Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

Kaizen #126 - Circuits in Zoho CRM - Part 1

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another week of Kaizen!
Today, we will discuss an exciting topic—Circuits in Zoho CRM.

For starters, we will discuss what Circuits are, how beneficial they are for businesses, different views of a Circuit, and the different states and flow controls.

In the next post, we will discuss associating a Circuit to a blueprint, workflow, and a button, testing and execution, and see a Circuit in action with an interesting use case.

What are Circuits in Zoho CRM?

We use different microservices to accomplish our business needs, but most of the time, we are forced to switch over to multiple places.

With Circuits in Zoho CRM, you can integrate multiple microservices in a single platform and create automated workflows, all within your CRM!

For example, consider that you have an e-commerce application that involves multiple processes like tracking inventory, payment processing, fulfilling and tracking orders, generating receipts and reports, etc.
Typically, you would code this entire logic and use it to fulfill your business needs. But, with Functions in Zoho CRM, you can write the logic for each of these individual processes and simply orchestrate them using Circuits.

So, for the above example, you can simply create an automated workflow using Circuits and use the functions in the right order. That's not just it! You can re-use these functions elsewhere, too.

Another simple example of a Circuit is when you want to automating sending SMS alerts to users when an event occurs. How this is different from a workflow is that in this circuit, you can have a function that triggers an SMS alert, and also a function that sends an email to the user when the SMS alert ails. This involves circuit's functional states and a decision making state.
Like this, the use cases of circuits are endless.

Advantages of Circuits

  • Automate your routines
    Convert all your manual routines to automated workflows to save time. Avoid the need to trigger or interrupt applications to control the system flow, as you can create smooth-sailing, smart workflows that control themselves.
  • Scale fast
    Handle any number of requests hassle free as your workflows get executed on cloud. While Zoho Circuit dynamically allocates resources on need, you can focus more on building your applications rather than managing them.
  • Update in minutes
    Building the business logic of your applications in workflows empowers you to update the applications quickly. Swap or reorganize the components easily and build the modified applications in minutes.
  • Low-code
    Create a circuit effortlessly with the visual drag-and-drop interface, which makes it easier for the users with minimum coding knowledge.
  • Developer-friendly
    Circuits help you manage parallel processes, service integrations, spot failures, retry, and view logs, within minutes. Developers can focus on the business logic and not worry about these factors.
  • Orchestrate CRM Functions
    Use various CRM functions on your circuit to integrate multiple third-party apps and Zoho CRM seamlessly. Write functions once, and orchestrate them in circuits to solve different business needs.
  • Automate IT and business processes within CRM
    Create a circuit, associate it with a workflow, blueprint, or button, and automate your entire business process. With high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance, circuits ensure the performance of your workflow remains consistent even with changing states and an increase in frequency.
  • Diagnose errors and view audit logs
    A detailed log of each execution provides the status of each state's task execution, the payload and parameters passed, and the responses and exceptions generated.
  • Use Existing Functions
    From picking functions you've already tried, tested, and are up and running in your CRM account, to using a circuit within another circuit, this flexibility opens up possibilities of handling so much of your out-of-the-box requirements in a single space.

How are Circuits different from Workflow Rules and Blueprints?

Circuits is simply an orchestration of functions with powerful state management capabilities, along with in-built flow controls to automate the business process.

Workflow rules help us automate repetitive tasks and standardize business processes within the CRM system.
Workflow rules are useful in simple automations that the sales person does on a regular basis, like sending an email after record creation.

Builder View and Code View of a Circuit

Builder View


This view offers an easy drag-and-drop interface to build your circuit. The left pane in this view comprises all the states that can be added to a circuit.
The right pane comprises Configuration and Input/Output.

The Configuration tab lets you give a name to the state, choose its type, and select its next state.



The Input/Output tab allows you to control how JSON data must flow from one state to another through Paths.
Paths are strings beginning with $ that identify the components within the JSON. Specific parts of a JSON can be accessed by denoting their attributes in Input Path, Result Path, and Output Path.


This tab contains the following.

1. Input Path
Input path selects parts of the input JSON to pass to the state. You can also pass parameters to the input as a collection of key-value pairs. The values of Parameters can either be static or parts of the input JSON selected as a Path. For example, if your state's input is
{
"Entry1": {...},
"Entry2": {...}
}
then, you can apply the input path as $.Entry2 within the state definition. So, only the data inside the "Entry2" object will be passed as input to the state.

