Feature Spotlight: Employee Custom Fields

The next topic in the Community Learning Series focuses on custom fields and how to use them in various scenarios.

 

Think about what happens when a new employee joins your organization. Their information is immediately fed into the HR and payroll system, which is set up to collect certain types of employee information automatically. Here's how a typical employee profile looks in Zoho Payroll. The system automatically collects certain types of information, organized into Basic, Personal, and Payment categories.

Employee information

What are custom fields?

Employee custom fields can help collect any additional information about the employees that is not mandated in the payroll system. There are various instances where it's helpful to collect additional PII on top of the data collected automatically with Zoho Payroll (such as emergency contact info or blood group). Once the custom fields are created, the information they collect will be automatically available under Personal Information > Other Details in the employee’s profile.

How to create custom fields

Here's an example. Follow the steps below to create a new custom field

• In Zoho Payroll, go to Settings -> Preferences -> Employee Custom field 
  
• Click Create New
  
• Create a new field called Blood Group
  
• Choose the data type called Number 
  
• Provide Help Text for referen
  
• Choose whether to encrypt the information 
  (This ensures only users with access can view this information) 
• Choose whether to make the field mandatory and whether it will be available within the ESS portal 
  
• Click Save
  

The data collected by this field will be available within the Employee module, under Personal information. A new section called Other information will be created where all the custom fields you create will appear automatically. 

You can refer to our help docs for a detailed explanation of how to create and set up your custom fields.

Adding custom field information with a large employee count

Entering custom field data manually when there are hundreds of employees on your payroll can get hectic. This is where Zoho Payroll's import functionality helps, by letting you add details for all of your employees in one go. 

Here's how to add the Blood Group information for a payroll process with many employees: 

• In the employee import file, add a new column called Blood Group

Note: In the absence of an employee import file, the file can be exported by going to Employee Module -> Export data -> Employee Personal Details, choosing Active employees and the file type of .xls or .csv, and clicking on Export. In the exported file, add the new column.

• Add the Blood group information of all the employees under the column you created 
  

(Ensure that the employee data is mapped to the right employee ID in the import file)

• Save the file and go to the employee module inside Zoho Payroll
  
• Click Import Data and select Employee Personal Details 
  
• Upload the import file
  
• Map the custom field no to the column in the import file 
  
• Tick the checkbox below to save the preferences for the future 
  
• Click Next to import the custom field data
  

Under the employee module, choose any employee. The details will automatically appear under the employee's personal details. 

Adding custom fields from Zoho People to Zoho Payroll

How do you add custom fields when the payroll system is integrated with the HR management tool Zoho People? It's pretty simple. 

Before going ahead, ensure that the integration between Zoho Payroll and Zoho People  is active. You can check by navigating to Integrations. The status of the Zoho People integration with Payroll should be Active.

Zoho People integration

Next, ensure that the custom field to be added to Zoho Payroll already exists in Zoho People. 

To add the Blood Group information of all the employees within Zoho People to Zoho Payroll: 

• Create a custom field called Blood Group inside Zoho Payroll using the steps in the first section of this post. 
  (Once that's complete, the data can be synced within the two platforms)
• Go to Settings -> Integrations and click Zoho Apps 
  
• Choose View details in Zoho People
  
• Select Edit field mapping. The custom field created will appear under the section Other information
  
• Now map the right field name within Zoho People with the corresponding custom field
  
• Click Save
  
• Once complete, select the Instant sync option on top of the window
  

A notification that the sync is complete will appear within a few seconds, showing that the custom fields have been mapped from Zoho People to Zoho Payroll successfully. As in the previous case, this information can be viewed for all the employees within the employee module.

Hope you found this post useful! If you have any questions about custom fields and their uses, let us know in the comment section below, or email us at support@zohopayroll.com and we will get back to you.

Until next time! 

• Topic Participants

• Archana

  

• Recent Topics

• [Webinar] Solving business challenges: Secure, real-time, and external collaboration

  Hi Zoho Writer users, We are excited to announce Zoho Writer's webinar for March 2026: Solving business challenges: Secure, real-time, and external collaboration. Zoho Writer supports real-time collaboration by allowing teams to work together in documents.

