Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data?

Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field.



What is a Zoho CRM field?

A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM account to prefill the form.

This field accesses the CRM record using a unique key to identify which record you are searching for. The records can be identified by their last name, company, or any other unique field.

Setting up the integration

First you need to add the Zoho CRM field to your form. In the setup configuration, determine the following:
  1. Which field to use to identify the CRM record. For example, the Last Name of the record.
  2. Which details should be prefilled in the form. In the example below, the record's First Name , Email, and Phone are set to be prefilled. 



Notes on using Zoho CRM fields  
  • The Zoho CRM field will not work for embedded forms, or if forms are shared via public link(URL). It can only be used when the form is shared privately (within the organization). 
  • The person updating the data must be a user of both Zoho Form and Zoho CRM and have View/Edit access to records in CRM. 
Send out prefilled forms to your leads/contacts

If you need to share forms with people outside the organization and want the forms to be prefilled with the data from your CRM records, you can send the link to the form as an email in Zoho CRM. This allows a prefilled form to reach the end respondent, with a disabled Zoho CRM field. This keeps the data secure, because the disabled field will not reveal any information from other records.

How prefilling works?

The fields in the form are not populated when the form reaches the respondent. They will need search for a particular CRM record using a unique key, in this example, it is Last Name (as configured above). When the record is found, the mapped values in the Zoho CRM field setup will be autofilled into the form fields.

As shown in the example below, the First Name, Phone and the Email fields are automatically populated with data from the CRM record. The user can further modify the autofilled values, and also fill out the remaining form fields.



Now that you know how to prefill forms, we will discuss how this can be used to update or add data in the upcoming series.



Stay tuned!
Prasana.



If you have any questions or feedback to share, feel free to comment below or drop us an email at   support@zohoforms.com


    Access your files securely from anywhere








                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Tip #10: Automatically add tags to Zoho CRM records using form responses

                                                              You may be using tags to filter records, create reports based on specific tags, or let your sales team to know which clients to give priority to. Don't skip tagging for the crm records added via forms. The tags can be set to be automatically captured during the form submission. How it works When you set up a configuration to push form entries into CRM, you can add a tag to them automatically. The tag value can vary based on the respondent's input (captured using form fields), or you can include a
                                                            • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

                                                              How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM
                                                            • Tip #8: Pass Adwords data (GCLID) and UTM parameters to Zoho CRM using forms

                                                              When you are using forms to capture leads, you may wonder: " How did they find me? Which marketing campaign worked best?"  You can answer this question by capturing the Google Adwords data (GCLID) or the UTM parameter details in your CRM using forms. This can be a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the most effective ways to capture leads.  Capturing GCLID parameters How it works If a person finds your form by clicking an ad, a GCLID gets created. When they fill out
                                                            • ZUG (Zoho User Group) In-person Meetups - Maximize Data Efficiency with Zoho Forms & Beyond

                                                              Hello Zoho Community, Join us for our upcoming meetups in ANZ, where we'll dive into seamless data handling and maximizing efficiency through Zoho Forms and beyond. Explore the potential of Zoho Forms customization and integration, from mastering the
                                                            • Tip #9: Modify deal properties in Zoho CRM using form responses

                                                              How to modify deal properties of Zoho CRM records using form responses? Deal properties in Zoho CRM records are constantly modified based on the status of the deal. You can automatically modify deal properties (like the deal closing date, or deal name) and even update the deal stage, using form inputs. This can drastically reduce the work your team would otherwise do to search and change individual record details manually. How it works This works by integrating the form with the Deals module of Zoho


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner







                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方







                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • Default Tagging on API-generated Transactions

                                                                                                                If one assigns tags to an Item or Customer, those tags get auto-populated in each line item of an Invoice or Sales Order when one creates those documents. However, if one creates the Sales Order or Invoice via the API (either directly coding or using
                                                                                                              • DKIM cannot be enabled for the domain as no verified default selector present

                                                                                                                Hi Support Team, For Domain DKIM record trying to enable status. but showing error "DKIM cannot be enabled for the domain as no verified default selector present" So, please resolve the issue. Thank you.
                                                                                                              • unable to send message reason 554 5.1.8 Email outgoing blocked

                                                                                                                unable to send message reason 554 5.1.8 Email outgoing blocked
                                                                                                              • I can't log in to my account on Thunderbird

                                                                                                                I've just had to rebuild my PC (calamitous mess from Microsoft with Win10/Win 11 'upgrade' - they confirmed I had to start with a new build). I have used Zoho mail for years via Mozilla Thunderbird, but now I've had to download the latest version of TBird,
                                                                                                              • Should I Use DMARC?

