Launching CPQ for Zoho CRM! An in-built solution for bespoke quote management

Launching CPQ for Zoho CRM! An in-built solution for bespoke quote management

Hello everyone, 

We are thrilled to announce the public release of CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) for Zoho CRM, which is a fundamental block in sales management.
NOTE: CPQ was a public early access feature from March 2023 — January 2024.
Since February 2024, this is a public feature.

What is CPQ?

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, Quote. In simple words, CPQ is a software application designed to enable sales teams to create bespoke, accurate quotes for their customers, efficiently and quickly. CPQ is especially valuable when you have multiple product lines or service categories which involve dynamic pricing.

Why CPQ?

One of the biggest challenges sales teams face while navigating a sales process is the awfully long sales cycles for a specific deal. Now there could be many reasons for this length— the high value of the products could genuinely need that time. Or there are several stakeholders in the decision-making process, so that could consume a good amount of time. In such cases, having done their best, sales teams probably have to wait. But if the delays are attributed to delays or inefficiency with internal processes, then it is completely in the organization's control to identify and improve those systems.

Quote management is one such area where there could be undue delays due to which the sales process can take longer, or at times be unsuccessful. When you spend a lot of time and energy nurturing leads and converting them to opportunities, you need to ensure that when you reach a negotiation stage, the relevant quotes are also accurately drafted in a timely manner and sent for review, to close the deal promptly. Delays or inefficiency here could potentially cost you the entire deal.

Depending on the organization's processes, product lines, and pricing models, this stage can be very challenging and even complicated for some sales teams.

Consider cases of products sold along with specific accessories for free. Or the case of annual discounts and special offers. Every time a salesperson drafts a quote, they need to check the latest applicable offers, discounts, product combinations, and create an accurate quote for the customer, who is by the way still waiting for the quote after their deal was confirmed. In this process, manual error, red tape in processes, and lack of knowledge transfer within sales teams regarding updated prices and products could lead to serious delays in sales quotes and also make them inaccurate. As a result, the customers get frustrated, and this in turn prolongs your sales cycle.
In order to help this scenario, you need an effective CPQ engine, in other words, a solution called Configure, Price, Quote, in order to help you with bespoke quote management.

We are happy to announce the public release our own in-built CPQ system for CRM. With CPQ's line item automation, you can create timely, accurate quotes effectively. You can also upsell and cross sell with automated product suggestions in the CPQ engine and have all these data and possibilities inside your CRM system, contextually

Following are the rich feature sets of CPQ for Zoho CRM.

  • Configure the auto-addition of associated products in a quote upon the selection of a primary product.
    You can also mark a product as free while doing so.
  • Invoke product suggestions to a sales rep while creating a quote for effective upsell/cross-sell.
  • Apply direct or volume based list price/discounts on product line items automatically using price rules. 
  • Auto-update the quantity and price of secondary/associated products based on primary product.
  • Build your own interactive product recommendation system using Guided Selling.
  • Apply CPQ rules for any custom module or sub-form within a module. In case you are maintaining your quotes in a different module called Estimates, or you also want to apply CPQ for Invoices, you can do so.
Let's understand the capabilities of CPQ for Zoho CRM with the example of Zylker Watch Associates, an organization that sells a range of wall clocks, wrist watches and smart watches.

Product Configurator and Price Rules:

Here is a quick simple example to understand how price rules and product configurator can be applied for Zylker's scenarios.
— When a customer purchases a specific kind of expensive wall clock, a wristwatch set is offered for free.
— Besides, a year-end discount rule based on the purchase date will also apply a 20% discount on the list price of the wall clock.



Learn more>> How CPQ works

Dynamic quantity update for automated line items.

When multiple products are sold together, regardless of whether the secondary products are for free or come with a price tag, you need to define how many units of the secondary product need to go with the primary product.
 
In the case of Zylker Watches, consider the same scenario where a wristwatch set is offered for free upon the purchase of a wall clock. Now what if in a single order, 5 wall clocks are placed? Then, according to this plan, five sets of wrist watches should be added for free.

So the free product's quantity should "dynamically" change in the quote, based on the primary product's quantity. In this case, the formula to calculate the same would be, "Primary product's quantity * 1".

 
This is also possible in CPQ. You can also specify an absolute number or a dynamic value in the rule.


Building CPQ rules for custom modules and subforms

CPQ's product configurations and price rules can also be created for custom modules and custom subforms. Assume that Zylker Watch Associates is maintaining their quotes in a custom module called Estimates. Also, consider that in a different scenario, their price quotes are structured to include Primary Product items as the first sub-form and the Accessories as the second sub-form.

With CPQ's extended support for custom modules and sub-forms, they can now dictate automated product addition, suggestion, and price calculations on both these sub-forms in this custom module called Estimates.

Guided Selling

With CPQ's Guided Selling, you can create your own tailored and interactive product recommendations based on the unique needs and preferences of each customer, thereby enabling sales people to choose the most relevant products for them and create accurate, tailor-made quotes instantly.

