Zoho Backstage August 2025 Updates
Every month, Zoho Backstage grows with you. These updates aren't just features and fixes, they're about making your workday smoother, your events more impactful, and your attendees happier. We’ve listened, learned, and shaped this release to keep things simple where they can be, powerful where they should be, and thoughtful all the way through. Think of it as a mini renovation where the walls stay up, but the lights shine brighter, the doors swing easier, and your coffee somehow refills itself. Let’s take a look at what’s new and enhanced this August.
Session registration
Turn your agenda into a choose-your-own adventure.
We’re excited to announce the arrival of session registration in Zoho Backstage. This feature gives event organizers more control over premium content, attendee scheduling, and capacity management while creating a more personalized experience for participants.
With session registration, organizers can monetize high-value content such as workshops, masterclasses, and sessions featuring high-profile speakers. Attendees can pre-select the sessions they want to attend, helping them build structured schedules that suit their interests. On the organizer’s side, this avoids overcrowding by enforcing capacity limits and provides valuable insights into which sessions generate the most demand for future planning.
How it works:
- Session registration can be enabled from the Manage > Agenda screen. Once configured and republished, sessions will appear on the event website with registration options.
- When attendees register for the event, they can now select tickets, choose sessions, provide attendee details, associate attendees with specific sessions, and complete their payments in a single flow.
- After logging in, registered sessions appear under a new Your Sessions tab, while order-level details are available in Your Orders. If a session is canceled, attendees will see the update under Cancel and Refund History.
- Even after ticket purchase, ticket holders can log into the event website, go to Agenda > Register, and sign up for sessions later. Please note that, in this release, purchasers can't register sessions on behalf of other ticket holders.
Event organizers will find new tools to manage and track session registrations:
- Session Registration tab: Displays a list of all registered attendees, with options to filter by track, sort by details, and manage visible columns such as session name, track, date, time, and attendee count.
- Register New Attendee: Organizers can register attendees directly from the Session Registration tab or from each session’s View Attendees section. Here, they can export data, apply filters like ticket class or check-in status, and customize visible columns.
- Session Check-In: Supports both free and paid sessions. Organizers can register and check in attendees directly, even if they haven't registered in advance, through the Yet to Register section under Session Check-In.
After registration, attendees receive session details by email, similar to ticket confirmations. Email notifications also cover session cancelations. Within the Order Details tab, session information is listed alongside tickets, with cancelations and refunds captured in the Cancel & Refund History pane.
Plan availability: Available across all plans. Paid sessions are supported starting from Essentials and above.
Ticket grouping
Because tickets deserve a family tree too.
We’re adding more clarity and flexibility to how tickets are managed in Zoho Backstage with the introduction of ticket class grouping. This feature allows organizers to organize different ticket types into groups, making it easier to present a structured and intuitive registration flow for attendees.
Ticket classes such as General Admission, VIP, Free, Investor, or Partner passes can now be grouped together in a way that highlights their distinctions while still keeping the registration process simple. This helps attendees quickly understand the differences between options and choose tickets that best match their preferences, budget, or privileges.
How it works:
- Navigate to Registrations > Ticket Class > Add Ticket Group. Create a new group and assign ticket classes to it.
- Once created, groups can be edited at any time to add or remove ticket classes. If you need to rearrange, simply use the "Move to" option or drag and drop ticket classes within or across groups. If a group is deleted, only the group itself is removed, while the ticket classes remain available and appear as ungrouped.
This update gives organizers flexibility to design their ticketing structure around audience segments, ensuring clarity during registration while keeping the backend easy to manage.
On the event website, tickets are displayed in their grouped structure by default, giving attendees a clear view of available options. Organizers can choose to disable this grouped display from the website builder if they prefer a simpler layout. Any ungrouped ticket classes are automatically displayed under an “Others” section, ensuring no ticket is left out. The grouped view is consistently shown across the Tickets page, the Select Tickets screen, and even when adding an order from the Orders tab.
By grouping ticket classes, event organizers can create a clearer, more organized registration experience that benefits both their team and their attendees.
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.
