Actions APIs - Field Updates

Actions APIs - Field Updates




Hello all!!
Welcome back to a fresh Kaizen week.
In the previous weeks, we covered Workflow Rules APIs, Actions APIs - Email Notification APIs, and Tasks Update APIs.
This week, we will continue with another Actions API - the Field Update API in Zoho CRM.

Field Updates in Zoho CRM

The Field Update option helps you automatically update specific field values in records when the associated workflow rule is triggered.

Note: Field Updates can also be used in Blueprint and Approval Processes, but in this post, we will focus only on Field Updates used with Workflow Rules in Zoho CRM.
When multiple leads enter Zoho CRM each day, from small to large industries, the Sales team manages all these entries inside a module. Every single lead is important for a company, whether it comes from a small or large industry. High-profit leads should not be missed and must be treated with high priority, frequent follow-ups, and faster actions to convert them into won deals.

High-profit deals without Field Update

There are chances of missing or failing to prioritize high-profit deals when all entries are cluttered inside the same module. This leads to manual mistakes and confusion for the Sales team. It becomes manual work, which increases the possibility of missing high-profit Leads.

High-profit deals with Field Update

A Field Update + Workflow Rule can solve these issues by creating an automated process. This avoids manual intervention and reduces errors.

Use case
Zylker, an IT solutions provider, wants to give high-priority attention to leads coming from large industries or leads that have a high lead score, especially when the Lead Status is Not Contacted.
Whenever a lead has a Lead Score ≥ 80 and is Not Contacted, the system should automatically update a field called Profit Category and set it to High Profit.

Why Lead Score for our use case?
Lead Score shows how active and interested a lead is. A score of 80 or above means the lead is highly engaged and more likely to convert. This makes it a dependable way to identify important leads that need quick attention.

Scenario
Whenever a lead meets the following conditions:
  1. Lead Score ≥ 80
  2. Lead Status = Not Contacted
The system should automatically update the Profit Category field to High Profit, and add a Contact Immediately tag. This helps the Sales team quickly identify high-profit records even when many records are cluttered in the module.

This can be achieved using a Field Update combined with a Workflow Rule.

Why not just use a Custom View?

A custom view can filter and display leads that meet these conditions, but it still depends on the Sales team to open the view and take action. In a busy Leads module, important leads can be missed or delayed. Also, if you want to perform dependent actions, you will need to create and schedule a custom function manually.
With a Workflow and Field Update, the system emails and also trigger many other actions like Field Update, Webhooks, and so on to your executives about these leads automatically. In our case, the Profit Category and tag are updated the moment the lead meets the condition, making high-profit leads stand out everywhere in CRM - without relying on manual checks or someone remembering to look at a view.

Profit Category mapping based on Lead Score

Profit Category is a custom picklist field in the Leads module.

The following table shows how Zylker classifies profit categories based on Lead Score:

Lead Score

Profit Category

20-40

Minimal Profit

40-60

Average Profit

60-80

Good Profit

80+

    High Profit


In this use case, we focus only on the High Profit category.
Let us now see how to enable a Field Update in Zoho CRM through the UI.

Creating a Field Update via UI

To create a Field Update in Zoho CRM, follow the steps below:
  1. Go to Setup > Automation > Actions > Field Updates.
  2. Click Create Field Update.
  3. Enter the Name of the field update.
  4. Select the Module.
  5. Choose the Field that should be updated.
  6. Provide the value to be updated that must be applied.
  7. Save the Field Update.
Field Update Configuration
In this use case, a Field Update is created to modify the Profit Category field when the workflow rule is triggered.

Field Update Details:
  1. Name: Profit Category
  2. Module: Leads
  3. Field to Update: Profit Category
  4. New Value: High Profit
This Field Update will be used as an action inside the workflow rule.
How to create the workflow for this use case and associate this Field Update with the workflow has been covered in the following section of this post.

