What's New - September 2025 | Zoho Backstage

What's New - September 2025 | Zoho Backstage

September has been a different month for Zoho Backstage. Instead of rolling out a long list of new features, we focused on something just as important:

Performance, reliability, and stability

The event season is in full swing, and organizers are running larger and more complex events. Our goal this month was simple: make your experience faster, smoother, and more intuitive. 

That said, we do have a few updates to share with you.

Tax Rules – South Africa

Accurate tax calculation is vital for ensuring compliance and transparency in event management. With the new Tax Rules feature for South Africa, you can now automatically apply the correct VAT rates to your events, making tax management simpler and more efficient. Zoho Backstage automatically configures tax rules based on your organization and event location, ensuring compliance with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) regulations.



This feature supports in-person, hybrid, and virtual events, helping organizers stay compliant while reducing manual tax management.

How do taxes work on South African events?

VAT registration thresholds
  1. Businesses must register for VAT if their annual taxable sales exceed ZAR 1 million.
  2. Businesses may choose to register voluntarily if their taxable sales are above ZAR 50,000.
VAT rates
  1. Standard rate: 15%
  2. Zero rate: 0%
VAT terms
  1. VAT: Value-Added Tax
  2. VAT Registration Number Label: TIN (Tax Identification Number)
  3. VAT Registration Number Format: 10-digit number
In-person and hybrid events
​
​

If an event is held in South Africa, the place of supply is considered within South Africa, and 15% VAT must be charged on ticket sales (unless exempt or zero-rated).

Virtual events
​
​

For virtual events, the attendee’s location determines the place of supply. For foreign attendees, the transaction is treated as an export of service and is zero-rated.

How to use

To enable South Africa tax rules, configure your organization’s location:
  1. Navigate to Portal Settings > Payments and Tax.
  2. Select South Africa as the organization location.
  3. The system automatically populates:
    1. 2 default tax rates (15% and 0%).
    2. 4 tax rules (in-person/hybrid, virtual, and two non-taxable rules).
Unlike other countries, South Africa Tax Rules are predefined. You can't edit existing rules or add new ones.

Applying Tax Rules to in-person and hybrid events

When South Africa is selected as the organization location, Zoho Backstage automatically applies the correct VAT (15%) to in-person and hybrid events. This ensures compliance with SARS requirements. A preview of the tax to be applied is shown during event publishing, so organizers know exactly what their attendees will be charged.

Applying Tax Rules to virtual events

For virtual events, Zoho Backstage automatically applies the zero-rated VAT rule for foreign attendees. South African attendees are charged the standard 15% VAT. This setup ensures accurate handling of local and international transactions without manual intervention.
Info
  1. Tax rules in Zoho Backstage are fixed for South Africa. They can't be edited or expanded.
  2. Organizers can change the applied rule during event setup, but updates only affect new transactions. Existing transactions retain their original tax rule.
  3. If the event location is set to any country other than South Africa, South African VAT won't be applied.
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Prem​ium, and Ultimate plans

Full page floor plan  

We’ve taken the exhibitor experience to a whole new level with the introduction of the full page floor plan. This enhanced layout gives everyone including organizers, exhibitors, and attendees a more immersive and detailed view of the event venue.



For organizers, the full-page view provides better visibility and control when managing booth layouts and exhibitor placements. Whether you’re reviewing space allocation or showcasing your setup, the new Fit to Screen option lets you adjust the view instantly, making it ideal for large displays and on-site monitors.



Visitors can explore the floor plan in full-screen mode, view the exhibitor list, and discover details about each exhibitor. Signed-in attendees can further filter exhibitors by category and mark their favorites to plan their visit efficiently. Exhibitors can browse the directory or register directly from the same page, making navigation and engagement effortless.
​
Plan Availability: All plans that include the Exhibitor management module

Date & Time form field 

We’ve enhanced the existing Date field to support time preferences, giving you more flexibility when collecting scheduling details. By enabling the Include Time toggle, you can now capture both date and time within a single field.

Similar to the standalone Time field, organizers can configure properties to accept entries in either 12-hour or 24-hour format and even set restrictions within a specific time range. A default date and time value can also be defined to simplify form submissions.

The default time format for this field automatically aligns with your event’s configuration under Manage > Event Info, ensuring consistent formatting across your forms.

Plan availability: Included in the Ultimate plans

With the event season in full swing, we’re focused on making your experience with Zoho Backstage faster, more reliable, and ready for every challenge. We look forward to bringing you more updates next month.
Info
All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.
If you need further assistance with our features, please contact support@zohobackstage.com. 