                                                                                                                When I configure Zoho Mail's DMARC settings, it's mandatory to fill in the RUA and RUF (Aggregate notification email address*, Forensic notification email address*) addresses. When we enter an email address in these fields, we receive reports from the
                                                                                                              • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

                                                                                                                We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring
                                                                                                              • Books API Receiving an Error that Doesn't Make Sense when Creating Credit Note - trying to use 'ignore_auto_number_generation' argument

                                                                                                                Hello, I'm working on a newly created routine and I'm getting an error that doesn't make sense when trying to create a new Credit Note. Here is my POST request. Endpoint: https://www.zohoapis.com/books/v3/creditnotes?organization_id=########## Body:     {
                                                                                                              • How to move emails to Shared Mailbox?

                                                                                                                Hello, I created a Shred Mailbox instead of using a distribution group. But I cannot move previous emails to certain shared mailbox. Is it possible move some emails from inbox to shared mailbox?
                                                                                                              • Collaboration with free plan user.

                                                                                                                Hello. Do both users need to be on Pro plan to collaborate? Or can a Pro user share a note with a free plan user with the ability to edit?
                                                                                                              • Zoho Inventory Now Supports VeriFactu for Businesses in Spain

                                                                                                                Starting from January 1, 2026, Spain requires real-time invoice reporting for all B2B transactions. From July 2026, this requirement will extend to B2C transactions as well. All reporting must be carried out through the VeriFactu to AEAT (Agencia Estatal
                                                                                                              • Connection to other user

                                                                                                                Zoho Cliq handles sharing of Custom OAuth Connections that require individual user logins.
                                                                                                              • In arattai received message can't be deleted

                                                                                                                The issue has been noticed in following: arattai app (Android) arattai app (Window) arattai web While the message posted by me may be deleted, the ones received from others can't be. The item <Delete> change to <Report> when the message is a received
                                                                                                              • Analytics Portal

                                                                                                                I have the "standard plan" and want to explore the portal option; I activated the 15-day trial but do not see the pricing for the add-on. How can I get the price under "Upgrade add-ons." Thanks Rudy
                                                                                                              • Can I filter a Lookup field to only show related records from another Lookup in Zoho CRM?

                                                                                                                In our Leads module, we have two Lookup fields: Recruitment Agency – the agency that the lead came from Recruiter – the individual contact from that agency who sent us the lead Both fields link correctly to their respective records in CRM. However, our
                                                                                                              • Zoho Books API invoice email bouncing with 'relaying-issues' error

                                                                                                                I have waited over 30 days for zoho books uk to assist with the following and i have had no replies or tickets erronously closed. The service has been terrible - very unlike zoho! So i am raising this here hoping that a community member can assist: Hello,
                                                                                                              • How do I filter contacts by account parameters?

                                                                                                                Need to filter a contact view according to account parameter, eg account type. Without this filter users are overwhelmed with irrelevant contacts. Workaround is to create a custom 'Contact Type' field but this unbearable duplicity as the information already
                                                                                                              • Zoho Writer to Zoho Sign Template Misalignment – Request for Community

                                                                                                                We are currently facing a critical issue impacting our live business operations due to a misalignment problem between Zoho Writer templates and Zoho Sign output. Issue Summary: We have an automated workflow in Zoho CRM using Deluge scripts that generates
                                                                                                              • Account blocked

                                                                                                                Yesterday I got my Zeptomail account blocked due to too many hard bounces. My account is used exclusively for sending transactional emails (eg. your order has been shipped, a form has been filled, etc) and the sudden blocking impacted hundreds of websites
                                                                                                              • Migration Tool Download

                                                                                                                Since apparently you have to ask for the migration tool to download (why?), I need the download for the migration tool for exchange servers. Please forward link, thanks.
                                                                                                              • IF Formula

                                                                                                                Hi, I'm having trouble setting up a custom formula in a field. Can you help me with it? The formula should do the following: If the created date is less or equal to 30 days the field should display a string New in pieline or Exisitng pipeline if above
                                                                                                              • Autorespond to one specific sender

                                                                                                                Is there any way to create a rule or filter that sends an automatic reply to messages from one specific email address?  I really need to set up something like a "vacation response" but only for one "received from" address.
                                                                                                              • View comprehensive logs of all actions in Custom Module History