UI - Field Update Creation View

Creating a Field Update via API

You can create a Field Update using the Create Field Update API available from Zoho CRM API version 8.
Request URL:  {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/automation/field_updates
Request Method: POST
Input JSON


{
    "field_updates": [
        {
            "name": "Profit Category ",
            "module": {
                "api_name": "Leads",
                "id": "5725767000000002175"
            },
            "type": "static",
            "feature_type": "workflow",
            "field": {
                "api_name": "Profit_Category",
                "id": "5725767000008570298"
            },
            "value": "High Profit"
        }
    ]
}


Keys explanation

                         Key

                        Explanation

field_updates

 

Holds all details to create a field update.

name

Field Update name

module

Specify the module details

module.api_name

Represents the module API name. In our case, it is "Leads" module.

module.id

Represents the System ID for the module

type

Represents the Update type. Usually “static” for fixed-value updates.

feature_type

Represents that this Field Update is for workflow Rules.

field

Represents which field should be updated.

field.api_name

Represents the field API name.

field.id

Represents the unique ID of the field.

value

The value to be updated


Sample Response

{
    "field_updates": [
        {
            "code": "SUCCESS",
            "details": {
                "id": "5725767000008604002"
            },
            "message": "field update deleted successfully",
            "status": "success"
        }
    ]
}



A note on the unique ID

You can add:
  1. You need this ID to retrieve, update, and delete the Field Update later.

Retrieve your Field Update

You can retrieve a Field Update by using the Get Field Update API. It lists all available Field Update actions available in your org.

Request URL:  {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/automation/field_updates/5725767000008604002
Request Method: GET

Sample Response:
Below is the sample response returned by Zoho CRM.

{
    "field_updates": [
        {
            "created_time": "2025-11-15T07:57:39-08:00",
            "update_type": null,
            "lock_status": {
                "locked": false
            },
            "apply_assignment_threshold": false,
            "editable": true,
            "module": {
                "api_name": "Leads",
                "id": "5725767000000002175"
            },
            "related_module": null,
            "deletable": true,
            "source": "crm",
            "type": "static",
            "created_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "5725767000000411001"
            },
            "notify": false,
            "feature_type": "workflow",
            "modified_time": "2025-11-15T07:57:39-08:00",
            "field": {
                "api_name": "Profit_Category",
                "id": "5725767000008570298"
            },
            "dependent_fields": null,
            "associated": false,
            "related_records": null,
            "name": "Profit Category Leads",
            "modified_by": {
                "name": "Patricia Boyle",
                "id": "5725767000000411001"
            },
            "id": "5725767000008604002",
            "value": "High Profit"
        }
    ]
}


Note: This API helps you fetch all the details of a specific Field Update using its unique ID. Also, you can create a workflow and associate the created Field Update action using its unique ID.

Workflow Rule Configuration 

Trigger:
  1. When a Lead is created or edited.
Condition:
  1. Lead Score is greater than or equal to 80.
  2. Lead Status is currently Not Contacted.
Actions:
  1. Associate the created Field Update action: High Profit
  2. Add a Contact Immediately tag to the record.

Workflow Rule and Field Update action via UI

Configuring Workflow and associating the Field Update action

Workflow Rule and Field Update action via API
Create a Workflow:
You can use the Configure Workflow Rule API to create a workflow.

Associate the Field Update:

You can associate the Field Update action with the workflow by using the unique ID of the Field Update.
Retrieve the Field Update ID using the Get Field Updates API.

Request URL:  {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/automation/workflow_rules
Request Method: POST

Sample Input:

{
    "workflow_rules": [
        {
          .
          .
          .

            "execute_when": {
                "details": {
                    "trigger_module": {
                        "api_name": "Leads",
                        "id": "5725767000000002175"
                    },
                },
                "type": "create_or_edit"
            },
            "module": {
                "api_name": "Leads",
                "id": "5725767000000002175"
            },
            "conditions": [
                {
                    "instant_actions": {
                        "actions": [
                            {
                               
