Kaizen #187 - Building a Timer and Worklog Widget (Part 1)

Howdy Tech Wizards!

Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! 

This time, we are diving into a two-part series where you will learn how to build a Timer and Worklog Widget for Zoho CRM. This widget helps track active work time and log multitasking sessions using Zoho CRM APIs, Client Script, Functions, and Workflows.

Why It Matters?

Zoho CRM effectively captures stage/status transitions, like tracking when a case moves from Open to In Progress or On Hold. However, in dynamic work environments, employees juggle multiple work items and engage in impromptu tasks or conversations. 

Let’s take the On Hold status as an example. 

While it can be used to indicate pauses in progress, it does not always align with real-world workflows. Consider these scenarios:

Not all interruptions justify a status change 

Moving the case to On Hold for every minor detour (to clarify something with a colleague or respond to another emergency work item) would be impractical and could lead to under reporting actual work hours. Over time, this untracked effort adds up, creating a gap in visibility.

Frequent status changes may dilute their meaning 

In many teams, On Hold signifies a legitimate blocker like waiting on customer input or an external dependency. Using it frequently to reflect quick shifts in attention could compromise that clarity. 

A timer widget solves this by:

• Capturing hands-on work items.
• Logging context switches (unrelated tasks) with descriptive entries.
• Feeding structured entries into a custom module for reporting and subform sync.
  

Business Scenario: IT Service Desk & Ticket Resolution

A tech support team uses the Cases module to resolve customer issues. Some tickets are straightforward; others require follow-ups, escalations, or cross-team coordination. While CRM timestamps (like stage transitions or picklist tracking) track when changes happen, they do not reflect how long someone actively worked on a case.

This Timer Widget can be the ultimate solution to track down the active time spent on each case through out the day.

What are we Building?

By the end of this two-part guide, you will know how to:

• Build a timer widget to track time per task or any CRM record.
• Log work sessions into a custom module every time the timer is started/stopped.
• Automatically populate a subform in the corresponding record module using workflows and Deluge functions.
• Leverage the Reports module to analyze work patterns, SLA adherence, and productivity trends.

 In Part I, we will focus on:

-> Building and configuring the Timer Widget.

-> Capturing each timed session as a record in a custom module.

Prerequisites

1. Create a Custom Module

Create a custom module named Timer Entries to log work details and generate reports from the Reports module. A new record will be added to this module each time a timer is started.

Set up the following custom fields in the Timer Entries module:

Custom Fields	Data Type
Start Time	DateTime
End Time	DateTime
Total Duration (in mins.)	Formula  DateBetween(${Timer Entries.Start Time},${Timer Entries.End Time},'Minutes')
Related to Case	Lookup to Cases module
Work Description	Multi Line

2. Add a custom picklist option

Add a custom picklist option called In Progress to the Status picklist field in the Cases module for precisely identifying the status of the cases. 

Follow this Add/Remove Picklist Values help section for more details. 

3. Setup Custom Views for Contextual Filtering

To streamline the widget experience and ensure users only see relevant records to associate while tracking time, set up two smart custom views—one in the Cases module and another in the Timer Entries module. 

Active Cases View (Cases Module)

Create a custom view in the Cases module to list only the active tickets the logged-in user is working on. Use the following criteria tips:

• Use the Status field to filter records with values like In Progress, On Hold, or Escalated.
• Use the Case Owner field to show records that are assigned only to the currently logged-in user.

This view powers the drop-down inside the widget where users select the case they want to start the timer for.

Active Timers View (Timer Entries Module)

Set up a second custom view in the Timer Entries module to track entries where the timer has been started but not yet stopped. These represent active timers. Use the following logic for criteria:

• The End Time field is empty (i.e., timer still running).
• Timer Entry owner field matches the logged-in user.

This view is used internally by the widget to detect if a timer is already running and update the same entry once the timer is stopped.

Follow the Managing List View help page and use the specifications shown in the following image.

Building the Timer Widget 

Step -1: Review Basics

Refer to our earlier Kaizen on CLI Installation, Creating a Widget Project, and Internal hosting of the same.

Step 2 - Develop the Widget

After initializing your widget project using CLI, implement the timer logic:

Fetching Active Cases

On page load, the populateRecordsDropdown function initiates a Get Records API call to the Cases module, using the Active Cases custom view ID. This fetches all active case records assigned to the logged-in user. 

