Kaizen 231 - Embedding Zoho Desk Tickets in Zoho CRM

Hello, CRM Wizards!

This week, let us enhance cross-team visibility between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk.

We will use the Zoho Request Client inside a Related List widget to display open Zoho Desk tickets directly within the Contact record in Zoho CRM. This integration allows Sales and Support teams to access active support issues without switching applications.

Business Problem

At Zylker, a manufacturing company that manages high-value distributors and enterprise buyers, sales operations run in Zoho CRM while customer support manages warranty claims and service issues in Zoho Desk.

This separation creates operational friction during critical customer interactions.

1. Lack of visibility into open support tickets 

Sales representatives cannot see ongoing support tickets when interacting with customers in CRM. This results in: 

1. Sales conversations happening without awareness of active complaints.
2. Poor customer experience when unresolved issues surface unexpectedly.
3. Reduced productivity due to frequent system switching between CRM and Desk.

2. No Controlled Escalation Mechanism

There is no structured way to initiate ticket escalations from within Zoho CRM.

Solution

This week we will focus on solving the visibility gap. 

We will embed a related list widget within Contact detail page and provide real-time visibility of open tickets. 

Prerequisites

1. Create Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk under the same Zoho Organization. 

2. A two-way sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk is required to keep Contacts and Accounts consistent across both applications.

With this support, any change made to a Contact or Account in either application is automatically reflected in the other.

Additionally, each record in Zoho Desk stores the corresponding Zoho CRM record ID. This allows you to reference the CRM record directly and perform further customizations or integrations using that unique ID.

Follow the steps to create the two-way sync:

1. Log into Zoho Desk.
2. Go to Settings > Integration > Zoho. 
3. Choose Zoho CRM and click Integrate. 
4. On the Authentication page:
   
1. Enter your email address.
2. Choose the CRM organization you want to integrate with.
5. Click Authorize.
6. Once authenticated, the sync configuration page opens.
7. Select the sync type as Two-way Sync.
8. Map the fields of Accounts and Contacts modules between Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM.
9. Click Start Sync to initiate the integration. 
   

Refer to the Integrating Zoho Desk with Zoho CRM help page for more details. 

3. Create a Zoho Desk connection in Zoho CRM with Desk.tickets.READ and Desk.contacts.READ scopes. 

Refer to the Connections help doc for more information. Store the Connection Link Name to use while making API calls. 

4. Create a local project folder for widget using Zoho CLI as mentioned in Creating your First Widget help guide. 

Step-by-Step Implementation

In the widget project directory, code the following logic in the widget.html file.

Step - 1: Get the Current CRM Contact ID

On page load, you can capture the entity ID with the help of PageLoad event listener. 

Also create a reusable ZRC instance configured with the Zoho Desk base URL and OAuth connection name. 

// Initialize the embedded app ZOHO.embeddedApp.on("PageLoad", async function(data) {     console.log("PageLoad data:", data);     // Step 1: Get the entity (module) and entity ID (Contact record ID)     if (data && data.Entity && data.EntityId) {         entityModule = data.Entity;         entityId = data.EntityId;         console.log("Entity:", entityModule);         console.log("Entity ID (CRM Contact ID):", entityId);         // Create reusable ZRC instance for Zoho Desk API         deskZrc = zrc.createInstance({             baseUrl: 'https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1',             connection: 'desk_oauth_connection'         });         await loadTickets();     } else {         showError("No contact context found");     } }); ZOHO.embeddedApp.init();

Step - 2: Fetch Desk Contacts and Match the CRM Contact ID

Make a GET Contacts API call to the Zoho Desk API using the ZRC instance. Loop through the returned contacts and find the one whose zohoCRMContact.id matches the current CRM Contact ID.

// Step 2: Make GET contacts API call to Desk using ZRC const contactsResponse = await deskZrc.get('/contacts', {     params: {         limit: 100     } }); console.log("Desk Contacts Response:", contactsResponse); if (contactsResponse && contactsResponse.data) {     // Parse the response data      const contactsData = typeof contactsResponse.data === 'string'          ? JSON.parse(contactsResponse.data)          : contactsResponse.data;     // Find the object where zohoCRMContact.id matches Contact record ID     if (contactsData && contactsData.data && Array.isArray(contactsData.data)) {         const matchingContact = contactsData.data.find(function(contact) {             return contact.zohoCRMContact &&                     contact.zohoCRMContact.id &&                     contact.zohoCRMContact.id === entityId;         });         if (matchingContact) {             // Pick the id (Desk contact record ID)             const deskContactId = matchingContact.id;             console.log("Desk Contact ID:", deskContactId);             // Proceed to fetch tickets             await fetchTickets(deskContactId);         } else {             showEmptyState("No Desk contact found linked to this CRM contact");         }     } }

Step - 3: Fetch Open Tickets and Filter by Desk Contact ID

Make a GET Tickets API call to Zoho Desk with the following parameters:

1. Specify status with Open value to retrieve only open tickets. 
2. Specify include with value set to contacts fetch each ticket details with its associated contact details. 