                                "name": "Profit Category",
                                "details": {
                                    "module": {
                                        "api_name": "Leads",
                                        "id": "5725767000000002175"
                                    }
                                },
                                "id": "5725767000008604002",   //associating the created Field Update with the Workflow.
                                "type": "field_updates"
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "High Priority Deal",
                                "details": {
                                    "module": {
                                        "api_name": "Leads",
                                        "id": "5725767000000002175"
                                    },
                                    "over_write": false,
                                    "tags": [
                                        {
                                            "name": "High Priority Deal",
                                            "id": "5725767000008570458",
                                            "color_code": "#63C57E"
                                        }
                                    ]
                                },
                                "id": "5725767000008570470",
                                "type": "add_tags"
                            }
                        ]
                    },
                    "criteria": {
                        "group_operator": "AND",
                        "group": [
                            {
                                "comparator": "greater_equal",
                                "field": {
                                    "api_name": "Entity_Scores__s.Score", //Lead Score's API name
                                    "id": "5725767000002324045" 
                                },
                                "type": "value",
                                "value": "80"
                            },
                            {
                                "comparator": "contains",
                                "field": {
                                    "api_name": "Lead_Status",
                                    "id": "5725767000000002611"
                                },
                                "type": "value",
                                "value": "Not Contacted"
                            }
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
            .
            .
            .
        }
    ]
}


For more details on Workflow Rules using APIs, refer to Kaizen #213 - Workflow APIs - Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.


Edit your existing Field Update

You can update an existing Field Update using the Update Field Update API. To update it, use the unique ID of the Field Update in the request URL. Use Get Field Update API to get the required Field Update ID.

Request URL:  {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/automation/field_updates/5725767000008599001
Request Method: PUT

Input JSON

{
    "field_updates": [
        {
            "name": "Profit Category - Updated", //updated the response
            "field": {
                "api_name": "Profit_Category",
                "id": "5725767000008570298"
            },
            "value": "Good Profit" //updated value
        }
    ]
}


Note:
  1. Only the configured modules cannot be updated using the PUT - Field Update API call. The rest of the fields can be updated.
  2. The updated value must be valid for the field type. For example, picklist fields accept only existing picklist options. 
  3. After updating a Field Update, any workflow linked to it will automatically start using the updated configuration.

Delete Your Existing Field Update

You can delete an existing Field Update using the Delete Field Update API. To delete it, you must use the unique ID of the Field Update in the request URL.
 If you do not know the ID, use the Get Field Update API to retrieve it.

Request URL:  {{api-domain}}/crm/v8/settings/automation/field_updates/5725767000008599001
Request Method: DELETE

Sample Response:

{
    "field_updates": [
        {
            "code": "SUCCESS",
            "details": {
                "id": "5725767000008604002"
            },
            "message": "Field update deleted successfully",
            "status": "success"
        }
    ]
}




Note
  1. You cannot delete a Field Update if it is currently associated with any Workflow, Blueprint, or Approval Process. Remove the Field Update from the workflow first, and then try deleting it.

We hope this post helps you understand how to use Field Updates through the Zoho CRM Actions API - Field Update API.


Try it out, and let us know your experience in the comments section or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com.
Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming Kaizen posts!

Cheers!




    • 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

      • email template

        How do I create and save an email template

      • Enhancements in Portal User Group creation flow

        Hello everyone, Before introducing new Portal features, here are some changes to the UI of Portals page to improve the user experience. Some tabs and options have been repositioned so that users can better access the functionalities of the feature. From

      • Always display images from this sender – Is this feature available?

        In Zoho mail, I had my "Load external images" setting set to "Ask me", and that's fine. That's the setting I prefer. What's not fine though is I always need to tick "Display now" for each email I get, regardless if I've done that multiple times from several

      • Zoho Notebook Sync problem

        I'm facing a problem with syncing of notebook on android app. It's not syncing. Sometimes it syncs after a day or two.  I created some notes on web notebook but it's not syncing on mobile app. Please help!!!!

      • Cant Save Gauge on Creator Page

        How to Save Gauge on Creator Page see movie https://vimeo.com/1116410860?share=copy#t=0

      • Apply Advance option not shown in report

        We are facing an issue in Zoho Expenses. While approving an Expense Report, the "Apply Advance" option is not appearing under the three dots (More Options). Details: Module: Expense Reports Issue: "Apply Advance" option not visible Status of Report: Awaiting

      • Auto Capitalize First Letter of Words

        Hi I am completely new to ZOHO and am trying to build a database. How can i make it when a address is entered into a form field like this: main st it automatically changes is to show: Main St Thank You

      • Follow-up emails via Workflow Automation not staying in the same thread

        Dear Zoho Support Team, I am currently using Workflow Automation in Zoho Campaigns to send follow-up emails. In my test case, I noticed the following behavior: All emails in the automation have the same subject line. If the follow-up email is sent within

      • Client Script refuses to set an initial value in Subform field

        I tried a very simple, 1 line client script to set a default value in a custom subform field when the "Add Row" button is clicked and the user is entering data. It does not work - can someone tell me why? ZDK documentation suggests this should be doable.

