Kaizen #57 - Mass Update API in Zoho CRM

Kaizen #57 - Mass Update API in Zoho CRM

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen series.
This week, we will discuss the Mass Update API in Zoho CRM.

In this post, we will cover the following:
1. Introduction
2. Mass Update Records API 
3. Schedule Update and Get Status
4. Common errors pertaining to the Mass Update API
5. FAQs regarding the Mass Update API

1. Introduction

Generally, there can be cases where you might need to update the same field for multiple/all records in a module. To avoid the tediousness of the task, Zoho CRM offers Mass Update API to update the values of specific fields in multiple records in a module. The request requires field API names, record IDs, the custom view ID, and territory ID as input depending on the type of mass update you intend to perform. 

Mass Update can occur in 2 different ways:
a. Scheduler Type: When you specify the custom view ID and the territory ID, a job gets scheduled in the background. In the response, the system returns a "job_id" which you can use to get the status of the same. Use this job_id in the GET request to get the result. In this type of mass update, You can update a maximum of 50,000 records in a single request.

b. Non-Scheduler Type: When you specify the record IDs, the system updates the records instantly. You can update a maximum of 500 records in a single API call in this type of mass update. 

Modules supporting Mass Update APIs:
Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Deals, Campaigns, Activities, Solutions, Products, Vendors, Price Books, Quotes, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Invoices, and Custom.

2. Mass Update Records API

Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/v2/{module_api_name}/actions/mass_update

Scope Required: 
ZohoCRM.mass_update.{module_name}.UPDATE

Request JSON keys:
Key
Data Type
Description
Mandatory
cvid
string
The custom view ID whose records you want to mass update
Mandatory when you want to mass update custom view fields.
over_write

boolean
Used when updating a multi-select picklist field. Providing true will overwrite the already present value while the default false value will add the value to the pick list
Optional
territory
JSON Object
Used to update the records in a territory.
Mandatory when you update territory fields.
ids
JSON Array
Specify the IDs of the records you want to mass update. A maximum of 500 IDs can be specified in the request.
Mandatory when records are updated by IDs.

Sample Request:
{{api-domain}}/crm/v2/Leads/actions/mass_update

Sample Response:


3. Schedule Update and Get Status

Let us see how to schedule a mass update by custom view ID and check it's status:

i. Schedule mass update using 'cvid' and retrieve the 'job_id'.

Sample Request: 
{{api-domain}}/crm/v2/Leads/actions/mass_update

Sample Response:

From the response, you can see that the mass update is scheduled and the job_id to check status is 3719520000001274002. 

ii. Check status of the scheduled Mass Update

Request URL: 
{{api-domain}}/crm/v2/{module_api_name}/actions/mass_update?job_id={job_id}

Scope Required:
ZohoCRM.mass_update.{module_name}.READ

Note: job_id is the only mandatory parameter that must be passed to obtain the status of the process. 

Sample Request: 
{{api-domain}}/crm/v2/Leads/actions/mass_update?job_id=3719520000001251XXX

Sample Response:
i. Response right after the mass update is scheduled. The status in the response is SCHEDULED.


ii. Response once the schedule is completed. The status in the response is COMPLETED.


Response JSON Keys
Key
Description
Status
Indicates the status of mass update. Possible values are COMPLETED, SCHEDULED, RUNNING, and FAILED.
Failed_Count
Specifies the number of records that failed to be mass updated.
Updated_Count
Specifies the number of records that were successfully mass updated.
Not_Updated_Count
Specifies the number of records that are not updated yet.
Total_Count
Specifies the total number of records that were scheduled to be mass updated

4. Common errors pertaining with the Mass Update APIs and ways to handle them

HTTP Status Code
Error Code
Message
Reason
403
NO_PERMISSION
Field Edit Permission not given
User does not have permission to edit the field
403
NO_PERMISSION
Customview not accessible
Custom view is not accessible to the user of the module
400
NO_RECORDS_FOUND
No record found to update
There are no records in the specified custom view
200
ALREADY_SCHEDULED
Already a Mass Action scheduler is running for the given cvid
The records in the custom view specified are already scheduled for a mass update.
200
LIMIT_EXCEEDED
Record count exceeded
Number of records that can be mass updated has exceeded the maximum allowed limit of 50000
200
RECORD_IN_BLUEPRINT
The record is in blue print
The specified record is in blueprint and user tries to update a blueprint picklist value


5. FAQs regarding Mass Update API

Q. What happens if some record IDs that I provide are invalid?
A: While mass updating records based on their IDs, if some of the record IDs are invalid only those records will not be processed.
Sample Response when one of the ID is invalid:


Q. Can I mass update the email field in the module?
A. No, you cannot mass update Email field. The other fields that cannot be processed for mass update are lookup fields, layout fields, multi line fields, and line items.

