What's New - April 2025 | Zoho Backstage
Hello there,
Phew! It’s been a busy month—and it’s all for you.
You know that feeling when your to-do list is long, your coffee’s gone cold, but your team is absolutely crushing it behind the scenes? That’s been us this month. Between brainstorming, building, tweaking, and testing—we've had our heads down, sleeves rolled up, and minds focused on one thing: helping you run smoother, smarter, and more engaging events.
Every little update we pushed live this month was sparked by a real need from organizers like you. And honestly? That’s our favorite way to build. You throw us the challenges, and we’ll keep showing up with better, faster, and (hopefully) cooler ways to handle them.
So as the calendar flips, we hope you’ll take a moment to explore what’s new, give it a spin, and tell us what you think.
Automated refunds with cancellation fee deductions
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
Event organizers often face the challenge of handling last-minute cancellations and issuing partial refunds. With our new custom cancellation policy, you can now automatically deduct a cancellation fee from the refund amount when an attendee cancels their booking.
How it works:
- Set a cancellation fee as a percentage of the ticket price.
- The system automatically handles fee deduction and tax adjustments.
Setting up:
- Navigate to Registrations > Cancellation Policy.
- Select Custom Cancellation Policy.
- Define up to 10 cancellation rules. (maximum window: 60 days before event)
Attendees will see the applicable policy:
- During registration
- On their Your Orders page
- While canceling their order
The deducted fee is automatically logged in the cancellation and refund history, viewable by both attendees and organizers.
Fee changes apply only to new orders. For partially refunded orders, any remaining amount can still be refunded later.
Order and attendee activity logs
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium and Ultimate plans
Get complete visibility into every update made to attendee and order data with our new activity log. Whether changes were made by an organizer, purchaser, or attendee, you can now view a detailed activity trail.
This audit log captures a record of updates and changes related to attendee and order management. Whether an organizer updates an attendee’s name, a purchaser reassigns a ticket, or a ticket class is changed, the system now logs each of these actions automatically for full traceability.
The log currently captures the following types of activities:
- Updates to attendee details, such as name, email, or custom fields.
- Changes made to order details, including purchaser info and billing data.
- Ticket reassignment, when a ticket is transferred to another attendee.
- An order being marked as paid or unpaid, reflecting changes in payment status.
- Ticket class changes, such as upgrading or downgrading an attendee's ticket.
These logs are grouped into three categories for easy review:
- Portal Activities – actions performed via the organizer portal.
- Order Activities – all modifications related to individual orders.
- Attendee Activities – updates and changes linked directly to attendees.
This enhancement is especially helpful for teams managing large events, providing an added layer of accountability and operational clarity. With audit trails now available, you can confidently trace back who made what change and when, minimizing confusion and improving team collaboration.
Export attendee data with deleted fields
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
Managing attendee information often requires flexibility, especially when event organizers make changes to registration forms mid-way through the event setup or after registrations have already started. To support this, Zoho Backstage now offers a new enhancement that allows organizers to include deleted fields when exporting attendee data.
This enhancement ensures that you won’t lose access to that data, even if the field no longer appears on the live form. This gives full control over whether historical data from removed fields should be preserved and reviewed offline.
How to use:
- Navigate to Registrations > Attendees.
- Click Export.
- There, you'll find a new option: Include deleted fields. When selected, any data submitted for removed fields will be included in the export.
In the exported file, these deleted fields will be clearly marked using the following format: {fieldName}_Deleted. This helps distinguish them from currently active fields while still making the historical data available for review or reporting purposes.
Add attachments to scheduled emails
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
Attachments are a common and essential part of email communication, especially in event planning. Organizers often need to send event brochures, images, venue maps, or other materials to attendees ahead of time. With this update, they can now do so simply within their scheduled emails.
How to use:
- To add an attachment, simply go to Communicate > Emails > Scheduled Emails > Create an Email > Options > Add Attachment. You can upload relevant files from your event or space library during the email creation process.
- You can upload relevant files from your event or space library during the email creation process.
When you preview the email, the attachments will be visible so you can verify everything is in place before sending. If any attached file is later removed from the event or space library, it will be shown as “deleted” in the email preview—helping you avoid broken links or missing files.
Try it out the next time you send a scheduled email!
Session details in speaker emails
Plan availability: Available in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
We’ve enhanced speaker communication in Zoho Backstage by adding session details directly to speaker emails. This ensures speakers have all the information they need—without requiring additional follow-ups or manual updates.