      • Help Center IFrame Issue

        I have had a working Help Center on my website using an iframe for a while. But now for some reason the sign in page gets a refused to connect error. Can someone please help. If I go to the url manually it works correclty

      • Comment Templates

        Is it possible to add a template option for comments? We have some agents in the process who's responses require a pre-formatted layout. It would be incredibly handy to have a template for them where they can insert the template and then add their responses

      • Shared values: From classroom lessons to teaching moments in customer service

        While the world observes Teachers’ Day on October 5, in India, we celebrate a month earlier, on September 5, to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great teacher, renowned scholar, educationist, and advocate for empowerment.

      • Create a list of customers who participated in specific Zoho Backstage events and send them an email via Zoho CRM

        How to create a list of customers who participated in specific Zoho Backstage events and send them an email via Zoho CRM? I was able to do a view in CRM based on customer that registered to an event, but I don't seems to be able to include the filter

      • Zoho Desk blank page

        1. Click Access zoho desk on https://www.zoho.com/desk/ 2. It redirects to https://desk.zoho.com/agent?action=CreatePortal and the page is blank. Edge browser Version 131.0.2903.112 (Official build) (arm64) on MacOS

      • I hate the new user UI with the bar on the left

        How can I reverse this?

      • Question regarding import of previous deals...

        Good afternoon, I'm working on importing some older deal records from an external sheet into the CRM; however, when I manually click "Add New Deal" and enter the pertinent information, the deal isn't appearing when I look at the "Deals" bar on the account's

      • Client Script also planned for Zoho Desk?

        Hello there, I modified something in Zoho CRM the other day and was amazed at the possibilities offered by the "Client Script" feature in conjunction with the ZDK. You can lock any fields on the screen, edit them, you can react to various events (field

      • One person/cell phone to manage multiple accounts

        Hi. I have a personal Free account to keep my own domain/emails. Now I need to create a Business account to my company's own domain, but I have only one mobile phone number I use to everything. How do I do to manage this? Can I manage a Free domain and

      • Tracking KPIs, Goals etc in People

        How are Zoho People users tracking employee targets in People? For example, my marketing assistant has a target of "Collect 10 new customer testimonials every month". I want to record attainment for this target on a monthly basis, then add it to their

      • Zoho Desk: Ticket Owner Agents vs Teams

        Hi Zoho, We would like to explore the possibility of hiding the ‘Agents’ section within the Ticket Owner dropdown, so that we can fully utilise the ‘Teams’ dropdown when assigning tickets. This request comes from the fact that only certain agents and

      • Can not Use Attachment Button on Android Widget

        this always pops up when I touch the attach button on android widget. going to settings, there is no storage permission to be enabled. if I open the app, and access the attach feature there, I can access my storage and upload normally.

      • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.24.0)

        Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.24.0) is here with interesting features and thoughtful enhancements to redefine the way you plan and manage your calendar events. Here's a quick look at what's new. Create calendar events from emails. In addition

      • Mass Mail Statistics - Number of unsent emails

        How do I find out which emails were not sent?

      • Est-il possible d'annuler l'envoi d'un mail automatique ?

        Bonjour, Lorsque je refuse un candidat, il reçois un mail dans les 24h pour l'informer que sa candidature n'est pas retenue. J'ai rejeté un candidat par erreur. Savez-vous s'il possible d'annuler l'envoi de ce mail ? Merci d'avance pour votre aide.