Assign primary contacts for custom forms
No more “Who’s handling this?” moments.
Managing form responses just got a whole lot easier. With this update, Zoho Backstage now lets you assign a primary contact for each custom form. That means every submission reaches the right person without extra forwarding or missed follow-ups.
How it works:
- Navigate to Communicate > Preferences > Primary Contact > Module-Specific Primary Contact > Assign Primary Contact.
- Or, head to Manage > Custom Forms > Edit > Form Builder and set the contact directly from there.
- If you ever need to make a change, simply click Change, and you’ll be redirected back to the Primary Contact settings under Communicate. From there, you can update your configuration without any hassle.
Once a primary contact is set, every response submitted through your event website will trigger an email notification to the designated person. This means no more delayed follow-ups or confusion over who’s responsible for handling incoming submissions. Communication becomes more streamlined, and accountability is always clear.
The benefit of this update is simple: by assigning primary contacts, you ensure that form responses never slip through the cracks. The right people receive the right submissions, ownership is straightforward, and your team can manage event communications with greater confidence.
This enhancement is now available across all plans that support custom forms.
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans.
Enhancements
A new look for order management in Zoho Backstage
Orders, organized!
The Orders tab in the Registration module has been reimagined. What was once a simple list of purchases is now a full-featured workspace where organizers can view, edit, and act on orders with far more control than before.
At the heart of the update is a redesigned Order Details view. Each order is now broken down into clear sections: Order Information, Purchaser Details, and Order Summary. This structure helps organizers quickly locate the information they need without extra effort. Attendees and session registrations are also displayed in separate panels, making it clear who is associated with each order.
If something needs to be updated, the new Edit Order pane lets organizers adjust purchaser information and access billing addresses quickly. For offline orders, payments can now be marked manually as paid or unpaid, with fields for payment mode, transaction ID, and notes.
From the More Actions menu, every order now comes with tools to:
- Resend order emails
- Edit purchaser information
- Cancel or refund orders (with adjustable fees and refund amounts)
- Check purchaser email history
- Track order activity in real time
This means fewer steps, less switching between screens, and a faster workflow for managing registrations.
Events can generate thousands of orders, and keeping them organized is now easier than ever. The Orders tab includes advanced filters for order status, type, payment method, payment mode, and source. Sorting by purchaser name, order ID, or date/time makes it simple to surface the right records. And with 18 column headers to choose from, organizers can design their own view of the data, showing only what matters most.
This release doesn’t just improve the present—it also prepares for what’s ahead.
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.
Exhibitor categories made better
Give your categories a glow-up.
We’ve upgraded your exhibitor category setup and management in Zoho Backstage. The new design gives you a cleaner interface, more flexibility, and better visibility controls.
With this release, categories are now more customizable. Organizers can group and organize benefits within each category, assign distinct colors for easy identification, and use visibility toggles to decide what's shown. Flexible display options allow each event setup to match its specific requirements, ensuring categories are both functional and clear.
The new creation and management screens make it easier to move between categories and their associated benefits. Benefits can be enabled or disabled whenever required, and their availability, counts, and status are presented in a structured way. This gives organizers a complete view of what's currently active in each category.
Categories can also be linked directly to exhibitor or sponsor packages so that reserved benefits are applied consistently. Assigning unique colors to categories adds another layer of clarity, making it simpler to manage and distinguish them.
On the website, organizers can now decide how categories are displayed to attendees. Categories may be shown or hidden, and exhibitor listings can appear in either a card view or a table view, depending on the style that best suits the event.
To start using it:
- Navigate to Exhibitors > Exhibitor Categories, or configure the display preferences in Design > Website.
With Exhibitor Categories V2, organizers gain more control over how exhibitors are managed and presented, while attendees receive a clearer and more organized view of event participants.
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.
New withdrawal flow in Registration Approval
Sometimes “no thanks” deserves its own button.
Event registration just got more flexible. We’ve added a new Withdrawn status to make the ticket request process smoother for both attendees and organizers. From now on, attendees who no longer wish to attend can simply withdraw their registration requests directly from the event website. These requests will be neatly recorded in the system and can be found under the Canceled filter in the Registration Approval tab.
