What’s New in Zoho Backstage – November 2025 Updates

What’s New in Zoho Backstage – November 2025 Updates

A new month, a new set of updates. With a mix of new features and thoughtful improvements, you get smoother workflows and better control across registrations, exhibitors, and communications.

Let's take a look at what's new and enhanced in Zoho Backstage for November 2025. 

Ticket Waitlist

You asked, you waited, and yes…the waiting finally paid off.

The Waitlist feature helps organizers manage sold-out ticket classes by automatically handling excess demand. When tickets become available due to cancellations or increased quantities, waitlist tickets are automatically confirmed, subject to event and ticket limits. The feature is enabled per ticket class from Registrations > Ticket Class > Edit > Advanced Settings > Waitlist, where organizers can set a specific waitlist quantity. Once tickets sell out, the website displays the Join Waitlist option.



All waitlisted entries appear in a dedicated Waitlist tab under Registrations, where organizers can view, edit, or cancel entries individually or in bulk (up to 20 at a time). Once confirmed or canceled, entries are removed from this tab. Waitlist orders remain visible in the Orders tab with a clear indicator, and waitlisted tickets are tagged within order details. Associated attendees display a Waitlist status in the Attendees tab.



If a waitlist ticket is canceled, a full refund is always issued, regardless of the event’s cancellation policy. Online payments are refunded to the original payment method, offline payments are marked as refunded offline, and unpaid orders are simply canceled. In mixed orders, cancellation fees apply only to confirmed tickets.

For approval-based tickets, requests go through approval before joining the queue. Waitlist confirmations stop once the event enters the Running state. Unconfirmed waitlist tickets are automatically canceled and refunded three days after the event starts. Automated emails notify purchasers about waitlist orders and confirmations.
InfoPlan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans. 

Exhibitor Pro

A smarter, more flexible way to manage exhibitors and booths.

Zoho Backstage introduces a major upgrade to exhibitor management with the Exhibitor Pro add-on, bringing a clear separation between exhibitor visibility (directory listing) and interactive booth management. This structure gives organizers better flexibility, clearer pricing, and the ability to scale across events of any size.



Organizers can create exhibitor categories with benefits, manage exhibitor profiles, handle requests and proposals, display exhibitors on the website and app, assign booths, manage floor plans, and track booth-level analytics such as revenue, leads, meetings, members, and exhibitors. Exhibitors don't log in at this level. It's designed purely for organizer-managed visibility.

Exhibitor Pro is a paid, booth-level upgrade that unlocks full booth functionality. Organizers can assign one Exhibitor Pro add-on per booth, manage booth members and admins, enable collateral, videos, banners, lead scanning, meetings, and complimentary tickets, as well as track detailed booth analytics. Exhibitors gain access to their Exhibitor Space to manage content, leads, meetings, inquiries, members, and rehearsal tools.

Organizers can explore a fully functional booth with sample content, media, leads, meetings, inquiries, members, and Exhibitor Space navigation before purchasing.
Info
Included across Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans, this layer supports unlimited exhibitor listings per event. Exhibitor Pro remains $49 per booth. Existing customers are auto-migrated. Premium plans includes 5 Pro add-ons, Ultimate includes 15, and they now support unlimited exhibitor listings by default.

Exhibitor Import

Exhibitor Import makes it easy to onboard exhibitors in bulk for large expos and recurring events. Instead of creating exhibitors one by one, organizers can now upload exhibitor data using CSV, XLS, or XLSX files and manage everything in one go—saving time and reducing manual errors.

The import option is available within the Exhibitors module and follows a simple three-step flow, supporting up to 500 records per upload. During import, organizers can choose whether to send the Exhibitor Request Approved email to imported exhibitors. This option is enabled by default and can be turned off when communication isn't required.

Smart field mapping and validations ensure data accuracy. Mandatory fields include Exhibitor Category, Company Name, First Name, Email, and Booth Number. The system checks for duplicate emails, category mismatches, duplicate booths, and missing mandatory data. For blank price fields, organizers can apply default pricing, mark exhibitors as free, or skip those records.

After import, organizers receive detailed success and error summaries, with row-specific failure reasons and email reports. 

A Merge Existing Requests option prevents duplicates by automatically merging matching records while retaining full history.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans. 

Other enhancements 

Quick access to the embeddable widget

We’ve made it easier for event organizers to access the Embeddable Widget for attendee registrations with a new quick-access entry point. The Embeddable Widget is now available directly under Registrations > Setup > Embeddable Widget, allowing organizers to find and configure it right from the Registration module.



