Zoho Books - Zoho CRM INTEGRATION. FULL OF LIMITATIONS = RENDERED USELESS.
A word of caution for anyone thinking of trying the integration. This might save you loads of time.
SHAME this
isn't clarified in the guidance notes.
THE MAIN PROBLEM AREAS THAT RENDER THE ZOHO BOOKS - ZOHO CRM INTEGRATION LARGELY USELESS:
1. The GUI of Inventory Modules (from ZohoBooks) are significantly archaic in comparison to the ones in the CRM + with lots of limitations. Limited fields and field types.
2. Record View Page: NO record details view. Once you create an estimate (for example) then you can only view it as a template. What about other fields you may want to exclude from template?? The only way to see it is to edit the record. Ditto in SO's or Invoices.
3. Emails: If you create a template and send an email using the button in Zoho Books (Save & Send Email), these emails DO NOT show up in a list view, as they would if you sent from a record in the CRM. Resulting in loss of time because you need to look in different places to figure if an Estimate was actually sent. No IMAP integration of emails like in CRM.
4. ZERO sales enablement: Before you create an invoice, you need to Quote. And the Estimate module in Books being limited in functionality (no tasks, no reminders etc) is a deal breaker in the first place.
5. NO custom Lookup fields in ZohoBooks: Before you create a quote, a potential is created (to reflect in your sales pipeline) and then comes the quote. There is no way to associate an Estimate in ZohoBooks to a Potential in Zoho CRM. They are all associated with the Contacts - so what if you've multiple potentials for a contact?? Several clicks and navigation through multiple records to get to the potential for which you're quoting.
PS: In creator you can add ZCRM lookup fields very easily, not sure why that can't be done in Books.
6. Convoluted nomenclature:
7. Each Customer Account is "tied" to a currency. Meaning, you cannot transact with the customer in different currency other than what is set when the Customer Account record was created. So if a Customer Account record was created with USD then if you want to quote them in GBP - you need to create a duplicate Contact/Customer Account with GBP as currency. This is dumb! Because it renders the "Statement of account" feature useless.Contacts in CRM is a Contact Person AND in Books it can either be Contact, Account or Vendor.Accounts in CRM is a Company AND in Books it is called a Contact.Vendors in CRM is filed under Contacts in Books in a list view.
8. NO WAY to have Parent Account associated with Accounts to circumvent the issue in point 7 OR just in case you're dealing with different branch offices of a Customer and also a head office / parent company. Forget about a SOA for a customer's group of companies.
9. Delivery Note and Packing slip are just printed using the Invoice record details. So an invoice needs to be created before you can create a Delivery Note or Packing Slip.
WHATIF your customers are on credit terms of say "Invoice on Delivery" and "Due 30 days from invoice"
IT messes up the Invoice Date and Due date in your accounts.
10. No option to track status of a Delivery Note / Packing List individually because they're just templates printed using Invoice.
11. Commercial Invoice: An important one for customs which declares value of the goods being shipped. This is MISSING altogether. Ofcourse you can create a module in creator to do this but when you have 10's of line items its inefficient at best to type it all up because DELUGE doesn't copy subform table in between records.
i.e. If you convert a Sales Order to Invoice - your line items are copied. However if you have a custom module Inventory in creator you cannot link it to ZohoCRM record (say a Quote) and then fetch all the line items into creator module record. As a result - the only option is to do the donkey work and type it all again.
12. NO Multiple Organisation Setup: XERO has it. SAGE has this. QUICKBOOKS has this. If you're an enterprise, you likely have multiple companies/legal entities in different geo regions. Eg: Zoho USA, ZOHO India or Zoho China etc.
And it is not essential you keep your billing or accountancy centralised for various reasons such as tax, regulatory or forex rates implication. I don't think the Book product team is even aware of these crucial imperatives that justify the need for Multiple Org Setup when it comes to accounting for Enterprises or even a SME with multiple branch offices.