On the website, attendees will see their request clearly marked as Withdrawn, ensuring there’s no confusion about whether their registration is still pending. For event organizers, this new status provides better visibility by separating attendee-initiated withdrawals from organizer-declined requests. This way, you’ll always know which cancelations were voluntary and which were rejected during approval.
To help you stay on top of your workflow, the Registration Approval tab now follows a simple guide. Pending requests are those awaiting review, approved requests are the ones you have confirmed, rejected requests are those you have declined, and withdrawn requests are those attendees have chosen to cancel themselves.
This update not only simplifies your approval process but also gives attendees more control over their registrations, making the overall experience clearer, more transparent, and easier to manage for everyone involved.
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans.
More flexibility with Transaction ID requests
Ask for details only when you really need them.
We’ve introduced a new level of flexibility to how transaction details are collected during ticket registration. Event organizers can now choose whether to display the Transaction ID pop-up when attendees select an offline payment option.
By default, the Transaction ID request will appear for Bank Transfer, Check, and Other payment modes, ensuring that important reference details are collected upfront. However, if you prefer not to request these details, you now have the option to disable it with a simple setting change. On the other hand, for Pay at Venue, the Transaction ID request will remain disabled by default, but you can easily enable it if your workflow requires attendees to provide transaction details in advance.
To keep things transparent, any changes you make to the offline payment settings will be automatically recorded in the activity logs. This gives you a reliable trail of updates and ensures accountability across your event management team.
With this enhancement, you have greater control over how payments are managed, offering both convenience and flexibility for your attendees while keeping your processes streamlined.
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans
Other updates
New UI in Marketing Plus
A refreshed Zoho Backstage interface has been introduced in the Marketing Plus and CRM Plus bundles. The updated design improves navigation, creates consistency across modules, and helps organizers manage events with greater clarity and ease.
New themes: Velvet and Neo Noir
The Velvet and Neo Noir themes has been added to the website, giving organizers a bold and stylish option to match event branding. These modern designs introduce a darker palette with sleek layouts for professional-looking event pages.
New session card layout
A third layout style has been released for session cards under Design > Website settings. Organizers can select from multiple layouts to better highlight speakers, timings, or details, creating an agenda design tailored to their event.
Publish events without a location
Events can now be published without requiring a location to be entered, giving organizers more flexibility when setting up offline or hybrid events. This change makes publishing faster while accommodating events that may not need a physical address.
Schedule Demo option for Trial plans
Trial plan users are given the option to schedule a demo directly from their account. This addition makes it easier for new users to explore features, understand workflows, and receive guided assistance before moving to a paid plan.
Host parallel sessions
The restriction limiting organizers to a single active session has been lifted. Organizers gain more flexibility to test, manage, and run multiple tracks or parallel sessions without interruption, making event operations more efficient.
That’s everything we have for this month. Every improvement comes from your feedback, ideas, and support. Thank you for being part of this journey and for trusting Backstage to power your events. We'll be back soon with more updates. Until then, here’s to smoother planning, stronger connections, and events that leave lasting memories.
All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.
For additional assistance or questions regarding these new features, contact support@zohobackstage.com. Stay tuned for continued updates designed to enhance your event management capabilities.
Topic Participants
Jithan Raghuraj
Recent Topics
création d'une base de données
base de donnee d'un lycéeUser Session variables to recall after form submit & redirect to menu
Hey, Forgive me if this is a simple answer I have overlooked. I have built a big onboarding process for my SAAS platform which is built and managed by an external Dev team. I am hoping to embed my new creator app on the SAAS platform. I have a menu pageZoho Writer Merge Template with data from Zoho Analytics Views
Hello, Is there any way to pull information from Zoho Analytics and put it into a Merge Template? I am trying to create a bulk export of one report that filters on a field to create a single document for each of the filter fields.Having to enter bill before stock shows as available.
