Kaizen 187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)
Howdy Tech Wizards!
Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen!
This time, we are diving into a two-part series where you will learn how to build a Timer and Worklog Widget for Zoho CRM. This widget helps track active work time and log multitasking sessions using Zoho CRM APIs, Client Script, Functions, and Workflows.
Why It Matters?
Zoho CRM effectively captures stage/status transitions, like tracking when a case moves from Open to In Progress or On Hold. However, in dynamic work environments, employees juggle multiple work items and engage in impromptu tasks or conversations.
Let’s take the On Hold status as an example.
While it can be used to indicate pauses in progress, it does not always align with real-world workflows. Consider these scenarios:
Not all interruptions justify a status change
Moving the case to On Hold for every minor detour (to clarify something with a colleague or respond to another emergency work item) would be impractical and could lead to under reporting actual work hours. Over time, this untracked effort adds up, creating a gap in visibility.
Frequent status changes may dilute their meaning
In many teams, On Hold signifies a legitimate blocker like waiting on customer input or an external dependency. Using it frequently to reflect quick shifts in attention could compromise that clarity.
A timer widget solves this by:
- Capturing hands-on work items.
- Logging context switches (unrelated tasks) with descriptive entries.
- Feeding structured entries into a custom module for reporting and subform sync.
Business Scenario: IT Service Desk & Ticket Resolution
A tech support team uses the Cases module to resolve customer issues. Some tickets are straightforward; others require follow-ups, escalations, or cross-team coordination. While CRM timestamps (like stage transitions or picklist tracking) track when changes happen, they do not reflect how long someone actively worked on a case.
This Timer Widget can be the ultimate solution to track down the active time spent on each case through out the day.
What are we Building?
By the end of this two-part guide, you will know how to:
- Build a timer widget to track time per task or any CRM record.
- Log work sessions into a custom module every time the timer is started/stopped.
- Automatically populate a subform in the corresponding record module using workflows and Deluge functions.
- Leverage the Reports module to analyze work patterns, SLA adherence, and productivity trends.
In Part I, we will focus on:
-> Building and configuring the Timer Widget.
-> Capturing each timed session as a record in a custom module.
Prerequisites
1. Create a Custom Module
Create a custom module named Timer Entries to log work details and generate reports from the Reports module. A new record will be added to this module each time a timer is started.
Set up the following custom fields in the Timer Entries module:
Custom Fields | Data Type |
Start Time | DateTime |
End Time | DateTime |
Total Duration (in mins.) | Formula DateBetween(${Timer Entries.Start Time},${Timer Entries.End Time},'Minutes') |
Related to Case | Lookup to Cases module |
Work Description | Multi Line |
2. Add a custom picklist option
Add a custom picklist option called In Progress to the Status picklist field in the Cases module for precisely identifying the status of the cases.
Follow this Add/Remove Picklist Values help section for more details.
3. Setup Custom Views for Contextual Filtering
To streamline the widget experience and ensure users only see relevant records to associate while tracking time, set up two smart custom views—one in the Cases module and another in the Timer Entries module.
Active Cases View (Cases Module)
Create a custom view in the Cases module to list only the active tickets the logged-in user is working on. Use the following criteria tips:
- Use the Status field to filter records with values like In Progress, On Hold, or Escalated.
- Use the Case Owner field to show records that are assigned only to the currently logged-in user.
This view powers the drop-down inside the widget where users select the case they want to start the timer for.
Active Timers View (Timer Entries Module)
Set up a second custom view in the Timer Entries module to track entries where the timer has been started but not yet stopped. These represent active timers. Use the following logic for criteria:
- The End Time field is empty (i.e., timer still running).
- Timer Entry owner field matches the logged-in user.
This view is used internally by the widget to detect if a timer is already running and update the same entry once the timer is stopped.
Follow the Managing List View help page and use the specifications shown in the following image.
Building the Timer Widget
Step -1: Review Basics
Refer to our earlier Kaizen on CLI Installation, Creating a Widget Project, and Internal hosting of the same.
Step 2 - Develop the Widget
After initializing your widget project using CLI, implement the timer logic:
Fetching Active Cases
On page load, the populateRecordsDropdown function initiates a Get Records API call to the Cases module, using the Active Cases custom view ID. This fetches all active case records assigned to the logged-in user.