13. There is NO way to calculate and add markup at the quote stage for example when creating an Estimate in ZohoBooks.
14. NO Approval process like in the CRM.
All these points are just from scratching the surface. There are more points but I had enough for now.
MY VERDICT - Unless you're a one man band, nut-bolt seller this integration is highly useless. NOT FOR ENTERPRISE. Better to stick to CRM Inventory modules.
Advice for Zoho Books - CRM Integration Developers.
Here's how you can start fixing some of these and what would make the integration useful. Some are simple fixes:
1. Since a Quote (Estimate) and Sales Orders are more SALES related. Let them be in the CRM. (Atleast until you match the Inventory Modules in Books to be highly customisable like in the CRM)
2. Allow the ability to convert from Quote or Sales Order in the CRM to an Invoice in Zoho Books.
3. All Inventory Modules are related to a Potential. So give a look up field in Books to relate records to Potentials.
4. Remove the limitation of Account "tied" to a currency. This has to be flexible. Let people choose who they want to bill in what currency.
5. Rename stuff.. to simplify things.
6. Add Parent Account feature.
Plus other points as above.
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
Gaurav Sethi
Karthik Seshadri
Kevin Flynn
Kalimuthu Pandian
David Cheung
Sticky Posts
[Webinar] Understanding the New Invoice Management Systems
Join industry expert CA Pritam Mahure as he discusses the importance of the new Invoice Management System (IMS) and its impact on taxpayers. Topics Covered: - Concept of IMS and pre-requisites - Applicability and Restrictions on Invoices/Records for IMSLatest Updates of the 53rd GST Council Meeting & Its Business Implications
Join industry expert CA Venugopal Gella as he discusses the importance of 53rd GST Council Meeting, the latest notifications and changes introduced by the Finance Act 2024. Register Now: https://zoho.to/GST_WebinarBest practices for financial year-end closing with Zoho Books | Free Webinar
Ready to close your year-end finances like a pro? Join our free webinar and learn how Zoho Books helps you maintain clean accounts, carry forward balances, and get geared up for the new financial year. Register now - https://zoho.to/9f1Zoho Books will discontinue support for older browser versions soon
Hello users, Starting from May 15, 2024, Zoho Books will no longer support the following browser versions: Browsers Version Restrictions Firefox Browser Versions older than 100 Google Chrome Versions older than 100 Microsoft Edge Versions older than 100Master the art of budgeting with Zoho Books | Free Webinar | 4th & 5th March 2024
We're thrilled to launch the Zoho Books monthly webinar series! Don't wait to conquer your finances in 2024! Budgeting can be easy with Zoho Books. Join our FREE webinar and learn how to set and track goals, master budgeting, and unlock insights to make
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
GST Slabs Redefined: Stay Compliant Using Zoho Books!
Hello Everyone! The Government of India is rolling out new GST rates, a major reform aimed at simplifying the current tax structure starting 22 September 2025. GST will move from four slabs (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) to two main slabs (5% and 18%), plus a specialKanban view on Zoho CRM mobile app!
