Kaizen #21 - Functions in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week in the Kaizen series!
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.
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"); 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.
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.
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 |
We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more!
Cheers!
Previous 'Kaizen' - Node JS SDK
Next 'Kaizen' - Connections in Zoho CRM
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
Sneha Sridharan
Sticky Posts
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 areKaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achievedKaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI
Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the
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 Desk Limitations
Good day, all, I would like to know whether others share my frustration with some of Zoho's limitations. Don't get me wrong, I like Desk (and I also have a subscription for Analytics), I have been with them for close to 10 years, and unfortunately, ISMS to customers from within Bigin
Hi All, Is there anyone else crying out for Bigin SMS capability to send an SMS to customers directly from the Bigin interface? We have inbuilt telephony already with call recordings which works well. What's lacking is the ability to send and receiveUnable to sort as Descending order
Trying to change the sort order for a lookup field (checkboxes) from Ascending to Descending and keep getting an error in Deluge that the order must be Ascending Did anyone ran into this? Thanks EyalHow do I copy an email message to one or more other folders?
I can move a message to another folder using the "move to" option but I can't figure out how to copy a message.New feature request: Allow copy of email message to another folder
Hello Zoho team, This is a suggested new feature to allow copy an email message to either another folder or the same folder. Within the same Zoho account. This is not a support request about "label". This is a suggested new feature to allow copies ofPassing a form object to a function
Suppose I have a sort_order field in multiple tables and I want to increment it by +1 onCreate of a new record. Is there a way to pass the form object as an argument into the function to keep things DRY? The following function from Zia works, but I'dHotmail is blocking the zoho mail IP
Greetings, Since last Tuesday (5 days ago today) I wrote to Zoho support and I still haven't received a single response (Ticket ID: 2056917). Is this how you treat people who pay for your email service? I am making this public so that those who want toDesk DMARC forwarding failure for some senders
I am not receiving important emails into Desk, because of DMARC errors. Here's what's happening: 1. email is sent from customer e.g. john@doe.com, to my email address, e.g info@acme.com 2. email is delivered successfully to info@acme.com (a shared inboxCreator Simplified #11: Create a custom button to download files
Hey there! This time, let's see how to create custom buttons to download the files uploaded in the file upload field. Sample use-case A training app has a module that provides the materials for all the available courses. Students can click on the correspondingHide horizontal lines at bottom of form
Hi I have a page with 3 forms embedded in html snippets. On each of the forms I can hide the submit button easily but I am left with the horizontal lines that bound that section and I cannot figure out to remove them (see below for the two sets of horizontalAutosaving of Form Field
HI can anyone suggest a way of autosaving or simulating an autosave function for a specific field in a form. The story is as follows. I have a bunch of technicians who write notes on how they do a repair. Sometimes they write for a couple of hours the troubleshooting process. If they click incorrectly, press ESC, Cancel or the browser crashes the information is lost which can be heartbreaking so my guys use notepad and then copy the information in. The only way around this is to click submit on theZoho Tracking Image location
So we've been having an issue with tracking email opens. Specifically in Gmail. Our emails are not that long either, maybe 4 sections of image/250 characters of text/button per section. But all my test accounts I used via Gmail we're showing opens. But then come to find out the tracking image is at the very bottom of the email. So If the message is clipped (It always just clips our social icons on the bottom) and the user doesn't click the show more button it never tracks the open. Looking at otherAI Interview Insights: Turn Recorded Interviews into Quick Transcripts & Summaries
Evaluating interviews shouldn’t require replaying long recordings or taking manual notes. With AI Interview Insights, you can now review complete transcripts and AI-generated summaries of your One-way (Recorded) interviews right inside Zoho Recruit. ThisHow do I associate pricebooks to a customer?
I setup a few pricebooks, that worked fine. But now the only thing I can do with it, when I enter a quote or sales order, I can select which pricebook to use, but I have to do this product by product every time I add one. Is there a way to connect a pricebookEmployee Appraisal Applicability - Why is Date of Joining Hard-Coded?
In the new (to me, at least) Performance Appraisal Cycle wizard, it's possible to set criteria to determine for whom the appraisal process should apply. This makes sense on its face. However, one MUST use the Date of Joining criterion as a filter. WhySpotlight series #6: The Show app for Android TV has a new look!
Hello everyone! We are delighted to introduce our revamped and redesigned Show app for Android TV. Smart TVs are exploding in popularity. Android TV alone has over 110 million active monthly devices. Zoho Show, as part of a constant effort to improveAsk the Experts 26: Brighten every customer interaction with Zoho Desk all year long
Hello everyone, Greetings and welcome to Ask the Experts 26. As we wrap up 2025, we are excited to invite you to the 26th episode of our Ask the Expert series. 🎄The Merry Metrics Edition = Best of Zoho Desk [Best Practices + Holiday Automation + Year-EndPricing calculator
Alright, so I'm trying to create a pricing calculator/pricing report generator to use in a cabinet shop. I did all the logic and such, and the calculator works. I have a few other things that I would need it to be able to do though, I'll do my best toBug Details
In the Bug detail the milestoneid is missingGroup by Owner/ Owner Kanban /Group by Custom Field
Hi, We are missing the option of viewing Tasks grouped by their owner, as it is an essential function for us to manage our employees' working tasks. We find it hard to inspect what are the tasks that our employees are working on. We are seeking an optionStop completed task lists from disappearing?