These records are then listed in a dropdown, allowing users to quickly select the relevant case they are about to work on.
async function populateRecordsDropdown() { const recordsDropdown = document.getElementById("moduleRecords"); recordsDropdown.innerHTML = ""; try { const recordsResponse = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({ Entity: casesModule, cvid: casesCVID, per_page: 10 }); if (recordsResponse.data && recordsResponse.data.length > 0) { recordsResponse.data.forEach(record => { const option = document.createElement("option"); option.value = record.id; option.textContent = record.Subject || "Unnamed Record"; recordsDropdown.appendChild(option); }); } else { const placeholderOption = document.createElement("option"); placeholderOption.value = ""; placeholderOption.textContent = "No records found"; placeholderOption.disabled = true; placeholderOption.selected = true; recordsDropdown.appendChild(placeholderOption); } } catch (error) { console.error("Error fetching records:", error); } } |
Starting the Timer and Creating an Entry
Once the user starts the timer, The createRecord function triggers a Create Record API call to log the session in the Timer Entries custom module. The record captures the start time and the related case and description (if provided).
Even if no details are entered or case is selected, a timer entry is still created with the start time. This ensures that spontaneous work sessions are tracked and not lost.
async function createRecord(startTime) { try { const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value; const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value; const selectedRecordText = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").options[ document.getElementById("moduleRecords").selectedIndex ].text; const data = { Start_Time: startTime, Owner: currentUserId, Work_Description: workDescription, Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId, Name: selectedRecordText }; const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.insertRecord({ Entity: timerModule, APIData: data }); console.log("Start time recorded successfully"); } catch (error) { console.error("Error creating record:", error); } } |
Stopping the Timer and Updating the Entry
When the timer is stopped, the widget uses the Active Timer Entry custom view to locate the most recent Timer Entry record created by the logged-in user that does not have an end time.
The updateRecord is then triggered to update that active entry using the Update Record API call. It updates the End time of the session and the related case, descriptions, if it was not already provided when the timer was started.
async function updateRecord(endTime) { try { const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value; const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value; const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({ Entity: timerModule, cvid: timerEntriesCVID, per_page: 1 }); const latestRecord = response.data[0]; if (latestRecord) { const recordId = latestRecord.id; const data = { id: recordId, End_Time: endTime, Work_Description: workDescription, Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId }; await ZOHO.CRM.API.updateRecord({ Entity: timerModule, APIData: data, RecordID: recordId }); console.log("End time updated successfully"); } } catch (error) { console.error("Error updating record:", error); } } |
Step 3 - Validate and Pack the Widget
- Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget.
- Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.
- Fill in the required details as shown in this image and ensure to select Button as the widget type.
Step 4 - Associate it with Flyout
- Go to Setup > Developer Space > Client Script. Click New Script.
- Enter a name and description for the script. Choose Command type in Category.
- Create a Flyout and render a widget within it using its details like the API name of the widget, title, size, and animation type. You can get the Widget API name from the widget's detail page.
let allowedUserEmails = []; allowedUserEmails.push('user1_email_address'); allowedUserEmails.push('user2_email_address'); allowedUserEmails.push('user3_email_address'); let currentUserEmail = $Crm.user.email; if (allowedUserEmails.indexOf(currentUserEmail) == -1) { ZDK.Client.showMessage('Command access resticted', { type: 'error' }); return false; } ZDK.Client.createFlyout('myFlyout', {header: 'Timer', animation_type: 4, height: '600px', width: '500px', top: '10px', left: '10px', bottom: '10px', right: '10px' }); ZDK.Client.getFlyout('myFlyout').open({ api_name: 'Timer', type: 'widget' }); return true; |
Refer to Creating a Client Script help page for more details.
Try It Out!
A complete working code sample of this widget is attached to this post.
Now, let us see how this Timer widget works:
1. Start the Timer
Open the widget and select an active case from the dropdown. As soon as you start the timer, a new record will be automatically created in the Timer Entries module to capture the session.
2. Stop the Timer
When the task is complete, provide a description of the work you have done and stop the timer. The same Timer Entry record (created when the timer was started) will be updated automatically with the end time and your work description.
This forms the foundation for accurate time tracking at the record level.
In Part 2, we will show how to:
-> Use a workflow and Deluge function to transfer these entries into the Work Log subform inside the relevant Cases record.
-> Use CRM Reports to slice and dice work time for better SLA and productivity insights.
In the meantime, would you like us to address any of your pain-points or have a topic to discuss? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com.
Until next time, Happy Coding!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Reading
- Custom Fields - Working with Custom Fields and Working with Picklist Field
- Widget - An Overview, CLI Installation, Working with Widgets, JS SDKs, Mobile Compatibility of Widgets and Kaizens
- Core APIs - GET Records, POST Records and UPDATE Records
- Client Script - An Overview, Creating a Client Script, Best Practices and Troubleshooting
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for Subforms | Kaizen Collection: Directory
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
Kiruthiga G
Sticky Posts
Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! 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 #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.Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post
Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQsKaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! 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.Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!
Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands
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
[Product update] Updated Data Synchronization Process for QuickBooks - Zoho Analytics Integration.
