
- Activities module is split up into Tasks, Calls and Meetings modules. This change will reflect for users who signed up after September 6, 2021.
- Existing users will have both the Activities module and the individual Tasks, Calls and Meetings modules to ease the transition.
- Activities module will be discontinued for existing users after giving them enough time for the transition and only Tasks, Calls and Meetings modules will be available.
An essential part of a rep's daily activities is to make and receive calls. They need to track calls that are made to the customers, schedule calls according to the customer's availability, maintain details of the discussions in their database, and keep a record of the missed calls so they can follow up. It's important to record all this information in an organized manner despite how busy they may be.
The Calls module provides a perfect platform to store and track every detail related to a call. The sales reps can enter call details like duration, date and time of calls, and notes about the content of calls. This data can be used to evaluate the time spent on each call or the average time a call takes to complete and more. The details can help generate reports on billing details, call status, and number of calls made per day.
Availability
Permission Required
Access to Calls that include View, Create, Edit and Delete permissions.
Create Call
The Create Call functionality helps you to register the inbound calls (received from leads and customers) and outbound calls (dialled to leads and customers) with details such as call duration, date and time of calls, notes, etc. You can:
- Schedule a call
- Log a call
By maintaining call records in CRM you can:
- Monitor average time spent by a rep on call: Customer support executives can log calls and monitor the time spent on each call and track the average time a rep spends on calls every month.
- Keep track of the calls made by the presales team: From the call records the managers can track the number of prospects that were engaged by the presales team.
- Generate reports and billing details: The call details can be further used to generate reports on billing details, average time spent on calls, number of calls per day, etc.
Log a call
To log a call
In the Calls module, click Create Call > select Log a Call.
- In the Log a Call popup window, do the following:
- Select Lead/Contact from the picklist and lookup for the respective lead or contact from whom the call came or to whom the call was made.
- If contact is selected in the Call From or Call To option, select the Related To record, if required.
- Select the Call Type as Inbound or Outbound.
- In case of an outbound call, enter the Call Status.
- In the Call Start Time option, specify the date and time the call was initiated.
- In the Call Duration, enter the duration of the call, in minutes and seconds.
- Provide the call Subject.
- In case a call is made outside telephony and there is a recording, provide the URL in the Call Recording field.

- In case of an inbound call, you can provide the reason for the Incoming call.

- In case of an outbound call, you can update details such as Call Purpose, Call Agenda, and Outcome Of Outgoing Call.
- Click Save.
The call is saved in the Calls module.
The call will also be displayed in the Closed Activities Related List on the Details page of the respective lead/contact.

NOTES:
- The Related To field will be available only if you are calling a Contact.
- The details of the call will be available in the Calls tab.
- Once the call is marked as completed, only the owner of the call can edit it. However, Call Duration, Call Start Time, Outgoing Call Status, and Call Type can not be edited.
Schedule a Call
Schedule calls in Zoho CRM that can be taken up by users later. Each call that is scheduled has three options on the details page.
- Mark as Completed - The calls that you mark as completed will be moved to the Closed Activities Related List in the associated record.
- Reschedule Call - At times when you are not able to stick to the scheduled call, you can reschedule it for later.
- Cancel Call - You can also cancel a call whenever necessary.
These options are available on the call's details page, list views, related lists, reminders and calendar.
To schedule a call
- In the Calls module, click Create Call > select Schedule a Call.
- In the Schedule a Call popup, update the following Call Information:
- Select Lead/Contact from the picklist and lookup for the respective lead or contact to whom the call is to be made.
- Select the Related To field and look up the particular record in case contacts are selected in the call to the field.
- Set the date and time for the call to start in Call Start Time.
- Lookup and assign a Call Owner for the call.
- Edit the subject for the call, if required.
- Select a Reminder option from the drop-down list, if required.
- Select the purpose of the outgoing call.

- Click Save.
Associate calls with CRM records
To associate calls with CRM records
- Click the Leads or Contacts tab.
- Select the record for which you want to log a call.
- In the Record Details page, the existing call details, if any, are displayed.
- Click the Subject, Activity Type, Status, Due Date or Owner Name links to sort the display order of the records.
- Click the Edit or Delete link to modify or delete the call details respectively.
- Click the Log a Call link.
- In the Log a Call page, enter the call-related details.
- Click Save, or click Save & Create Follow-up Task to save and create a follow-up task.
Standard fields in the Calls module
On the Log a Call page, you need to specify the call-related information. The following table describes the various fields on the page.

NOTE:
- You cannot add custom fields on the Log a Call page. However, you can customize the existing fields using page layout customization.
- You cannot mark the Call Duration and Call Start Time fields as non-mandatory.
- Voice recording field is available for all types of calls—outbound, completed, inbound, and missed. However, you can view this field only if you choose to log a call.
- Calls accomplished via Telephony will not bear the voice recording field type.
- Voice recording fields will have the record-playing component only if your telephony vendor supports call recording as a part of the integration with Zoho CRM. For cases where they don't, the field will be empty and locked.
Customizing the Calls layout
The layout is divided into four sections, which each have default fields to allow your sales reps to capture information about the call:
- Call information
- Purpose of outgoing call
- Outcome of outgoing call
- Reason for incoming call

You can customize the layout by adding custom fields to all the sections except for Call Information. The total number of each type of custom field that you can add is as follows:
- String fields: 40
(Includes single line, pick list, multi-select pick list, and multi-line)
Max limit for multi-line, pick list, and multi-select pick list: 10 each. - Number fields: 10
- Decimal and percentage fields: 20
- Date fields: 10
- Date/time fields: 10
To add custom fields
- Navigate to Setup > Modules and Fields > Calls.
- Click the Standard layout.
Alternately, hover over the Standard layout and click More and then Edit Layout to add fields to the Standard layout. - Drag and drop the required field types from the New Fields tray on the left.
- Enter a name for the field.
- Click Save.