Our Review Of Zoho CRM after 60 Days

Our Review Of Zoho CRM after 60 Days

The purpose of this is to just share with Zoho why I love their product, but ultimately why I could not choose Zoho CRM for our next CRM.

About two months ago we begun a CRM exploration process for our financial planning firm, based in Texas. We already use Zoho Creator and Zoho Analytics for some internal projects, so naturally Zoho CRM was a top consideration. I fell in love with the easy to user interface, and how easy it was customize everything. Creating workflows and automations could be done almost within minutes. I also really enjoy being able to use deluge for some things that unique and not "out of the box".  I was so ready to just go with Zoho. However, we quickly found big drawbacks from a strategic and technical standpoint.

What I really love about Zoho and Zoho CRM:
  1. Custom data objects
  2. Automations
  3. Customizable UI/UX
  4. UI is pretty easy to navigate.
  5. Built in email support
  6. I love the company's story and what they are doing for rural communities, even here in Texas.
  7. I love the idea of Zoho Schools -- What a great idea.
  8. We liked that tasks were separate from Meetings and Calls.
Why we didn't choose Zoho CRM
  1. Zoho needs to make itself known in the US. Zoho absolutely has the capability to be a true Salesforce rival, but I can hardly find anyone in our industry who is using Zoho. It's also difficult for other SaaS companies to build integrations with Zoho if they have never heard of Zoho or don't know the brand well enough. Zoho also needs more organic engagement on Reddit, Twitter, etc... the current engagement is virtually nothing for North American users.

  2. We are a professional services organization, and we meet with clients regarding their personal finances. It's critical we take good organized notes. Zoho CRM does not have any rich text notes capabilities, and this was practically a deal breaker for us. We absolutely have to have a way to take formatted notes. 

  3. The outlook integration is good, but left a lot to be desired. We couldn't add task from emails that weren't associated with a contact. The Zoho add-in interface didn't seem to be customizable either.

  4. The Zoho CRM + Outlook Calendar sync required the creation of a second Outlook Calendar and task list, causing users to duplicate events from the default Outlook Calendar to the Zoho Calendar manually. We actually have this issue with our current crm, so this is kind of also a big pain.

  5. Zoho CRM Activities Virtual Meeting Default can't be changed to Zoom.

  6. Meeting invitee suggesting a new time from their email client, did not reflect in Zoho CRM.

  7. Zoho just needs 1 calendar and 1 task engine. We found it too cumbersome for users to try and use Zoho CRM Calendar and Zoho Calendar together. 

  8. Zoho lacks a unified product vision. It seems that all the app teams operate independently, and while they are all called Zoho, they all work and look differently. 
    1. For example: Zoho CRM and Zoho One CRM menus look different.

  9. Zoho does not have product roadmaps. This was also a deal-breaker for us. As a company who might have relied on Zoho for our software infrastructure, without knowing what updates are coming, it's impossible to plan for them. Ultimately, this was the key indication that Zoho is not enterprise ready. Enterprises need to know what fixes and improvements are being developed ahead of time, and users need a say in those things.
  10. The software is buggy and some internal errors causing some concern about quality control.
    1. Always hit an internal error with Zoho CRM Command Center -- this was ultimately resolved but it took too long to coordinate a virtual meeting to discuss it and resolve. Could have been done much quicker.
    2. Uploading images to Zoho Campaign occasionally resulted in "Virus found in file" error, which was obviously wrong as we were not uploading viruses to Zoho.
I'm sure there were other things I could mention (good and bad), but this isn't meant to be a rant. I really love Zoho as a company, their employees have always been friendly, and ultimately I hope this is just used as productive feedback for other potential users and the developers. 

    Access your files securely from anywhere








                            Zoho Developer Community



                                Bootcamp
                                Community
                                Pricing
                                Webinars
                                What's New
                                Integrations
                                Contact Support
                                Contact Sales
                                  Zoho Survey Resources
                                    Features
                                    Survey Templates
                                    Integrations
                                    Community
                                    iOS Mobile Surveys
                                    Pricing
                                    Android Mobile Surveys
                                    Insurvey Blogs
                                    Insight Blogs
                                    Tips & Tricks





                                                Latest Feature Updates

                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts




                                                      Zoho SalesIQ Resources


                                                            Manage your brands on social media
                                                            Access Zoho Social

                                                              Zoho Pagesense Resources


                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                                    Zoho DataPrep 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

                                                                                                              • bulk edit records and run internal logic

                                                                                                                hi there is few logics in manner "it this than that" logics work well when i edit entry openning it one by one (via workflow "on add/edit - on success" , for custom field "on update/on user input") but when i try bulk edit records - logic does not work.  how can i turn on logic to work as programmed - for mass editing records via bulk edit?