Is there any way to stop projects from making tasks lists disappear when all the tasks in the list are completed? That's one of those little things where we're constantly fighting the product. For instance we have some projects which are ongoing - no start and end date. We use Kanban view to show the various task lists. We don't want the kanban list to disappear every time the items on it happen to be closed out. ThanksExciting Updates to the Kiosk Studio Feature in Zoho CRM!
Hello Everyone, We are here again with a series of new enhancements to Kiosk Studio, designed to elevate your experience and bring even greater efficiency to your business processes. These updates build upon our ongoing commitment to making Kiosk a powerfulChange of Blog Author
Hi, I am creating the blog post on behalf of my colleague. When I publish the post, it is showing my name as author of the post which is not intended and needs to be changed to my colleague's name. How can I change the name of the author in the blogs?? Thanks, RamananAllow customers to choose meeting venue and meeting duration on booking page
My business primarily involves one-to-one meetings with my clients. Given the hybrid-work world we now find ourselves in, these meetings can take several forms (which I think of as the meeting "venue"): In-person Zoom Phone call I currently handle theseBooking outside of scheduled availability
Is there a way for staff (such as the secretary) to book appointments outside of the scheduled availability? Right now to do this special hours must be set each time. There should be a quicker way. Am I missing something?Operation Questions.
Hello, I hope you are well. To explain a little, we are a company that sells services and products with a technical team responsible for installation and maintenance. Zoho FSM can be useful for the technical team, namely for the technical coordinatorDirect Access and Better Search for Zoho Quartz Recordings
Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request a few enhancements to improve how Zoho Quartz recordings are accessed and managed after being submitted to Zoho Support. Current Limitation: After submitting a Quartz recording, the related Zoho Support ticket displaysUpdate date & time when a cell is edited
Hi All, I am desiring to have a cell update with the current date and time when another cell is edited. Any ideas? Thank youAdd "Groups" to "Share With" on Reports & All Entries
Hi, On Forms we can share Publicly, with Specific Users And/Or Specific Groups or All Users. With Reports and All Entries we lack the "Groups" option, please add this as with many users this saves a lot of work. Thanks DanAdd Pause / Resume Option to Zoho Quartz Recordings
Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Quartz recordings: the ability to pause and resume an ongoing recording. Current Limitation: At the moment, when recording an issue with Zoho Quartz, the recording continues even when we areCustom Fields Not Showing Up in Invoice PDF Template Document Information
I have added 2 custom fields under Sales > Invoices > Manage Custom Fields. They are set to show in all PDFs. However when I am editing my Invoice PDF template, i do not see the custom fields under Document Information.Tracking Non-Inventory Items
We have several business locations and currently use zoho inventory to track retail items (sales and purchase orders). We were hoping to use zoho inventory to track our non-inventory items as well (toilet paper, paper towels, etc). I understand that weCan I use a Standalone CRM Function as the Callback URL For Async Export Data API?
I am creating an export job using this API https://www.zoho.com/analytics/api/v2/bulk-api/export-data-async/create-export/view-id.html There is a "callbackUrl" key in the CONFIG object. I tried copying the URL for a standalone function in CRM which canZOHO Books
Hi there, Why after I upgrade my Zoho invoice > Books then i wanted to add plugin which i cannot do. Please advise.How is Your eCommerce Experience w/Zoho Inventory?
First off, I'm SUPER grateful for the advent of Zoho Inventory and now the Zoho Commerce Suite. Overall, Inventory is a great product, especially for customers without an eCommerce presence. For eCommerce companies (especially those shipping more than ~10 packages/day), however, there are certain drawbacks that keep my clients from moving over to Zoho Inventory: Cons: 1. Invoice + Package Creation from Shopify/Other eCommerce Integrations: Zoho Inventory makes the somewhat perplexing decision toCliq iOS can't see shared screen
Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? RegardsError AS101 when adding new email alias
Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.Simplify Mass Replies with Predefined Templates and Snippets
Hello everyone, We are happy to introduce a new enhancement to Mass Reply that helps agents respond to customers quickly and consistently. With the addition of Email Templates and Snippets in the reply window, agents can use predefined messages whileAdd "Groups" above "Users" in the Zoho Forms Left Menu
Hi, We have Groups but you have to go to a Form and Share or use the Directory App to manage them, please add "Groups" above "Users" in the Zoho Forms Left Menu so you can manage them in 1 place within Zoho Forms too. Thanks DanMapping custom fields from one module to another
I have a custom field, "Subscription Period" that appears as a required field in every Opportunity (Potential). I want that field to appear on any Quotes derived from that Opportunity (and have created a custom field of the same name in Quotes for thatNext Page