Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

Hello everyone,

We've been coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which can be implemented for your business. In continuation to the previous post, this week we will be seeing about
how you can implement the Refer and Earn Workflow system to acquire more customers.

Why are Referrals important?


Customer Acquisition is crucial for any business to sustain itself in a constantly evolving

market. It involves persuading new consumers to purchase your products. Customers tend to buy products that are considered to be reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, it can be quite difficult to bring in new customers without proper marketing strategies.
 
Word-of-mouth referral campaigns is a proven strategy to help you acquire lots of customers effectively in a short period of time. 

What is a word-of-mouth referral campaign?

If a customer is satisfied with your product, he will become a regular subscriber to your product. He will eventually spread the word around. This is a free marketing strategy for your product. Once people start hearing positive feedback about your products, they will prefer your brand to your competitors. 

To make this strategy more effective, you can simply provide a referral incentive for your customers who are bringing in new customers through referrals. This will motivate them to spread the word and it will also help in customer retention.

A referral incentive can be anything from a discount (or) amount which you can credit to your customers who are bringing in new customers. Let us now see how we can implement a Refer and Earn workflow system in  Zoho Subscriptions.

Building a Refer and Earn Workflow system:


For this particular scenario, we will be raising a Credit Note (for fixed incentive amount) for a referrer who has referred a new customer. The Credit Note can be later applied during the next billing cycle of the customer. Let us look into a simple scenario to understand this better.


Assume that John is a long term subscriber for your product and he in turn is referring his friend Mark to your product. Here,

John -> Referrer
Mark -> Referred Customer

When Mark subscribes to your product, he will mention that John is the one who has referred Mark. Since John has made a successful referral, you will raise a credit note for John for a fixed incentive amount.

As you can see, the most primary requirement for this workflow is to identify the referrer. In this case, to identify the referrer, we will show a Custom Field of type Email Address in the Hosted Page, where the subscriber can mention his referrer's email address. Later when a new subscription is created, we will be using our Custom Function Workflow to raise a credit note for that referrer. 

The below explained custom function does the same.

Code Explanation:



You can refer to the code in this GitHub link. The code is written in Deluge Script which can be easily understood by non-programmers.

1) Paste your authtoken, Custom Field's label and incentive amount in their corresponding variables.

2) Once a new subscription is created, we can check if a referrer Email id is present. If it is present, we use that Email ID to get the customer (Referrer) details from our database.

3) Once the Referrer is identified, a credit note will be raised for the mentioned incentive amount.

 

4) In case, if the email address is not present in our database, the admin of the organization will be intimated with an Email regarding this.


Getting started with the Custom Functions:  

1. Go to Settings -> Automation -> Custom Functions. 


2. Create a new Custom Function. Provide a name for the function. 


3. Choose the module and event according to your need.


4. Copy the code which was given above. Do the necessary changes that are required.


5. Save the Custom Function and you are good to go.

Found this useful? Try it out and let us know how it works! If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask!


Cheers,

Sasidaran K,
Zoho Subscriptions.



      • Sticky Posts

      • Tip #4 : Refer and Earn Workflow system for your Subscription Business

        Hello everyone, We've been coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which can be implemented for your business. In continuation to the previous post, this week we will be seeing about how you can implement the Refer and Earn Workflow system to acquire more customers. Why are Referrals important? Customer Acquisition is crucial for any business to sustain itself in a constantly evolving market. It involves persuading new consumers to purchase your products. Customers

      • Tip #2 - Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date

        Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a custom function workflow every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation of this previous blog, this week we will be seeing about Cancellation of Offline Subscriptions based on the Expected Payment Date. Business Scenario: In general, for any business, the customers make payments via online as well as offline. In case of subscription where the automatic collection of charge is enabled (aka online subscription), the customer's

      • Tip #3 : Send SMS Reminders for your Subscription Business

        Hello everyone, As you all know, we are coming up with a tip every week to address specific business scenarios. In continuation to the previous blog, this week we will be seeing how you can use SMS reminders for your Subscription Business. Using SMS messages for your Subscription Business: While managing your subscription business, more often than not, you need to keep your customers informed about upcoming renewals, payment reminders and cancellations. By keeping them informed in advance, you can

      • Tips And Tricks - Announcement

        Hello everyone, Every business is unique and each of them follows a specific workflow. While managing your customers' subscriptions with Zoho, you might have some needs unique to your business. Custom Functions helps you address such needs. This is a start to a series of posts, where we will be coming up with a custom function workflow every week that addresses specific business scenarios. Watch this space for further updates! Also, if you have any specific business scenario which needs to be addressed,

