Cliq - Get connected with External Users

Cliq - Get connected with External Users

Scenario:
You are part of the admin team in your company and incharge of interior decor for the new block coming up. You collaborate with your furniture vendor - FurnSquare (FS) . Numerous round table meetings take place within your team to arrive at the design theme - Ethereal nature. Now you being incharge of this decor, is the mediator between your team and FS team. As always email is the mode of communication. Based on your theme, the designers in FS come up with few sample designs and send them over to you. Guess what happens next? Yup, you are jam packed with back and forth email threads of design change requests from your team to the FS designers team. To and fro round table discussions with your team and then endless emails to FS team for each tiny requirement and change, phew! You're so done.

Now let’s get down to business and analyse why this process taxes you!

# The primary mode of communication email, is not instant. At times the reply to the previous mail is after hours.
# When sharing design attachments along with the numerous existing back and forth conversations, it becomes difficult to keep up with the mail threads.
# You are the mediator between your company and FS. For a project like this, which involves major work, i.e. agreeing on a design, changes in minor details, ideas of each team member, etc... you have to convey all this to FS team.
# Each time designers from FS send you designs, you need to get to your team about it.


Throw in a few more calls and basic onsite meetings with designers from FS and you are tied up (well not literally). This whole process is demanding and leaves you with very little time for your other works.

How would you feel in a situation like the above one? You may not exactly be the mediator of a design project, but you will for sure establish communication with other people like vendors, distributors, clients etc... Would you like to go about it in the old fashioned way of sending emails to and fro or would prefer to have instant communication?

Instant communication it is!

Instant communication is achieved by Cliq - the Team messaging software within your organization, but what about the users who are not part of your Cliq organization, say your vendors, clients, etc... We at Cliq know the importance and necessity of workplace communication of our clients with external users and hence we offer External Channels and 1-1 chats. Let me brief on how this can be useful for you.

For the above scenario with FurnSquare, an external channel #vendor-furnsquare can be created. (psst.. if you are new and wondering what a channel is, then head over here ) In this channel the designers from FS can be invited as participants and your team can collaborate seamlessly in a single chat window. Through this channel, all the designs can be shared, discussions and ideas can be hosted, request for changes can be made and so on. This mode of communication is instant, easy and not taxing. Video discussions can be hosted through PrimeTime and furthermore 1-1 individual chats can also be established with the FS designers if needed.



There you go :) Hope this brief example helped you get an idea of how you can make use of our External Channels and 1-1 Chats for communication and collaboration with users from other organizations. For more info regarding this feature, please refer our help doc on External Users . You can also write to us through comments below letting us know of what you think.



Until next time!
Princy




      • Sticky Posts

      • What's new in Zoho Cliq - Our 2020 updates

        Hi Everyone!  We work arduously around the clock to ensure that Cliq is constantly improving by releasing new features and updates, aimed towards enhancing user experience and productivity. Here we have put together the list of all new features and improvements to make sure that you stay up to date on what's new at our end. Remote Work - Set up your office workspace with Cliq We delved into the challenges attached with remote working and came up with a swift solution that integrates your office space

      • Cliq works in Hindi across all interfaces

        We're thrilled to announce that Cliq has added Hindi to the list of supported languages. Read on to know how you can localize Cliq with just a few clicks! Cliq Web & Desktop App  Tap on your display picture to open the user panel Click on My Zoho Account to land on your account set up view and click on My Profile Info In the Language field, search and select हिंदी   Save your preference!  Cliq Android  Go to Settings, then Language and input, and switch to हिंदी . Now, Cliq will adapt to the language

      • Simplify and Centralize your workflows with Forms

        Hello Everyone, We're thrilled to kickstart this new year with a feature release! Forms in Cliq - just got bigger and better. Forms allow you to work with multiple pieces of information at one go! Creating a survey, assigning a task in your project management software, raising a request with your IT team, or anything else that requires you to perform a multistep task, across single or multiple applications— Forms can do it all. A quick rundown of the uniquely powerful features of Forms Dynamic -

      • Farewell, Zoho Chat! Welcome, Zoho Cliq!

        Hello all,   As the heading says, Zoho Chat is now Zoho Cliq with power packed features that will keep you hooked. Cliq is designed to provide you with topnotch collaborative services that will keep you connected at all times.  Let me list a few features outlining it's functions:  Audio & Video calls: The calls are available in 1-1 Chats. Get connected instantly with your contacts and colleagues from anywhere.  Commands and Bots: You can now create Commands and Bots to integrate your internal tools

        • Recent Topics

        • How to disable time log on / time log off

          Hi We use zoho people just to manage our HR Collaborators. We don't need that each persona check in and out the time tracker. How to disable from the screen that ?