These records are then listed in a dropdown, allowing users to quickly select the relevant case they are about to work on.

async function populateRecordsDropdown() {             const recordsDropdown = document.getElementById("moduleRecords");             recordsDropdown.innerHTML = "";              try {                 const recordsResponse = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({                     Entity: casesModule,                     cvid: casesCVID,                     per_page: 10                 });                 if (recordsResponse.data && recordsResponse.data.length > 0) {                     recordsResponse.data.forEach(record => {                         const option = document.createElement("option");                         option.value = record.id;                         option.textContent = record.Subject || "Unnamed Record";                          recordsDropdown.appendChild(option);                     });                 } else {                     const placeholderOption = document.createElement("option");                     placeholderOption.value = "";                     placeholderOption.textContent = "No records found";                     placeholderOption.disabled = true;                     placeholderOption.selected = true;                     recordsDropdown.appendChild(placeholderOption);                 }             } catch (error) {                 console.error("Error fetching records:", error);             }         }

Starting the Timer and Creating an Entry

Once the user starts the timer, The createRecord function triggers a Create Record API call to log the session in the Timer Entries custom module. The record captures the start time and the related case and description (if provided).

Even if no details are entered or case is selected, a timer entry is still created with the start time. This ensures that spontaneous work sessions are tracked and not lost.

async function createRecord(startTime) {             try {                 const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;                 const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;                 const selectedRecordText = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").options[                     document.getElementById("moduleRecords").selectedIndex                 ].text;                 const data = {                     Start_Time: startTime,                     Owner: currentUserId,                     Work_Description: workDescription,                     Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId,                      Name: selectedRecordText                  };                 const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.insertRecord({                     Entity: timerModule,                     APIData: data                 });                 console.log("Start time recorded successfully");             } catch (error) {                 console.error("Error creating record:", error);             }         }

Stopping the Timer and Updating the Entry

When the timer is stopped, the widget uses the Active Timer Entry custom view to locate the most recent Timer Entry record created by the logged-in user that does not have an end time. 

The updateRecord is then triggered to update that active entry using the Update Record API call. It updates the End time of the session and the related case, descriptions, if it was not already provided when the timer was started.

async function updateRecord(endTime) {             try {                 const workDescription = document.getElementById("workDescription").value;                 const selectedRecordId = document.getElementById("moduleRecords").value;                 const response = await ZOHO.CRM.API.getAllRecords({                     Entity: timerModule,                     cvid: timerEntriesCVID,                     per_page: 1                 });                 const latestRecord = response.data[0];                 if (latestRecord) {                     const recordId = latestRecord.id;                     const data = {                         id: recordId,                         End_Time: endTime,                         Work_Description: workDescription,                         Related_to_Case: selectedRecordId                      };                     await ZOHO.CRM.API.updateRecord({                         Entity: timerModule,                         APIData: data,                         RecordID: recordId                     });                     console.log("End time updated successfully");                 }             } catch (error) {                 console.error("Error updating record:", error);             }         }

Step 3 - Validate and Pack the Widget

• Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget.
• Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.
• Fill in the required details as shown in this image and ensure to select Button as the widget type.
  

Step 4 - Associate it with Flyout

• Go to Setup > Developer Space > Client Script. Click New Script.
• Enter a name and description for the script. Choose Command type in Category. 

• Create a Flyout and render a widget within it using its details like the API name of the widget, title, size, and animation type. You can get the Widget API name from the widget's detail page. 

let allowedUserEmails = []; allowedUserEmails.push('user1_email_address'); allowedUserEmails.push('user2_email_address'); allowedUserEmails.push('user3_email_address'); let currentUserEmail = $Crm.user.email; if (allowedUserEmails.indexOf(currentUserEmail) == -1) {     ZDK.Client.showMessage('Command access resticted', { type: 'error' });     return false; } ZDK.Client.createFlyout('myFlyout', {header: 'Timer', animation_type: 4, height: '600px', width: '500px', top: '10px', left: '10px', bottom: '10px', right: '10px' }); ZDK.Client.getFlyout('myFlyout').open({ api_name: 'Timer', type: 'widget' }); return true;

Refer to Creating a Client Script help page for more details. 

Try It Out!

A complete working code sample of this widget is attached to this post.

Now, let us see how this Timer widget works:

1. Start the Timer 

Open the widget and select an active case from the dropdown. As soon as you start the timer, a new record will be automatically created in the Timer Entries module to capture the session.

2. Stop the Timer 

When the task is complete, provide a description of the work you have done and stop the timer. The same Timer Entry record (created when the timer was started) will be updated automatically with the end time and your work description.

This forms the foundation for accurate time tracking at the record level. 

In Part 2, we will show how to:

-> Use a workflow and Deluge function to transfer these entries into the Work Log subform inside the relevant Cases record.

-> Use CRM Reports to slice and dice work time for better SLA and productivity insights.

In the meantime, would you like us to address any of your pain-points or have a topic to discuss? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via support@zohocrm.com.