Two key email updates have been introduced:
- Welcome Speaker email now includes the speaker’s assigned session details, helping them understand exactly when and where they’re expected to present.
- Session Updated email is a new automated email that gets triggered whenever sessions are assigned to a speaker or when existing session details, such as timing or location, are changed. The email will show either a New Sessions section, an Updated Sessions section, or both, depending on the changes made.
You can find and manage these templates under:
- Communication > Emails > Automated Emails > Speakers
Enable/disable Workflows during event creation
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans
This feature gives event organizers more control over workflow management during the event creation process in Zoho Backstage. Any workflows configured at the portal level are automatically listed when creating a new event. By default, these workflows are enabled, but organizers can choose to disable specific ones based on the needs of the event—directly during setup.
This flexibility helps prevent workflows from being overlooked or incorrectly applied, making the event setup more efficient and consistent. Organizers can also revisit and update these settings later, ensuring each event has the most relevant workflows in place.
SalesIQ chat in OnAir
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans
We’re excited to share that SalesIQ Chat is now integrated with the OnAir platform, enabling real-time communication between participants and organizers during live events and rehearsals.
Attendees can now initiate chats directly within OnAir, ensuring timely responses to their questions. Speakers and exhibitors can also use the chat feature during rehearsals for smooth coordination.
Organizers can configure chat visibility from:
- Design > Edit Website > Integrations > Zoho Sales IQ
- Settings > Integrations > Live Chat
You can choose to display the chat on the event website, within OnAir, or both. All conversations are managed through your existing SalesIQ portal.
This integration enhances engagement and simplifies event communication for a better overall experience.
Gamification Leaderboard now supports public display links
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans
Leaderboard display allows event organizers to showcase real-time competition results across the venue, encouraging attendees to engage more actively through visible, friendly competition.
This encourages friendly competition and boosts attendee engagement.
You can generate secure, public links directly from the Manage Leaderboard page. These links display only ranking information—no sensitive attendee data—and are ideal for projection screens throughout your event space. Multiple links can be created, each with a unique session ID, screen name, browser, and IP, giving you full visibility and control.
Key features include:
- Expiration controls: Links expire at the event’s end time, with the option to extend or set a custom expiry date.
- Security: A password-protected interface ensures only authorized users can access the leaderboard. Use the Copy Password button to easily share credentials with your AV team or display partners.
- Screen tracking: Each display session requires a screen name, which appears alongside session data in your dashboard, making it simple to identify and manage screens.
- Session control: End individual sessions instantly or reset the password to terminate all active sessions for added security.
Important: If you don’t copy the link at the time of creation, it can’t be retrieved again—make sure to save it immediately.
To set it up, go to Manage > Engagement > Gamification.
Bring your leaderboard to life—visibly, securely, and with complete control.
Time field in forms
Plan availability: The availability of this feature depends on the type of form:
- Registration form – Included in Premium and Ultimate plans
- Custom forms – Included exclusively in the Ultimate plan
- Exhibitor request form – Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans. Also available in the Essentials plan when used with the Exhibitor add-on.
- Sponsor request form – Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
- Session feedback form – Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
You can now collect time-specific responses using the newly introduced Time field in the form builder. Ideal for gathering details like arrival times, session preferences, or any time-based input, this feature gives you greater precision and control during data collection.
Organizers can configure the field to accept inputs in 12-hour or 24-hour format, and optionally define a time range to limit selections. The default format shown to respondents will align with the event’s time format set under Manage > Event Info.
For example, if you're coordinating airport pickups or hotel transfers, you can easily request attendees’ expected arrival times during registration or through custom forms.
Registered session participants export
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
You can export the list of registered attendees for individual sessions, making it easier to manage participation and access attendee details at the session level.
To use this feature, navigate to Manage > Sessions, select the relevant session, and go to the Participants > Registered tab. From there, you’ll find the option to export the list of participants who have registered for that specific session.
The export file will include the following columns:
- Name
- Email
- Ticket ID
- Ticket Class
- Session Title
This update provides quick access to session-specific attendee data, helping organizers better plan logistics, monitor participation, and coordinate follow-ups.
You keep the ideas coming—we’ll keep delivering.
Let’s make May 2025 even better.
All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.
If you have any questions, please contact support@zohobackstage.com.