Q. Is it possible to mass update the account owner via Zoho CRM API?
A: No, you cannot mass update the account owner via Zoho CRM API. It throws the following error:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "code": "INVALID_DATA",
            "details": {
                "api_name": "Account_Owner"
            },
            "message": "This field cannot be updated in the Mass Update",
            "status": "error"
        }
    ]
}

Q. How to set the scope for custom modules?
A. The process is similar to that of setting scope for any standard module. The scope for Mass Update API is ZohoCRM.mass_update.{module_name}.UPDATE/READ. Hence, for example, if your custom module name is 'Clients', the scope would be 'ZohoCRM.mass_update.Clients.UPDATE/READ

Q. Can I have more than one mass update job for a custom view?
A. No, only one mass update job can happen on a custom view at a given time. An error is thrown with the error code 'ALREADY_SCHEDULED'. 

We hope you found this post useful. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section or reach us out at support@zohocrm.com.

Cheers!









    • Recent Topics

    • Customize Column in Projects - Default View for Template?

      Is there a way to have the columns you'd like to see added to a template? I want my customized columns to show up every single time I create a project from that template. It appears I can customize them in the template but when I create the project they do not transfer over.  Template: See below how the columns in order are : Task, Owner, Status, Assigned, Website URL, Blog H1..etc. When I create a project from that same template it comes out as: Task, Owner, Status, Tags, Start Date, End Date, etc

    • Ask the Experts 24: Analytics, data administration, and mobile experience with Zoho Desk

      Hello Everyone! Welcome back to the Ask the Experts(ATE) series! We were so focused on our Autumn 2025 release that we didn't host an ATE session last month. In this month's ATE, we'd like to expand our areas for discussion: we'd like to listen to your

    • Multi-Page Forms in Zoho Creator!

      Let’s make long applications easier to handle by dividing them into pages, adding a progress bar, and guiding users step by step through complex data entry. This would be a total game-changer for the user experience and could significantly boost completion

    • Email login error

      Login successfully but email page error

    • Shared Mailboxes Disappeared

      Zoho Mail users in our company haven't been able to see their Shared Mailboxes for the past few hours. I've checked with App and Web Access, but they can't access them. When I send emails to their addresses, I get no error messages. They're still visible

    • Remote Server is misconfigured

      Dear Team, I am unable to use email id as remote server is misconfigured. It would be really great if you could help on this and get this resolved. Thanks & Regard Rohit Gupta

    • why cant i access my email account. it keeps asking me for reverifiying my account by entering my password.

      I cant access my account. it keeps asking me for reverifcaton by entering my password. once its entered it asks for it over and over.

    • Free webinar alert on October 16 - Less Complexity, More Security: Workplace + Directory

      Hello Zoho Workplace Community! Security and productivity shouldn't be at odds—and with Zoho, they're not. Discover how Zoho Workplace + Directory delivers seamless collaboration with enterprise-grade security, all in one integrated ecosystem. Join our

    • Workdrive and ChatGPT Team Synced Connectors

      Hi, we want to be able to integrate Zoho Workdrive with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Team plan. Google Drive and OneDrive both offer this, zoho please catch up asap. We dont want to have to put our company files in google drive, we want to allow chatgpt Team edition

    • Alias Name (on items) use case in Zoho inventory

      Hey, Hope everyone is well. Wondering if anyone can shed some light on the use case of Alias Names on Products in Zoho Inventory? Cheers, Chris

    • Updating an Invoice Line Item's Discount Account via API Call / Deluge Custom Function

      I need help updating an invoice line item's discount account via API. Below is a screenshot of the line item field I am referring to. Now the field to the left of the highlighted field (discount account) is the sales income account. I am able to modify

    • Send e-mail with attachments

      Dear Zoho, How is that possible in Zoho Flow to send an e-mail with attachment?  Just a simple example: Zoho Flow checks my Zoho mails and if the conditions starts the trigger then I would like to send an email with the original email's attachment. Any idea? BR, Adam

    • How to I get checkboxes on a subform to update via deluge

      Hello, would someone be able to tell me what I'm doing wrong here? I am trying to take the contents of a Deals subform and add them to an invoice then update the checkbox on each row so that 'add to invoice' is unticked and 'invoiced' is ticked. The output

    • Urgent Security Feature Request – Add MFA to Zoho Projects Client Portal Hello Zoho Projects Team,

      Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit an urgent security enhancement request regarding the Zoho Projects Client Portal. At this time, as far as we are aware, there is no Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) available

    • Unified customer portal login

      As I'm a Zoho One subscriber I can provide my customers with portal access to many of the Zoho apps. However, the customer must have a separate login for each app, which may be difficult for them to manage and frustrating as all they understand is that

    • Zoho Projects - Task Owner filter at Project level

      Hi Projects Team, The feature requests I would like to raise is the ability to create a custom view at the project level for projects with tasks owned by a user or users. For example "Ashley's Projects" custom view might contain a list of project in which

    • Cadences

      I have just started using Cadences for follow-up up email pipeline. Is it just me or do you find the functionality very basic? For example, it will tell me (if I go looking for it) if someone has replied to a follow-up and been unenrolled; but it won't

    • Custom Fonts in Zoho CRM Template Builder

      Hi, I am currently creating a new template for our quotes using the Zoho CRM template builder. However, I noticed that there is no option to add custom fonts to the template builder. It would greatly enhance the flexibility and branding capabilities if

    • Would be really awesome to have Created Time and Modified Time showing for custom functions list

      It would be SO HELPFUL to be able to sort custom functions by created time/ modified time. Also seeing a created by/ modified by with the little profile picture would be supremely helpful as well. Just really hard sometimes to find a function you were

    • Ticket Export Does Not Include Ticket Threads

      Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, I hope you’re doing well. I would like to report an issue regarding the ticket export functionality in Zoho Desk. Currently, when exporting tickets, the ticket threads or conversation history are not included — only the ticket

    • Payments made notification

      This is a really wonderful feature but we can only use it for about 50% of payments made & have to revert to sending statements which is a real chore. Credits applied to the bills paid in the notification aren't included & this causes great confusion in the accounts receivable departments. Please, please add this required feature asap ! .....

