Kaizen #21 - Functions in Zoho CRM

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to another week in the Kaizen series!

This week, we will discuss Functions in detail.

What will you learn from this post?

What are Functions in Zoho CRM?
Creating a function

Choosing a function category
Function body

Integration Tasks
Triggering Functions

From Zoho CRM functionalities
From third-party applications

Limits of Functions

1. What are Functions in Zoho CRM?

Functions help you accomplish the tasks that are not available by default in Zoho CRM.
You must write custom functions using DELUGE [Data Enriched Language for the Universal Grid Environment]—An online scripting language.
Using custom functions, you can automate actions within Zoho CRM, across Zoho products, or between Zoho CRM and any other third-party application.

Note:

Functions are supported only in the enterprise and ultimate editions.

2. Creating a function

To create a function:

Step 1: Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions

Step 2: Click +New Function

Step 3: Enter details like the Function Name, Display Name, Description, and choose the function category.

2a. Choosing a function category

Functions can fall under five categories:

Button: The function gets executed when the user clicks the custom button.
Automation: The function gets executed based on workflow rules.
Schedule: The function gets executed based on a schedule.
Related List: The function gets invoked from a related list.
Standalone: A stand-alone function that can be triggered externally.
Validation Rule: The function gets executed based on a validation rule.

Step 4: Write the function logic in the console. To know more about DELUGE, refer to Deluge.

Here is an example of a function that automatically generates a quote from a deal on just the click of a button. In DealToQuote() function, the input values are extracted from deals. You can also choose to get them from the users as arguments or JSON request body.

2b. Function Body

potDetails = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Deals",potId.toLong());//integration task

/*Extracting details from the deal*/

quotesubject = ifnull(potDetails.get("Deal_Name"),"");

contact = ifnull(potDetails.get("Contact_Name").get("id"),"");

account = ifnull(potDetails.get("Account_Name").get("id"),"");

description = ifnull(potDetails.get("Description"),"");

RelatedProducts = zoho.crm.getRelatedRecords("Products","Potentials",potId.toLong());

product_items = List();

sub = 0.0;

/*Extracting product details from the deal and adding it to quote*/

for each product in RelatedProducts

{

proid = product.get("id");

proname = product.get("Product_Name");

productDesc = ifnull(product.get("Description"),"Manque Description Produit !!!");

quantity = 1;

price = ifnull(product.get("Unit_Price"),"0.0").toDecimal();

listprice = price * quantity;

lineitem = Map();

lineitem.put("product",{"name":proname,"id":proid});

lineitem.put("product_description",productDesc);

lineitem.put("quantity",quantity);

lineitem.put("net_total",listprice);

lineitem.put("total",listprice);

lineitem.put("list_price",listprice);

sub = sub + listprice;

product_items.add(lineitem);

}

/*Storing quote details*/

paramap = Map();

paramap.put("Product_Details",product_items);

paramap.put("Subject",quotesubject);

paramap.put("Contact_Name",contact);

paramap.put("Account_Name",account);

paramap.put("Deal_Name",potId.toLong());

paramap.put("Sub_Total",sub);

paramap.put("Grand_Total",sub);

paramap.put("Description",description);

createResp = zoho.crm.createRecord("Quotes",paramap);

info paramap;

info createResp;

newid = createResp.get("id");

openUrl("https://crm.zoho.com/crm/EntityInfo.do?module=Quotes&id=" + newid,"same window");

return "Success";

Step 5: Once you have written your logic, click save and execute.

Step 6: Enter the argument values, if any.

Step 7: If your function gets executed successfully, you will get a success message.

Step 7: Click Save.

3. Integration Tasks

Integration tasks are pre-defined functions that allow you to get, create, and update records in Zoho CRM. You can simply use these method names in your Deluge script along with the required data to make API calls.

In the above example, we have used the getRecordById() integration task that retrieves the details of the deal. For instance, the Deal Name, Contact Name, Account Name, and so on.

Syntax:

<response>=zoho.crm.getRecordById(<module_name>, <record_ID>, <connections>);

Parameters:

Parameter	Description
response	The response with the list of records matching the criteria.
module_name string, mandatory	The API name of the module you want to fetch the records from.
record_ID string, mandatory	The unique ID of the record.
connections string, optional	The connectors that are associated with the function.