Filter the API response with the matched Desk Contact ID and render the results. 

async function fetchTickets(deskContactId) {     try {         // Step 3: Make GET Tickets API call using ZRC          const ticketsResponse = await deskZrc.get('/tickets', {             params: {                 include: 'contacts',                 status: 'Open',                 limit: 100             }         });         console.log("Tickets Response:", ticketsResponse);         if (ticketsResponse && ticketsResponse.data) {             const ticketsData = typeof ticketsResponse.data === 'string'                  ? JSON.parse(ticketsResponse.data)                  : ticketsResponse.data;             // Filter tickets where contact matches deskContactId             if (ticketsData && ticketsData.data && ticketsData.data.length > 0) {                 const matchingTickets = ticketsData.data.filter(function(ticket) {                     return ticket.contact && ticket.contact.id === deskContactId;                 });                 if (matchingTickets.length > 0) {                     renderTickets(matchingTickets);                 } else {                     showEmptyState("No open tickets found for this contact");                 }             } else {                 showEmptyState("No open tickets found");             }         }     } catch (error) {         console.error("Error fetching tickets:", error);         showError("Failed to fetch tickets: " + (error.message || error.toString()));     } }

Step - 4: Validate and Pack the Widget

Follow the steps given in the Widget help page to validate and package the widget. A complete working code sample is provided as attachment at the end of this post.

Creating a Related List Widget

1. Go to Zoho CRM > Setup > Developer Hub > Widgets and click Create New Widget.

2. Fill in the required details such as:

1. Name: Zoho WorkDrive
2. Type: Related List 
3. Hosting: Zoho 
4. File Upload: Upload the ZIP created in the dist folder within the widget project directory after packaging in the Step 4. 
5. Index page: /widget.html
   

3. Go to Customization > Modules and Fields > Contacts > Standard > Detail View. Then, create and associate the related list widget. 

Refer to the Customize Related Lists help page for more information on creating a related list.

Try it Out! 

Let us look at the output from the Contacts detail page in Zoho CRM. 

Key Points to Remember

1. Two-way sync is mandatory to link Desk contacts with CRM contacts. 
2. Connection setup in Zoho CRM for Desk is mandatory with Desk.tickets.READ and Desk.contacts.READ scopes. Ensure to replace the connection name in line 21.
3. If the account has a large number of contacts or tickets, implement pagination using from and limit parameters to ensure all records are evaluated. 
4. Ensure to replace the Desk URL to ticket in line 181 with your portal name and company name.
   

We hope this Kaizen helps your sales team to see active issues instantly. Next week, we will look at how to establish a ticket escalation mechanism from Zoho CRM. 

Have questions or suggestions? Drop them in the comments or write to us at  support@zohocrm.com. 

On to Better Building!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Reading 

1. Widgets - An Overview, CLI Installation, Working with Widgets, ZRC Methods, Mobile Compatibility of Widgets and Kaizens 

2. Connections - An Overview

3. CRM Customizations - Related Lists

4. Desk APIs -  GET Tickets API and GET Contacts API
5. Desk Customizations - Integrate Zoho Desk with Zoho CRM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous Kaizen: Smart Discount-Based Quote Approvals Using CRM Functions and Approval Process | Kaizen Collection: Directory

• Topic Participants

• Kiruthiga G

  

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

  Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

• Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

• Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

• Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

• Recent Topics

• How to see Statement Details Shown in Unclassified Transactions in All Transactions?

  All, The list of Unclassified Transactions show the Statement Details and Descriptions. What is the method to see that column in the All Transactions list? -Thanks!