In the case of Zylker Watch Associates, let's say a customer Leota is on the phone with a sales rep and is looking for a wristwatch for herself. Leota is quizzing the sales rep on the watches available, however the sales rep finds it difficult to narrow down to the particular product that would suit Leota's preferences. In this case, let's see how Guided Selling effectively helps the sales rep with recommendations based on the customer's preferences. Note that you can build this recommendation system yourself for your organization with CPQ's Guided Selling. 


 
So with CPQ's automated product addition, suggestion, price calculation, dynamic quantity update, guided selling setup, and flexibility to apply all these configurations to any custom module or custom subform, makes your quote management process greatly efficient and in turn accelerates your sales cycle and processes.

Roadmap:

We are constantly working on building the CPQ capability in Zoho CRM in order to maximize your experience. Here are a couple of key improvements that are on our roadmap for CPQ.
  1. Sandbox support — You will be able to setup product configurations and price rules in Sandbox before deploying them to the production environment.
    Tentative ETA:  End of Q2-2024
  2. You will also be able to build Guided Selling for custom modules aside from Quotes.  
    Tentative ETA: Q3-2024
To learn more, visit the following documents on CPQ: 




        • Recent Topics

        • Zeptomail 136.143.188.150 blocked by SpamCop

          Hi - it looks like this IP is being blocked, resulting in hard bounces unfortunately :( "Reason: uncategorized-bounceMessage: 5.7.1 Service unavailable; Client host [136.143.188.150] blocked using bl.spamcop.net; Blocked - see https://www.spamcop.net/bl.shtml?136.143.188.150
        • EDIT MAIL DOMAIN

          HOW DO I EDIT MY MAIL DOMAIN
        • On-prem version of Zoho Desk

          Is there an on-prem version of Zoho Desk available for enterprise customers if we have additional aspects of security that aren't covered with current legal and data security terms?
        • Workers unable to submit time logs

          I received a phone call and an email from employees saying that they received the same error code. They cannot submit the hours that they worked. The clerk whose email is problematical is not in the office this week and does not have access to her email.
        • Error 550 - receiving email

          Hi, We've been getting messages from three different customers that our email address was bouncing. Our email address is hello[at]meteoorbooks.com. This was the error message they received: The response from the remote server was: 550 5.0.1 Recipient
        • solicitud cambio de dominio

          buenas tardes por favor me pueden ayudar con un cambio de dominio es que al crear un correo corporativo manual y agregue un dominio inscribí el mío pero le anexe letras de mas y no pude seguir con el proceso y no se como hacer para seguir con la configuración
        • Zoho Desk's ASAP announcement | Time to embrace the enhanced JWT Authentication Mechanism for ASAP | Dec'23

          Hi All, We are eager to introduce the enhanced JWT authentication mechanism for accessing your ASAP add-ons. Effective December 25th, 2023, the ASAP's old JWT authentication mechanism will be deprecated. This means that the option to switch to the new
        • Attach Subform images from Zoho Creator to CRM Module

          Good afternoon eveyone. I am having a difficult time trying to find a way to attach a subform image from a creator app to a CRM module. I have tried so many ways that I don't even know which way was on the right track because none of them worked. If anyone
        • Receipt for Transaction ID2005635324115

          Please share Receipt for Transaction ID2005635324115 towards bashir.salih@wood-man.ae
        • Zoho FSM Extension for Zoho Desk: For Enhanced On-Site Assistance and Unified Customer Support

          We are stoked to present to you Zoho FSM for Zoho Desk, an extension that will help you convert Zoho Desk tickets that require on-site assistance into field service requests in Zoho FSM, ensuring a smooth hand-off from the help desk to field technicians.
        • Not able to send or receive emails

          Hello, I have not been having problems sending and receiving email accounts for about 2 weeks now. I have clean out my folders for storage and it is still not working. Thanks Ward
        • Need Assistance with New Account and DNS Update

          I've created a Zoho Mail account for my Website https://apkqad.com but forgot which Gmail account I used to sign up. Can I setup a new Zoho Mail account and update the DNS records accordingly?
        • Which WhatsApp API works seamlessly with Zoho CRM?

          I’m exploring WhatsApp API solutions that integrate seamlessly with Zoho CRM for customer communication, lead nurturing, and automation. I would love to hear insights from those who have successfully implemented WhatsApp within Zoho CRM. My Requirements:
        • Zoho Desk app update - Reply via email option for IM tickets

          Hello, everyone! We're excited to introduce the 'Reply via Email' option for IM tickets, in the latest version of the Zoho Desk Android(v2.7.4) and iOS(2.9.5) app update. You can now respond to IM-based tickets via email within the mobile app. This feature
        • Importing into Multiselect Picklist

          Hi, We just completed a trade show and one of the bits of information we collect is tool style. The application supplied by the show set this up as individual questions. For example, if the customer used Thick Turret and Trumpf style but not Thin Turret,
        • Zoho Meeting Android app update - v2.4.0

          Hello everyone! We are excited to announce that we have brought in support for the following features in the latest version of the Zoho Meeting Android app(v2.4.0): 1. Start Personal Meeting Rooms 2. Revamp of the schedule meeting screen and meeting details
        • Upload and embed a video into an article?