                                                                                                              • Duplicate Accounts

                                                                                                                Hi There, I am looking for a solution, script, workflow or anything to solve an issue we have - in our customers section we have a rule that doesn't allow duplicates, however Zoho will allow customers with xxxxx and xxxxx PLC or LTD so effectivley we

                                                                                                              • Invoice Ref. Field

                                                                                                                Hello Team, Currently, the Invoice Ref. field is set to a Number type with a maximum limit of 9 digits. However, we often receive customer invoices that contain up to 12 digits. In some cases, the invoice reference includes not only numbers but also letters

                                                                                                              • WebDAV / FTP / SFTP protocols for syncing

                                                                                                                I believe the Zoho for Desktop app is built using a proprietary protocol. For the growing number of people using services such as odrive to sync multiple accounts from various providers (Google, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc.) it would be really helpful

                                                                                                              • Emails sent through Bigin are not posting in IMAP Sent folder

                                                                                                                I have set up my email to work from within Bigin using IMAP.  I am using IMAP so I can sync my email across multiple devices - phone / laptop / desktop / iPad / etc.  I want all my emails to populate my email client (outlook & iphone email) whether or

                                                                                                              • Possible for first Signer of Sign Form to specify the next signer in the sequence

                                                                                                                We have many use cases where multiple signers need sign the same document. We'd love to be able to use sign forms, where the a signer who uses the Sign Form link can specify the name and email address for the next person in the sequence.

                                                                                                              • BUG: Can't copy-paste data outside Sheet

                                                                                                                Currently I can't paste data copied from inside any of my Zoho Sheet files to any other app. Copy-paste works inside the sheet It does NOT work between two different sheets These sheets are built from automation templates Everything works fine if I create

                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM Community Digest November 2025 | Part 1

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone! Here’s what came through in the first half of November: new updates and a few helpful community discussions with real, notable solutions. Product Updates: Android App Update: Inctroducing Swipe Actions You can now swipe left or right on

                                                                                                              • Upload own Background Image and set Camera to 16:9

                                                                                                                Hi, in all known online meeting tools, I can set up a background image reflecting our corporate design. This doesn't work in Cliq. Additionally, Cliq detects our cameras as 4:3, showing black bars on the right and left sides during the meeting. Where

                                                                                                              • The Social Wall: November 2025

                                                                                                                We’re nearing the end of the year, and the holiday season is officially kicking in! It’s that time when sales peak and your social media game needs to be stronger than ever. We’re back with exciting new updates across AI, analytics, and the mobile app

                                                                                                              • Auto-Invite Users to Portals in Zoho CRM based on Conditions

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone, You can now automate portal invitations in Zoho CRM with the new Auto-Invite users feature in Portal management. No more manually enabling portal access one by one. With this enhancement, you can automatically send invites for users to

                                                                                                              • Truesync for Linux

                                                                                                                Is Truesync available on linux ?

                                                                                                              • Rich Text For Notes in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, As you know, notes are essential for recording information and ensuring smooth communication across your records. With our latest update, you can now use Rich Text formatting to organize and structure your notes more efficiently. By using

                                                                                                              • Hidding/excluding specific picklist options from filter

                                                                                                                Hi. Is it possible to hide/exclude specific picklist options from this filter? I don't want them to be shown when someone tries to filter in the leads module

                                                                                                              • Zoho DataPrep switching Date Format

                                                                                                                When using a pipeline that is importing Zoho Analytics data into Zoho DataPrep, the month and day of date fields are switched for some columns. For example, a Zoho Analytics record of "Nov. 8, 2025" will appear in Zoho DataPrep as "2025/08/11" in "yyyy/MM/dd"

                                                                                                              • Subforms to Capture Multi-Row Data in Job Sheets

                                                                                                                Subforms transform your job sheets from simple checklists to powerful, data-rich forms. In field service work — whether maintenance, inspection, installation, or repair — a single job can involve multiple repeatable entries: readings, parts used, activities

                                                                                                              • 年内最後のユーザー向けイベント：5名限定！ 課題解決型ワークショップイベント Zoho ワークアウト開催のお知らせ (12/18)

                                                                                                                ANNOUNCEMENT 1 REPLY INSIGHTS ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。Zoho ユーザーコミュニティチームの中野です。 12月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 参加登録はこちら（無料） https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QHn6kJAcRs-znJ1l5jk0ww ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは？ Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目的とした「Zoho

                                                                                                              • Add "Fetch Composite Item" Action for Inventory

                                                                                                                I want to make a Flow that uses information returned in the GET call for Composite Items, and it's not currently available in Zoho Flow. Please consider adding this functionality.

                                                                                                              • Adress Labels for sending of the oder und barcode

                                                                                                                We want to print with my address labels to stick on the order of the ware can. there are these options?

                                                                                                              • printing individual labels - Dymo LabelWriter

                                                                                                                I am trying to print individual labels to my Dymo LabelWriter - has anyone done this? Latest Update (December 2025): The Canvas Print View is now available! We encourage you all to try it out and share your feedback with us. Learn more here: Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              • Zoho Creator for Agriculture

                                                                                                                Greetings, I am starting to work on  Zoho Creator specifically for the agricultural field, any recommendations, tips or ideas that might be helpful ? Also, if you are interested by any means in working on such project, kindly contact me. The project is

                                                                                                              • Custom Print Layout

                                                                                                                I would like to create a custom print layout of a Lead or Contact. Is there a way to do that? What I mean is that if I'm viewing a specific lead or contact I'd like to be able to print or export that lead/contact and only print and/or export certain information.