      • Tip #6 : Accessing external URLs from Zoho Subscriptions

        Hello everyone, We have been sharing a tip every week to address specific business scenarios which you can implement for your subscription business. Last week, we shared a tip about implementing the Approval Workflow system. This week, let's look at how you can access external URLs with the help of Custom Link. Business Scenario: Every business functions differently and has its unique requirements. At times, businesses might want to access other websites or applications by appending specific information

        • Recent Topics

        • Zoho Mail Android app update: UI revamp

          Hello everyone! We are excited to share that the first phase of the Zoho Mail Android UI revamp is now live. In this update, we have redesigned navigation bar at the bottom to quickly access the Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Settings modules. Also, the

        • Records Per Page

          Can we get max number of records per page increased from 100 to 250 and 500 please? Or alternatively allow us to use the Zoho Sheet View for all records and not just the max 100 showing on the page? thanks.

        • This campain is on hold

          Trying to start a Zoho Campaign for our company but the error message when we try to send it out it this: This campaign is on hold Our compliance team needs additional information about your sender domain address. They'll reach out to you shortly via

        • Enable Screen Recording in Zoho WorkDrive Mobile Apps (Android & iOS)

          Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, How are you? We are enthusiastic Zoho One users and rely heavily on Zoho WorkDrive for internal collaboration and content sharing. The screen-recording feature in the WorkDrive web app (similar to Loom) is extremely useful- however,

        • Blueprint transitions on locked records

          We use the ability to automatically lock records (quotes, sales orders, etc.) based on criteria, such as stage. For instance, if a quote has been sent to a client, the quote is then locked for further edits. Our ideal quote stage process is: Draft>Sent>Won.

        • 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

        • Sales Ordes removes TAX at random for some or all prodcuts, even after creating it

          Hi at Zoho CRM, in the Sales Orders section, when Creating, Cloning or editing any Sales Orders the TAX of one or all products gets "unchecked" at random. All of our products ALWAYS must have the same TAX selected automatically. At least it used to be

        • Turning off self view in Zoho Meeting

          Hi Is it possible to turn off/hide self view in meetings?  Cant see any options for it. Thanks

        • CRM to Desk Contact Sync Issues?

          Hello, I noticed none of the contact changes in CRM are being transferred over to Desk. Anyone else experiencing this? I checked the sync history in desk and it confirms it - it doesn't show "X Contacts Synced" like it normally does.

        • Please add Deluge code editing for Forms

          Assuming Forms is built on the same codebase as Creator, etc., it would be wonderful to be able to edit form code, cut and paste form elements across different forms, share code with other users, and so on.

        • Is there any workaround or method to restrict user login to a particular device

          Hi, I want to restrict my CRM user from accessing the Zoho CRM/Zoho One application to the company provided devices only. As far as I have explored there is no direct way to do this. Is there any workarounds that will allow me to do this. I want to ensure

        • Email from CRM being Blocked or Marked as Spam by Google (and maybe more)

          In the past 24 hours we’ve noticed that emails sent via Zoho CRM are being blocked or flagged as phishing, particularly by Google. The issue seems to occur specifically when emails contain links. URLs like www.domain.com or www.example.com are automatically

        • Introducing SlyteUI : From Idea to a Working Interface in Minutes

          Hello everyone! Are you spending hours building basic UIs? Does even the smallest customization feel like a major task? CRM customization should feel intuitive and straightforward, not time consuming or exhausting. SlyteUI makes this possible by simplifying

        • Announcing Zoho Sheet desktop app for macOS and Windows (Beta)

          Hello Sheet users, We know you’ve been waiting for this one. It has always been the top priority on our roadmap to provide a single native desktop app for macOS and Windows that works both online and offline. Today, we are excited to announce that the

        • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

          Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24

        • Zoho Tables - Form default entry

          How so I set a form field to be populated with an entry from another table? I created a view on my source table limiting the results to just the one thing I want to see. When adding a Client via my Add Client form, I want the Client Type field to already

        • Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?

          Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned

        • Introducing Bin Locations In Zoho Inventory

          Hello users, We are excited to let you know that your wait for the Bin Locations feature has now come to an end! Yes, you heard us right! We are here to introduce the much-awaited Bin Locations now in Zoho Inventory. But before we dive into the feature

        • Add Actionable “Smart Commits” for GitHub Integration

          Hi Zoho Projects Team, I am submitting a feature request to introduce Smart Commits support for the GitHub integration in Zoho Projects. The Current Limitation: Currently, Zoho Projects offers a "passive" integration. Including a Task ID in a commit message

        • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

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

        • Items attribute questions

          Many of my items have attributes, such as size and color. How can I add new fields to the "New Items" screen to capture that in my Purchase Orders, Items, and Sales Order pages? I only see these attribute fields when adding an Item Group. Also, on the

        • SEO recommendation of H1 tag for website tittle

          The exact words are “ It is good practice to place the page title inside the H1tag.” Now I already have one H1 tag on my website but it is not website tittle. In the SEO recommendation that is clear too that I have h1 tag on my page. Now I don’t know

        • Anyone Building AI-Based SEO Dashboards in Zoho Analytics?