                                                                                                                Hello everyone, We are happy to announce our new feature, Detail View in Custom Module History, which enhances visibility, control and accountability over your records. Users can now access a detailed timeline of every action that has been performed on
                                                                                                              • Track ZohoForm Conversion using Postmessage event

                                                                                                                Hi, I’ve been using a third-party lead tracking tool to capture leads from my website along with their source. Earlier, with the HubSpot form, the third-party script was able to detect the postMessage event that iframe forms typically send back to the
                                                                                                              • Email task creator when task is updated/marked complete

                                                                                                                I am looking for a way to notify the creator of a task in zoho todo when - Task is updated Task is closed Comments entered 1 and 2 are critical, and I cannot find a zoho flow to do this. There is no way that as a manager I will know when someone has completed
                                                                                                              • Email Recall Feature In Zoho Mail Which Should Also Work For Outside Organisation Members

                                                                                                                Add a feature to recall or undo sending an email within a configurable short time window (e.g., 30 seconds to 2 minutes) after hitting send, similar to Gmail’s undo send. Currently the sent email can not be recall If the recipient is not from within your
                                                                                                              • How to implement calculating average value of averaged values?

                                                                                                                Hi, I'm trying to implement a formula in my layout for a module that calculates the average of 2 averaged values, but I can't do so using the formula custom field. To calculate the 2 averaged values, I could use the formula custom field, but in the custom
                                                                                                              • Zoho Recruit update published job boards

                                                                                                                If we have a job thats already posted on several different job boards and we edit this job in zoho recruit (e.g. the description of the job), does this then automatically update this new information to all the published job boards?  If not, how does the
                                                                                                              • Narrative 14: The magic bazaar of Desk

                                                                                                                Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 14: The magic bazaar of Desk Marketplace is a centralized platform where users can discover Zoho and third-party applications that can be integrated with their Desk account to facilitate
                                                                                                              • Collections Management: #2 Late Payment Automation

                                                                                                                "Sir, I'll process the payment by evening, please don't apply any late payment charges", the customer said while arranging papers on his desk. Sanjay stood there with a tired smile. He had already visited twice that week. Payment collection was one thing.
                                                                                                              • Create a table in the layout section of modules

                                                                                                                Dear Sirs, I would like to know whether is possible to create a table under new fields in layouts section of modules. In fact in this section there are single line, multi line, pick list, multi-select, date, formula etc. but I am unable to add a table
                                                                                                              • Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

                                                                                                                Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration
                                                                                                              • Power of Automation :: Automatic Task Status Handling for Users

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate
                                                                                                              • Question - why no way to input a 'tool description' and 'tree of 'tools'

                                                                                                                Every business is different, with different business processes. To be truly useful Zoho MCP needs to have user editable tool descriptions (or ruleset) and a 'tool tree' so that the LLM is context aware when being used. For example, the tool description
                                                                                                              • Develop Zoho Meeting as a Full Native Application (Not a Browser Wrapper)

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to suggest an important improvement regarding the Zoho Meeting desktop application. At the moment, the Zoho Meeting app feels more like a mini browser window or an iframe that loads the web
                                                                                                              • Can I create a custom function for chart of accounts?

                                                                                                                I'm trying to add a custom function that should run whenever a record in the Chart of Accounts module is edited, but on the form for creating a new function, the module dropdown does not include the chart of accounts as an option.
                                                                                                              • billing

                                                                                                                hi, I am being billed $12/year, and I can't remember why. My User ID is 691273115 Thanks for your help, --Kitty Pearl
                                                                                                              • Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

                                                                                                                Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these
                                                                                                              • Unable to confirm Super Admin assignment — confirmation button not working

                                                                                                                I’m trying to change the roles within my organization. I am currently a super admin and would like to add another user as a super admin. When I attempt to confirm the action, a screen appears asking for my password to verify my identity. However, when
                                                                                                              • Automation#36: Auto-create time-entry after performing the Blueprint transition

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone, This week’s edition focuses on configuring a custom function within Zoho Desk to streamline time tracking within the Blueprint. In this case, we create a custom field, and request the agent to enter the spending time within the single
                                                                                                              • Feature Request: Reviews

                                                                                                                Any chance we could get a "Reviews" element to put on sites? It should be extremely simple to do. Basically just take the comments box and add an option for a star rating. At the very least, it would be nice to have more customization options for the comment box so the text could be changed from "Comments" to "Reviews". I've looked at a bunch of embeddable review widgets but nothing meets my needs so this would be a great feature to have added to the site builder.
                                                                                                              • Next Page