                                                                                                              • Print View

                                                                                                                Nothing happens when I'm in a module , ie; Contacts, and I hit the Print View Button. Even when it does come up and say "loading", nothing loads

                                                                                                              • Get Holiday ready with Zoho Mail's Offline mode

                                                                                                                With the holiday season right around the corner, this is the perfect time to get ready to unplug, relax, and enjoy a well-deserved break. In addition to preparing yourself, you can also make sure your organization members are set for their time away from

                                                                                                              • Zoho Flow Credits

                                                                                                                Hi , I would like to ask the reason why every time I added plus credit but few days later I will return back to default? (as below I add credit to 3000 but today It change back to 1000) Most important is, when the credit fully used, not any reminder to

                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM Kiosk issues

                                                                                                                Firstly this is for a system on the AU servers if that makes a difference. Issues are as follows (For Kiosk): 1. Re-ordering fields in the screen builder is broken. The fields seem to be re-ordering themselves, unless you order everything by moving the

                                                                                                              • Zoho Books emails suddenly going to Spam since 11 Nov 2025 (Gmail + now Outlook) — anyone else?

                                                                                                                Hi everyone, We migrated to Zoho Books in July 2025 and everything worked fine until 11 Nov 2025. Since then, Zoho Books system emails are landing in customers’ Spam (first Gmail, and now we’re seeing Outlook/Office 365 also starting to spam them). Impacted

                                                                                                              • Zoho Voice lance BYOC (Bring Your Own Carrier) : intégrez votre opérateur

                                                                                                                Pour accompagner sa croissance, une entreprise a besoin d’une infrastructure téléphonique flexible et évolutive. Les solutions de téléphonie s’adaptent aux exigences du centre de contact, tout en intégrant aisément les opérateurs locaux de votre choix.

                                                                                                              • Email Template Edits Not Saving

                                                                                                                I can make an edit, click save, and see the blue bar annimation at the top, but the edits don't actually save. Important, because my email templates are now broken and clients are receiving bad emails. Tried on Chrome, Firefox and IE.

                                                                                                              • Default Ticket View - Table?

                                                                                                                Guys, We mostly use the table view to queue tickets. Maybe I am missing it - but how can I set that view as 'default" for all our agents? Thanks JV

                                                                                                              • Duplicate customers being created in Desk

                                                                                                                Hi I've trying to work out why I've getting duplicated customers being created in my desk. I have an external booking system that generates an email when I get a customer booking a job. A booking email gets sent to Desk where I manage the booking and

                                                                                                              • Can I have different users see different pick list values for Potential Stage?

                                                                                                                We have some users focusing on new business and others focusing on existing business, and they follow different sales processes/cycles, so we would like them to see different pick list values for Stage (eventually leading up to Closed Won/Lost in both cases).   And just to keep it interesting - some of these users will of course do a combination, so would need to see one pick list for their New business potentials and a different pick list for their Existing business ones.   Salesforce does this

                                                                                                              • Links in Instagram

                                                                                                                Hi there, I have been using Later for a while now but keen to come back to Zoho Social as Later doesn't offer tagging of pages on Facebook but they offer something Zoho doesn't. You can add a link to your bio which opens up your profile feed where images

                                                                                                              • Tracking Snippet not working in Zoho Marketing Automation!

                                                                                                                First off, the fact that you have to wait about 12-24 hours for every response is terrible. How are we supposed to conduct business? Second, we have been trying for several days to get the Tracking Code Snippet in marketing automation to work, to no avail.

                                                                                                              • email moderation issue when email is sent in the name of a mail group

                                                                                                                Symptom: an email that is sent by a mail group moderator in the name of a moderated mail group is held back for approval. Reproduction: Create a moderated mail group with members and moderators. Allow that mails can be sent in the name of the group (extended

                                                                                                              • Is there any way to send an Excel received by email to Dataprep?

                                                                                                                Every day I receive an email alert with an Excel file that I want to process through a Dataprep pipeline. To do this, I need to: -Save the file to disk -Open the pipeline -Run the pipeline -Update the source -Several clicks to select and open the saved

                                                                                                              • Recruit paid support?

                                                                                                                Hi all, Could anyone who has paid support package advise if it provides value for money with regards to support response times? Exploring the idea as unfortunately when we have faced issues with Recruit it has been a 7+ day timescale from reporting to

                                                                                                              • Using IMAP configuration for shared email inboxes

                                                                                                                Our customer service team utilizes shared email boxes to allow multiple people to view and handle incoming customer requests. For example, the customer sends an email to info@xxxx.com and multiple people can view it and handle the request. How can I configure

                                                                                                              • Add Lookup Field in Tasks Module

                                                                                                                Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (

                                                                                                              • Hotmail 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 to

                                                                                                              • Next Page