        • Recent Topics

        • Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

          Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child

        • cant upload images in signature- urgent help needed. ta!

          HI, I have been trying to insert the company logo in the signature. i have tried it several times since yesterday, the longest I waited was 1 hour and 12 minutes for the pop up window to upload a 180 KB .jpg file. what am i doing wrong.. an urgent reply

        • Add Ticket button in Home view

          When I go to the My Tickets or the Knowledge Base view in our Help Centre, the Add Ticket button is available, but not in the Home view. I would really like for it to be displayed in the Home view as well. Is this possible? Thanks.

        • Problem using Zoho Desk API

          Goodmorning, I am trying to use the Zoho Desk API to create a dashboard in Grafana, but I am having a problem. Following the instructions in the API documentation, I created the API Console application (server-based application). Then I created the string

        • Add zoho calendar to google calendar

          Hi I keep seeing instructions on how to sync Zoho CRM calendar with google calendar but no instructions on how to view Zoho calendar in my google calendar.

        • City field suggestion in Zoho Books

          Hi team, We are using Customers module in Zoho Books. In the Address section, we want to understand whether the City field can show suggestions while typing using any API or built-in feature. For example, if a user types “Mum”, can the system suggest

        • Non-responsive views in Mobile Browser (iPad)

          Has anyone noticed that the creator applications when viewed in a mobile browser (iPad) lost its responsiveness? It now appears very small font size and need to zoom into to read contents. Obviously this make use by field staff quite difficult. This is not at all a good move, as lots of my users are depending on accessing the app in mobile devices (iPads), and very challenging and frustrating. 

        • How can I check all announce?

          Hiii, May I ask how can I check all the announce based on broadcast date instead of reply date based So that I will not will miss out any new function

        • How to apply customized Zoho Crm Home Page to all users?

          I have tried to study manuals and play with Zoho CRM but haven't found a way how to apply customized Zoho CRM Home Page as a (default) home page for other CRM users.. How that can be done, if possible? - kipi Moderation Update: Currently, each user has

        • CRM limit reached: only 2 subforms can be created

          we recently stumbled upon a limit of 2 subforms per module. while we found a workaround on this occasion, only 2 subforms can be quite limiting in an enterprise setting. @Anonymous User I've read about imminent increase of other components (e.

        • What are the create bill API line item requiered fields

          While the following documentation says that the line items array is requiered it doesn't say what if any files are requiered in the array. Does anyone know? API documentation: https://www.zoho.com/inventory/api/v1/bills/#create-a-bill I'm trying to add

        • How to print a label from zoho creator app?

          Hello, I would like to print a label from zoho creator app record similar to attached one. Size 74mm x 102mm. I tried record template. It leaves plenty of space around the content and also I couldn't set the height of the page. So it is not printing properly. Could someone please direct me to right direction for this requirement?

        • Let us view and export the full price books data from CRM

          I quote out of CRM, some of my clients have specialised pricing for specific products - therefore we use Price Books to manage these special prices. I can only see the breakdown of the products listed in the price book and the specialised pricing for

        • Function #53: Transaction Level Profitability for Invoices

          Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! We have previously provided custom functions for calculating the profitability of a quote and a sales order. There may be instances where the invoice may differ from its corresponding quote or sales order.

        • local file csv import problem

          The issue occurs when I upload a CSV file via Databridge. In the preview, everything looks correct — the values are in the proper columns. However, after clicking Import, the first column becomes empty, and the values from that column appear in a new

        • Emails are going to notification folder and not in inbox

          emails are going to notification folder and not into inbox

        • This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

        • This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          Hello, Just signed up to ZOHO on a friend's recommendation. Got the TXT part (verified my domain), but whenever I try to add ANY user, I get the error: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details I have emailed as well and writing here as well because when I searched, I saw many people faced the same issue and instead of email, they got a faster response here. My domain is: raisingreaderspk . com Hope this can be resolved.  Thank you

        • Cannot connect to imap.zoho.eu on iOS26

          Hey, I recently migrated to another iPhone and since then use iOS26. Every since then, I was not able to connect to "imap.zoho.eu" from Apple Mail. I tried deleting the account and adding it again, did not work. I tried creating an app password, didn't

        • Personalize your booking pages with Custom CSS

          Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re introducing Custom CSS for Zoho Bookings, designed to give you complete control over the look and feel of your booking pages. With this new feature, you can upload your own CSS file to customize colors, fonts,

        • Customer address in Zoho Bookings

          Hello,  Is it possible to add customer address information to the Zoho bookings appointment screen? Or have it pull that information automatically from the CRM? We are wanting to use this as a field management software but it is difficult to pull the address from multiple sources when it would be ideal to have a clickable address on the appointment screen that opens up the user's maps.  It would also be advantageous for the "list view" to show appointment times instead of just duration and booking

        • Bulk bank rule creatioin

          Hi team, I am exploring Option to create a multiple bank rule. Could please suggest the option to implement this?

