Zoho Projects integration in Sandbox

Zoho Projects integration in Sandbox

Zoho Projects is a project management tool that lets teams plan, track, and collaborate on work. When integrated with Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects allows you to create and link projects directly from CRM records, associate Contacts, Accounts, and Deals with project work, and give clients visibility into project progress from within the CRM.

With Zoho Projects sandbox support, you can test the entire configuration pipeline—from connecting a Projects portal to the sandbox, through project creation, module associations, selecting which modules will display the Projects related list, and determining which users can create projects—in an isolated environment without putting production data at risk.

Important

  1. A dedicated sandbox portal is required - Zoho Projects has its own sandbox environment, and you need a sandbox portal available in Zoho Projects before you can set up the integration inside the CRM sandbox. While configuring the integration, this sandbox portal must be selected from the portal drop-down menu in CRM.
  2. No deployment support - You cannot deploy the changes made to the Zoho Projects integration from the sandbox to production. All configurations and test data remain confined to the sandbox environment.
  3. Integration not copied from production - If you have configured a Zoho Projects integration in the production environment, it's not automatically replicated into the Sandbox environment. You must set it up independently.


Availability

Users with the Admin profile can perform the integration with the sandbox.


How it works

When you enable the Zoho Projects integration in the sandbox, the system creates a fully isolated sync channel between your designated Zoho Projects sandbox portal and the CRM sandbox. Projects created, linked, or updated from within the CRM sandbox will be processed only with the connected Projects sandbox portal—production projects and data remain untouched. The integration logic, module associations, and field mappings configured in the sandbox will mirror the expected behavior in the live environment, making sandbox validation a reliable quality control step before going live.

The Zoho Projects integration in the sandbox environment does not support data synchronization. While you can configure and validate the integration settings, module associations, and field mappings to mirror the expected behavior in the live environment, projects created, linked, or updated in the CRM sandbox will not be synchronized with any Zoho Projects portal. This allows you to verify your configuration safely without affecting sandbox or production project data before deploying the integration to your live environment.

Setting up the Zoho Projects sandbox portal

Before connecting the integration inside CRM, set up the sandbox side in Zoho Projects using the following Zoho Projects sandbox setup process.
  1. Click the Setup icon in the upper-right corner of the top navigation bar.
  2. Navigate to Sandbox and click Create New Sandbox.
  3. Enter a name for the sandbox and a description, if needed.
  4. The access URL will be automatically populated based on the sandbox name. You can modify it if needed.
  5. Select the users to be added to the Sandbox portal. Once added, an email invitation will be sent to the users, along with the sandbox URL for easy access.
  6. Portal Owners and Admins are added to the Sandbox portal by default.
  7. Click Create.
  8. Wait a few minutes for your Sandbox portal to be created. Once the portal is ready, click Go to Sandbox on the prompted screen. You will be redirected to the Sandbox portal, which resembles your production portal.


Adding Zoho Projects integration to a CRM sandbox

Follow the steps below to add the Zoho Projects sandbox to a CRM sandbox:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Data Administration > Sandbox.
  2. Click the sandbox where you want to test the integration.
    You can also create a     new sandbox if necessary.
  3. Click the Go to Sandbox button.
    The sandbox environment, having a bright orange ribbon with the sandbox title, will open in a new tab.
  4. In the sandbox environment, navigate to Setup > Marketplace > Zoho.
  5. Go to Zoho Projects and click Setup now.
  6. Click Get Started from the Zoho Projects landing page.



  7. In the Integration Highlights popup window, click Setup Now.
  8. In the Portal Configuration page, select the sandbox portal you created in Zoho Projects (see the previous section). This drop-down lists all sandbox portals available in your Zoho Projects account.
    Note: You need a sandbox portal available in Zoho Projects before you can set up the integration inside the CRM sandbox. You cannot create a new Zoho Projects portal from within a CRM sandbox, nor can you integrate a Projects org that uses an email address different from your Zoho CRM account.
  9. Complete the remaining integration setup steps as you would typically do in production—mapping modules, selecting which modules should display the Projects related list, determining which users can create projects, and so on.



  10. Click Save.



  11. Once the integration is complete, click Access Projects Module to view the Zoho Projects interface within the CRM.



Working with the Projects integration in a sandbox

In the sandbox environment, you can do the following:
  1. Create and link projects from Contacts, Accounts, and Deals. Learn more
  2. Associate CRM records with existing or new projects in the connected Projects sandbox portal. Learn more
  3. Test module associations and related-list population between CRM and Projects.
  4. Add users to a project as contact users, and verify the access each type receives.

Adding client users to a project in the sandbox

When adding client users to a project created from within the CRM sandbox, the Add Client Users dialog only allows you to add users as Contact Users—the Client Users option is not available while working in the sandbox. This means you cannot test or validate client-facing project access in the sandbox environment at this time.

Deploying Zoho Projects features to production

You cannot yet deploy changes made to the Zoho Projects integration from a sandbox to production. Consequently, all configurations and test data—including projects, module associations, and client user assignments created during testing—remain confined to the sandbox environment.

Deactivating Zoho Projects integration

To deactivate the Zoho Projects integration from a sandbox:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Data Administration > Sandbox.
  2. Click the sandbox where you want to remove the integration.
  3. Click the Go to Sandbox button.
  4. In the sandbox, navigate to Setup > Marketplace > Zoho.
  5. Go to Zoho Projects and click Manage.
  6. Click Deactivate.



  7. In the popup that appears, select Confirm Deactivation.
    The Zoho Projects integration will be successfully deactivated.

Notes:
  1. When you deactivate the Zoho Projects integration in a CRM sandbox:
    1. Projects associated with any modules will no longer be visible.
    2. Projects created within Zoho CRM will still be accessible in Zoho Projects, and users associated with those projects will retain their access.
    3. Synced tasks will be disconnected, and they will not automatically sync again if the same portal is configured in the future.
  2. Rebuilding a sandbox will remove the Zoho Projects integration from that sandbox.

Info
SEE ALSO
  1. An overview of Zoho Projects integration
  2. Configuring the integration
  3. Working with Zoho Projects integration
  4. Understanding different roles in Projects
  5. Working with Projects in Teamspaces