    • Ability 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

    • ZOHO DESK link with Power BI

      HI, I am using ZOHO Desk for last two years and now my client is asking to integrate ZOHO desk data to Power BI so that they can use Data for reporting. Kindly guide in details so that i can give access to ZOHO desk export data for more visibility.

    • URLs being masked despite disabling tracking

      Hey, We had disabled click tracking from an email update we are sharing with our users. Despite this, the URL the end user is receiving is masked, and looks like "https://qksyl-cmpzourl.maillist-manage.net/click/1d8e72714515cda6/1d8e72714515ca70" instead

    • Dashboard Autorefesh

      Good day, I am a dashboard that displays the number of tickets based on "Product Name". This dashboard is displayed on a big TV for the team to monitor. Can the dashboard auto-refresh every few minutes to display the new values? Currently, we have closed

    • Deferred/ Unearned revenue

      Dear Zoho Team, Just in case you have missed out my query posted few days ago: We issue invoices relating to 12-month web hosting service. When we issue the invoice, we should record the entire amount of the invoice as DEFERRED/UNEARNED REVENUE (ie. $10

    • Bigin Android app update: Zoho Books integration

      Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce Zoho Books integration on the latest version(v1.8.5) Bigin Android app. Once the integration is completed in the web(bigin.zoho.com), the Zoho Books tab will be visible in detail View of Contacts, Companies,

    • Audit Log enhancements: Increased retention period, better user visibility, and more

      Hello everyone, The Audit Log brings in the following enhancements which improve the overall ability to manage data. Why did we make these updates? Extended Data Retention: Audit data can now be filtered and exported for a 60-day period, doubling the

    • Question Regarding Managing Sale Items in Zoho Books

      Good day, I was wondering about something. Right now, Zoho Books doesn’t seem to have a way to flag certain items as being on sale. For example, if I want a list of specific items to be on sale from October 1 to October 12, the user would have to export

    • [WEBINAR] Smooth year-end closure with Zoho Books (KENYA)

      Hello there, This webinar is for all Kenyan businesses looking to wrap up their financial year smoothly! Join our free session to learn how Zoho Books can simplify your year-end process. What to expect from this webinar: - All the latest updates in Zoho

    • System flaws and lack of response from Zoho

      I have had to go on here as no-one is replying to my emails regarding my problem (been 10 days and no email reply) and your chat facility online through your Zoho Books software opens and closes immediately, so not functioning properly. I actually called

    • Customer Grouping

      Hi, how can I group multiple customers into single group. So that I can have idea of accounts receivables of all the customers in single group. Like if there are multiple subsidiaries of same company we have having a business with, and want to view the

    • Two currencies

      More and more I am finding that internattional payments' fees are unpredictable. I would like, on my invoices that are in a foreign currency (eg. USD$ or EUR€) for there to be a GBP£ TOTAL display alongside the invoice's currency total. This would make

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | September 2025

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From PayNow payment method to applying journal credits to invoices and bills in other locations, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Integrate

    • GST Slabs Redefined: Stay Compliant Using Zoho Books!

      Hello Everyone! The Government of India is rolling out new GST rates, a major reform aimed at simplifying the current tax structure starting 22 September 2025. GST will move from four slabs (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) to two main slabs (5% and 18%), plus a special

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | October 2025

      Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From iOS 26 updates to viewing reports as charts, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Zoho Books Updates for Apple Devices At WWDC 2025, Apple

    • Need Inactive accounts to be visible in Reports in Zoho Books

      I N=need Inactive accounts to be visible in Reports in Zoho Books to do recons of the accounts but when i see the same they are not visible in the Accountant - Account Transactions report

    • Edit item custom fields

      Getting this error : Transactions have been created with the custom field. Hence it cannot be deleted. Not trying to delete it, just trying to change which modules to show in or to not show at all in transactions !

    • Zoho Books - How to Invoke a Custom Function in Schedulers

      We have multiple schedulers that send emails to customers in batches. Currently, we are maintaining the same code across several schedulers. Is it possible to use a custom function inside a scheduler script? If yes, how can we invoke the custom function

    • Use Zoho Books to bill for work done in Zoho Desk??

      I'm trying to see if something is possible (and if yes, how). We use Zoho One to manage our business. We have a lot of clients that will put in a ticket (via portal) to have work done. Out techs will pick up the ticket, do the work, and then log the time

    • Next Page