Until next time, Happy Coding! 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Reading

• Custom Fields - Working with Custom Fields and Working with Picklist Field
• Widget - An Overview, CLI Installation, Working with Widgets, JS SDKs, Mobile Compatibility of Widgets and Kaizens
• Core APIs - GET Records, POST Records and UPDATE Records
• Client Script - An Overview, Creating a Client Script, Best Practices and Troubleshooting

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous Kaizen: Client Script Support for Subforms | Kaizen Collection: Directory

• Topic Participants

• Kiruthiga G

  

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

  Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

• Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

• Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

• Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

• Recent Topics

• AI feature in Zoho Desk suggesting answers based on past ticket threads

  Hi I would like to suggest something that would be very useful : instead of suggesting answers based on the Knowledge Base, I think it would be great if Zia could analyze the history of all customer and agents threads, to suggest answers in new tickets.

• Advanced Customization of the Help Center using JavaScript

  Hello everyone, The Help Center in Zoho Desk can be customized by using HTML and CSS to provide structure and enhance the page's appearance—but what if you want to add interactive and dynamic elements? You can add these effects with JavaScript, a programming

• Introducing Zoho POS for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  Hey everyone, We are excited to kick-start December with a completely personalized edition of POS for retail businesses in Saudi Arabia to help run your operations with ease. It offers four different subscription plans—Free, Standard, Professional, and

• Unveiling Zoho Sites 2.0 - A new dimension in website building

  Dear Zoho Sites Users, We are thrilled to announce the launch of Zoho Sites 2.0 today! This refresh represents a significant step forward in the capabilities of Zoho Sites and is crucial for creating a lasting and positive impact on our customers' businesses.

• Script Editor not an option

  I am trying to apply a script to a sheet and Script Editor is not an option. I don't want to go outside Sheets to do this (like Creator) if it can be done inside Sheets.

• Not able to link email text.

  Kindly check Zoho Sites. I am unable to turn a text into a email link. The save button does not work. Kindly try yourself to see it not responding to save.

• Migrate data from old to new account

  Hy, Have one Old Zoho Notebook Account with Data , want to migrate that whole Data to New Zoho Notebook Account which is in Zoho One . Is that possible ? If Yes then how?

• Zoho Analytics Regex Support

  When can we expect full regex support in Zoho Analytics SQL such as REGEXP_REPLACE? Sometimes I need to clean the data and using regex functions is the easiest way to achieve this.

• landed cost-need help with different currency under the same bill

  I’m having trouble recording landed costs in Zoho Inventory/Books. My purchase order is in CNY, but the landed cost (freight) I pay is in USD. Zoho forces everything under the same bill to use one currency, so I can’t enter the landed cost in its actual

• Pricing Strategies: #1 Nuances in Pricing

  When Clara first opened her digital printing shop, pricing was simple. She sold handmade greeting cards, planners, business cards, and other physical items at fixed label prices, individually and in bulk. One SKU, one price, one bill, and that's all it

• [Free Webinar] Learning Table Series – Education Management in Zoho Creator

  Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. About the Learning Table Series The Learning Table Series is a free,

• Move attachments from one module to another with Deluge

  I have created a button that works just like the convert button for my custom modules. I would like this custom function to move any attachments in this record to the new module. I can't seem to find any documentation on how this can be accomplished.

• Help in function code

  Hi, could someone look at the code below and tell me what 's wrong with it? After a deal creation or edition the code should find the related Account, than all open Deals for that Account and copy the field Total_Open_Deals from the Account record to

• Automation Series: Auto-update Phase Status

  Hello Folks! You can auto-update your phase's status based on status of underlying tasks using custom functions. In this series, we will showcase how to create and run custom functions, using Deluge, with ease. Follow the steps below and automate your

• how to add subform over sigma in the CRM

  my new module don't have any subform available any way to add this from sigma or from the crm

• Zoho Projects - Project Details on the Project Menu

  Hi Project's team, I've helped may businesses setup and use Zoho Project and one thing I see time and time again is confusion on where to find the Project Details information. I would be much more intuitive if Project Details was on the menu before Dashboard.

• Zoho Projects - Add Feed to Project Tabs

  Hi Projects Team, I'm working on a lightweight communications requirement for one of my customers in relation to communicating with their client users via Zoho Projects. I noticed that the Feed is only available in the Collaboration section, but you can

• Flow - Fetch info from drop down in another module

  I am running into a road block which I thought would be a simple task. My goal - The account is assigned to a "route" which can be selected from a drop down menu and adds a tag to the account accordingly (easy enough). Now when I create a task for this

• Show unsubscribed contacts ?

  Hello, I would like to display the unsubscribed contacts. Unfortunately, I do not have this subscription type as described in the documentation (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/marketing-automation-2-0/user-guide/contacts/contact-management/articles/subscription-type-24-1-2024#Subscription_Type_field.)

• Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is LIVE!

  Hey developers! It’s that time of the year again — the Zoho Developer Community Hackathon 2025 is officially open for registrations! If you’ve been waiting for a chance to stretch your skills, try something new, or finally bring that idea to life, this

• Converted Leads Not Showing in Lead Reports

  Converted leads are not showing in the Lead reports. How can I make converted leads visible in the report,

• Text widgets in dashboards

  Having a text widget in a dashboard would help immensely. It would allow adding links to related documents, relevant CRM views, etc. It would allow adding explanations of the data displayed in the other widgets, about how to interpret them or about filtering.

• [Webinar] Zoho Writer for content creators and publishing houses

  Managing multiple drafts, edits, and client reviews doesn't have to slow you down. Join our upcoming webinar to see how Zoho Writer helps content creators and publishing houses create, edit, and publish seamlessly—all in one place. You'll learn how to:

• Adding Reports to Portals

  Is there a way to add Reports to portals so only the user can see report templates relevant to them?

• How to assign one Manual to multiple Spaces?

  Hello, I have two spaces, one called tech knowledge and the other one called HR knowledge. I have a manual that is called HR tech. I want to assign this manual to HR knowledge and tech knowledge. How should I do that?

• Introducing VeriFactu Support in Zoho Books

  Hello users, Spain has introduced the VeriFactu system under Real Decreto 1007/2023 to ensure integrity, traceability, and anti-fraud compliance in e-invoicing. Starting January 1, 2026, all B2B invoices must be reported to Agencia Estatal de Administración

• How can I assign courses to Spaces?

  How can I make courses show up here in this space?:

• When will Zoho Learn be able to support SCORM files on the mobile app?

  When I click the SCORM content, I just get a message saying it's not possible yet. Yet implies that it will be coming soon. All I'm asking for is a realistic timeline so I know whether or not to invest my time in using it. If it will be soon, then I will

• Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.35.6.0)

  Hello Community! Trident for Windows just got better with an update that makes working with your emails even more efficient. Let’s dive into what’s new! Work with PST files more efficiently. You can now do more than just view mounted PST files. You can

• Marketing Tip #9: Track your traffic sources

  Not all marketing channels work equally well. Knowing whether your visitors come from Google, Instagram, or email helps you focus on what actually drives sales. Try this today: Check your Zoho Commerce reports or connect Zoho PageSense to see your top

• Google Analytics import data inaccurate (as of October 11, 2025)

  We have Zoho Analytics connected to GA4 to import daily event data. This has been running without issue for a couple of years. However, a month ago we started noticing discrepancies. All data until October 10 lines up perfectly - October 11 onward is

• Zoho Books | Product updates | November 2025

  Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From translating email notification templates to the new transaction locking restrictions, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Making Tax Digital

• Insert Image into Notebook page

  Prior to today, I could add images to my notebook pages. Today when I tried to do this I got an error message that said something like, "There's been a problem on our end. Try again later." So, I've tried all the ways I know how, but I can't insert an

• 【開催報告】名古屋 ユーザー交流会 Vol.2 2025/11/21 Zoho Analytics / Inventory で実現する在庫の"未来予測"

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 11/21(金)に名古屋 ユーザー交流会 を開催しました。 本投稿では、当日実施したセッションの様子及び投影資料をお届けします。 会場にて参加できなかった皆さまも、ぜひご参照ください。 （Zoho 社員セッションの登壇資料については、11/28(金)開催の東京回の開催報告で共有いたします） 今年2回目の開催となる名古屋 ユーザー交流会では、株式会社エンツナクリエイト 野末さんによる Zoho Analytics / Inventory

• Is there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?

  Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This would

• Improved RingCentral Integration

  We’d like to request an enhancement to the current RingCentral integration with Zoho. RingCentral now automatically generates call transcripts and AI-based call summaries (AI Notes) for each call, which are extremely helpful for support and sales teams.

• Edit Pinned Comments in Zoho Desk

  It's great that private comments can now be pinned to the top of the ticket but what would be extremely helpful would be to allow for the pinned comment to be edited vs. having to find the comment in the ticket to edit it.

• Updating Secondary Contact (CCs)

  We use Zoho Forms to capture the user request and integrated with Zoho Desk to raise tickets. Active Microsoft login is captured in our Zoho forms and registered as Primary contact in Zoho desk ticket. We also an have an option to raise ticket on behalf

• blank page after login

  blank page after logging into my email account Thanks you

• WriterTh

  After every space Writer goes to capital letters mode in my Android tablet. The cap mode stays till the second letter is typed in the word then it comes to normal mode.

• Next Page