        • Dealing With One-Time Customers on Zoho Books

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

        • Zoho Flow - Add to Google Calendar from trigger in Zoho Creator App

          Hello! New to Zoho Flow, but I believe I have everything setup the way it should be however getting an error saying "Google Calendar says "Bad Request". Any idea where I should start looking? Essentially some background: Zoho Creator app has a trigger

        • Email authentication

          أريد التحقق من البريد الإلكتروني

        • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – December 2025

          December is a special time of the year to celebrate progress, reflect on what we have achieved, and prepare for what’s ahead! As we wrap up the year, this month’s updates focus on refining experiences, strengthening analytics workflows, and setting the

        • Marketing Tip #12: Earn trust with payment badges and clear policies

          Online shoppers want to know they can trust your store. Displaying trust signals such as SSL-secure payment badges, return and refund policies, and verified reviews shows visitors that your store is reliable. These visual cues can turn hesitation into

        • The improved portal experience: Introducing the template view for inventory modules, enhanced configurations, and PDF export support

          Availability: Open for all DCs. Editions: All Hello everyone, You can now achieve a seamless, brand-aligned portal experience with our enhanced configuration options and the new template view for inventory modules. Your clients will now be able to view

        • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

          HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on

        • Project Management Bulletin: December, 2025

          The holiday cheer is in the air and it’s time to reflect on the year that was. At Zoho PM Suite, we've been working behind the scenes on something huge and exciting all year and now we are almost ready—with just a bit of confetti—for our grand release

        • Inventory batch details

          Hi there, I'm trying to get the batch details of an item, here's what I've done so far. I've sent cUrl request to the below endpoint and I get a successful response. Within in the response I find the "warehouses" property which correctly lists all the

        • Auto check out after shift complete

          i'm just stuck here right now, i wanna know how to do this thing, now tell me, how can i configure a custom function that runs after complete shift time if employee forget to check-out ?

        • How to create a flow that creates tickets automaticaly everyday based on specific times

          Hi guys Does anyone know how to create a flow that will create tickets automaticaly in ZOHO Desk when a certain time is reached. Im havin a hard time configuring a flow that will create tickets automaticaly everyday during specific hours of the day For

        • ZOHO FLOW - ZOHO CREATOR - ZOHO WRITER : Get Related records

          Bonjour, J'ai besoin que vous m'ajoutiez la solution "Get related Records" dans la liste de choix de zoho creator (sous Zoho flow). En effet, j'ai besoin de récupérer les champs d'un sous formulaire pour l'ajouter à l'impression de mon document. Mer

        • Will zoho thrive be integrated with Zoho Books?

          title

        • Connecting email for each department in ZohoDesk

          Hi! Could someone help me to go through connecting emails for each department?

        • How do I trigger a Flow based on a campaign response?

          Is there a way to trgiider a Zoho Flow based upon a lead opening an email sent via Zoho Campaigns? I see that the data is recorded in the 'Campaigns' section of Zoho CRM under 'Member Status' and I want to trgigger a flow based upon that record changing.

        • All Zoho Flows are filtered

          My two flows operate perfectly when I run them as a test, but when they're activated each run ends with a status of neither success, nor fail, but filtered. I haven't set up any filters. I don't see where to turn off filters. When I test run on a sequence

        • Creating Multiple Items on Sales Order

          Hi, I’m trying to automate some processes using Zoho Flow, specifically the creation of sales orders in my Zoho Inventory. However, Zoho Flow's Create Sales Order function can only add one item. I would like to include multiple items in a single sales

        • Problem Connection from Zoho Flow and Gravity Form

          I obtained my API key from Gravity Forms via WordPress. However, when I enter my Zoho Flow, it states: Gravity Forms says, 'You are not authorised to access the API." I tried recreating a new API key, but it is still not working.

        • Eventbrite Email Field in Zoho Flow Returns "Info Requested" Instead of Actual Email

          Hi Zoho team, I'm using Zoho Flow to connect Eventbrite with Zoho CRM. My goal is to automatically add event attendees as leads in Zoho CRM. I’ve set up the flow and mapped the ${trigger.profile_email}} field to the Email field in CRM. However, I'm running

        • "Invalid value passed for Product ID" Error in Zoho Flow "Create Sales Order" Node

          Hello Zoho Community, I’m facing an issue with Zoho Flow while trying to create a sales order in Zoho Inventory using the "Create Sales Order" node. Here’s a detailed explanation of my setup and the problem: What I’m Trying to Achieve I’m building an

        • Associating Project with an Account via Flow

          I'm using flow to create a Project based on a Deal status update using flow. The fields exist to pass the Account Name through properly, but when you view the Projects module in a CRM Account Record it doesn't automatically associate the new Project Record

        • How to follow up a member in a meeting?

