Tip of the Week - Spot Risky Sales with Conditional Formatting

Tip of the Week - Spot Risky Sales with Conditional Formatting

In Zoho Analytics, small tweaks can lead to big insights. One such feature is Conditional formatting based on other columns, your key to instantly spotting where sales success is overshadowed by product returns.

Our tip this week shows you how to apply conditional formatting across columns to uncover products and categories that look like top performers in sales but reveal a different story once returns are factored in.

The Big Picture

High sales don’t always mean healthy business. A category may dominate revenue, but if product return rates are unusually high, your profits and customer trust take a hit. Looking only at sales hides this risk. 
Conditional formatting based on return rates bridges that gap. It helps you go beyond surface numbers and focus on product quality and customer experience.

In this demo, we’ll start with a pivot table arranged as follows:
Columns: Month
Rows: Product Category
Data: Sales (USD), Return Rate (%)

Get ready to see how sales dominance changes month to month and how return rates reveal a deeper layer of truth.

We’ll highlight three eye-catching zones using conditional formatting:
  1. Healthy Zone - Low returns
  2. Warning Zone - Rising returns
  3. Critical Risk - Unacceptable return rates
By the end of this demo, sales won’t just be tall bars on your pivot; they’ll instantly tell you which categories are fueling sustainable growth, and which ones are silently eroding your margins.

Check out the video here:
​

Steps to Apply

  1. Open your Pivot Table.
  2. Creating Return Rate Formula:
    1. Click Add Aggregate Formula.
    2. Enter Formula name as Return Rate.
    3. Define the metric as below:
      4. sum("Sales return Data"."Returns Qty")/(sum("Sales return Data"."Sales Qty"))*100
      This formula calculates the percentage of sold items that were returned, giving you the Return Rate % for each product category and month in your pivot.
    4. Click Save.

  3. Set up your pivot table as shown below.
    1. Columns: Month
    2. Rows: Product Category
    3. Data: Sales (USD), Return Rate (%)

  4. Hide the Return Rate % column from the pivot as shown below.

  5. Click Visuals and select Only Data Bars.
  6. Right-click on any Sales cell and select Conditional Formatting.

  7. In the Conditional Formatting dialog, under Based On, choose Return Rate (%).
  8. Define three conditions based on the following zones:
    1. Critical Risk - Set the condition as Greater than or Equal to 10 and choose Red fill in Additional Formatting options.
    2. Warning Zone - Set the condition as Between 5 to 10 and choose Amber fill.
    3. Healthy Zone - Set the condition as Less Than or Equal To 5 to 10 and choose Amber fill.

  9. Click OK to save the conditions.

What you should see

  1. Green Sales Bars where return rates are low → sustainable business.
  2. Amber Bars where returns are rising → early warning.
  3. Red Bars where sales are hit by high returns → high-priority fix.

With one glance, your pivot now tells a double story: who’s leading in sales and who’s at risk due to high returns.

Best Practices

  1. Highlight what matters most: Focus on key risk signals like high return rates or unexpected spikes. This keeps the pivot sharp and attention where it belongs.
  2. Use KPI-driven thresholds: Base your rules on meaningful KPIs (like Profit Margin % or Return Rate %), not arbitrary numbers. This ensures the colors always map to business impact.
  3. Keep colors intuitive: Stick to natural associations: Green = Healthy, Red = Risk, Orange = Caution. This makes insights instantly recognizable for everyone.
  4. Pair visuals for impact: Don’t stop at colors. Combine conditional formatting with Data Bars to highlight magnitude, or Sparklines to reveal trends over time. Layering visuals makes patterns clearer without adding extra clutter.
  5. Test across different data ranges: For broader cues, try Color Bands to show intensity (like a heatmap of return rates) or Icon Bands to flag quick signals
  6. Avoid overlapping rules: Overlaps can confuse users. Keep each condition distinct to avoid conflicting colors on the same cell.
  7. Explore Color Bands and Icon Bands: If you want a broader visual cue beyond rule-based formatting, try Color Band (gradient shades that show intensity, like heatmaps) or Icon Band (symbols that signal performance trends). These are especially effective where quick scanning matters more than raw numbers.
  8. Think ahead for storytelling: Design your formatting with the end reader in mind. The goal isn’t to decorate numbers; it’s to tell a story at first glance.
When done right, conditional formatting turns pivots into a decision board. Your wins glow green, your risks flash red, and your opportunities pop out without a single extra click.

