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

    • WhatsApp Voice Message Sending Option in Bigin CRM

      I would like to request a feature that allows users to send WhatsApp voice messages directly from Bigin CRM. This would help improve communication efficiency and make it easier for teams to respond quickly to customer inquiries.

    • CRM: hosting a single html file in Zoho and displaying it as a widget

      I have seen that CRM offers the option of uploading a web project to Zoho itself and displaying it as a widget in CRM. The instructions then talk about setting a development environment with Node and developing an application to upload to Zoho. But I

    • Synchronise item image between Zoho Commerce and Zoho Books/Inventory/CRM

      Here is a blindingly simple idea to tie several Zoho products together. Zoho - please include a method to synchronise the item image (or images) from one Zoho application to another. For example, if you upload an item image in Zoho Inventory, a user should

    • How to change position button transtition of Blueprint?

      Hi Everyone, Look at my screenshoot, it is possible move the reject button to the right? I couldn't find that setting in the blueprint. Thank you.

    • Marketer’s Space - WhatsApp Pricing Update: What Marketers Need to Know and Do

      Hello Marketers, Welcome back to Marketer’s Space! WhatsApp made changes to their pricing model on July 1, 2025, moving from conversation-based pricing to a per-message pricing model. This week’s post focuses on what these changes mean for your WhatsApp

    • Multi file upload

      Hi, I just wonder if one could upload multiple files in one shot, say between one and three files, without adding multiple File Upload fields? Thanks, Alalbany

    • Sorting Descending in a lookup

      I have a case number lookup on multiple forms. I need the most recent added to appear at the top of the lookup or as the list of cases grom it's too much to scroll. Is there a way to have a look up sort descending?

    • Importing customer comments and multiple shipto addresses

      I am evaluating Zoho Books and have most of my data imported with two exceptions: (1) Import customer comments - in my current system I have several comments of different types, and I need to bring these into Zoho. Preferably Books customer records, but

    • Can we add custom fields to portal community profiles?

      How do we add custom fields to our profile pages in our portal community? If we have the ability to add custom fields, will we be able to access those fields via API? We want to use our Desk community in our help portal as our primary community and would

    • Auto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive

      Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—to

    • Asap Widget 2.0

      Where's the documentation for the new ASAP widget? https://www.zoho.com/desk/developers/asap/#introduction this one is outdated How can we dynamically navigate between different views? How can we prefill ticket forms using ASAP 2.0?

    • Update date & time when a cell is edited

      Hi All, I am desiring to have a cell update with the current date and time when another cell is edited. Any ideas?  Thank you

    • 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

    • Can the Trigger be changed?

      I'm afraid I already know the answer, but here goes... After activating a workflow (under Campaigns > Automations), Then later choosing to Edit the workflow, Can the Workflow's Trigger be changed? Currently the entire Trigger section + options are gone

    • Marketer's Space: Proven tips to improve open rates – I

      Hello Marketers! Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space! In this week's post, we'll discuss the ever-important concept of open rates. This will be a multi-part series, as we have a range of topics to cover. Open rates—which measure the percentage

    • Holidays

      Hi; For defining Holidays, you need to add logic to handle the year as well as the month & day. We need to be able to enter Holidays for the next year. I need to add a holiday for January 2, 2017, but I can't until January 1st, which is a Sunday and we

    • Creating Custom PDF Template from Form

      I am trying to create a custom PDF from form submissions. I have the standard subscription and it indicates that PDF forms are included. I cannot find anywhere to create PDF forms. I try to follow the instructions from here: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/forms/form-settings/pdf-settings/pdf-editor/articles/creating-your-own-pdf-template#Creating_your_template_from_the_scratch

    • Important Update: Facebook Metrics Deprecation & Impact on Zoho Analytics

      Dear Zoho Analytics users, Facebook has deprecated a set of metrics from the Facebook Pages Insights API, effective November 15, 2025. As a result, these changes will affect any reports and dashboards in Zoho Analytics that rely on Facebook Pages data.

    • Quick Copy Column Name

      Please add the ability to quickly copy the name of a column in a Table or Query View. When you right-click the column there should be an option to copy the name, or if you left-click the column and use the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut it should copy the

    • Conditional Field Visibility in Bigin CRM

      I would like to request support for conditional field visibility within Bigin CRM. This feature should allow administrators to configure show/hide rules for fields based on predefined criteria (e.g., field values, picklist selections, stage changes,

    • Introducing Zoho MCP for Bigin

      Hello Biginners! We're excited to introduce Zoho MCP for Bigin, a completely new way of interacting with Bigin data using AI. With Zoho MCP, you can securely connect your Bigin account with popular AI agents like Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code,

    • Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space

      Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,

    • MCP > Creator connection failing with Claude

      I'm trying to get claude to access any of my Zoho Creator apps and it keeps failing. I have enabled all tools for creator and ensured in claude settings that everything is authorised. Here is what claude says : Unfortunately, the error messages I'm receiving

    • Is it possible to sync data every 5–10 minutes in Zoho Analytics (CRM or Excel imports)?

