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

        • Can we have Backorder Management ?

          Can we have Backorder Management ?

        • Display a field of an Account on the Ticket view

          Hi there, We would like to display of the Account of the user submitting a ticket on the ticket view. See for example: How can this be achieved? It doesn't really matter where it will be placed as long as it is shown there. Thanks, Snir

        • Insurance Agencies

          I am reaching out to see if anyone has any experience in the Insurance Agency world with using Zoho exclusively for the CRM and commissions side of things. Lots of strong features like drip campaigns, meeting, calendars, emails, can all be found in here.

        • Problem with Egyptian internet ISP

          Dears,  We have problem with our ADSL internet SP, That your site not working with. So, we contact them and they asking us to contact you to solve this problem.  The problem that when we are connecting to Tedata ADSL your website not working (Business Email).  BR,, Mohamed Omar 

        • Mail Not Showing In Inbox or Sent Box

          Hi, there are mails that are not displaying in both my inbox and sent box. I just tried the iPad app and it is the same but there is a blank field where a mail should be and it refers to a server error. Please fix this.

        • Marketing Automation List Entry Criteria is no longer an option

          For a couple of years now we have used the "List Entry Criteria" option to filter our Journey recipient list. All of a suddent the option no longer exists for New Lists and I can only delete the option from existing lists but can no longer edit it. Anyone

        • GCLID arrives not in CRM with iframe integrated ZOHO Form

          Hello amazing community, I enabled Adwords integration in ZOHO CRM. I have a ZOHO Form integrated in a wordpress. I tested iframe and Javascript. I enabled the "handover" GCLID in the ZOHO Form. When I add a GLID with http://www.example.com/?gclid=TeSter-123.

        • Bidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1

          Hey, community members! The default integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings is unidirectional, which means that any appointments booked, rescheduled, or deleted in Zoho Bookings will be reflected in Zoho CRM. However, any modifications made to

        • Is it possible to edit placeholder text?

          In the master slides I want to make sure my templates have more meaning for the users and want to replace the standard placeholder text with something more instructional. Instead of "Click to edit Mast subtitle styles" I want to have "Click to enter reporting

        • Delay function execute

          I've got a workflow which uses a webhook to send information to Flow, which in return updates a record in Creator. Problem is, by the time this has executed, the rest of my script has run and can't find the (yet to be) updated info in the record. Is there

        • How to allow download of a file AFTER information is collected?

          I can't find this anywhere. Can someone help with what seems to be a pretty basic web function today? - File is stored in Workdrive - Prospect goes to a URL where the file is located - System requests prospect to enter "Name" and "Email" - An email is

        • Add Baseline methods to API

          There are no API methods for creating or querying baselines,  Use case: Customer is notified of the current project start date according to plan via another product/integration. We would like to auto create a baseline (Automated via API) at the point

        • Bulk Fill In & Edit PO/Bill/SO/Invoice

          Hello, I am adding stock in bulk on a PO, the system is automatically populating the Rate (price) and Tax from the item data. Problem is that the bill rate is different from the rate on the item data, so I have to manually erase each and enter the price.

        • Fixed Assets beg balance

          Hello, I trust you are well I'm a new zoho books user and I find it difficult to plug in the fixed assets balance and here's what I have done: 1- I imported the fixed assets data into the fixed assets module as per the instructions 2- the import process

        • Syncing with Google calendar, Tasks and Events

          Is it possible to sync Zoho CRM calendar, task and events with Google Calendar's tasks and events. With the increasing adoption by many major tool suppliers to sync seamlessly with Google's offerings (for instance I use the excellent Any.do task planning

        • CRM Deluge how can link attach file with workdrive file.

          Hi, We have create file at workdrive and would like to link to attachment at crm module by deluge. Right now can only upload it to attachment but can not link the file from workdrive. Thank you

        • Feature announcement: AI-powered document generator in Zoho Sign

          Hi there! We recently announced manual document creation by offering an editor within Zoho Sign. Today, we are excited to announce AI-powered document generation to help you draft agreements, purchase orders, and other important business documents in

        • Permanently deleted files

          Is there a way to get back permanently deleted files from your account if they were accidentally deleted and no longer recoverable from the recycling bin? I know I am probably screwed but I just figured I would ask.

