reconciliation, I chose the wrong check to reconcile (they were for the same amount on the same date, I just chose the wrong check to reconcile). So now, the incorrect check is showing as un-reconciled. Is there any way I can edit a previous reconciliation (this is 7 months ago) so I can adjust the check that was reconciled? The amounts are exactly the same and it won't change my ending balance.
                                                                                                                • Approval Workflow for Purchase Orders Abrir

                                                                                                                  The requirement is , that all purchase orders greater than or equal to 5000 go through an approval process from certain people, but within books I only see that the approvers can be by levels or any approver but we cannot enter a rule like these. Can
                                                                                                                • Unable to create new finance account in Zoho Books Android app due to missing account number field.

                                                                                                                  Free plan I have enabled a setting via the website requiring unique account codes to be specified for all accounts. When using the android app, go to expenses, new expense, select account, new account. Promoted to enter the Account name and description.
                                                                                                                • How to Fetch data from Sales Order and Insert into Purchase Order with Deluge

                                                                                                                  Hello, I am wanting to write a Deluge script that would take the shipping address on a Sales Order and upon conversion to a Sales Order automatically insert it into that corresponding PO. I am new to Deluge but understand that it has great capabilities.
                                                                                                                • Google Drive shared folder

                                                                                                                  My deluge script has stopped working, no longer collecting files from Google Drive - have these connections finally been deprecated ?? They seem to be active but errors occur when updating them ?
                                                                                                                • Can't add attachment on email template

                                                                                                                  The attachment does show up. This is my template. Hi ${Cases.Assigned Programmers}, Please be reminded about the following task that has been assigned to you. Subject : ${Cases.Subject} Description : ${Cases.Description} Ticket # : ${Cases.Request Id}
                                                                                                                • Zoho Desk: Mobile Updates | Q1 2026

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, Greetings! As we gear up for the end of Q1, we are excited to share a quick journey into all that released in the first quarter of 2026. We have brought in a few enhancements in the mobile apps that improve overall user experience and
                                                                                                                • CRM 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 storage
                                                                                                                • Additional Address - Company Name

                                                                                                                  It would be very helpful to have a "Company Name" field in the Additional Address shipping section.  In a situation where you drop-ship orders to a different address or different company entirely, it may be necessary to list the company name of the receiver. I understand that the Attention field can be used for that purpose, but that's not really the intended purpose of that field.
                                                                                                                • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

                                                                                                                  Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24
                                                                                                                • Zoho Payroll's Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Canada edition is available in Zoho One

                                                                                                                  Great news for Zoho One users! Zoho Payroll has expanded to five new regions: Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Canada. And the best part? These new editions are fully integrated with Zoho One, just like our existing editions in India, the UAE, Saudi
                                                                                                                • Does Zoho Creator support multilingual translation for user-entered data?

                                                                                                                  I understand that Zoho Creator provides localization support for UI elements such as field labels and static text. I would like to know: Does Zoho Creator support automatic translation of user-entered data (for example, form inputs or stored records)
                                                                                                                • Upload field on tasks module

                                                                                                                  Hello, Why I cannot add an upload field to a Task? Or maybe when creating the task make attachements visible, so you can add an attachement while creating the task? Looking forward to your response!
                                                                                                                • WhatsApp phone number migration

                                                                                                                  Hi @Gowri V and @Pheranda Nongpiur, Thanks for implementing the promised enhancements to the integration between Zoho CRM and WhatsApp. The previous discussion has been locked, so I'm opening this new one. I am copying below a specific
                                                                                                                • How to let club members update their own profile data

                                                                                                                  Our club has about 200 members. We keep names, addresses, phones, emails, payment records, etc. for each, recently migrated to Creator. Once a year I send email to each member to confirm or correct their info on file with us, as well as ask for payment
                                                                                                                • Document retention in Zoho Sign

                                                                                                                  Document management doesn’t end at signing. It extends to how long you retain agreements—and how securely you dispose of them. With the document retention option in Zoho Sign, you can define structured, policy-driven timelines for managing completed documents.
                                                                                                                • Sales Allowed Beyond Available Stock and Payment Recorded Without Restriction

                                                                                                                  Hi, While testing in Zoho Inventory, I noticed that a sales order can be created with a quantity exceeding the available stock in the selected warehouse. In my case: Available stock: 5 units Ordered quantity: 6 units Despite this: I was able to convert
                                                                                                                • Deleting, Adding and Changing a Zoho Books Entry

                                                                                                                  Zoho Books Community & Support, If a bulk upload of entries were added to an account, what is the process to: - Delete an entry - Change the amount of an entry - Is there a means to manually add an entry other than upload?
                                                                                                                • Zoho Commerce in multiple languages

                                                                                                                  When will you be able to offer Zoho Commerce in more languages? We sell in multiple markets and want to be able to offer a local version of our webshop. What does the roadmap look like?
                                                                                                                • Zoho CRM - Feature Request - Analytics Components Group By Week Alternative Formats

                                                                                                                  On the Zoho CRM Analytics Components, please consider adding an option to allow group by week format to be changed to other formats such as Week Commencing or Week Ending dates, rather than the current Week Number. This would provide improved usability
                                                                                                                • The Social Playbook March edition: Myth vs Facts

                                                                                                                  We’ve all heard a lot of myths growing up. Some sound convincing, some feel believable, and over time they start to feel like facts. But the truth is, a myth is still a myth until it’s backed by real facts. Marketing is no different. Over time, many ideas
                                                                                                                • Updating Analytical Fields Data

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho team, I'm having an issue with the recently added fields in both Analytical Desk and Analytical. How can I generate the data in Analytical when new fields are added? https://analytics.zoho.com/workspace/2436819000000007005/edit/24368190000
                                                                                                                • Next Page