Keep Exploring

  1. Help Documentation
    1. Pivot Tables in Zoho Analytics 
    2. Conditional Formatting in Pivot 
    3. Visuals in Pivot
  2. Help Videos
    1. Creating Pivot tables
    2. Adding Visuals in Pivot table


    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip of the Week - Spot Risky Sales with Conditional Formatting

      In Zoho Analytics, small tweaks can lead to big insights. One such feature is Conditional formatting based on other columns, your key to instantly spotting where sales success is overshadowed by product returns. Our tip this week shows you how to apply

      • Recent Topics

      • Cadences

        I have just started using Cadences for follow-up up email pipeline. Is it just me or do you find the functionality very basic? For example, it will tell me (if I go looking for it) if someone has replied to a follow-up and been unenrolled; but it won't

      • Canvas View in Zoho Recruit

        Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?

      • How can I add or change the active customer in Zoho Projects?

        I'm trying to change the customer in an active Zoho project. Is it possible to add or change the customer?

      • Zoho Inventory - Move Orders

        Quick question about Move Orders... Why is there no status to say something like "Draft", "In Progress" and "Completed", similar to Transfer Orders? I'm assuming that when something needs to be moved it should be planned in Inventory, executed and then

      • Kaizen #215 - Workflow APIs - Part 3 - Create and Update Workflow Rules

        Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve joined Zylker Cloud Services as they review and improve their workflows. In Part 1, we discovered and audited their sprawling workflow landscape. In Part 2, we learned how to

      • DataPrep Bigquery Connection failed

        Hello everybody, I want to create a connnection beetwen Bigquery and Dataprep but when I try to connect my project I got this error Loading tables has failed. Table list fetched from the data source expired.

      • 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

      • Issue in Zoho People Regularization – Incorrect Hour Calculation

        I have noticed that when applying attendance regularization in Zoho People for previous dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, even if the check-in is 10:00 AM and check-out is 6:00 PM, the system shows an incorrect

      • "Authorize to Access Your Account"

        Hi, I'm trying to log into cliq on my phone but I can't. It says "Authorize to access your account - Verify your identity to access your account using oneAuth credentials", and asks for a password. I tried maybe 100 different passwords and nothing works.

      • Zoho Analytics Export API

        Hi Team, I’m working on some integration tasks and wanted to confirm if it’s possible to retrieve a Zoho Analytics table as JSON data using a Deluge script. I’ve already stored my custom data from multiple sources and combined it into a single source.

      • Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics

        Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn

      • Allow Multiple usage units to items while adding them to sales/purchase transactions

        The usage unit of items added in zoho books are static right now and can not be changed. But certain items are received or sold in multiple usage units. One example is fabric. It can be bought in Meters, inches, kgs or other units. Another example would

      • PO receive quantities

        At last, Zoho has finally got around to allowing us to receive a larger qty than recorded in the PO :-) Saves us all from editing the PO's before receiving larger quantities ( usual for us ) ! It's still in "beta" but available upon request, I've tested

      • Invalid URL error when embedded sending url into iframe for my website when using in another region

        Hi team, My site is currently working on integrating your signature feature as part of the system functionality, it's working great but recently there's been a problem like this: After successfully creating the document, i will embed a sending url into

      • Analytics : How to share to an external client ?

        We have a use case where a client wants a portal so that several of his users can view dashboards that we have created for them in Zoho Analytics. They are not part of our company or Zoho One account. The clients want the ability to have user specific,

      • Reference Deal Categories in Deluge

        Hello, Is there a way to reference Deal Category in deluge functions? So for our Deals, we have several different WON stages in a pipeline.  Rather than type each stage into our functions, we'd like to be able to reference the Deal Category.  Similar

      • Payroll In Canada

        Hi, When can we expect to have payroll in Canada with books 

      • Explore the Redesigned Quotes Module in Zoho Billing

        Dear users, We’re excited to introduce a refreshed look for the Quotes details page in Zoho Billing! This update brings you a more efficient user interface experience without changing your existing workflow. We've enhanced layouts with organized tabs,

      • Automatic Portal invite

        We have numerous customers we move through a blueprint in deals, when they get to a certain point we need to give them portal access, how can this be done through deluge or a workflow?