2. Result Path
After the input is processed by the state, Result Path selects what combination of the state result and the actual state input has to be passed to the output.

3. Output Path
Output Path further filters the data from the Result Path to pass it as state output.

Code View of a Circuit


In Code View, you can define your state machine in a simple JSON-based, structured language. Once a circuit is created, a sample workflow with the pass state as 'State 1' is created by default.

States of a Circuit and Flow Controls

Circuits offer a cascading structure to different states in a business process, allowing you to write functions that each feed their output into the next one, or any other one you pre-define, individually. You can also reroute, pause for a certain period, or feed it in batches to enable just about any sort of action.
Simply put, Circuits have different 'functional states' and 'flow controls' that allow you to automate execute your business process.

Flow Controls

Flow Controls let you control the flow of your circuit. To achieve this, Circuits make use of different states that allow you to make the execution, 'Wait' for another state, 'Pass' the input of a state to another, use 'Success' and 'Failure' to stop the execution of the Circuit.



The different states available are:
  • Pass: Transfers the input from one state to another.
  • Branch: Decides between branches of execution based on input.
  • Parallel: Performs simultaneous executions.
  • Wait: Inserts a delay for a specific time. The maximum wait time is 30 days.
  • Batch: Implements multiple group executions. You can have a maximum of 10 jobs per batch.
  • Success: Terminates an execution, returning 'Success'.
  • Failure: Terminates an execution, returning 'Failure'.
For more details on states, refer to this article.

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM states help you execute business logic in circuits with respect to the data available in CRM.



You can write functions in the built-in editor or orchestrate existing ones, get the details of a record as an input to other the states, get the details of your org, user, CRM variables and use them in your Circuit.
You can also trigger another Circuit within a Circuit using the 'Circuit' flow control.

'Function' State
Use this state in your Circuit to use an existing function in CRM. Depending on your need, you can configure the input and output, and control data flow in your circuit. Only the functions that are REST API-enabled are shown here.



'Circuit' State
You can use another Circuit in one of the states and configure the flow accordingly.



'Record' State
This state fetches the details of a particular record in a module in CRM. You can choose to pass a portion or all of this state's result as an input to the next state in the circuit. Note that the information displayed will be based on the scope provided to the user.
Depending on where the Circuit is associated(Blueprint, Workflow, Button - Create/Clone/Details/Edit View pages, individual record, mass action), the response of the Record State differs.

'Org' State
This state gives you the details of your CRM org that you can use in your circuit.

'User' State
Use this state in your circuit to get the details of the current user in your org and process this information in other states.

'Org Variable'
This state gives you the details of all CRM Variables in your org.

Error Handling

When you use any of the Zoho CRM states, you can also perform error handling as these functional states tend to have runtime errors.

On TimeOut

When a functional state runs longer than the expected time, timeout errors occur. For handling timeout errors in code view, the field value "errorType": "Error.TimeOut" will be added.

On Execution Failure

When a state's execution fails due to some exception that cannot be processed, it can be handled using execution failure. In code view, key-value "errorType": "Error.ExecutionFailure" is appended.

Custom Error

You can also have custom error handling for your states.
Configure Exception Type and Exception Value to set the error handling options based on the error code or error message delivered by the state's output.
Retry the function in case of failure or timeout, set the Attempt (number of retries) and Delay (wait time after failure for every retry attempt).
In case of failure, if the retries fail to fix the error, the State will Fallback the error output to the Next state in the Result field.

We hope you found this post useful. Stay tuned for part 2!
Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.


Cheers!
Shylaja S



      • Recent Topics

      • How we can integrate pdf attachments in zoho crm with xero

        when i tried to integrate the data and attchment from zoho crm to to xero only the data get integrated with xero how we can integrate the pdf attachment as well nb zoho apis are not working via functions

      • Delete user profile

        Hello, How can I delete a User Profile?