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
Jithan Raghuraj
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
Let us add Lookup fields in the Blueprint Transitions
We are unable to add Lookup Fields in the blueprint transitions in Zoho Desk, we wanted to make it a requirement for our workflow but since it's not available in the transition we cannot. The lookup field exists in the Layout: But it cannot be added/selectedHow do I create an update to the Cost Price from landed costs?
Hi fellow Zoho Inventory battlers, I am new to Zoho inventory and was completely baffled to find that the cost price of products does not update when a new purchase order is received. The cost price is just made up numbers I start with when the productHow to change Zoho Vault password
I am searching where I can change the Vault Password after having changed the Zoho account password. I don't see this option anywhere in my account. It should be simple and accessible! Please help. Thanks!Zoho Workdrive - Communication / Chat Bar
Hi Team, Please consider adding an option to allow admins to turn on or off the Zoho Communication Bar. Example of what I mean by Communication Bar: It's such a pain sometimes when I'm in WorkDrive and I want to share a link to a file with a colleagueFrom Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View
Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world withPrefered Bin Missing in android APP
Andoroid app dosent show preferred bin in the picklist. The workaround support reccomend is to use the computre to create the picklist. it shuld be information to be shown aas basic for the pciker.Where to Add Machines as Products to Map with Assets in Zoho FSM?
implementing Zoho FSM for a clinical equipment supply company. The business sells and installs clinical machines in hospitals and clinics, and they also handle service requests, scheduled maintenance, calibration visits, and general machine upkeep. InChanging Department often causes the Firefox tab to freeze
Title, it doesn't seem to happen with neither Opera nor Chrome. And even in Firefox, sometimes it just lets me change the department I'm in no problem, even to All Departments which is probably the most, like, resource heavy? But most of the time, theShow Zoom Link in Recipient's Calendar
We set up meetings within a record, selecting the "Make this an online meeting". We use Zoom. Most of the recipients go to their calendar (usually Gmail or Outlook, corporate) to join the Zoom meeting, but there is no Zoom link in the calendar. Can thisCreating multiple CRM leads from a Zoho Forms subform
Hi all, We have a heavily used intake form that is used for new leads as a part of our intake. There is a subform that allows the lead to add additional team members, their titles and other basic info. That form submission creates a new Lead and the subformPassing the CRM
Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine whenZoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade
Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everythingZoho Bigin - should be able to link a "contact" to multiple "companies"
Hello Support, I called into telephone support and was told that a contact can only be linked to one company. We have situations were director are contacts of and directors of multiple companies so that seems a basic weakness in Bigin. When go to addDoes Thrive work with Zoho Billing (Subscriptions)?
I would like to use Thrive with Zoho Billing Subscriptions but don't see a way to do so. Can someone point me in the right direction? Thank youUsing 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 configureOpen a record to edit based on another form being edited
Hi all, I am trying to edit a record based on another record being edited. It works out like this: When I create a Monthly_Update and then submit I open the Monthly_Levels form and pass the ID from the Monthly_Update to a field called mu. I want it toRadio button data won't update
Wondering if anyone is experiencing the same problem. I tried bulk updating our data on Zoho Creator using API and noticed that the radio button field wasn't updated. I have tried updating it manually, it didn't work. When I tried updating a text fieldSynchronise item image between Zoho Commerce and Zoho Books/Inventory/CRM
Here is a blindingly simple idea to tie several Zoho products together. Zoho - please include a method to synchronise the item image (or images) from one Zoho application to another. For example, if you upload an item image in Zoho Inventory, a user shouldUsing a CRM Client Script Button to create a Books Invoice
Hello, I need help handling error messages returned to my client script from a function. The scenario I have setup a client script button which is available from each Deal. This CS executes a crm function, which in turn creates an invoice based on theAccessing shared mailboxes through Trident (Windows)
Hi, I have a created a couple of shared mailboxes. The mailboxes are showing up on the browser based Zoho workplace, but I cannot seem to figure out how to access my shared inboxes through Trident (Windows). Am I missing something or is this feature notUploading a signed template from Sign to Creator
Good day, Please help me on how to load a signed document back into Creator after the process has been completed in Sign. Below is the code that I am trying, pdfFile = response.toFile("SignedDocument_4901354000000372029.pdf"); info pdfFile; // AttachMCP > Creator connection failing with Claude
I'm trying to get claude to access any of my Zoho Creator apps and it keeps failing. I have enabled all tools for creator and ensured in claude settings that everything is authorised. Here is what claude says : Unfortunately, the error messages I'm receivingNo Ability to Rename Record Template PDFs in SendMail Task
As highlighted previously in this post, we still have to deal with the limitation of not being able to rename a record template when sent as a PDF using the SendMail Task. This creates unnecessary complexity for what should be a simple operation, andNew in CPQ: Smarter suggestions for Product Configurator by Zia, and additional criteria in Price Rules
Hello everyone! CPQ's Product Configurator in Zoho CRM allows sales teams to define structured product bundles through configuration rules, ensuring that the right product combinations are applied consistently in quotes. Admins set up these configurationsFeature Request: Dynamic Dimension Control for zc_LoadIn Popups
As detailed in this community discussion, Zoho Creator's zc_LoadIn parameter is a vital tool for opening components (forms, reports, or pages) in modal dialogs via HTML snippets, Notes, or Rich Text Fields. While powerful, this feature suffers from aIntroducing Multi-Asset Support in Work Orders, Estimates, and Service Appointments
We’re excited to announce a highly requested enhancement in Zoho FSM — you can now associate multiple assets with Work Orders, Estimates, and Service Appointments. This update brings more clarity, flexibility, and control to your field service operations,Process between CRM and Campaigns to ensure double opt-in contacts?