Example:

potDetails = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Deals",potId.toLong());

Some of the other available integration tasks are:

zoho.crm.convertLead(): To convert a lead into a contact and and an account.
zoho.crm.getRelatedRecords(): To get records related to a parent record. Example: The products associated with a deal.
zoho.crm.updateRelatedRecords(): To update the records related to a parent record.
zoho.crm.searchRecords(): To search for specific records by specifying the criteria for the search.

To know more about integration tasks, click here.

4. Triggering functions

A function needs a trigger to get executed. You can trigger a function in two ways:

4a. From Zoho CRM functionality

4b. From third-party applications

Scenario:

Functions are primarily used to write custom business logic in Zoho CRM. Consider a scenario, where you want your sales representatives to create a quote after reviewing the deal. Instead of letting them create each quote manually, you can add a custom button in the Edit Deal page, which when clicked upon, triggers a function that creates a quote.

Also, you can configure a third-party system to automatically create a quote in Zoho CRM when the deal amount is less than 1000 OR the deal stage is closed-won. Thus, avoiding manual intervention and enabling them to emphasise on substantial deals.

Let us discuss how to trigger the DealToQuote() function via a custom button and a third-party application. You can also trigger the same function from a third-party application as a REST API webhook.

4a. From Zoho CRM functionality (Custom Button)

Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
From the List of Modules, select the required module.
In the Links & Buttons tab, click Create New Button.
In the Create Your Button page, do the following:

Enter the name of the button. The button name should not exceed 30 characters.
Click the Add Description link and specify the details of your custom button. The description should not exceed 250 characters.
Choose the location of your custom button from the drop-down list.
Custom buttons can be placed in 6 different places in your CRM account - Create/Clone page, Edit page, View page, List View page, a button to each record in the list view and Related Lists Page. Note that you can create up to 50 buttons for each module.

Choose an action to be executed when a user clicks the custom button. You can either choose a predefined action from the gallery or the existing functions that were already created by the users in your organization. Also, define your own action by writing a custom function, open a new web tab or invoke a URL based on your needs. It is mandatory to choose the button action. In our case, From Existing Actions in Functions. Choose the function and click Configure.

6. Map the input values to the fields in that module and click Save.

Once the custom button is associated with an action, CRM Administrators can manage permissions by assigning only specific profiles to view and access the custom button.

Similarly, you can associate functions with Schedules, Workflows, Validation Rules, and Related Lists.

To know more, click here.

4b. From third-party applications

Here, we are going to configure a third-party system to automatically create a quote in Zoho CRM when the deal amount is less than 1000 OR the deal stage is closed-won, thus avoiding manual intervention.

To achieve this, we are going to trigger the DealToQuote() function from a third-party application (automate.io), whenever the above conditions are met.

If you want to trigger a function from a third-party application, you must make it available as REST API.

1. Go to Setup > Developer Space > Functions

2. Choose the function > Click more options > Click REST API

3.Enter the API name for the function.

4. Enable OAuth 2.0 to share the function as an API within your organization and enable API key to share the function as a webhook with any third-party user.

Click Save.

You must make the API call from the third-party application using the request URL received here.

The DealToQuote() function is triggered from a third-party application (automate.io). You can achieve the same using:

Zoho Flow
Zoho CRM workflow rule that is triggered whenever a deal is updated

Sample bot configuration in automate.io:

We have triggered the DealToQuote() function using custom button as well as a third-party application.

5. Limits of Functions

Function calls in Zoho CRM are associated with credits. Each function call results in reduction of one credit from your account.

Maximum credit limit based on your edition

*Edition*	*Allowed Credits*	*Maximum credits that can be availed in a 24 hour window*
Starter	5,000 credits + (Number of User licenses x 200)	10,000 credits
Standard	5,000 credits + (Number of User licenses x 200)	15,000 credits
Professional	5,000 credits + (Number of User licenses x 200)	20,000 credits
Enterprise/Zoho One/CRM Plus	20,000 credits + (Number of User licenses x 500)	1,00,000 credits
Ultimate	20,000 credits + (Number of User licenses X 1000)	2,00,000 credits

Limits based on properties of a function

*Functionality*	*Description*	*Limits*
Execution Time	Function should be executed within the specified time.	1 minute
Response Limit	Function should return the response within a particular size.	10 MB
Lines of execution	The number of lines in a function code has a limit.	200,000
Send Mail	The number of emails that you can using the send mail syntax has a limit.	1000 per day
Webhooks	GET and POST URLs	50,000 requests per day

For more tips, refer to function tips.

We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!

Cheers!

Previous 'Kaizen' - Node JS SDK

Next 'Kaizen' - Connections in Zoho CRM

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