What is Kanban? The name doesn't sound English, right? Yes, Kanban is a Japanese word which means 'Card you can see'. As per the meaning, Kanban in CRM is a type of list view in which the records will be displayed in cards and categorized under the givenPresenting 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 deliversNo practical examples of how survey data is analyzed
There are no examples of analysis with analytics of zoho survey data. Only survey meta data is analyzed, such as number of completes, not actual analysis of responses, such as the % in each gender, cross-tabulations of survey responses. One strange characteristic of Zoho analytics is that does not seem aware of how Zoho Survey codes 'multiple response' questions. These are questions where more than one option can be selected from a list. Zoho Survey stores this data as text, separated by commas withinZoho Creator as LMS and Membership Solution
My client is interested in using Zoho One apps to deploy their membership academy offer. Zoho Creator was an option that came up in my research: Here are the components of the program/offer: 1. Membership portal - individual login credentials for eachAdding Chargebee as a Data Connector
Is it possible to get Chargebee added as a Zoho Analytics data connector?Zoho CRM - Custom Views for Portal Users
I'm looking for an option to customise custom views for portal users in CRM. It would be great if "portal user" was a permission on custom views.Webform & spam
Hi, We set up 2 webform on our website, fowarding the content to Zoho CRM. Since it has been opened up, we are getting lot of spam message (for now about 20 a day). To lower the amount of false new leads we added the captcha field and new enquieries are send to the Approval Leads list. However we still get some spam. Is there any "anti spam" mechanism built in Zoho CRM, or how is the best way to avoid these kind of spam ? ThanksElevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration
Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using WorkflowDropbox to Workdrive
Namaste, Trust you all are doing well. Wanted to check how this can be done with Zoho flow. I typically receive dropbox links from my clients. Is there a way where I can provide the link to Zoho flow and it downloads the files from dropbox link to a workDeals by Stages Funnel not showing in correct order
Using the Stage-Probability Mapping for the Deals module we have created a steps our deals will pass through, RFQ, Closed/Lost, Declined/No-Go, Pricing, Submitted, Negotiations, Won. However when I view the Deal By Stages Funnel it does not show in theAdding a developer for editing the client application with a single user license
Hi, I want to know that I as a developer I developed one application and handed over to the customer who is using the application on a single user license. Now after6 months customer came back to me and needs some changes in the application. Can a customerTurning off the new UI
Tried the new 'enhanced' UI and actively dislike it. Anyone know how to revert back?Message "...does not support more than 100 distinct values..." WHY????
I get this message on one of my reports: Sorry, Zoho Reports currently does not support more than 100 distinct values in columns. 'Account Name * Sum(Amount),Count(Amount Tier)' contains more than 100 distinct values. Possibly, you can apply filter to reduce the number of distinct values in 'Account Name' or drop the 'Account Name' field in Rows. I want to list all ACCOUNT NAMES (about 500) with SALES BY ACCOUNT. What is blocking this?Attention API Users: Upcoming Support for Renaming System Fields
Hello all! We are excited to announce an upcoming enhancement in Zoho CRM: support for renaming system-defined fields! Current Behavior Currently, system-defined fields returned by the GET - Fields Metadata API have display_label and field_label propertiesConfirmation prompt before a custom button action is triggered
Have you ever created a custom button and just hoped that you/your users are prompted first to confirm the action? Well, Zoho knows this concept. For example, in blueprint, whenever we want to advance to the next state by clicking the transition, it isCost of good field
Is there a way we can have cost of good sold as a field added to the back end of the invoicing procedure and available in reports?How to create auto populate field based on custom module in Zoho CRM?
Hello, i'm still new to Zoho CRM and work as administrator in my company. Currently, I'm configuring layout for Quotes Module. So, the idea is, I've created a read-only field in Quotes called "Spec". I want this field automatically filled with SpecificationRich Text For Notes in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, As you know, notes are essential for recording information and ensuring smooth communication across your records. With our latest update, you can now use Rich Text formatting to organize and structure your notes more efficiently. By usingDate triggering Workflow rule
I have a function triggered by a workflow rule. The function takes a date and creates a task for that date and fills in a field with the name of the day for that date. It also updates the status field of the record. The workflow rule is set to run wheneverChange Last Name to not required in Leads
I would like to upload 500 target companies as leads but I don't yet have contact people for them. Can you enable the option for me to turn this requirement off to need a Second Name? Moderation update (10-Jun-23): As we explore potential solutions forOffice 365 and CRM mail integration: permission required
Has anyone run into this weird problem? My email server is Office 365. When I try to configure Zoho CRM to use this server, a Microsoft popup window opens requesting user and password. After entering that, I get a message in the Microsoft window sayingTime Entry Notifications
Hi All - I have support staff who place notes of their work in the time entry section of Zoho Desk. Is there a specific workflow or setting I need to enable to have the ticket holder updated via email when an entry is saved?Tables improvement ideas / features
Heya, I've been using Zoho Tables for a few months now and wanted to post some features that I think will be greatly beneficial for the tool: 1. Ability to delete a record in automation or move a record in automation. - Usecase: I move a record from oneDeluge - Can't get phone number SalesIQ
Hey folks, I’m building a custom plug for SalesIQ that’s supposed to register leads into Zoho CRM. The SalesIQ chat is being implemented on WhatsApp, and in my plug I’m using this line: mobile_clean = session.get("phone").get("value"); From what I understand,Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed
Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was postedZoho CRM button to download images from image upload field
Hello, I am trying to create a button in Zoho CRM that I can place in my record details view for each record and use it to download all images in the image upload fields. I tried deluge, client scripts and even with a widget, but feel lost, could nothow to differentiate if whatsapp comes from certain landing page?