This shortcut is in addition to the existing access under Manage > Promote, so your current workflow remains unchanged. With this enhancement, setting up and managing your registration embed is now faster and more intuitive.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans. 

WhatsApp message preference for attendee imports

Organizers can now choose whether WhatsApp messages should be sent during attendee imports. This helps prevent unnecessary WhatsApp credit usage, especially when importing attendees for post-event reporting, internal tracking, or data updates.

During the import process, you can enable or disable WhatsApp messaging from Registrations > Attendees > Import. Based on your selection, WhatsApp messages will either be sent or skipped for the imported attendees.

After the import is completed, the summary screen clearly indicates:
  1. If WhatsApp messages were skipped based on your selection.
  2. If messaging couldn't be sent because WhatsApp isn't enabled at the event level.
This ensures full visibility into message delivery during imports.

Smarter country code detection during registration

Phone number country codes are now auto-detected during registration based on the attendee’s location, improving WhatsApp messaging accuracy and credit usage. The system follows this priority:
  1. IP address
  2. Browser locale
  3. Event location (for in-person events)
This works across in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. 

Zone module support in workflow automation

You can now automate zone-based access control using Workflow Rules in Zoho Backstage. The Zone module is now available as a workflow trigger under Portal Settings > Automation > Workflow Rules.

With the new Before Check-In, Check-In, and Check-Out triggers, you can control how many times a participant is allowed to access a zone. This enables use cases like limiting food counter visits or restricting multiple goodie collections. Once the defined limit is reached, further check-ins are blocked and organizers are notified in real time.

Info
All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.
We’re excited for you to experience them in your next event. If you have any question or need access to early access features, please contact support@zohobackstage.com

    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.






                              Zoho Developer Community




                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts





                                                              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

                                                                                                                • Advance Payment Record Removed When Deleting Applied Credit from Bill

                                                                                                                  Hello, So while working with vendor advance payments, I noticed that removing the applied credit from a bill also removes the corresponding entry from the Payments Made section. What I did : Recorded an advance payment to a vendor through Payments Made.
                                                                                                                • What is the best way to convert MSG file to Word format?

                                                                                                                  The best way to convert MSG files to Word format is by using a reliable and professional tool Aryson MSG file Converter. Manual methods are often time-consuming and may not preserve email formatting, attachments, or metadata accurately. In contrast, Aryson
                                                                                                                • Address Typeahead Extension for Zoho Books

                                                                                                                  I installed the Address Typeahead extension for zoho books but when I went to configure it, it said that that version was deprecated. Is there a newer version somewhere?
                                                                                                                • Zoho Projects : Task should auto-update to 'In Progress' if timer started

                                                                                                                  Namaskaram. Right now, if a Task's timer is started, the Task stays in 'Not Started' status. One has to manually update it to 'In Progress'. From a #uxdesign standpoint, it is an unnecessarily two step process to start working on a task. It would be better that, if I start the timer on a task, it should automatically change to 'In Progress' status. Crafted with ❤️ Zoho Gurus | Zoho One Practice Team @ CubeYogi Zoho Authorised Partner | 7+ Yrs | 200+ Projects | 100+ Customers
                                                                                                                • Invoice template with sales tax totals

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone,  I am trying to edit my invoice template so that only the total sales tax collected for my tax group shows up. Right now, under by sub total, each individual tax shows up and that takes up a lot of unnessary space, so I just want the one
                                                                                                                • Zoho Delayed Posting & Loss of Article Thumbnails on BlueSky

                                                                                                                  Hello! I am wondering if anyone else has had the either of the following issues when posting to socials via Zoho and if there is a fix? 1. Post says it is scheduled or it is live when sent off via Zoho but it doesn't show up on socials till some time
                                                                                                                • Connection Not Secure (Certificate Mismatch) Error

                                                                                                                  Hi, Just a fyi, when you go to https://bigin.zohocloud.ca/bigin/Home you get a "Your Connection Is Not private" error. (Certificate mismatch to domain.) I get to that page after I have signed up and signed in as a customer and select the Access Bigin
                                                                                                                • Recording the Investment

                                                                                                                  Hello, - One Investor Invested to our company, So how do we record investment which we received in our bank in the Zoho books ? - How do we record if we provide shares to the investor in the Zoho books? Thanks
                                                                                                                • Export Invoices to XML file

