External ID in Zoho CRM

External ID in Zoho CRM

Hello everyone!

We know that Zoho CRM allows you to integrate third-party apps and manipulate data through APIs.

While you integrate a third-party application, you may want to store the third-party reference IDs in Zoho CRM's records. To meet this need of storing an external value inside Zoho CRM, we have introduced the External ID field.

What is an External ID field?
An External ID field is a custom single line field in a module in Zoho CRM that can hold a record's unique ID in an external system.

When can I use an External field?
When you integrate an application with Zoho CRM, you can use the external field's value to create, update, or delete a record in Zoho CRM instead of Zoho CRM's record ID.
This is particularly useful when you deal with huge data where you can work with just one ID per record instead of two.
  • Integration and data sync - You can simply use the external ID to upsert records instead of the Zoho CRM's record ID, and maintain data sync.
  • Search - When you have an external field, you can search for a record through its external ID instead of the record ID.
How can I mark a field as External?
  1. Go to Setup > Modules and Customization > Choose a module > Choose the layout.
  2. Add a custom single line field.
  3. Edit the properties of this field and select Set as External Field.


  4. Click Done.
Note
  • The External ID feature is available only for the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Zoho CRM.
  • If you mark a field as external, you cannot undo it. Similarly, you cannot convert an existing single line field to an external field.
Types of External fields
There are two types of External fields in Zoho CRM:
  • User-based
  • Org-based
User-based external field: When you set an external field of this type, this field is available to each user in CRM. So, each user can manipulate records based on this external value. For example, there are two users "user1" and "user2" that have saved a single Google Contact with external values as their respective Google contact IDs "GC1" and "GC2". Now, when the integration between Google Contacts and Zoho CRM happens, there will be a single Contact record in CRM. Now, these users can use their respective Google Contact IDs in the external field, and update that record in CRM, instead of Zoho CRM's record ID.

Org-based external field: When you set an external field of this type, the external ID of this field is the same for all users of the org. Consider an example where you have integrated MailChimp with Zoho CRM, and all the email addresses are stored as individual contacts in Zoho CRM. In MailChimp, the Campaign ID is the same for all the email addresses in the list. So, when you set the Campaign ID as the value to an external field, all CRM users can use this external value in CRM to manipulate these contacts.

You can reference the external field and create, update, or upsert records and related records through APIs.

This feature will go live by the first week of November, 2020.

Our help pages will also be live along with the feature.

Write to us at support@zohocrm.com if you have any questions.

Cheers!
Shylaja



        • Recent Topics

        • IMAP Migration from Gmail

          I have been trying to import my email from a Gmail server and keep receiving the following error. I have reduced the security, activated imap and no improvement. The link to the Google support item has not helped. Unable to connect to your account. Please

        • Your Incoming has been blocked and the emails will not be fetched in your Zoho account and POP Accounts Click here to get unblocked.

          When entering my account, this error is thrown at me, and I deleted a good part of my deleted messages, but I still can not unblock it, I would appreciate your help. reservas@lineasperutravel.com

        • Email login error

          Login successfully but email page error

        • Request for Creating Multiple Email Accounts on One Mobile Number

          Dear Zoho Team, I am planning to shift all my work-related communication to Zoho Mail because of its reliability and features. For my work, I need to create 3–4 separate email accounts for different purposes. Could you please confirm if it is possible

        • Signature issue

          Problem: The signature does not appear when replying or forwarding an email. solve issue: settintgs/Signature Check option place a signature above the content with quotation marks

        • mail admin not loading

          i am trying to login to mailadmin ... gears keeps rotating forever... its not a password issue whats so ever ... not cookies issues whatsoever from android app i can login but there so few things to do from there .. i changed ip address the same... i

        • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

          Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho

        • Changing Account in Quote form does not update address information.

          I am trying to update the address information in a quote I've created. I corrected the address in the "Account" but that did not change in the quote. If I re-enter the Account Name in the Quote form, nothing updates. How do I fix this?

        • Zoho One Backup of entire account

          Hello, When using Zoho one is there a way to backup your entire account of all apps that you are using \ activively using in a single step or do you have to backup each applications data individually? Thanks,

        • ZIA in Zoho Cliq

          Is It possible to use the ZIA feature from Zoho Analytics in the Zoho Cliq?

        • why cant i access my email account. it keeps asking me for reverifiying my account by entering my password.

          I cant access my account. it keeps asking me for reverifcaton by entering my password. once its entered it asks for it over and over.

        • Issue with “CC” and “Subject Details” of the initial mail when reply / replied all / forward using Zoho Mail Client (Desktop / Web Mail / Mobile App)

          It is observed that when I reply / reply all / forward a mail using Zoho Mail Client (Desktop / Web Mail / Mobile App), the “CC” and “Subject Details” are omitted from the mail which was replied/forwarded. However this is not the case with outlook mail

        • Unable to send Emails - 452 4.3.1 Temporary System Error

          Whene ever i request smtp server to send the email (without attachment). i recieve error "452 4.3.1 Temporary System Error"

        • I can't receive email

          I cannot receive any email sent to my Zoho email after the free upgrade plan trial is finished.

        • Help for the alisa adding

          Sorry, I would like to add a paypal alias on my domain email address. However, the system blocked it. How can I do it?