Hi, Am I right in thinking you must create a bill from the purchase order receipt before the goods are available for shipping?Agent Availability Report
From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Businesses need to track when their support agents check in and check out from work. This report, titled Agent Availability, is one of the static reports that helps managers track the numberWriting by Hand in "Write" Notes
Hi there! I just downloaded this app a few moments ago, and I was wondering if there was a way to write things by hand in "Write" mode instead of just typing in the keyboard. It would make things a bit more efficient for me in this moment. Thanks!AI-driven construction analytics using Zoho Projects Plus
Construction projects thrive on timelines; if a project is completed on or before the expected time, it makes headlines, but if it gets delayed, the company’s credibility will be at risk. Such projects require precise planning and constant monitoring,Canadian payroll
Hello ZOHO, is any updates on when payroll for Canada will be available?Unified customer view: Bringing product intelligence into your CRM data
For businesses today, applications and digital interfaces are the main touch points in the customer journey. While Zoho CRM data already tells who your customers are and what they buy, Zoho Apptics tells you how they interact and engage with your product.Zoho Creator SaaS app with multiple client AND multiple users
I am close to finalizing a Zoho Creator app that will be used by different companies to manage sale info, and each company can have multiple users using the app. Things were going perfectly until I tried a search on a report. I use a database field in each table to separate the data for each company, which works great. BUT when I do a search, I get to see ALL the data. This means that Company A could easily see the data from Companies B and C via the built-in search. Is there a way to set up theProject Change Orders and Additions
We are in the process of migrating from QuickBooks Online to Zoho Books. We have Zoho One and like the ability to sync all of our data across everything. And I like that projects work in a way that's less dumb than QuickBooks. I'm trying to figure outTrack online, in-office, and client location meetings separately with the new meeting venue option
Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce meeting enhancements in Zoho CRM that bring more clarity and structure to how meetings are categorized. You can now specify the meeting venue to clearly indicate whether a meeting is being held online, at theCreate custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions werePossible to send Zoom AI Companion transcripts and summaries to contacts in CRM?
Title says it all. Is it possible to send Zoom AI Companion transcripts and summaries to contacts in Zoho CRM?Introducing segments for targeted user engagement
Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce Segments in Zoho Apptics, a new way to group users based on their behavior, preferences, and app activity. With Segments, you can deliver more meaningful, timely, and relevant experiences to your users. When combinedHow do I edit the Calendar Invite notifications for Interviews in Recruit?
I'm setting up the Zoho Recruit Interview Calendar system but there's some notifications I don't have any control over. I've turned off all Workflows and Automations related to the Calendar Scheduling and it seems that it's the notification that is sentPosibility to add Emoticons on the Email Subject of Templates
Hi I´ve tried to add Emoticons on the Subject line of Email templates, the emoticon image does show up before saving the template or if I add the Emoticon while sending an Individual email and placing it manually on the subject line. Emoticons also showClarity on extended contract status
Clarity on “extended” status- How does Zoho “extend” a contract? E.g. if client extends by 1 month, can the “end date” be adjusted accordingly in Zoho and tagged as “Extended” with a clear audit trail that also captures the client’s email? Note- EmailCustomizing contract status
Can we customize/add/remove status on Zoho contracts ourselves or does Zoho needs to do this? Context- There is a long list of status on Zoho but not all of them are relevant for us . There are few status which are missing and needs to be added. E.g-Set Custom Business Calendars and Holidays for Global Teams
Managing a project across diverse teams means accounting for more than just tasks and deadlines; it means acknowledging how and when each team actually works. Users might follow different working days or observe region-specific holidays that cannot be[Integration edition] Deluge learning series - Integrations between Zoho apps and Third-party services with Deluge | 28 August 2025
We’re excited to welcome you to the Deluge learning series: Integration edition! The Integration edition will run for three months: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge using inbuilt integration tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with DelugeCritical Vulnerability in all major password manager plugins - is Zoho Vault affected?