                                                                                                                  Namaste! ZOHO suite of Apps is awesome and we as Partner, would like to use and implement the app´s from the Financial suite like ZOHO Invoice, but, in Portugal, we can only use certified Invoice Software and for this reason, we need to develop/customize on top of ZOHO Invoice to create an XML file with specific information and after this, go to the government and certified the software. As soon as we have for example, ZOHO CRM integrated with ZOHO Invoice up and running, our business opportunities
                                                                                                                • Client and Vendor portal at the same time

                                                                                                                  We have companies that serve both as clients and vendors and they are linked. However, we have a problem giving them access to the vendor/client portal. If they accept the invitation from the client portal, when we try to invite them to the vendor portal
                                                                                                                • Integrate Multiple ZohoBooks organization with zoho projects

                                                                                                                  We have successfully connected our Zoho Books with Zoho Projects for synronizing timesheet data. Our Business specialty is, that the staff of the Main company (A) is working on several projects, but the Clients are sometimes contracted and paying to a
                                                                                                                • Ways to calculate the difference form two years or months

                                                                                                                  Hi to everyone I have this request: I need to show the difference or variation from two periods (years or months) whether using a Pivot View or a graph, in this is case is better in a Pivot view. In the pivot view I will have the amount or results from
                                                                                                                • Career site URL - Suggestion to modify URL of non-english job posting

                                                                                                                  Hi, I would like to suggest making a few modification to career sites that are not in english. Currently, the URL are a mix of different languages and are very long. It makes for very unprofessional looking URLs... Here is an example of one of our URL
                                                                                                                • Cliq 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 ? Regards
                                                                                                                • Introducing Contract Settings & Backdated Contracts in Zoho Contracts

                                                                                                                  We are rolling out updates that give you more control over how contracts are created and managed in Zoho Contracts. From defining default workflows with Contract Settings to aligning agreements with real timelines using Backdated Contracts, these enhancements
                                                                                                                • Celebrating our customers on International Client's Day

                                                                                                                  Hi everyone, Every customer is part of our Zoho Desk family, and we wouldn’t want to miss celebrating you on this special day. This International Client's Day, we’d like to take a moment to appreciate every customer who has helped us grow and build meaningful
                                                                                                                • Zoho Books | Product updates | February 2026

                                                                                                                  Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From Advanced Reporting Tags to the ability to mark projects as completed, explore the latest updates designed to improve your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Advanced Reporting
                                                                                                                • Faster Ticket Response with use of Snippets in comments

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, Responding to tickets often involves repeating the same messages, whether it is sharing updates with customers or leaving notes for internal collaboration. To make this easier and more consistent, we are allowing agents to use snippets
                                                                                                                • Improving Zoho Creator's email deliverability

                                                                                                                  Hi all, We're pleased to announce updates to email handling in Zoho Creator to improve the deliverability of the emails sent from the Creator platform. These updates have been designed keeping in mind the fact that emails from domains with strong sender
                                                                                                                • What's New in Zoho Billing | February 2026

                                                                                                                  February brings a powerful set of updates to Zoho Billing, from smarter subscription management and flexible payment options to better reporting and more control over your hosted pages. Here's everything that's new this February. Create Subscriptions
                                                                                                                • Reassign Partially Saved Entries

                                                                                                                  Hi, I would like to be able to go to Partially Saved Entries and like the option to delete them I would like the option to multi-select and be able to reassign them to another user to complete (Such as when a user has left the company). Thanks Dan
                                                                                                                • Can we rely on order of returned ids when inserting multiple records?

                                                                                                                  Hello! API https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/insert-records.html does not mention that the response array will match the input array*, keeping this important information implicit and someone might have doubts to rely on it. (*the response
                                                                                                                • Displaying only unread tickets in ticket view

                                                                                                                  Hello, I was wondering if someone might be able to help me with this one. We use filters to display our ticket list, typically using a saved filter which displays the tickets which are overdue or due today. What I'd really like is another filter that
                                                                                                                • What is a realistic turnaround time for account review for ZeptoMail?

                                                                                                                  On signing up it said 2-3 business days. I am on business-day 6 and have had zero contact of any kind. No follow-up questions, no approval or decline. Attempts to "leave a message" or use the "Contact Us" form have just vanished without a trace. It still
                                                                                                                • Best Way to Manage Approvals Within Blueprint Stages?