      • Send emails directly via Cases module

        Greetings all, The ability to send emails from the Cases module, which users have been eagerly anticipating, is now available, just like in the other modules. In Zoho CRM, Cases is a module specifically designed for managing support tickets. If your organization

      • Introducing delegate signing in Zoho Sign

        Hi everyone! We are happy to announce a new feature in Zoho Sign — Delegate Signing! Whether you're tied up in meetings, away on vacation, or managing multiple responsibilities, you can now assign a delegate to sign documents on your behalf. This ensures

      • 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

      • Zoho Voice VS in Zoho CRM for logging calls

        I don't understand the differences between logging calls in Zoho Voice VS in Zoho CRM. Why the 2 separate platforms? Seems confusing

      • Updates to Auto-Upgrade in Zoho Campaigns

        Hello everyone, We've rolled out a new update that slightly modifies how the auto-upgrade option in Zoho Campaigns works. Even if you hit the contact limit, this update ensures that your account is upgraded and that contacts are imported smoothly—without

      • Adding Sub-Forms to Merge Documents

        I am setting up a Mail Merge, which includes sub-form table data. I've done it before but now I am having issues: 1. The headings don't show. I had to enter these manually 2. The table lines are separated. I want them together. Anyone know how to fix

      • Zoho Bookings Online Training | July 31, 2025

        Hi everyone! We’re back with the second session of our Zoho Bookings training series! This time, we’ll show you how to automate your scheduling, manage appointments more efficiently, and explore advanced features for your industry. Join our free, two-hour

      • Translation of Tooltip Messages

        The descriptive help messages should be available to provide translations for.

      • CREATE button is grayed

        On Android adding new notes to notebooks with collections is impossible because the CREATE button is grayed. What can be done?

      • Can Zoho Creator Apps have multiple actors and steps? Example

        Mortgage Application App- Outside party fills out form via published website form, Inside party approves for additional documentation, outside party recieved requests for x, y, and z documents.  Outside party submits x, y and z but z is wrong.  Inside

      • How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go

        Hi All, Appreciate if anyone could help me with steps for below requirement. How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go. Even mapping to new folder will help me.  Thanks in advance. 

      • Re-Apply SLA When Ticket Reopened from Closed Status?

        If you have an SLA applied, timers are deactivated when going to "On Hold" status type and reactivated when going back to an Open status type. What we discovered is when a customer replies to a closed case and it reopens, the SLA is not applied and timers

      • Zoho Expense Reimbursement

        I am using Zoho Expense for employee expenses.  At year end I accounted for reimbursement for the founders' expenses by doing a manual entry between employee reimbursements and shareholder loan.  All is correct in the balance sheet, but in Zoho expense the expense report totals are showing as owing still.  It doesn't impact the books, but I don't want to see amounts owing.  How can I zero these out?  The only way I can see it is by creating a transaction in Books that pays the employee via a bank

      • Request to Delete Mistakenly Created Zoho Desk Account – Access Blocked to Company Directory

        Dear Zoho Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request assistance regarding a Zoho Desk account I mistakenly created using my company email address. I created the account before being officially onboarded by my company, and

      • Introducing an AI-driven CAPTCHA for Help Center that offers improved accessibility and enhanced security | Zoho Desk | Product Update

        Captcha protects your help center from fraud and abuse without creating friction. What is a CAPTCHA? CAPTCHA is a test used in computing to verify that a user is human by requiring them to complete a challenge. It helps prevent bot attacks and reduce

      • Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.29.4.0)

        Hello Community! Trident for Windows just got better! It’s packed with new features designed to enhance communication, manage important information securely, and give you a smoother, more productive experience. Let’s dive into what’s new! Access Zoho

      • Exporting Ticket Threads/Comments and Attachments in Reports

        Hi, I would like to know is it possible for Ticket Comments and/or Attachments to be displayed in Reports?

      • Product management across integrated apps

        Hi everyone, I’m setting up my business for selling products and integrating CRM, Inventory/Books, Ecommerce, and other apps. Where should I load products for the first time so they reflect across all apps? And for updating prices or adding new products—where

      • Calculate Number of Days Between Two Dates

        Can someone help me with how to create a field using the formula function to calculate the number of dates between a campaign start date and end date? The closest I have gotten is using the "Datecomp" function but it gives you the dates in minutes, rather

      • Zoho Writer Docx files not able to be converted into Google Docs

        Since July 23rd, I've encountered an issue where DOCX files exported from Zoho Writer no longer convert properly into Google Docs when uploaded to Google Drive. My workflow relies on generating merged DOCX documents from Zoho Forms using Zoho Writer templates,

      • Schedule Campaign - Recipients Time Zone

        Something seems to be wrong with the scheduling feature for scheduling campaigns to be deployed at a specific time to the recipients time zone. I scheduled campaigns twice to be sent at the recipients time zone and the campaigns are deploying at the wrong time. When communicating with Zoho support they said to make sure it was scheduled at least 24 hours in advance so we did this with our last campaign and it was still deployed at the wrong time. Anyone else having this issue?

