Zoho CRM Community Digest - December 2025 | Part 1

Zoho CRM Community Digest - December 2025 | Part 1




Hello Everyone! 

In the first half of December, Zoho CRM rolled out auto-invite for portals, smarter CPQ with Zia suggestions and price rules, and Query Workbench for faster query building. We also highlight other noteworthy conversations you shouldn’t miss.

Product Updates:

Auto-Invite Users to Portals Based on Conditions

Automatically grant portal access in Zoho CRM by triggering invites when predefined conditions are met. Customize invitation languages based on customer location or preferences, with optional checks like subscription status, and track failures with detailed logs to resolve invite issues quickly. Read the full post to see how this simplifies portal onboarding at scale.

CPQ Gets Smarter with Zia Suggestions and Enhanced Price Rules

Zoho CRM CPQ now leverages Zia to recommend Product Configurator rules by spotting frequently used product combinations in past quotes. This helps sales teams quote faster and more accurately while reducing manual setup and ensuring pricing applies only to the right line items. Admins can review, refine, or activate AI-generated suggestions as sales patterns change. Read the full post to see how these updates bring smarter quoting and greater control.

Query Workbench Brings a Faster Way to Build Queries in Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM introduces Query Workbench, a unified interface that lets developers build, execute, and validate queries, all in one workspace without switching panels. With instant query execution, response previews, and a cleaner guided layout, users can reduce errors, work faster, and gain confidence while building complex queries. The Workbench enhances the classic query experience and lays the foundation for upcoming support for external databases and cloud data sources. Check out the post to see what’s next with expanded data sources and other enhancements.

Quick Wins:

Handling Duplicate Account Names with Variations

@Dale Wilson needed a way to prevent duplicate customer records in Zoho CRM when names differed only by suffixed like LTD or PLC. @Bhoomi Joshi suggested using a validation rule with a Function or Client Script to check the base name and alert users if a duplicate exists. The solution worked perfectly, keeping Dale's customer records clean and consistent. Check out the post to see how this logic can be implemented in your CRM.

 

Lead Reports Made Complete: Including Converted Leads

@Sahal Akel asked how to include converted leads in Lead reports. @Ishwarya SG explained how to build a single report by combining filters for both converted and non-converted leads using an OR condition. This straightforward setup helps teams get a complete view of their lead data in one place. Check the full conversation in the post to know more.

HTML Tags Showing in Report Exports

@Marshall raised an issue where HTML tags appeared in exported reports when Notes included rich text formatting. @Ishwarya SG clarified that reports now support exporting rich text as plain text for Excel and CSV, and shared how to enable this option. This is a helpful reference for teams working with formatted notes and report exports. Check the post to see where to turn on this setting.

Kaizen:

Kaizen #219: Getting Started with Webhooks in Zoho CRM

This Kaizen post explains how Webhooks in Zoho CRM enable real-time data sharing with external systems using workflows. Using a high-value lead validation use case, it walks through configuring webhooks via the UI and APIs, covering headers, body formats, and HTTP methods. The post shows how CRM data is pushed instantly when conditions are met. Read the full post to see the step-by-step setup and what’s coming next in Part 2.

Kaizen #220: Managing and Testing Webhooks with Zoho CRM APIs

This follow-up Kaizen explores managing Webhooks using GET, PUT, and DELETE APIs, and shows how to associate them with workflow rules. It demonstrates end-to-end testing by triggering a webhook through record creation and validating real-time data delivery to an external system. A practical continuation of Part 1, focused on control, updates, and live execution. Read the post to see each step in action.

 

And that’s a wrap for this fortnight’s Zoho CRM Community Digest. Caught something cool we missed? Or have a favorite from this edition?

 

Drop it in the comments! We’d love to hear from you. We’ll be back in two weeks with more updates and community gems. Until then, stay tuned!


    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



                                                              • Sticky Posts

                                                              • How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.

                                                                Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity.  We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbers
                                                              • Function #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.

                                                                Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is just
                                                              • Zoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas

                                                                <br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,
                                                              • Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM

                                                                Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practical
                                                              • CRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.

                                                                  Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,


                                                              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

                                                                                                                • Resize Signature field dynamically

                                                                                                                  On the tablet, it is perfect. But on smaller mobile devices and PCs, both web and application, it is too small for people to sign. Is there any plan to make the signature field size dynamically in the future update?
                                                                                                                • Zoho Creator Application - New User Not able to access the application

                                                                                                                  In Zoho Creator, The newly added user not able to access the " Added Application" - User has received the Invitation Email, but while clicking "confirm Account" in the invitation Email, the following error message has appeared. "Sorry! you cannot accept
                                                                                                                • Deleting Salutation Field

                                                                                                                  We have updated our lead input screen and 'Salutation' has appeared. This is not visible in the 'Edit Pgae Layout' screen so cannot be moved to 'List of Removed Fields'  Salutation is visible in the list in 'Customization - Fields' however I can only 'Edit' or 'Replace' I cannot delete and I do not need this field on my lead input screen.  Please can you advise how to get rid of this.  Screen shots can be provided if needed.  Thank you Tasha
                                                                                                                • Auto-Generate & Update Asset Serial Numbers using a custom function (Assets Module)

                                                                                                                  Hello Team, I’ve been working on a script to automate one of our processes in Zoho FSM, and the core functionality has been successfully implemented. However, I’m encountering an issue related to serial number allocation, which is not working as expected.
                                                                                                                • Zoho Mail iOS app update: Access Delegated Mailbox.