I create a Zobot in SalesIQ to create a Whatsapp bot to capture the lead. I have 2 landing pages, one is SEO optimized and the other want is optimized for leads comes from Google Ads. I want to know from which landing page this lead came through WhatsAppZoho Desk - Community
As a regular user of Zoho Cares Community I would really love to see the publish date of articles. For example, when I look at Announcements, it would be very beneficial to see which ones were posted recently, over those which have just and a recent comment.access to quartz for my customers
Hi how can I have access to the application quartz you use for us to send you screen rocording, this feature would be immensely useful for our customers support https://quartz.zoho.com/Restricting contact creation
Hi all! I am looking to use Zoho Desk in a part of the business that takes end user enquiries. These are generally single interactions, and not linked to an account name. As Desk is Account centric, has anyone designed a way to manage these incoming emailsIssue with Inline Images in Email Reply via Zoho Desk API
Hi, I am attempting to send inline images in an email reply using the Zoho Desk API, but the images are not being displayed inline for the recipient. I have followed this documentation: https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Uploads https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Threads#Threads_SendEmailReplyHow to search a value stored in a subform?
Hello, We store serial numbers in subforms but now we would like to be able to search the values to be able to easily find the record with the serial number. I saw that it's not possible to search such values through global search but is it possible to do it an other way? Thank you,Field Dependency Not Working on Detail Page in Zoho Desk
Hi Support Team, I’ve created field dependencies between two fields in Zoho Desk, and they are working correctly on the Create and Edit layouts. However, on the Detail page, the fields are not displaying according to the dependencies I’ve set — they appearHow do the keyword critera work?
Hi, I'm working on automated assignment of tickets based on keywords. How does this feature work? Where does this criteria look for keywords - email address, subject, email body? Can you please clarify this as I want to avoid overlapping with criteriaError: Unsupported content type: text/html;charset=UTF-8 after tryeing to get the token for n8n automation
I am working on ZOHO Desk automation and need to get the ZOHO auth token for n8n I have created the app in ZOHO Desk API, got client id and client secret. Added all data required to get a token in n8n. After I sign in with my ZOHO credentials in ZOHOImproving Collaboration Features in Zoho Portal
Hello Zoho Community, I’ve recently started exploring Zoho services and I’m really impressed with the wide range of features. However, I feel there is still room for improvement in the collaboration area. For example, it would be really helpful if weAutomated Shopify Emails Not Being Delivered
I have an ecommerce store with Shopify. I recently set up my email to be served through Zoho. Since doing this, customers are not receiving some of our automated emails from Shopify itself. Our initial email that confirms their purchase goes through but our Shipping Notification that is automatically sent out upon fulfillment is not going through. Sometimes we get a notice that it's been classified as spam, sometimes nothing. I can send/receive email via Outlook on my desktop and I can send/receiveClear Tag & Linking Between Quotes and Sales Orders
Hi Zoho Team, In Zoho Books, when a quote is converted into a sales order, it would be extremely useful to have: A clear tag/indicator on the quote showing that it has been converted into a sales order. A direct link in the sales order back to the originatingI 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,Next Page