• Non-Avalara Tax Automation wtih Zoho Books

  We are paying a ridiculous amount for Avalara. Our team wants to make a change, but they're the only software fully integrated with Zoho. We also don't have the bandwidth to do this manually, so we do need some sort of automated software solution. We

• Migrating to the new outgoing webhook model in Zoho Connect

  Dear User, Outgoing webhooks configured across the Zoho Connect Integrations page, Zoho Flow, and Zapier will stop working after May 31, 2026. This is due to an upcoming upgrade to our outgoing webhook flow. This update is mandatory only for networks

• Create formula calculations in Assemblies for scaling quantities

  Something we have been encountering with our composite items is dealing with scaling of quantity of one or more items within the composite assembly relative to the number of complete units being sold. I.e. running the equation 2(n-1) on one of the assembly

• Lastest update

  The latest update to notepad has completely trashed all my notes. If I go to view it it just opens up a screen with a box with dotted lines around it for me to add something I can import saved nodes but you can't view them at all. Anybody else having

• Is it possible to make tags "required"

  We would like to be able to make the tag field a requirement for agents before they can close a ticket. This would help with monthly reporting, where a lot of tickets end up with no tag, causing manual work to go back and add the correct tag for each

• Tip #67- Exploring technician console: Disable Input Devices- 'Insider Insights'

  Hello Zoho Assist Community! Picture this: you are in the middle of a critical remote session, carefully configuring a system or running an important update, and the customer accidentally clicks somewhere or types something that undoes your progress.

• What matters more in Zoho implementations: tools or system architecture?

  I recently worked on a full-stack migration for a catering equipment business using Zoho One with Shopify, and it raised a few interesting observations. The setup included migrating a large product catalog (around 9,700+ SKUs), integrating multiple supplier

• Facturation électronique 2026 - obligation dès le 1er septembre 2026

  Bonjour, Je me permets de réagir à divers posts publiés ici et là concernant le projet de E-Invoicing, dans le cadre de la facturation électronique prévue très prochainement. Dans le cadre du passage à la facturation électronique pour les entreprises,

• [Webinar] Solving business challenges: One tool for documents, forms, PDFs, e-signatures, and more

  Hi Zoho Writer users, Most businesses rely on multiple tools, such as a word processor, form builder, e-signature provider, and PDF editor, for their document workflows. Managing multiple subscriptions, switching between tools, and moving data across

• Deposit on invoice

  I'm trying to figure out how to customize an Estimate to include a Deposit/Retainer Invoice line within the Estimate. I tried creating my own custom field called "Deposit" where I manually inputted the deposit amount, which was nice. However, my employer

• Zoho NOTEBOOK: What are file size restrictions?

  I understand that Zoho NOTEBOOK is a free product, and what it offers is great. But I'm wondering what the file size restrictions are. When I record an audio note in Zoho Notebook, what is the maximum length of recording time/audio file size? When I wish to upload MP4 video, what is the maximum video size I can upload per Zoho Notebook restriction? Moreover, does Zoho Notebook use its own storage structure, or can I upgrade my storage for Zoho Notebook to add larger file attachments, videos and audio

• Concern Regarding Stock Validation in Inventory Management

  Hi Zoho Team, We would like to highlight a concern regarding stock validation in the inventory system. As per standard inventory management practices, if the stock level is zero, the system should not allow users to create a shipment, packing slip, or

• Automation Series #2: SLA vs Supervisor Rule in Zoho Desk

  SLA vs Supervisor Rule: Keeping tickets on track in Zoho Desk This post is part of the "Desk Automation Series," Chapter 1. Through this series, we will help you choose the right automation type in Zoho Desk by comparing commonly confused automations

• Zoho Recruit - Email Relay

  Good day, Has anyone succeeded in setting up an email relay for Office 365? If I add the details from https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/pop-imap-and-smtp-settings-8361e398-8af4-4e97-b147-6c6c4ac95353, I get the connection error. Regards, Eka

• Better use of contacts

  Zoho inventory has the ability to add multiple contacts to customers. However Zoho inventory doesn't currently provide a way to link a contact to objects like sales orders. This means that while you can tell what company has placed a sales order you can't

• Notebook AI limits

  Hi folks, Working with the AI transcription tools in Notebook, on the Mac App, which I find quite handy, but the one thing I am struggling with is the inability to either edit or copy the results of the transcript: I can't click in any of the boxes, and

• Disappointment with Zoho Payments

  Dear Gowdhaman, I am writing to inform you that I am removing Zoho Payments from my website. I cannot continue to disappoint my customers due to the lack of UPI support, as has been the case with my experience so far. Please note that the 0.5% transaction

• Zoho Commerce B2B

  Hello, I have signed up for a Zoho Commerce B2B product demo but it's not clear to me how the B2B experience would look for my customers, in a couple of ways. 1) Some of my customers are on terms and some pay upfront with credit card. How do I hide/show

• Exporting All Custom Functions in ZohoCRM

  Hello, All I've been looking for a way to keep about 30 functions that I have written in Zoho CRM updated in my own repository to use elsewhere in other instances. A github integration would be great, but a way to export all custom functions or any way