          Hello, I make weekly meeting online with a lot of people. I want(I've been using calendly to do it). I want to do a follow-up to it. I want to send messages via Zoho-flow to all the member that participated in the meeting. How can I do it?

        • Setting Delays in Invoice Reminder Flow

          I am currently working on a flow that sends reminders for unpaid invoices. The flow is designed to delay actions until specific intervals before the due date: A reminder should be sent 7 days before the due date. A second reminder should be sent 3 days

        • Get Sales Orders Related to Inventory Item

          Dear Team, I'm just wondering if there is a way to get a list of all Sales Orders related to a specific Inventory Item. I did search all articles but couldn't find any article that could help.

        • Endpoint Central Cloud Asset Update from Fresh Service

          All, Does anyone use the asset management feature in Fresh Service? I'd like some help on building a flow to update asset attributes in Endpoint Central Cloud based off of an update to that same asset in Fresh Service. The trigger is "asset is updated"

        • Zoho Flow Export to Deluge

          It would be great to take a user built zoho flow and export the entire flow as a deluge script including having multiple connected applications (showing the API connections and webhooks) and different functionality in the other applications interacting

        • Action Iteration/Loop using Zoho Flow

          Trying to use Zoho Flow for automating following Context - A zoho form entry which has image upload field with upto 5 images setting and files are saved into Workdrive. After form is submitted need to create folder based on some fields and move files

        • Zoho Flow - Unable to evaluate formatDate with Zoho Invoice Date Field for Calendar Integration

          Hello Community, I'm trying to automate the creation of all-day events in Zoho Calendar whenever a new invoice is created in Zoho Invoice. I'm using Zoho Flow for this automation. My Goal: When an invoice is created with a specific "Event Date," I want

        • Zoho Inventory Sales Order Items

          I'm trying to build automation using Zoho Flow to add items to a Sales Order. In the automation options for both "create sales order" and "update sales order", The item ID is required. However, when I update the Sales Order, it's just replacing the item

        • Permissions for Azure Devops connection

          I am trying to set up a connection with our Azure DevOps org but it keeps giving me this error. On Azure I should be able to have admin-level access to everything. Can you please point me to which permission this is checking for so I can enable it?

        • Best way to start zoho inventory with bulk openning stock

          We are already using zoho book since long time for cars trading company. Now to streamline more, would like to import the excel data of closing stock of inventory to zoho inventory and to start on. Since we need to track each VIN (unique vehicle id number)

        • My IMAP mail suddenly stopped working

          On my iPhone and iPad, IMAP stopped working for my Zoho account with the error "User name or password incorrect" and "Invalid credentials failure" however I was able to access via web with the same credentials. Also stopped working on Apple Mail client.

        • Confused by the distiction between matched and categorized when reconciling a bank statement an how to

          I used to use quickbooks. In quickbooks, it was possible to use the check writing feature to add an expense that was on the bank statement that did not go through the AP and check writing process. I would write a check, assign it a number like etf (for

        • Not Receiving OTP • https://voters.eci.gov.in/home/family

          Hello Customer, Greetings from Zoho Mail. Upon a detailed review of our delivery logs, we can confirm that other Zoho Mail users are successfully receiving OTP emails from eci.gov.in. However, in your specific case, it appears that the OTP emails are

        • WorkDrive for Excel Add on

          Dear Sir/Madam Have installed Workdrive for Microsoft add on But unable to view the same added in Excel

        • Splitting Transactions in Zoho Books

          I have read in past forum posts that the ability to split bank transactions would likely be implemented - it's definitely a typical accounting program feature.  I'm new to Zoho and thought I'd found nirvana until I realized this feature doesn't seem to

        • Zoho Calendar s’enrichit avec une intégration à Zoho People et Zoho Cliq

          Les journées de travail ne se déroulent jamais exactement comme prévu. Une conversation informelle devient une séance d’échange d'idées, une absence modifie un planning, et votre agenda se retrouve vite décalé par rapport à la réalité. Chez Zoho Calendar,

        • Holidays

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

        • Zoho public comments are confusing and unnecessary

          Hi, we use zoho desk and have issues with public comments. We started using them because the "Reply" option just seemed very clumsy because of the following reasons: - the top "Reply" button starts what seems to be a regular email, showing the entire

        • Next Page