        • Shared Mailbox in iOS app

          Hi, On the desktop I am using a Shared mailbox for our company's general mailbox that somebody else should be able to view. In the iOS app however I can't find it? Old sources on the internet says this isn't possible but that can't be right? Somebody

        • Tip #41- Simplify Compliance and Efficiency with Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup Feature- 'Insider Insights'

          Managing device data efficiently is just as important as securing remote access. With Zoho Assist’s Data Cleanup feature, admins can easily remove outdated or unnecessary device records, keeping the console organized and secure. This action is carried

        • Revenue Management: #6 Revenue Recognition in Professional Services Industry

          If you run a consulting firm, agency, or any service-based business, you have a situation where you have signed the contract, maybe even sent the invoice, and have received some initial payments. So, can you consider this as revenue? What if the project

        • Zoho fsm scheduled maintenance dispatch

          Hi, I'm reaching out regarding an issue I'm encountering with the Scheduled Maintenance feature in Zoho FSM. I’m trying to configure it so that it automatically dispatches all maintenance jobs scheduled within the next 150 days, starting from today. However,

        • zoho.inventory.getRecords returns no records

          I running a custom function (Deluge) in Zoho Flow with a connection to Zoho Inventory. To debug the problem, I created the test function below. It returns "Number of contacts fetched: 0". This confirms that there's no issue with the org ID or connection

        • Feature announcement - Simplifying document creation with Zoho Sign

          Hi there, We are pleased to announce the release of our document creation feature, enabling you to create, edit, and finalize documents like agreements, purchase orders, and contracts without relying on external tools or applications. <br> This

        • Integrating File Attachments in Zoho Flow Email Notifications

          Hi, I would like to be able to send an email once an entry is made in a form, and in this email, I would like to attach a file that has been added to the form using the ImageUpload (or FileUpload) widget. So, I started by creating a flow that will trigger

        • Zoho project purchases

          Hi Folks, I think having a purchase module in projects will help in putting together a project p and L. Project wise purchases and expenses.  Do let me know your thoughts.

        • Create Tasklist with Tasklist Template using API v3

          In the old API, we could mention the parameter 'task_template_id' when creating a tasklist via API to apply a tasklist template: https://www.zoho.com/projects/help/rest-api/tasklists-api.html#create-tasklist In API v3 there does not seem to be a way to

        • How can I restore all the deleted Time entries of a Task in Zoho Projects

          How can I restore all the deleted Time entries of a Task in Zoho Projects? Query: In Zoho Projects, I cloned a task and deleted the time entries from the cloned task. However, this also deleted the time entries from the original task. How can I restore

        • Is there a way to make an account inactive in ZoHo Desk

          We have a few Clients "Accounts" that we no longer do business with. It would be beneficial for them to not show up in lists. However, we want to go back and view tickets, time, etc.

        • How to set the value of the Phone field importing contacts in Zoho Desk

          Hi everyone, i'm new in Zoho Desk, we're setting up the environment and i'm importing contacts from another CRM using a file CSV and i'm getting a problem with phone numbers (italian): the leading zero is cut away, also if the value is inside double quotes.

        • Deprecation Notice: OpenAI Assistants API will be shut down on August 26, 2026

          I recieved this email from openAI what does it means for us that are using the integration and what should we do? Earlier this year, we shared our plan to deprecate the Assistants API once the Responses API reached feature parity. With the launch of Conversations,

        • How to center a field inside a section?

          I’ve been trying to center a field inside a section in Zoho Canvas. When I align it visually, it looks centered in the editor, but after clicking Save, the field appears misaligned on the actual canvas. I also tried setting the field to full width, but

        • Kaizen #192 - Implementing Custom Token Persistence in Python SDK

          Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! Last week, we discussed how to implement Login with Zoho using OAuth 2.0 and saw how to bring it to life in a real-world application with the Zoho CRM Python SDK. We also discussed how Zylker Academy built a custom

        • Showing the map along with mileage expense

          When you use the GPS to track mileage, it shows you the map of the actual path travelled. It would be very useful and practical to save that map with the mileage expense, so that when the report is created, it provides a map of each mileage expense associated

        • Enable Validation Rule for Multi-Select Picklist Field

          Zoho, Please allow validation rules for multi-select fields.

        • File Upload field not showing in workflow

          Hi, I have added a field on Zoho CRM. I want to use it in a workflow where that particular field is updated based on another field, however it is not showing up in the field list to select it in the workflow. Why is this please?

        • CRM Custom function updating a module record shows the Super Admin user as the record modifier

          Dear Zoho CRM Team, Is there any way to update this so that when a custom function has updated a record the Super Admin user doesn't become the modifier? This happens on the record as a modifier and shows up in the audit logs. It would be more useful

        • Best practice importing items and matching assemblies

          Hi, I was wondering what would be the best practice to import items and composite items (assemblies) From my backup, what should I import first? The items or the composite items? I am on Zoho one, using inventory and books. Kind regards, Sabine

        • Best way to fetch employee names from Zoho People into Zoho Creator Inventory Stock Form field Employee Name Lookup

          Hi Team, I have a requirement in my Zoho Creator application (Inventory Stock Adjustment) where I need to fetch employee names from Zoho People and use them as a lookup in a form. Currently, I am considering using an integration field to fetch this data

        • get file api is returning Junk data

          I am working on extension development where at one point I need to retrieve attachments on records I found out I can use only invokeconnection and not invokeurl in extension development The invoke connection returns the image in raw binary format. When

        • Next Page