Dear QuickBooks integration users, We’re making an important update in the way data is currently synced in your QuickBooks integration within Analytics workspace. What’s changing: Previously, with every data synchronization, Zoho Analytics used to fetchZoho CRM new calander format cannot strikethrough completed task
Hi, Recently there is a new format for calendar within Zoho CRM However, found out that a completed task will not cross out or strikethrough like previous format. Without strikethrough, it will be difficult to identify which task is still in Open status.How to edit form layout for extension
I am working on extension development. I have created all the fields. I want to rearrange the layout in Sigma platform. But there is no layout module in Sigma. How can I achieve this for extensions other than Zet CLI and putting the fields into widgetEmployees not Users
Hello, We are a construction company that has +180 employees and most of them are in remote location working onsite with no access to internet. Is it possible that we have data stored for all employees but have only 5-10 users who will be in charge of entering employees data? or do we have to pay for all +180 employees? even though they won't be using the system?Zoho people generatimg pdf
Hello , now i want to make a customm button in zoho people that is inside a deduction module , that fetches all the records and generate a pdf with a template that i have done in the mail merges template , i was told that i have to upload template onAbility to Filter Alias Mailboxes in Zoho Recruit
Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request a feature enhancement regarding the handling of alias mailboxes in Zoho Recruit. Currently, when we connect an alias mailbox (e.g., jobs@domain.com) from our Zoho One accountzohorecruit.com career form postcode bug
Dear, When I select a postcode from the drop down on a zohorecruit.com career form, the street text field is automatically filled with the name of the city, which should not happen. Any idea how I can fix this? Thanks, BartOffice-365-agenda and Microsoft Teams Integration
Dear, I have a trial version of Zoho Recruit and trying to evaluate the Microsoft Teams Integration in Zoho Recruit. After registering with my Office 365 account and checking the result of the registration/sign-in at https://mysignins.microsoft.com/ (whichDelegate Access - Mobile iOS/iPad
We’re over the moon that delegate access is now available in Zoho Mail as we were nearly ready to switch platforms because of it! Is there a timeline on when delegate mailboxes will be accessible from the iOS and iPad OS applications? Thanks, JakeHow to add Connector in developer platform zoho?
Hi, I am working on creating an Extension, and part of the development is to retrieve Email templates. In my CRM instance I can invokeURL by creating Zoho OAuth connection and get the template. But developer platform does not provide Zoho OAuth or anyHow to archive Lost/Junk Leads so sales reps don’t see them, but keep them for reporting?
Hi everyone, In our Zoho CRM we have two Lead Status values: Lost Lead and Junk Lead. What I want to achieve is: When a lead is marked as Lost or Junk, it should disappear from my sales reps’ Lead views (so they only see active leads). At the same time,Zoho CRM Canvas Copy Original Layout
Hello all, I want to use Canvas to make small changes to certain views, not to make huge changes. Is it possible to copy the original Zoho layout and set-up and start from there? I checked and all I can find are some templates which are far from the originalIs there a way to request a password?
We add customers info into the vaults and I wanted to see if we could do some sort of "file request" like how dropbox offers with files. It would be awesome if a customer could go to a link and input a "title, username, password, url" all securely and it then shows up in our team vault or something. Not sure if that is safe, but it's the best I can think of to be semi scalable and obviously better than sending emails. I am open to another idea, just thought this would be a great feature. Thanks,Revenue Management: #5 Revenue Recognition in SaaS
If you're building or running a SaaS business, you've probably encountered this. You get paid upfront for a subscription and a one-time onboarding fee, but you end up with confusion about when to consider it revenue. Can I book all of it now? Should IMS Teams for daily call operations
Hello all, Our most anticipated and crucial update is finally here! Organizations using Microsoft Teams phone system can now integrate it effectively with Zoho CRM for tasks like dialling numbers and logging calls. We are enhancing our MS Teams functionalityZoho Learn Course Access Issue
One of the learners in a specific course can't see any lessons. They are registered as both a user and learner for this course in Zoo Learn. What could be the reason?ZOHOLICS Japan 2025 開催のお知らせ（再投稿）
【コミュニティユーザーの皆さまへお知らせ】 Zoho 最大のユーザーイベント「ZOHOLICS Japan 2025」を9月19日（金）に開催します。 AI活用に関する特別講演、ユーザー事例、Zoho 製品の活用例のご紹介など、Zoholicsならではのセッションをご用意しています。 Zoho コミュニティ開催のMeetupとはまた違った雰囲気のイベントです。 ご都合のつく方はお気軽にご参加ください✨ 詳細はこちら https://events.zoho.jp/zoholics2025#/?affl=forumpost2Phone Number format for Bulk Upload via csv for Zoho Sign
What is the phone number format that we need to use for a bulk recipient upload via csv in zoho sign, should the country code be included for ex if its US should it be +18889007865 ior 18889007865 or without country code 8889007865? the sample csv providedFilter Page Elements By Selectable Date Range
I have created a basic Page that will serve as a client dashboard with elements that will provide simple counts & sums of data in reports. There are no reports or forms added to the page, just elements. It currently functions as needed, but shows theCan’t Enter my Notebook is Locked
I’ve been using Notebook for taking notes at my college for a month and I never signed in and I never established a password. Today I tried to enter the app after the update and it asked me for a password. I need to access to my notes urgently and I can’tSend Email Directly to Channel
Hi, We are coming from Slack. In Slack each channel has a unique Email address that you can send emails too. I currently forward a specific type of email from my Gmail InBox directly do this channel for Verification Codes so my team doesn't have to askSecure your external sharing process with OTP Authentication
For any business, it's crucial to share files externally in a way that is both secure and controlled. Let's say you want to share confidential data with your partners and vendors. You must ensure that only your intended recipients can access the sharedItems attribute questions
Many of my items have attributes, such as size and color. How can I add new fields to the "New Items" screen to capture that in my Purchase Orders, Items, and Sales Order pages? I only see these attribute fields when adding an Item Group. Also, on theIs there a way to search mail for items you haven't yet responded to?