        • Problem with Writer and Workdrive

          Hi team, I’m the super admin for our Zoho One org. WorkDrive is active, and Zoho Docs is deprecated for our org. However, Zoho Writer cannot connect to WorkDrive at all — we’ve cleared cache, tried incognito, and restarted several times. I was able to

        • Lite plan attachment said 250mb but actually 25mb ?

          Lite plan attachment said 250mb but actually 25mb ? I can't attach over 25mb files, and can't receive mails has attached files over 25mb too

        • How to change a BAS that has been filed

          I have discovered that a group of expense transactions were accidentally placed in a asset account rather than an expense account. As a result I need to adjust the transaction and consequently most of my BAS to correct the error. Because the BAS have

        • Zoho Books | Product updates | August 2025

          Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From the right sidebar where you can manage all your widgets, to integrating Zoho Payments feeds in Zoho Books, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience.

        • Closing Accounting Periods - Invoice/Posting dates

          Hi, I have seen in another thread but I'm unsure on how the 'transaction locking' works with regards to new and old transactions. When producing monthly accounts if I close December 24 accounts on 8th Jan 25 will transaction locking prevent me from posting

        • Feature Request: Email Follow-Up Sequences Similar to Zoho CRM

          I’m wondering if Zoho Recruit is planning to introduce a feature similar to the Email Automation – Follow-Up Sequences that is available in Zoho CRM. In CRM, this allows users to send a series of timed follow-up emails triggered by specific actions (for

        • Constant color of a legend value

          It would be nice if we can set a constant color/pattern to a value when creating a chart. We would often use the same value in different graph options and I always have to copy the color that we've set to a certain value from a previous graph to make

        • 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

        • Option to Customize Career Site URL Without “/jobs/Careers”

          Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Career Site URL structure in Zoho Recruit. In the old version of the career site, our URL was simply: 👉 https://jobs.domain.com However, after moving to

        • Old vs New Value for Deleted Lookup Values

          Suppose the following scenario, where a value in a lookup is deleted: 1. User has countries form 2. Form A has a lookup to countries form 3. User selects Italy in Form A and saves it with the Italy ID 4. Form A report shows Italy 5. Italy is inadvertently

        • Send mass email using my secondary email

          Hello, When I send an email to just one person from Zoho CRM, a complete email editor appears, where I can choose which of my email addresses I want to use in the From field. When I send a mass email, there is not such option. I can only select the email template. When I configure an email template, I can choose who is in the From field, but I can't set it to use my secondary address. The only way to send a mass email using my secondary address that I can think of is swapping my two addresses in

        • List of hidden features

          Hi Friends, I had another support chat today and low and behold the feature that I wanted just simply needed to be "enabled". I thought I'd share, and maybe see if others had some similar experiences. 1. This one is from 5 ish years ago. I asked if there

        • customize payment page

          Is there a way to customize, other than the theme colour, the payment page that customers are taken to from invoices? I can't seem to find a way. I just don't like the formatting of the current page and would like to make it look better. I've looked at

        • Are Environments Worth It?

          In concept, Environments in ZC is a great idea. I think the flow is pretty smart when you compare it to GitHub, especially for a low code audience. However, in practice, I've found it to be unpredictable, and I've only used it a few times. Aside from

        • Enhanced duplicate check for Leads in CRM

          Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce that you can now check for duplicate entries in leads by comparing them with similar records in the Contacts Module. Previously, when you added a lead, only the converted leads were checked for duplicates. This

        • Pause(1);

          I'm using scheduler to invoke an interaction via http post with an external service. The schedule code uses a for-each loop that runs so fast my external application's log files get messed-up (they are named by date-time stamp). What I'm suggesting is

        • Integration Request: Elementor

          Integrating Zoho CRM forms with Elementor, the most popular page builder on Wordpress, would be great. I use it for our site, goenergylink.com, and I have had to use Zapier webhooks to be able to connect it with Elementor. The one issue I have run into

        • Ability to Change Visibility of Published YouTube Videos

          Hi Zoho Social Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Social regarding the management of already published youtube videos. Currently, after publishing a youtube video through Zoho Social, there is no option to change its visibility

        • Published Course Not Reflecting In Hub

          Hi! I am trying to create micro-learning courses for our team to be available for self-guided learning. I have published the courses with enrollment settings open to all users of the hub, but they don't appear to be available for enrollment. Am I missing

        • Adding anchor links in Zoho CRM email templates

          I know you can add anchor link in Campaigns, but I dont see the option to that in the CRM email template. Am I missing something?

        • Support “Never End” Option for Recurring Meetings in Zoho Meeting

          Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request support for creating recurring meetings with no end date in Zoho Meeting. Currently, when scheduling a recurring meeting, Zoho Meeting requires us to select a specific end date.

        • openUrl in blueprints

          My customer wants to open a URL at the end of a blueprint transition. Seems this isn't possible right now but it would be very useful. In this thread, https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/openurl-not-working the Zoho agent said that it's logically

        • Is it possible to pull the Zoho desk data into Zoho analytics in real time

          Hi - I am looking to add more dashboards and reports of Zoho Desk in analytics. I see there is a schedule to pull the data into analytics, but I'm wondering if there is an option to pull the data in real time instead of a specific interval?

        • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

          Is this a new feature??? its in both books and inventory.

        • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

          Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

        • Next Page