• Rename system-defined labels in Zoho CRM

  Renaming system-defined labels is now available across all DCs. Hello everyone, Zoho CRM includes predefined system fields across modules to support essential CRM operations. Until now, the labels of these fields were fixed and could not be edited from

• 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

• Separate Items & Services

  Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank you

• Log a call: Call Duration for Inbound is mandatory but inbound is optional

  Hi Team Can you advise on why the call duration for the inbound call type is a mandatory field? We have a use case where we are manually logging a call but do not use the call duration field. The field does not have the option to make it non mandatory

• CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

  Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files

• Zoho Sign 2025–2026: What's new and what's next

  Hello! Every year at Zoho Sign, we work hard to make document signing and agreement execution easy for all users. This year we sat down with our head of product, Mr. Subramanian Thayumanasamy, to discuss what we delivered in 2025 and our goals for 2026.

• New Account, Setting up Domain Question

  Hello, I recently set up a new account with a custom domain. But after paying and setting up my account, it says OpenSRS actually owns the domain, and I have to sign up with them to host my site. But OpenSRS wants to charge me $95, which is ridiculous.

• 【開催報告】東京 Zoho ユーザー交流会 NEXUS vol.1 ～ データドリブン経営・少人数組織のCRM活用・AIエージェントの最前線 ～

  ユーザーの皆さん、こんにちは。 コミュニティグループの中野です。 2026年3月27日（金）、東京・新橋にて「東京 Zoho ユーザー交流会 NEXUS vol.1」が開催されました。 今回は「マーケティング領域のZoho 活用法 × AI」をテーマに、ユーザーさん2名による事例セッション、Zoho 社員によるAIセッションなどを実施しました。 ご参加くださったユーザーの皆さま、ありがとうございました！ この投稿では、当日のセッションの様子や使用した資料を紹介しています。残念ながら当日お越しいただけなかった方も、ぜひチェックしてみてください。

• Monthly Webinar : Getting Started with Zoho LandingPage

  Our monthly Getting Started with Zoho LandingPage webinar is back! If you're building your first page and want a little guidance, this is where to start. Learn how landing pages fit into your strategy, generate leads, and improve conversions. Here’s what

• 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 CRM Quote Export / Quote Report

  How can I either Export my quote list, or create a Report that shows all quotes AND includes the NOTES field in a column. I attempted to Run a Report which includes ALL FIELDS, however it does not include the Notes Field (but oddly does include the fields

• Mass emails - Allow preview of which emails will receive the email based on the criteria

  Feature request. Please allow us to view and confirm the exact recipients of the mass emails based on the criteria we've chosen before sending. It can be quite sensitive if you send the mass email to some wrong accounts accidently, so it would be great

• Limitation in Dynamic Constant Sum Based on Previous Question Selections in Zoho Survey

  Zoho Survey supports the Constant Sum question type, allowing respondents to distribute a fixed total (such as 100) across a set of options. However, it does not support dynamically populating these options based on selections made in a previous question.

• SAP Business One(B1) integration is now live in Zoho Flow

  We’re excited to share that SAP Business One (B1) is now available in Zoho Flow! This means you can now build workflows that connect SAP B1 with other apps and automate routine processes without relying on custom code. Note: SAP Business One integration

• sync two zoho crm

  Hello everyone. Is it possible to sync 2 zoho crm? what would be the easiest way? I am thinking of Flow. I have a Custom Module that I would like to share with my client. We both use zoho crm. Regards.

• 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

• Import MSG to Yandex Mail Account | Fast & Reliable Solution

  If you are facing problem to import MSG files to Yandex Mail account can be challenging if done manually, especially when handling multiple files. A reliable solution is using the MacGater Mac MSG Converter, which simplifies the entire process with accuracy

• Copy all reports in a folder

  I currently have a database that I need to create multiple charts filtered by market. All of the charts are identical, I just change to of the filters and then I have the next market's set of charts. The only way I've been able to copy charts (reports)

• OpenURL working Intermittently

  Never had this issue before, everything was working fine up to a few days ago. We have a buttons on reports to open forms with pre-filled fields. Now, there are instances where it will throw and error and gives no feedback. What is really strange is not

• Trigger workflows from SLA escalations in Zoho Desk?

  Hey everyone, I’m currently working with SLA escalation rules in Zoho Desk and ran into a limitation that I’m hoping someone here has solved more elegantly. As far as I can tell, SLA escalations only support fairly limited actions (like changing the ticket

• Next Page