• Table dimensions

  I try changing the dimensions of the table on my computer but it doesn't change. Do I have to be a premium member or does it only work on the app?

• Zoho CRM Community Digest - January 2026 | Part 2

  Hello Everyone! Here’s the second part of January’s Zoho CRM Community Digest, rounding up the remaining highlights from the month. From newly rolled out updates to thoughtful implementation questions and practical solutions, the community once again

• Find and Merge Duplicates to trigger webhook

  My sales team uses the Find and Merge Duplicates feature often to cleanup records in the CRM. We use webhooks to signal to our internal tools database when new Contacts are created, updated, or deleted, in order to keep our DB in sync with Zoho CRM. However,

• Introducing WhatsApp integration and quick editing capabilities in Zoho Sign

  Hi there, Zoho Sign already helps users collect signatures via email and SMS, and we're happy to announce that you can now send documents and authenticate recipients right through WhatsApp. Some of the key benefits include: Communication with recipients

• Dynamic Field Folders in OneDrive

  Hi, With the 2 options today we have either a Dynamic Parent Folder and lots of attachments all in that one folder with only the ability to set the file name (Which is also not incremented so if I upload 5 photos to one field they are all named the same

• Logging Out of FSM

  I have tried to log out of FSM app of the last person and it will not let me do so. I need to log in to my account.

• Manage Every Customer Conversation from Every Channel inside Zoho SalesIQ

  Your customers message you from everywhere. But are you really able to track, manage, and follow through on every conversation, without missing anything? With interactions coming in from websites, mobile apps, and messaging platforms like WhatsApp and

• Super Admin Logging in as another User

  How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

• Enhancement in Zoho CRM: Control who gets to participate in a forecast by customizing the user hierarchy

  Include only users from the sales function; exclude the rest Dear Customers, We hope you're well! We started this year with a series of exciting enhancements to Zoho CRM and to this list, we are thrilled to add an enhancement to forecasting. Let's talk

• Multiple Zoho One accounts

  Hello. I'm searching for a solution to run multiple organizations under 1 Zoho One account or have a different Zoho One account for each organization and still be able to easily login to each. Currently Zoho One doesn't allow the same email address to

• Tips and tricks #63: Hold and Drag to select elements in the Show app for iOS

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another tips and tricks article. In today's article, we will learn about the Hold and Drag function in the Show app for iOS. The Hold and Drag option lets you select multiple elements on a slide quickly. Once they are selected,

• Organize and manage PDFs with Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard

  Hello users, Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard is a one-stop place to upload, sort, share PDF files, and more. This article will explore the various capabilities that Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard offers. A few highlights of Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard: Upload

• Possible to generate/download Quote PDF using REST API?

  See title. Is there any way after a quote has been created to export to a PDF using a specified template and then download it? Seems like something that should be doable. Is this not supported in the API v2.0?

• Free Webinar - AI for email: Helpful or Hype?

  Hello, Zoho Mail community! 👋 We're kicking things off with a webinar you won't want to miss—and yes, we're going there: Is AI in email actually useful, or is it all hype? In this session, two of our experts will have an open, no-fluff conversation about

• Balancing access, security, and productivity with Email Policy

  An organization typically includes multiple user groups, such as leadership, sales, and support, each with different email usage patterns and security needs. Administrators must balance flexibility and control, thereby ensuring email usage aligns with

• Is it possible to update multiple work items at once?

  Hi, Is it possible to update the statuses/release tags of multiple work items at once? I came across this thread that says it's not possible at the moment, but it was related to the Sprints mobile app. Does this feature not exist in the website as well?

• See Every IM Conversation as It Happens

  Instant messaging moves fast. Customers expect quick replies and smooth conversations across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and live chat. But without real-time visibility, small issues become big problems. A session stays open longer than expected. A

• Dealing With One-Time Customers on Zoho Books

  Hello there! I am trying to figure out a way to handle One-Time customers without having to create multiple accounts for every single one on Zoho Books. I understand that I can create a placeholder account called "Walk-In Customer", for example, but I

• Release Notes | January 2026

  We have rolled out a set of powerful new enhancements across Zoho Vertical Studio that bring several long-awaited capabilities to your applications. These updates focus on deeper customization, smarter automation, better reporting, and improved usability

• Product Request: Send email to Secondary email

  Guys, we should be able to send the campaign to the secondary email too.  Is this on the plans for Zoho Campaign? It looks like I can map the secondary email from the CRM to the Campaigs, but can not send the message.  