          Hey everyone, I’m currently working on an SEO reporting dashboard in Zoho Analytics and looking to enhance it with AI-based insights—especially around AI visibility, keyword trends, and traffic sources. The goal is to track not just traditional metrics

        • Knowledgebase SEO

          We have a custom-domain mapped help center that is not restricted via login. I have some questions: a) will a robots.txt file still allow us to control indexing? b) do we have the ability to edit the sitemap? c) do category URLs get indexed by search

        • Marketing Tip #15: Rank better with keyword-rich URLs for product pages

          Your product page URL is a small detail that can make a surprisingly big difference. Clean, readable URLs help in two ways: They’re easier for customers to trust and remember (no one likes clicking a link that looks messy or random). They help search

        • Marketing Tip #26: Optimize product images for SEO

          Product images can do more than make your store look good. They can also help customers discover your products through search. Since search engines can’t "see" images, they rely on text signals to understand what an image is about. Two small actions make

        • Zia Agents in Zoho CRM: a better way to set up digital employees

          Hello everyone, If you've been using Zia Agents in Zoho CRM, so far using Connections was the only deployment method you're familiar with. You create an agent in Zia Agents (define its objective, write instructions, use tools, add knowledge base) and

        • Cross Module Filtering – Use Fields from Lookup modules in Custom Views criteria and Advanced Filters

          Hello everyone, Zoho CRM now enables you to achieve deeper filtering of records in a module, using fields of a lookup, thereby enhancing your data management experience manifold. This filtering based on lookup module fields is now available in advanced

        • How can we use Loop Structures in Deluge script?

          Hi, I am using GetRecords() function to fetch records from a module in Zoho CRM,  the number of records is 800+, but GetRecords() function returns 200 records at one time,  So, I want to use loops to achieve my task, but it gives me error when i use any loop instead of For each loop. How can I perform my task? Please help Zoho community. Thanks 

        • Stock Count

          The stock count is a nice new feature, but we cannot figure out how to: 1. Use it without assigning to a person, we have a team or one of multiple do stock counts as do most any company. 2. Add any extra fields to what the "counter" sees. The most important

        • SalesIQ Operator Activity Reports in Zoho Analytics

          I'm busy building a dashboard in Zoho Analytics and I want to include SalesIQ stats in the dashboard, but I'm unable to get the statistics mentioned in the attached image. Any idea where I can get the stats for Operator Activity?

        • Multi-Select Field Option Limit Inquiry

          Hello FSM Team, We would like to inquire about the limitation of the Multi-Select field in Zoho FSM. Currently, the system allows a maximum of 10 selectable options, and we encountered the message: “Option count more than allowed count of 10.” Issue:

        • MS Teams integration

          I followed all the steps to configure the bot chanel notifications, for all events. All configuration worked fine, without issues, but I don´t recevie any notification in the Teams chanel. Must I configurate aditional permission set in MS 365 or Zoho

        • Zoho Bookings - Feature Request - Services Which Include A Resource and Consultant

          Hi Bookings Team, My feature request is to have the ability to add Consultants and Resources to Services. Use case: Your business provides first aid training and there are certain equpment you require to provide the half day training. There are only specific

        • Six important date functions every professional should know

          You probably use plenty of formulas already, but there are some that are essential for people in business roles, such as date functions. These tools help with scheduling, predicting, and tracking, and they can be useful whether you're dealing with payrolls,

        • Inactive Items - Make Less Prominent by Default

          Currently, when one marks an Item as "Inactive", it really doesn't do much of anything to hide it or get it out of the way. Search and reporting within Finance should, by default, hide inactive Items from standard reports, searches, etc. If one specifically

        • Why Contracts Should Not Be Downloaded And Sent During Negotiation

          During contract negotiation, it may seem easy to download a document, send it to the counterparty, have the counterparty make changes, and send it back. But this approach creates serious risks around security, version control, and compliance. ISO 27001:2022

        • Add Native “Create GitHub Branch” Action for Tasks and Bugs

          Hi Zoho Projects Team, I would like to submit a feature request to enhance the GitHub integration in Zoho Projects by adding the ability to initiate a GitHub branch directly from a Task or Bug. The Current Limitation: Currently, Zoho Projects lacks a

        • 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

        • Solving the bug in Zoho Writer API for styling

          So... the Zoho Writer APIs for programatically creating a document do not respect a template's style. The result is that any document you generate via API needs to be manually, paragraph by paragraph, reformatted. That bug alone is sufficient to render

        • Next Page