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone! You can now access the delegated mailbox from within the iOS version of the Zoho Mail app. To access the delegated mailbox: Open the Zoho Mail app. Go on to the 'Email' module. Tap the profile picture. Choose the delegated mailbox Please
                                                                                                                • How to convert Lead's country field from Text to Pick List

                                                                                                                  Hi, I would like to change the default country field in ZCRM from text to pick list. It looks like not I can't delete default country field and recreate it as pick list nor can i create an new custom field country because such a label belong to default field. So what do I have to do? Any ideas? L
                                                                                                                • How create a draft via workflow?

                                                                                                                  I wish to create a workflow rule for specific emails that creates a draft response - not an automatic email reply, but just a draft with a set response ready to be verified by an agent who can then manually select recipients. Alternatively, the workflow
                                                                                                                • Function #51: Transaction Level Profitability for Quotes

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In a previous post, we shared a custom function that could determine the profitability of a Sales Order. Today, we are presenting a similar function that calculates the profitability of a Quote. The setup
                                                                                                                • New feature: Invite additional guests for your bookings

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, Greetings from Zoho Bookings! We are happy to announce the much-awaited feature Guest Invite, which enhances your booking experience like never before. This feature allows additional participants to be invited for the bookings to make
                                                                                                                • Improved Contact Sync flow in Google Integration with Zoho CRM

                                                                                                                  Hello Everyone, Your contact sync in Google integration just got revamped! We have redesigned the sync process to give users more control over what data flows into Google and ensure that this data flows effortlessly between Zoho CRM and Google. With this
                                                                                                                • الخصم على مستوى فاتورة المبيعات

                                                                                                                  السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته مطلوب في إنشاء خصم على مستوى فاتورة المبيعات وليس على مستوى البند أريد معرفة الطريقة؟
                                                                                                                • VAT and Taxes option not available

                                                                                                                  Dear ZOHO Team , The VAT and Taxes options in my ZOHO books account not available,I tried to find how to enable or check the way to use this option but unfortunately couldn't find it anywhere ,I'm in UAE ,kindly let me know what to do to solve this issue
                                                                                                                • 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
                                                                                                                • Direct Feed (Bank)

                                                                                                                  Is Direct feed integration for AlRajhi and ADCB bank supported by Zoho Books in GCC/Saudi
                                                                                                                • Sales Order, Invoice and Payment numbers

                                                                                                                  Hi zoho friends, it is me again, the slow learner. I'm wondering if there is a way to have it so the Sales order, invoice and payment numbers are all the same? It would be easier for me if they were the same number so there is not so many reference numbers
                                                                                                                • Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Report

                                                                                                                  From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports The customer satisfaction (CSAT) report helps teams understand how customers feel about their support experience, identify service gaps, and continuously improve the help desk. It turns
                                                                                                                • Timeline Tracking Support for records updates via module import and bulk write api

                                                                                                                  Note: This update is currently available in Early Access and will soon be rolled out across all data centers (DCs) and for all editions of Zoho CRM. The update will be available to all users within your organization, regardless of their profiles or roles.
                                                                                                                • Shifts in Zoho People vs Zoho Shifts?

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho People Team, We hope you are doing well. We are evaluating the Shifts functionality within Zoho People and comparing it to the standalone Zoho Shifts product. We’ve encountered comments and discussions suggesting that the Shifts feature inside
                                                                                                                • Disable fields in During action in Blueprint?

                                                                                                                  Hi there. I've tried field disable (setReadOnly(true)) using client script and the event is onMandatoryFormLoad on detail page, assuming it'll work on blueprint fields, but it bears no result. Is this the expected behaviour? That we can't do this yet?
                                                                                                                • Develop and publish a Zoho Recruit extension on the marketplace

                                                                                                                  Hi, I'd like to develop a new extension for Zoho Recruit. I've started to use Zoho Developers creating a Zoho CRM extension. But when I try to create a new extension here https://sigma.zoho.com/workspace/testtesttestest/apps/new I d'ont see the option of Zoho Recruit (only CRM, Desk, Projects...). I do see extensions for Zoho Recruit in the marketplace. How would I go about to create one if the option is not available in sigma ? Cheers, Rémi.
                                                                                                                • Subforms and automation