• Depositing funds to account

  Hello, I have been using Quickbooks for many years but am considering moving to Zoho Books so I am currently running through various workflows and am working on the Invoicing aspect. In QB, the process is to create an invoice, receive payment and then

• Franchise

  Is there a solution of how to organize global franchise organisations?

• Recording overpayment?

  So a customer just overpaid me and how do I record this? I can't enter an amount that is higher than the invoice amount. Eg. Invoice is $195 and he sent $200. He's a reccuring customer so is there a way to record so that he has a $5 advance for future invoice?

• Holidays

  Hi; For defining Holidays, you need to add logic to handle the year as well as the month & day. We need to be able to enter Holidays for the next year. I need to add a holiday for January 2, 2017, but I can't until January 1st, which is a Sunday and we

• Composite Product (kit) - Dynamic Pricing

  I am setting up Composite Products for item kits that I sell. I also sell the items from the kit individually. Problem is when pricing changes on an individual part, the Composite Product price does not change meaning when the cost of item # 2 in the

• Urgent: Slow Loading Issue on Zoho Commerce Website

  Dear Zoho Support Team, I am experiencing slow loading times on my Zoho Commerce website, which is affecting its performance and user experience. The issue persists across different devices and networks. Could you please investigate this matter and provide

• Need help with importing expenses

  I'm using the template downloaded from the application. When I try to import my expenses, I get the message: Duplicate entry in the Expense Date column. Ensure it contains unique values. None of the rows will import. There are duplicate dates, but they

• Client Portal ZOHO ONE

  Dear Zoho one is fantastic option for companies but it seems to me that it is still an aggregation of aps let me explain I have zoho books with client portal so client access their invoice then I have zoho project with client portal so they can access their project but not their invoice without another URL another LOGIN Are you planning in creating a beautiful UI portal for client so we can control access to client in one location to multiple aps at least unify project and invoice aps that would

• Search not working!

  I have items in my notebook tagged but when I search for a tag nothing comes up! Any fix for this?

• ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

  This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. mustafa.ashraf@techlink-eg.net, ERROR CODE :550 - 550 5.1.1 Invalid email recipients

• What's New in Zoho POS - February 2026

  Hello everyone, Welcome to Zoho POS’s monthly updates, where we share our latest feature updates, enhancements, events, and more. Let’s take a look at how February went. Purchase and sell items on different units We have introduced a unit conversion functionality

• Can i integrate bigin with google voice?

   I make all my calling through google voice to seprate my personal line from business. I want to log my calls with customers automatically but i domt see anywhere where i can do that. Any help? Im pretty sure i wont be able to. Sad

• POP/SMTP access authentication failed

  I am unable to log setup outlook for my zoho mail account. I am using these settings poppro.zoho.com port 995 SSL smtp.zoho.com port 587(tls)/465(ssl) username/password works on mail.zoho.com but not with POP access. Can you help?

• Our Review Of Zoho CRM after 60 Days

  The purpose of this is to just share with Zoho why I love their product, but ultimately why I could not choose Zoho CRM for our next CRM. About two months ago we begun a CRM exploration process for our financial planning firm, based in Texas. We already

• Error AS101 when adding new email alias

  Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

• This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

  I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

• Allow Admin to Configure Report > More Options Button

  As an Admin, I want to configure the options of the Report > More Options button to improve UX and reduce Developer overhead. See attached screenshot. Original question posted here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/modify-standard-rep

• Generate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email

  Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need to

• You cannot send this campaign as there is no contact in the selected mailing list.

  We have synced contact lists and sent campaigns just fine prior to today.  Now no matter what list I upload when I go to send the campaign it gives an error "You cannot send this campaign as there is no contact in the selected mailing list." And now it

• Next Page