      • Users Name & Email in Reports

        Hi, I would like to show the Users Name from their Zoho Acount in All Entries/Reports as well as the current Account Email. Thanks Dan

      • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

        Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

      • Presenting ABM for Zoho CRM: Expand and retain your customers with precision

        Picture this scenario: You're a growing SaaS company ready to launch a powerful business suite, and are looking to gain traction and momentum. But as a business with a tight budget, you know acquiring new customers is slow, expensive, and often delivers

      • Whatsapp Limitation Questions

        Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based

      • Pin multiple columns and adjust column widths in CRM subforms

        Hello all, Subforms act as secondary forms or tables in which you can associate multiple line items to a primary record and thereby ensure more structured and comprehensive data organization. We've made some recent enhancements to subforms. Here's what's

      • Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals

      • Workflow Creation with Zia gets stuck

        It gets stuck here:

      • 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

      • Unable to Add Asset to Work Order Due to Different Contact and Company

        Hello Zoho Team, I’m facing an issue in our environment related to asset linking in Work Orders. Here’s the situation: When our engineers go for field activities, they initially create the Work Order using the salesperson’s contact details. After completing

      • I NEED MORE CUSTOM FIELDS!!!

        Why can I only have 60 custom fields! It's not enough. I want another 100 extra custom fields to do what's necessary for my business! I'm sure I can't be the only one with this problem!!! How hard would it be to fix this? Just fix it for me please at

      • Zoho Webinar et Zapier : de la prise de rendez-vous aux relances — une automatisation performante

        Organiser un webinaire réussi et gérer efficacement les participants peut être un véritable défi. Avec Zoho Webinar et Zapier, vous pouvez rendre vos processus plus simples. Vous gagnez du temps en automatisant les tâches répétitives. Résultat : une expérience

      • Ticket Stages Report

        From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Ticket stages refer to the series of transitions from the moment a support ticket is created until it is closed. It moves through various stages based on the actions taken at each preceding

      • 【参加無料】今年最後のZoho ユーザー交流会｜東京・大阪・名古屋で開催！ 活用事例＆ユーザー同士の情報交換

        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月に東京、大阪、名古屋の3都市でZoho ユーザー交流会を開催します！ 毎回ご好評いただいている本イベントでは、実際の Zohoユーザーによるリアルな活用事例の共有や 参加者同士でノウハウを交換し合うグループワークを予定しています。 「他社の活用を参考にしたい」「Zoho をもっと使いこなしたい」方にぴったりの場です。 初参加の方もぜひお気軽にご参加ください！ ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

      • Slow Performance on desk.zoho.com. 11/3/2025

        I’m not seeing any active service alerts for desk.zoho.com, but everyone on our account is currently experiencing very slow load times when opening or navigating tickets. We’ve already tried the standard troubleshooting steps — clearing cache and cookies,

      • Enhance Sign CRM integration

        Hello all, I'm working on a custom Deluge script to enhance the integration between Zoho CRM and Sign by using a writer merge template for additional flexibility. I want to replicate the post-sign document integration that exists between CRM and Sign

      • Preview Emails with Merge Fields before sending

        Hello, Are there plans to preview an email with merge fields before sending out? Currently, all you see in the preview are the merge field values, but before I send out the email I want to make sure the merge is working. Also, the saved emails only show

      • March 15, 2023: Zoho Docs is discontinued

        As of today (March 15, 2023) Zoho Docs is discontinued for all users. We would like to thank our customers for trusting us for so many years! Going forward, we're confident you'll enjoy using Zoho WorkDrive for all your advanced file management and collaboration

      • Create View to See Tickets Closed within the last 3 days

        I'm trying to create a view in Zoho Desk that shows me "recently closed ticket," which I will define as tickets closed in the last 3 days. I want this view to update so that whenever I click to view it is recalculates and shows me tickets closed within

      • Will I Get a Refund If I Downgrade Zoho Mail?

        Hello, We upgraded an email account for our new employee. However, the employee left after one month, and now I've reduced the number of Zoho Mail users from 7 to 6. Can we get a refund for the remaining portion of our annual payment?

      • Introducing Profile Summary: Faster Candidate Insights with Zia

        We’re excited to launch Profile Summary, a powerful new feature in Zoho Recruit that transforms how you review candidate profiles. What used to take minutes of resume scanning can now be assessed in seconds—thanks to Zia. A Quick Example Say you’re hiring

      • Good news! Calendar in Zoho CRM gets a face lift

        Dear Customers, We are delighted to unveil the revamped calendar UI in Zoho CRM. With a complete visual overhaul aligned with CRM for Everyone, the calendar now offers a more intuitive and flexible scheduling experience. What’s new? Distinguish activities

      • Next Page