      • Zoho Vault App for Windows

        Hello, is there a Windows app that can be used to access the passwords saved in Zoho Vault? Thank you

      • Zoho Cursor Jumping

        Hi, Zoho Support, We received the below email for a bug when using Zoho on Firefox. Please let us know if there is anything that can be done to solve this issue. Have any other Zoho Mail users reported issues the past few days with Zoho auto-saving drafts

      • tomorrow option within the due date section and drag and drop into calendar

        Firstly, thank you for creating such a well-designed and user-friendly to-do list app. It’s almost perfect for my needs, but I wanted to offer a couple of suggestions that I believe could significantly enhance its usability, particularly for those who

      • low quality videos

        when in puplish videos or reel in social media platforms it pulished in low quality

      • Using Zoho Forms vs Zoho Survey

        Hello - I'm looking for advice on whether to use Zoho Survey or Zoho Forms for our small non-profit. We have a Zoho One subscription, so have access to both. The main use case at the moment is application forms for our professional development programs.

      • Kaizen #200 - Answering Your Questions | Authentication using Zoho CRM Python SDK

        We’re incredibly excited to bring you the 200th post in our Kaizen series! This journey has been as much about listening as it has been about sharing. And today, we’re making both count. Over the past few weeks, we’ve collected your feedback through the

      • Zoho CRM sync

        Just wondering if the plan is for the Zoho CRM implementation to always be just an import and not a sync? At the very least, a one-way sync that kept the data in Tables up-to-date would increase the amount of usecases, but ideally the option to two-way

      • Add serial number in print page list

        How can i add serial number in print page for every entries?

      • Trying to Delete records from Creator not found in CRM

        Hi, In the following script, I am trying to delete records from Creator not found in CRM, but I am getting the error message "Error at line number: 55 Improper Statement Error might be due to missing ';' at end of the line or incomplete expression". Please

      • Can't login to Zoho mail

        I'm logged into Zoho but when I try to go in zoho mail I get: Invalid request! The input passed is invalid or the URL is invoked without valid parameters. Please check your input and try again. I just set up my mx records and stuff with namecheap a few

      • REST API for Branch and Budget

        Hi Team, Can you please guide me with the appropriate rest API documentation for fetching Branch and Budget details?

      • STOP FRAUDULENT TRANSACTION IMMEDIATELY

        I DID NOT AUTHORIZE THIS TRANSACTION OR RENEWAL, STOP IMMEDIATELY CHARGING MY CARD I CAN NOT CONTACT SUPPORT, NO ONE IS AVAILABLE ON CHAT PAYMENT ID RPCW2003260759193

      • Best way to handle a credit card download fiasco

        Hi there, hoping that someone knowledgable with book keeping can give me the answer here. One of my credit cards has been integrated with Zoho books and we have been downloading transactions with no issue. The credit card got compromised and was used

      • When Opening Zoho Mail I always get a Tab with an error (See attached image)

        Everytime I open Zoho mail I get this. It is trying to open a deleted email. I already tried going to Settings > While Starting up Changed that option back and forth but this persists. Its annoying. Other than that I love this. Any help would be appreciated.

      • Pre-Registration - Suggestion

        Suggest to add a Pre-Registration feature for non-scheduled events. Scenario is that we have a training academy and would like to collect pre-registrants prior to an actual scheduled event so we can use this as a basis for demand management and scheduling of new events for those expressing interest.

      • Not all messages showing in folders in iOS mail.app

        I have a bunch of emails filed in various folders. Those folders are showing all of the emails in them on Zoho.com and in the Zoho Mail app on my iPhone and my iPad. They also all show up fine in Mail.app on my Mac. The problem is that certain (not all)

      • Where do the 'Archived' mails go?

        I have hit 'Archive' on quite some mails I still needed, but didn't want in my inbox anymore. I obviously thought 'Archive' is not the same as 'Delete', since they don't even pass the trash folder this way, and right now I was looking for one of those

      • Next Page