                                                                                                                  If a user updates a field how do we create an automation etc. We have a field for returned parts and i want to get an email when that field is ticked. How please as Zoho tells me no automation on subforms. The Reason- Why having waited for ever for FSM
                                                                                                                • Allow Managers to Create Shifts for Their Departments in Zoho People

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. This feature request is related to Zoho People - please don't move it to zoho one! We would like to submit a feature request regarding shift management permissions in Zoho People.
                                                                                                                • Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM integration

                                                                                                                  I would like to see an integration between Zoho Learn and Zoho CRM. 1. To be able to add articles in a related list in all modules 2. Zia to suggest related articles in a Deal or Case or Lead 3. Ability to read / search articles during a call / follow
                                                                                                                • Maintain steady traffic to your domain: How Domain Aliasing helps

                                                                                                                  Consider this scenario: An organization has its primary domain as administrator.com. Now it wants to shorten its domain to admin.com because it's simpler and easier to remember. However, changing the domain completely can cause the following problems:
                                                                                                                • Why Sharing Rules do Not support relative date comparison???

                                                                                                                  I am creating a Sharing Rule and simply want to share where "Last Day of Coverage" (Date field) is Greater than TODAY (Starting Tomorrow). However, sharing rules don't have the option to compare a date field to a relative date (like today), only to Static
                                                                                                                • Workflow rule only allows 10 workflow per module

                                                                                                                  Apparently a Zoho professional edition only allows 10 workflow rules per module. This makes workflow allocation literally impossible while allocating potential to different members of the team. I have 15 licenses. Is there a way in which related alerts can be varied? In other words, is it possible to have different related alerts be triggered with different rule criteria. so if I say, if potential is 'x' then trigger related alert 'x' and if potential is 'y' then trigger related alert 'y' Thanks,
                                                                                                                • IF Statement in Zoho CRM Formula Field

                                                                                                                  Hi, I am attempting to write a formula field that will give me one result if one statement AND another statement are true, then a different value if the first statement AND a different statement are true, else 0. Stated differently: if account = destination
                                                                                                                • CRM Percent custom fields: When will it show the % symbol and behave like %?

                                                                                                                  1. Actually Percent custom fields fail to show the % symbol. 2. When in formulas Percent fields work like number: 100 x 5% = 5 ideal world 100 x 5% = 500 what happens actually 3. When importing Percent fields the % symbol has to be removed and the data
                                                                                                                • Editing the Ticket Properties column

                                                                                                                  This is going to sound like a dumb question, but I cannot figure out how to configure/edit the sections (and their fields) in this column: For example, we have a custom "Resolution" field, which parked itself in the "Ticket Information" section of this
                                                                                                                • "Total Hours" on Employee Attendance Report

                                                                                                                  I'm learning that in Zoho jargon, "total hours" does not include paid breaks. Or at least not the way that my setup is working. That seems a little weird to me, since most jurisdictions in the US don't differentiate between time spent on paid break and
                                                                                                                • Integration with...

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more
                                                                                                                • Generate leads from instagram

                                                                                                                  hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead
                                                                                                                • Adding Markdown text using Zoho Desk API into the Knowledge Base

                                                                                                                  Hi Zoho Community members, We currently maintain the documentation of out company in its website. This documentation is written in markdown text format and we would like to add it in Zoho Knowledge Base. Do you know if there is REST API functionality
                                                                                                                • Create case via email

                                                                                                                  Good Afternoon, I have just registered and am taking a look around the system. Is it possible to create a case via email.  I.e. an employee/client/supplier emails a certain address and that auto generates the case which then prompts a member of staff
                                                                                                                • Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho, Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks to search across all transactions in our books of accounts. Please do the needful Thanks
                                                                                                                • Locked Notebook

                                                                                                                  Hi, I hadn't used my Notebook in some time and was refamiliarizing myself with it. I clicked a lock icon and now I can't unlock. When I hit the information or unlock icons I'm taken to a page with the notebook icon and a keyboard. When I type, nothing
                                                                                                                • Hide fields only for creation

                                                                                                                  Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know
                                                                                                                • Issues with Zoho Sheet in Mac

                                                                                                                  I have downloaded the Zoho App from App Store but It is failing to Save As, Open & Download Operations. App Store
                                                                                                                • Weekly Sales Summary

                                                                                                                  Is it possible to generate a weekly report in Zoho Books to show -$$ amount of estimates generated -# of estimates generated by Salesperson -$$ amount of Sales Orders created -$$ amount of Invoices generated
                                                                                                                • OpenAPI Specs are just plain wrong

                                                                                                                  The provided yml files for generating the OpenAPI specs are absolutely riddled with errors and inconsistencies. From missing fields on the objects, to just incorrectly named resource objects. I'm having to go through and manually changing the spec to
                                                                                                                • Next Page