      • embed a form in an email

        Hello, how to embed a form in an email that populates Zoho CRM cases? I would like to send emails to a selected audience offering something. In the same email the recipients - if interested - instead of replying to can fill in a Zoho CRM form that creates

      • How to add Zoho demo site page designs to my Zoho Sites website

        Hi, I would like to add the design from the following demo URLs into my current Zoho website. I have already created two new pages on my site, named “Menu2” and “Menu3.” For the “Menu2” page, I want to use the design from this demo: https://naturestjuice-demo.zohosites.com/menu

      • Digest Août - Un résumé de ce qui s'est passé le mois dernier sur Community

        Bonjour chère communauté ! Voici le résumé tant attendu de tout ce qui a marqué Zoho le mois dernier : contenus utiles, échanges inspirants et moments forts. 🎉 Découvrez Zoho Backstage 3.0 : une version repensée pour offrir encore plus de flexibilité,

      • Kaizen #206 - Answering your Questions | Displaying Related Purchase Orders from Zoho Books in CRM Deals using Queries

        Hello everyone! We're back with another post in the Kaizen series. We're grateful for the feedback we received from all of you! One of the questions we received was "I would like to see the list of Purchase Orders in Zoho Books for a Deal in CRM." We

      • Add Analytics function for Title case (capitalising each word in a string)

        At present, you can only capitalise each word in a string in Analytics during data import. It would be really useful to be able to do this with a formula column, but there is no Title Case function.

      • How to conditionally embed an own internal widget with parameters in an html snippet?

        Hello everyone, I'm trying to create a dynamic view in a page using an HTML snippet. The goal is to display different content based on a URL parameter (input.step). I have successfully managed to conditionally display different forms using the following

      • Sync more than one Workdrive

        Hello Please I'm facing some difficulties since some days. In my company we have many zoho accounts in different organisations. And I have to find a way to sync all these Workdrives. I spend many hours to search it on zoho Workdrive but no solution. Could someone help me ? Any idea how I can achieve it ? Thanks in advance. Regards

      • Zoho Flow Customer Support

        Zoho Flow is refusing to even respond to my support requests. Is there anyone on this forum who knows how to solve Zoho Flow issues? I have a simple problem and need help. Thanks.

      • Base Currency Adjustment Reversal

        Two questions surrounding the base currency adjustments (BCA). I recently ported over from QB so I need to enter the base currency adjustments. In QB, it will calculate the BCA for you at the end of the year and then reverse it at the top of the following year. Makes sense. Does Zohobooks not do this as well? I created a BCA for Dec 31, 2016 but no reversing entry was made Jan 1, 2017. Am I supposed to manually do a reversal? I'm not even allowed to post journals directly to the 'exchange gain loss'

      • Please implement UAE Central Bank FX rates

        Hello, as I understand from your knowledge base, any UAE business account created from September 15, 2018 does not have foreign exchange rates fetched automatically. This is a serious inconvenience and I am not sure why ZOHO has not looked into the ways

      • Search Records returning different values than actually present

        Hey! I have this following line in my deluge script: accountSearch = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:" + rsid + ")",1,200,{"cvid":864868001088693817}); info "Account search size: " + accountSearch.size(); listOfAccounts = zoho.crm.searchRecords("Accounts","(RS_Enroll_ID:equals:"

      • Super Admin Access to All Courses and Spaces in Zoho Learn

        Dear Zoho Learn Team, We hope this message finds you well. We are using Zoho Learn extensively for internal and agent training. While managing our courses and spaces, we encountered a significant limitation regarding admin access and course management.

      • Print checks for owner's draw

        Hi.  Can I use Zoho check printing for draws to Owner's Equity?  This may be a specific case of the missing Pay expenses via Check feature.  If it's not available, are there plans to add this feature?

      • [New Release 2024] Create and embed custom capabilities across CRM with Kiosk Studio, our latest no-code tool

        [Update | New series] We've started publishing a series of posts on Kiosk Studio. It's called Kiosk Studio Sessions and you can check out the first one here! [Update | 15 Oct} Session #2 is live! This one will look at how to create a kiosk for your call

      • Revenue Management: #10 Common Mistakes while Recognizing Revenue

        We are at the end of the series on Revenue Management, covering how different businesses recognise revenue. Even with clear standards like ASC 606 and IFRS 15 in practice, businesses often struggle with the nuances of revenue recognition. Especially growing

      • integarting attachments from crm to creator

        when i tried to integrate pdf attachments from crm to creator via deluge i am getting this error {"code":2945,"description":"UPLOAD_RULE_NOT_CONFIGURED"} the code i used is attachments = zoho.crm.getRelatedRecords("Attachments","Sales_Orders",203489100020279XXX8);

      • Next Page