Hi Zoho, a security researcher found a critical clickjacking vulnerability in all major browser password managers: DOM-based Extension Clickjacking: Your Password Manager Data at Risk | Marek Tóth Is Zoho Vault affected as well? Apparently the Vault extensionIntroducing SecureForms in Zoho Vault
Hey everyone, Let’s face it—asking someone to send over a password or other sensitive data is rarely straightforward. You wait. You nudge. You follow up once, twice—maybe more. And when the information finally arrives, it shows up in the worst possibleTables from ZohoSheets remove images when updated from source
I have a few tables from a ZohoSheet in a ZohoWriter document that will remove the images in the cells when I refresh from the source. The source still has the images in the table when I go to refresh. After updating from the source, as you can see theChange eMail Template for Event-Invitations
Hello ZOHO-CRM Team How I can change the eMail Template for Event-Invitations? I work with the German Version of the Free Version. I know how I can modify eMail alerts or Signature Templates, but where I can other eMails modify you send out? Thank you for your answer. Regards, JuergInventory Adjustments
Hi, How to transfer the material from one head to another ? Like materials purchased for manufacturing the laptop need to transfer from consumption inventory (Quantity of raw materials reduced) to destination inventory ( Quantity of Laptop increased)Need Your Insights
Hi Zoho, I'm confused why the flow only sends to one output. setVariable15 is from a list. It doesn't consider the 2nd entry. Any thoughts?Map Dependency Fields - How can can I limit picklist values from a multi-select Parent field?
I know the "Map Dependency Fields" feature doesn't allow a multi-select parent field. However, I need the functionality. Can I do it through a deluge function, and would it still support color coding picklists? We need the color coding for quick scanningDYK 1 - Color Palette for Enhanced Visual Identification of Status
Introducing the Did You Know series of posts. The goal of this series is to familiarize users with certain features or enhancements in Zoho Projects that may not be evident at first glance. The first post in this series deals with color palettes for indicatingInvalid field in the COQL query
Dear Zoho Support! I believe that you already helped me with a similar problem a few years ago. One of my clients has a custom field named "LOB" in the "Deals" Module (see the field's metadata below). The COQL query using this field: : "select id, Deal_Name,Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq
Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition ofTransferring domain registration to new registrar and switching email hosting at the same time?
I need to transfer an existing domain uv cure adhesive that's currently with SiteGround to Porkbun. I also need to move the existing custom email addresses from SiteGround to Zoho Mail. I'm not sure if I should transfer the domain first and then tackleSplit deposits
Can Zoho do split deposits. One deposit, two checks for two separate invoices from different customers. This is one of the most common tasks I can imaging. When I mark the two invoices paid, there are two deposits in bank register. When I try to match,Feedback: Streamlining Note Management in Zoho Notebook
Dear Team/Support, I would like to share some feedback regarding the note management system that could help improve usability and accessibility for users like myself. Notebook 1 (screenshot attached): Currently, the system does not allow selecting andDeactivate Desk Contact without Deleting Contat
We have a client who has multiple tenants for regulatory purposes, and as such, has a few users that have email addresses in both tenants. They've then emailed into the ticketing system, so we have multiple contacts (no big deal, we want to keep theirDelete my store of Zoho commerce
Hi Team, I want to delete my stores of commerce. Please help me asap. Looking for the positive response soon. Thanks Shubham Chauhan Mob: +91-9761872650Ability to add VAT to Retainer Invoices
Hello, I've had a telephone conversation a month ago with Dinesh on this topic and my request to allow for the addition of VAT on Retainer Invoices. It's currently not possible to add VAT to Retainer Invoices and it was mutually agreed that there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be, especially as TAX LAW makes VAT mandatory on each invoice in Europe! So basically, what i'm saying is that if you don't allow us to add VAT to Retainer Invoices, than the whole Retainer Invoices becomes[Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - Zoho Creator for Asset Management with AI Enhancements
Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. Each month highlights a specific sector, and this time our focus isHow to set different item selling prices for Zoho Commerce and Zoho Books
Item selling prices for Zoho Commerce and Zoho Books are in sync. If we update the Item selling price in Books, the same will happen in commerce and vice versa. I need a separate commerce selling price for online users and a separate books selling priceMenu Building is completely broken
I have been 3 hours, I have not been able to edit the menu. Either it is completely broken, very little intuitive or I do now know anything... There is no way to create a megamenu, no way to create a menu. Despite the fact I go to menu configurartionNext Page