I would like to ask for a few clarifications to ensure we fully comply with best practices and legal requirements: According to the documentation (Zoho Campaigns CRM sync – Default option), the best and recommended way to sync contacts is by using theZoho Books - New Interface keep details with PDF View
Hello, The Zoho Books Interface has changed for estimates etc... One thing is causing issues though. Before the change, in PDF view you could see the detail information including custom fields entered for the estimate. Now, you have to switch betweenZoho 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 theTip #52- Zoho Assist Downloads: Everything You Need in One Place- 'Insider Insights'
Looking to start remote support sessions faster, manage unattended devices effortlessly, or join sessions without any hassle? The Zoho Assist Downloads Center has all the tools you need—across desktop, mobile, IoT, and browser environments. With our rangeCondition based aggregate fields in subforms
Hello everyone, We're excited to inform you about the latest enhancements made to our aggregate field capabilities in subforms; create aggregate fields based on conditions! An aggregate field is a column on which a mathematical function has been applied.Presenting ABM for Zoho CRM: Expand and retain your customers with precision
Picture this scenario: You're a growing SaaS company ready to launch a powerful business suite, and are looking to gain traction and momentum. But as a business with a tight budget, you know acquiring new customers is slow, expensive, and often deliversSalesInbox
Sorry for saying this but SalesInbox is a really mess. BIG FAIL. Bad UX and VERY bad IMAP sync. I don't know how can someone use this to be more productive. It's just the oposite. I'm trying to use SalesInbox for a while but sales people do not have just sales activities so we still have to came back to the mail app anyway. Folders of SalesInbox are not in sync with folders of mail server (wich syncs Ok to mobile) and vice-versa wich leads to double work as now you have to cleanup 3 inboxes (MailPrint labels on selected view
How can I print labels for select view. Always defaults to ALL contacts when I select View = Mailing Labels. Thanks!!Update CRM Price Books to include volume discounts as per Zoho Books/Inventory
Once again, Zoho has 3 great products that all store information in different ways (which is not helpful when you attempt to integrate the 3 products - one of the best features of Zoho). Zoho CRM Price Books are basic at best. Zoho Books/Inventory PriceChange in Zoho CRM API?
Hello, I am using the Zoho API trough the PHP SDK v2.1 Since few days, I noticed that I have to change the way I pass the data to the API when I create, update, or upsert a record. Dates Before I was passing a PHP date object to "$record->addKeyValue(...)",All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest updateTip #40- Strengthen Remote Support with IP-based Restrictions in Zoho Assist– ‘Insider Insights’
Protecting sensitive data and preventing unauthorized access is a top priority for any organization. With IP-based restrictions in Zoho Assist, you can ensure that only users from trusted networks can initiate remote support sessions. Say your IT teamPrinting Client Lists
I was looking for a way to print out client lists based on the account. For example if I want all my contacts from company A on one sheet, how would I do this. Moderation Update (3rd December 2025): There are two challenges discussed in this thread. 1.Qwen to be the default open source Generative AI model in Zoho Desk
Hello everyone, At Zoho Desk, we will make the latest Qwen (30B parameters) the default LLM for our Generative AI features, including Answer Bot, Reply Assistant, and others. As a subsequent step, we will discontinue support for Llama (8B parameters).Next Page