      Hello Team, I want to know if Zoho Analytics supports near real-time syncing of data from different sources. My requirements: I am importing data from Zoho CRM → Zoho Analytics I also have some datasets maintained in Excel/CSV I want both data sources

    • Feature Request: Dynamic Dimension Control for zc_LoadIn Popups

      As detailed in this community discussion, Zoho Creator's zc_LoadIn parameter is a vital tool for opening components (forms, reports, or pages) in modal dialogs via HTML snippets, Notes, or Rich Text Fields. While powerful, this feature suffers from a

    • Subforms in stateless forms

      I think the title says it all. We need to be able to add subforms to stateless forms. Currently the only workaround is to create a Form and delete each record upon submission of the form. I need to build an interface to update our inventory. Basically

    • Text wrap column headers in reports?

      Is it possible to auto wrap column headers so that a longer multi-word header displays as two lines when the column is narrower than the width of the header title?

    • What’s New in Zoho Inventory — Latest Features, Integrations & Updates | December 2025

      Zoho Inventory has evolved significantly over the past months, bringing you smarter, faster, and more connected tools to streamline your operations. Whether you’re managing multichannel sales, complex fulfillment workflows, or fast-moving stock, our newest

    • Marketer’s Space - Multi-Channel Campaigns for the Biggest Shopping Week with Zoho Marketing Automation

      Hello marketers, Welcome back to another post in Marketers Space! The biggest shopping week of the year is almost here, and it’s your moment to shine without the stress. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, being present across email,

    • Auto-Invite Users to Portals in Zoho CRM based on Conditions

      Hello Everyone, You can now automate portal invitations in Zoho CRM with the new Auto-Invite users feature in Portal management. No more manually enabling portal access one by one. With this enhancement, you can automatically send invites for users to

    • Pricing Strategies: #5 Stay local, Price & Sell Global

      Arun had always dreamed of taking his handmade craft business beyond his hometown. For years, he sold locally. Most of his customers are familiar faces, in our usual currency and with the exact expectations. But one day, a traveller visited his workshop

    • Best practice to structure reporting to include events covering multiple months / quarters.

      Hi, I'm new to Zoho, have some experience of more "enterprise" tools, looking for some input from the community. I'm looking to create a report that includes events that cover a long period, each event has a start / end date and I'm struggling undertanding

    • Incorrect Email Notifications for Product Reviews

      Dear Zoho Commerce Support Team, I am writing to report a technical issue that occurs frequently on our platform. Problem Description: We regularly receive email notifications informing us of new product reviews awaiting approval. However, when we access

    • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

      Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

    • What is the easiest way to move Hotmail emails to an IMAP server?

      The easiest way to move Hotmail (Outlook.com) emails to an IMAP server is to add your Hotmail account directly to any email client that supports IMAP, then copy the messages across. This avoids paid tools and keeps the process simple. Fastest free method:

    • No feedback from Zoho Books regarding Yodlee feeds for Investec

      I reported on 6 Feb 2025 that the Bank Feeds for Investec bank via Yodlee are not working. To date there has been no resolution. You are charging us for a suite of products where the functionality does not work. Please advise how you will refund me for

    • Turn off Knowlege Base Follow options and Follower lists

      Is there a way to hide or turn off the option in the Knowledge Base for users to follow specific departments/categories/sections/articles? If not, is there a way to turn off the public list of followers for each of those things? Otherwise, customer names

    • Custom validation in CRM schema

      Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'

    • Meet Canvas' Grid component: Your easiest way to build responsive record templates

      Visual design can be exciting—until you're knee-deep in the details. Whether it's aligning text boxes to prevent overlaps, fixing negative space, or simply making sure the right data stands out, just ironing out inconsistencies takes a lot of moving parts.

    • Introducing Withdrawal Reasons for Offers

      We’re excited to introduce a new enhancement to the Offer module that brings more clarity and accountability to every withdrawn offer. The Withdrawal Reason update ensures that each withdrawal — manual or automatic — is backed by a clear explanation,

    • Next Page