Understand your Zoho RPA Account

Key Terminologies

Flow

A workflow you can create to automate tasks using RPA actions, cloud app integration, and processing actions, such as logic, delay, and send mail. A flow contains a trigger and one or more actions.

For example, when a new invoice is created in on-premise accounting software, the flow can automatically update or add the invoice details to Zoho Books.

Trigger

A trigger in an RPA flow is an event that starts the flow. Triggers can be based on a variety of events, such as:

Schedule: The flow will start at a specific time or on a recurring basis.
Webhook: The flow will start when it receives a notification from another service.
Desktop event: The flow will start when an action is performed in response to specific events that occur on users' desktops.

For example, you could use a schedule trigger to send a list of tasks as an email every day at 10 am.

Action

A single step that an RPA flow performs. Actions can include opening a Windows application, navigating to a web URL, creating a new lead in a CRM system, sending an email, or performing other tasks.

For example, an RPA flow that opens an Excel file, reads data from it, and then adds a new entry to your CRM system via cloud app integration has three actions: Open Excel , Read from Excel, and Create new lead in CRM.

Agent

A software program that you need to install on your computer. It connects to the RPA server in order to perform actions and execute workflows.

For example, if you install the RPA agent on your computer A and configure it to run your RPA flow, then when the flow executes, it will run on computer A. In other words, the RPA agent is a bridge between your computer and the RPA server. It allows the RPA server to send commands to your computer and run workflows on it.

Connection

Connections in Zoho RPA are powered by Zoho Flow. A connection is a link between Zoho Flow and another service, such as Zoho CRM, Shopify, and Dropbox. Connections allow Zoho Flow to access and use the data and resources of those services in your RPA flows.

For example, you could use a connection to Gmail to send an email from your flow, or you could use a connection to Zoho CRM to create a new lead in Zoho CRM.

Quick Screen Tour

Take a screen tour to understand your RPA account display better.

My Flows

This is the first screen you see when you log in to your Zoho RPA account. Here, you can:

View the collection of flows in your organization
Switch flows on or off
Delete flows
Create a copy of an existing flow

Click on a flow to edit it or view execution details. Each flow consists of three tabs: Summary, History, and Builder.

Builder

Builder is where you build and edit your flows. The builder tools available in the top-right corner of the builder will help you in this process.

Switch your flow on or off using the slide button in the top-right corner of the page. When the flow is switched on, Zoho RPA will detect changes that trigger the workflow. When the flow is switched off, changes will not be detected. Switching off your flow will not affect the past executions.

You can also update the agent that the flow executes on. However, note that the new agent has to be compatible with all the available tasks in the workflow.

Summary

This is where you land every time you click on a flow. Summary is a dashboard for the particular flow where you can view the record of executions graphically. The recent executions and the list of connections used in this flow will also be visible here. You can test, reconnect, or delete these connections from here.

To edit your flow name or description, hover near the field until the edit icon appears. Click on it, make the required changes, then click outside the box to save your changes.

History

Task history records every execution of the specific flow. Click on each execution for more details, such as the input and output of each task. This is especially useful when an execution fails and you need to check where the error occurred to troubleshoot. You can filter the list of executions by status and date for a refined list.

Dashboard

The Dashboard helps you visualize the key performance indicators for the flows in your organization in real time. It shows how many flows are in the organization, how many are live or paused, and how many are yet to go live (drafts). You can view how successful the flows in your organization are at a glance and make informed decisions about productivity.

For example, you have a flow that triggers when a customer signs a new deal. If this flow is on your list of top five flows and has thousands of executions, it means that your sales revenue is good.

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