          How can we upload a video and embed it into an article? It is possible for images but this only supports image files. And don't say it has to be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo or DailyMotion in order to embed it. We're trying to create company documentation
        • Zoho Recruit in 2025

          Hi Zoho team, Is it possible to disclose what is on the roadmap for Recruit in 2025? In comparsion to other ATS options available, Recruit is falling behind. Within the community there are endless request and suggestions from users on feature which would
        • Mass Update Status of Job Openings

          It'd be incredibly useful to be able to mass update the statuses of job openings. I've just been told six jobs are on hold with the same client, so at the moment I need to update all of them individually. Cheers
        • Canvas View in Zoho Recruit

          Is it possible or would it be possible to have the new 'Canvas View' in Zoho Recruit?
        • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

          I am having problem of adding my mobile phone number to my account, while enabling the Zoho mail service. I have tried my personal number, working number, and even my parents number and still got the same error "This mobile number has been marked spam.
        • Error when trying to categorize bank transactions

          I am trying to categorize my bank transactions. It was going fine, I categorized 50 or so transaction and suddenly I started getting an error that reads: "Transactions cannot be matched as the account you are trying to match it to, is different.". I select
        • Why there is "Failure" after the "Answer bot" card

          Hi, I'm building a Chat bot for my company. I implement the card "Answer bot" and after this card there is the word "Failure", then if I add another card, this card doesn't work. In this case I add the "End" card. Can you explain how to do to avoid this
        • Kaizen #177: Duplicate Check Preferences API vs. Upsert API

          Hello all!!! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen. Last week, we discussed Optimizing the Use of Record ID Variables in Zoho CRM Queries. This week, we will explore two important APIs for managing duplicate records in Zoho CRM - Duplicate Check Preferences
        • How to block a WhatsApp user for sending spam

          Is there a way to block those whatsapp users that just come to play and annoy our service, they also spam us. We have a waba service with sales iq
        • Sales receipt drop down

          Is the option for Sales receipt only in a paid subscription? If it is which subscription, if it is not how do I get it up on my drop down sales tab.
        • 5 powerful ways to boost e-commerce customer engagement with Zobot

          E-commerce has been a game changer for the past decade. It has drastically influenced the way people purchase. This pandemic broke all the existing rules by embracing automation and making the customer experience more personalized. Chatbots play a crucial
        • Access Sales Order line Items in Deluge

          Does anyone have a Deluge snippet that shows how to access an Order_Items from a Sales_Order? Thanks in advance! Brenedn
        • Progressive Discounts

          We need to be able to apply more than one discount after the sub total. How would we go about doing that in zoho books and zoho inventory?
        • How to select alternate invoice email notification template

          When we reissue an invoice, we want to send a different notification email. I am able to set up the alternate email body using Email Notifications/Invoice Notification settings, but I can't figure out how to attach that template to a specific invoice.
        • Create/Update Query Tables through API

          We need an API to edit the query tables. Currently if columns are added/removed from a normal table, we have to edit the query tables made on top of that table manually to reflect the changes. We want to automate this task to automatically update the
        • Is there a way to programmatically open the zoho business chat?

          I'm integrating business chat into my website. Is there a way to programmatically trigger opening the chat?
        • Mass Change Start Date in Recurring Invoice

          Need a way to update start date for large number of recurring invoices. Either bulk update option for that field or an import function with the ability to set "duplicate handling logic" (like when importing customers) so that one (or more) field can be
        • How Do I Refund a Customer Directly to Their Credit Card?

          Hi, I use books to auto-charge my customers credit card. But when I create a credit note there doesn't seem to be a way to directly refund the amount back to their credit card. Is the only way to refund a credit note by doing it "offline" - or manually-
        • Zoho Books Invoices Templates

          It would be really helpful to have more advanced features to customise the invoice templates in Zoho Books. Especially I´m thinking of the spacing of the different parts of the invoice (Address line etc.). If you have a sender and receiver address in
        • Backup & Restore

          We need a better tool for comprehensive data back-up and restore.  We are investing in Zoho Books as a tool to run our business and the data we input into the system is vital so having comprehensive and regular backups is not only key but a fundamental requirement for any responsible business.  The current backup system does not provide complete data backup and the process to import the data is also flawed. Exported files size are larger than the allowable import size Some exported files have different
        • Zoho Books Custom Views do not allow "Empty" and "Not Empty" to be evaluated in criteria

          In Zoho Books, we can create a custom view for most modules (like Invoices and Bills), and we can try to specify a criteria. However, we cannot evaluate in criteria whether a field is empty or not. This is very bizarre! Every type of criteria across all
        • Allow Option to Modify Check Voucher. Need Additional Columns from Bill

          We really want to add a custom field/value from a Bill to the check Voucher. Is this possible? If not, why is there such a restriction? We are having an admin hand write information on all the vouchers, even though the information already exists on the
        • Restrict Payment Methods

          Allow us to restrict certain payment methods specific for each customer.
        • Zeptomail Support

          My zeptomail was blocked and i was notified to contact support. I have opened five tickets and no one is responding to my queries. I went through possibilities of the block and discovered the issue was due to suspicious mails sent through one of the mailagents.
        • Next Page