                                                                                                                  Hi, I am working on a requirement involving Blueprint and approval logic in Zoho CRM and would appreciate some guidance. I understand that approval processes do not trigger when a record is currently within a blueprint, which makes it challenging to implement
                                                                                                                • Zoho Books: tax is not automatically pulled from product-data anymore - why?

                                                                                                                  Hi, until a short time ago, you could set a default taxrate for each product/item. This taxrate automatically appeared each time the item was chosen in an invoice or quote. Why does this not work anymore? The field is still there at the product record,
                                                                                                                • Issue creating a YTD report with last years numbers

                                                                                                                  I am looking to create a widget to compare the YTD leads we have in 2023 to the YTD leads we had in 2022. I'm having issues with the aggregate formula creation to gain access to the 2022 Leads YTD data point. Feeling like this is a common view of data
                                                                                                                • Brand Studio Projects in Analytics

                                                                                                                  Hi All, Currently pulling my hair out over trying to link together some social media posts for a reporting dashboard in Analytics, so I thought I'd see if anyone on here had a solution. Our Marketing Team created a LinkedIn campaign in Zoho Brand Studio,
                                                                                                                • Manage Testing Process in Zoho Sprints

                                                                                                                  Agile framework supports a robust quality assurance system that incorporates continuous testing throughout the development lifecycle of the product. The agile testing team focuses on planning the testing around the development, identifying defects early
                                                                                                                • Announcing the Zohotshots of the ZDC Hackathon 2025

                                                                                                                  Hey everyone, The wait is finally over! After weeks of building, experimenting, and pushing creative boundaries, we’re excited to announce the winners of the second edition of the ZDC Hackathon. This edition brought together an incredible community of
                                                                                                                • ZOHO CRM Button Integration

                                                                                                                  Hi Team, I’m currently working with Zoho CRM along with a custom application where I fetch deal details from the CRM and use them based on my requirements for each deal. Now, I want to enhance this setup. I plan to create a button on the Deal Detail page
                                                                                                                • Major journey crash and not loading. Zoho Marketing Automation

                                                                                                                  Hi all. Last night (19MAR, 2026) Marketing Automation for a specific journey completely crashed, and since the crash the specific journey has failed to load at all (blank journey canvas, no journey appears, no menu accessible) but other separate journey's
                                                                                                                • Candidate Assessments, no workflows.

                                                                                                                  I have an issue where I would like to trigger a workflow based on a candidate assessment being completed. Sometimes a returning candidate will complete a second assessment, on completion the status of the candidate will be updated to "Unqualified" if
                                                                                                                • Mail Merge in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                                  Hello Team, Do we have an option of mail merge within Zoho Desk like we have in Zoho CRM? We have a requirement to generate some pdf file in the form of mail merge doc from the ticket.
                                                                                                                • Workdrive backup and default storage selection

                                                                                                                  Hi community, I have been informed by Zoho that workdrive will be the default storage mechanism for crm and projects. These 2 Apps seem to have different design on how they interact with workdrive for storage. 1. Crm: seems to have files saves at the
                                                                                                                • Zoho vault filling in a form it's not supposed to fill in

                                                                                                                  Hey there, I have a problem with ZOHO Vault autofill. In a software package, we have these options: For some reason zoho vault always replaces what's in the top option and fills a 2fa password in there, and then saves that value.. Meaning whatever was
                                                                                                                • Zoho Booking Integration with Desk

                                                                                                                  Just wanting to share something in case it helps someone else who may run into a similar use case as we did. Issue: Currently, the Zoho Booking integration with desk will drop a comment into the ticket when a customer books a time, however it won't change
                                                                                                                • Let us view and export the full price books data from CRM

                                                                                                                  I quote out of CRM, some of my clients have specialised pricing for specific products - therefore we use Price Books to manage these special prices. I can only see the breakdown of the products listed in the price book and the specialised pricing for
                                                                                                                • Syncing calendar with Google Calendar doesn't work when events are sent to auto repeat

                                                                                                                  Hi... The ZOHO CRM -- GOOGLE CALENDAR sync is broken. If I create a single event on either side, sync works, but if I create an event with auto repeat on either side it doesn't work. Furthermore, events created before the sync don't show up in the calendar.
                                                                                                                • Organization wide Account and Contacts Visibility/Sharing Capabilities?

                                                                                                                  Has anyone figured out a way to make visibility or sharing of Accounts and Contacts to be available across the entire organization without having to have every individual user edit their Sharing permissions? For our sales folks they need to be able to
                                                                                                                • Next Page