        • Marketer's Space: Plan smarter with Zoho Campaigns' Calendar

          Hello Marketers, Welcome to another post! Today, we'll talk about a discreet yet significant feature that's neatly tucked inside Zoho Campaigns: the calendar. It might look like an optional but somewhat unnecessary feature that you can use occasionally,

        • User

          If user is already part of manage engine endpoint central , what hapens when i try to add them to another Zoho org / directory? Are these users added as external users?

        • Add an background image to an email template in CRM

          Hi all, We wants to put an background image behind all our email templates. Is there a way to import this thru html. If i put the option background image in <body style="background-image:...</body> and i look to the preview it shows our background, but

        • Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values

          Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple

        • Outlook - Zoho CRM Calendar Integration

          I'm facing an issue integrating Outlook with Zoho CRM. Has anyone successfully connected their Outlook to Zoho, and are all your meetings and emails being captured correctly in the CRM? Any insights or troubleshooting tips would be appreciated

        • Can 1 Zoho CRM instance sync with 2 Zoho Marketing Automation instances?

          Can 1 Zoho CRM instance sync with 2 Zoho Marketing Automation instances?

        • 【Zoho CRM】ポータル機能のアップデート

          ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、ポータル機能のアップデートをご紹介します。 ポータル管理の新機能「自動招待」により、Zoho CRMからポータルへの招待を自動化できるようになりました。これまで必要だった、ユーザーごとの手動設定は不要になります。設定した条件に基づいて、対象ユーザーに自動で招待が送信されます。 ポータルの新機能 条件に基づく自動招待：指定した条件を満たすユーザーに、自動で招待を送信 招待設定：招待メールの言語を選択し、言語ごとに条件を設定可能

        • Contact data removes Account data when creating a quote

          Hi, Our customer has address fields in their quote layout which should be the address of the Account. They prefill the information, adding the account name - the address data is populated as per what is in the account - great. However when they then add

        • I need to know the IP address of ZOHO CRM.

          The link below is the IP address for Analytics, do you have CRM's? IP address for Analytics I would like to know the IP address of ZOHO CRM to allow communication as the API server I am developing is also run from CRM. Moderation Update: The post below

        • Email was sent out without our permission

          Hi there, One customer just reached out to us about this email that we were not aware was being sent to our customers. Can you please check on your end?

        • Export all of our manuals from Zoho Learn in one go

          Hi, I know there's a way to export manuals in Zoho Learn, but I want to export everything in one go so it won't take so long. I can't see a way to do this, can I get some assistance or is this a feature in the pipeline? Thanks, Hannah

        • Automation#31: Automate Splitting Names for New Contact Records

          Hello Everyone, This week, we present to you a custom function, which allows you to split the first and last names from the user's email ID based on the separator used in the ID. Having grown into a large firm, Zylker Techfix aims to optimize its processes,

        • Automatically remove commas

          Team, Please be consistent in Zoho Books. In Payments, you have commas here: But when we copy and paste the amount in the Payments Made field, it does not accept it because the default setting is no commas. Please have Zoho Books remove commas autom

        • Can not add m365 outlook account to zohomail.

          I am attempting to use zoho mail as an imap client to add my outlook.com m365 account. In the m365 exchange admin center i have made sure the imap is enabled. In zoho mail i go to settings, mail accounts, add account, add imap account, i select "outlook",

        • Transfer ownership of files and folders in My Folders

          People work together as a team to achieve organizational goals and objectives. In an organization, there may be situations when someone leaves unexpectedly or is no longer available. This can put their team in a difficult position, especially if there

        • Project 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 out

        • ZOHO Desk - Description of slave ticket disappeared after Merge

          Dear Support, On Zoho Desk the description of a ticket disappeared after merging two ticket. The one which was the slave one completely disappeared. The problem that in this description there was an image which i had only on Desk in that ticket. Could

        • How do I insert a cross-reference link to a different section within one Knowledge Base article using Zoho Desk?

          I would like to insert a link within a Knowledge Base article to a different section of that same article. The section I want to link to is formatted with the Heading 3 style and is displayed within my TOC. However, I do not see any way to add a link

        • Next Page