I'm trying to create a search to show emails that haven't been responded to and that have also been assigned a tag or label. Is there a way to search for the inverse of replied?Zobot and Sales IQ
What will happen to the Zoho Sales IQ being integrated to the website after creating the Zobot on the website tooSubtotals per Header
Hey, we would like to display subtotals per header in our invoices:upgrade storage
how to upgrade my storageLinking items from books and subscription
Linking books and subscription It is a pity that it is not possible to associate with a product an article present in ZohoBooks This would make it possible to manage products composed of a nomenclature of articles of booksAdd the ability to view number of hours planned for a workorder while in the Dispatch Console
Hi Zoho, When dispatching a work order through the Dispatch Console, there's currently no way to view the number of planned hours for the service tasks associated with that specific work order. Having to click into the details each time to check plannedUploading Files from uploads api
I tried uploading the image from the API call but its giving me unauthorized error even i have given valid token in header. After uploading i need that id to pass in create ticket api uploads but its not uploading that file. Please help me out in thCategorize Items with Item Headers
Hello customers, Did you ever want to classify items based on specific categories to help your customers understand your invoice better? With the new Item Header feature, you can easily categorize items in your invoices and estimates and give them a common title. Item Headers are available in the Invoices, the Recurring Invoices and the Estimates module. It can be carried forward from estimates to invoices at the time of converting the estimates. To add an item header: Go to the Estimates, InvoicesURLs being masked despite disabling tracking
Hey, We had disabled click tracking from an email update we are sharing with our users. Despite this, the URL the end user is receiving is masked, and looks like "https://qksyl-cmpzourl.maillist-manage.net/click/1d8e72714515cda6/1d8e72714515ca70" insteadChange format of quantity format
Hi, I would like to change the qunatity format from 1,00 to 1. Is this possible? thanks!square up and Zoho books
Since we set up the app connection between square up and Zoho books we have realised that when the amounts are getting transferred Zoho is adding VAT again making the numbers 20% more than they should be. We have checked our settings and they VAT/ TaxHow to provide Access rights to specific Bank accounts
We have several bank accounts. I want to provide certain members access to only 2-3 accounts. It appears that when I give permissions, they are for ALL bank accounts. How do I do that?Errors Getting a Bank Transaction
Using Postman(for testing), I am receiving errors when attempting to get a single bank transaction. I am able to receive the list of bank transactions with https://www.zohoapis.com/books/v3/banktransactions/?organization_id={org_id} but when I try toSubscriptions Plans and CRM Products Integration?
Is there any way to set up plans and pricing in Zoho Subscriptions and have those available as Products in the CRM? We are trying to set up the CRM and the Products seem to be more geared toward selling products that are not subscription based. So if we sell annual or monthly contracts which are $10/seat/month, I can set this up as a plan in Subscriptions, but how can I set the same thing up in the CRM for the salespeople to sell/quote? What is the best practice for setting up the CRM Products toMapping Zoho Subscription Plans and Products to CRM and Books
We have products that are one time products and subscription products. 1) We would like to have the ability to create an opportunity in CRM that includes both one-time charge products and subscription products. Currently the only way of creating a subscription product is by defining a "Product->Plan" hierarchy in Zoho Subscription. It appears that the only SYNC between Subscription and CRM is around contacts and the Product->Plan hierarchy doesn't sync to CRM, thus, you would need a duplicateZoho People Attendance Module - Split Shifts
Hello, Our business employs a number of college students who often split their workdays between work hours and class schedules, resulting in split shifts. For example: Employee 1 works 9am to 11:30am and then leaves for class, returning to work at 3pmBulk update fields based on date
Hi! I need all the quotes with "Quote Stage" set to "Next Year" to update to "Draft" every January 8 (every year). Can you help?Next Page