Kaizen #159 - Configuring Telephony Extension Widget in Zoho CRM

Hello Developers! 

Welcome back to the Widgets fold in our Kaizen series.

In this post, we will learn how to build a custom telephony extension widget for call centers and deploy it within a Zoho CRM organization. This helps in establishing unified communication support without leaving the platform.

Why configure a Telephony?

Telephony integration with Zoho CRM is vital for businesses that rely heavily on customer communication and sales. Following are a few key reasons for its vitality:

• Centralized Communication: Make and receive calls directly within the CRM, streamlining the communication process.
• Automatic Call Logging: Calls are automatically logged, helping businesses track communication history without manual effort.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Sales, marketing, and customer service teams can access shared communication logs for improved teamwork.
• Automated Follow-Ups: After each call, you can trigger follow-up tasks or emails, ensuring no lead is forgotten.

While the Zoho Marketplace within Zoho CRM offers a variety of telephony extensions, we will look at how to create a private extension that allows you to customize the integration to suit your specific needs.

Note:

For this demonstration, we will use RingCentral as our telephony platform. Although RingCentral is available in the marketplace, we will assume it is a private connected app in this scenario.

Business Scenario

Imagine that you are running a sales agency and you want a widget that lets your sales reps make calls directly from Zoho CRM while tracking all call details seamlessly within CRM records.

The private extension should allow you to control the user interface, customize call-related actions, and manage data flow directly into the CRM, optimizing your sales process.

Creating a Private Telephony Extension

Start by logging into your Zoho CRM account and follow the below steps to build a private extension powered by Zoho Sigma. 

Set Up a Private Extension

1. Navigate to Setup > Marketplace > Extension Builder.

2. Create a workspace in the new tab and click on the New Extension button.Provide the necessary details as shown in the image and choose the service as Zoho CRM.

3. Provide the necessary details as shown in the image and choose the service as Zoho CRM.

4. Click Create.

5. The private extension that you have created will be listed in the Extensions page. Choose your extension and click the edit icon. 

You will be redirected to the Zoho Developer Console. 

Configure the Telephony Widget 

6. In the console, go to Utilities > Connected Apps on the left-side menu.

7. Follow the steps provided in this kaizen to create a new Zoho CRM widget for this use case. 

8. Fill in the details of the application as shown in this image. 

We have chosen External Hosting for the demo, as our sample widget code is hosted on Amazon Web Service (AWS).

Refer to the 'Code Logic for Integration' section below to see how the widget code should be handled.

9. Click Save.

Code Logic for Integration

10. Here is the core logic for handling telephony events like Dial and DialerActive using the Zoho CRM JS SDK:

DialerActive Event Listener:

• This listener is triggered when the softphone icon at the bottom of your screen is toggled.
• It makes a call to the dialed number using Ring Central SDK.
  

Dial Event Listener:

• The listener is activated when a user initiates a call from a Zoho CRM record using the phone icon next to the Phone fields.
  
• The phone button passes the specific record data to the widget, allowing Ring Central to display the record name and dial the number. Following it, the Ring Central SDKs play the role to execute call related functions.
  

Call Completion and Notes Update:

• Once a call ends, the widget opens a note section.
  
• The text added to the widget is fed to the Notes Related List of the corresponding record using the Add Notes SDK.
  

For detailed instructions and to get started, the demo code is available on our GitHub page. Ensure to replace your telephony app credentials, SDKs, and its versions in the rc.js and handler.js files to suit your production needs.

Configure the Call Center

11. Navigate to Build > Telephony in the left menu. 

12. Provide a Name and the Resource Path of your widget. 

13. Click Save.

Packaging and Publishing

14. Go to Package > Publish on the left-side menu and publish the extension. 

15. You will receive a prompt asking if you would like to submit your extension to the Marketplace and avail it like other telephony platforms. 

Once submitted, the review process will take from three weeks to one month for approval.

Instead of waiting for approval, we will proceed with deploying the extension using the private plugin deployment link.

Deploy in your Organization

16. Log into your Zoho CRM organization.

17. Replace the URL of your Zoho CRM page with the deployment link from the Developer Console to install the widget extension.

18. Approve the addition of this extension to your CRM.

19. Once installed, refresh the page and check for the softphone icon at the bottom of your screen.

Click the icon to log in to your telephony platform, such as RingCentral.

Try it Out! 

Once the softphone is installed, try out the following features:

• The softphone icon opens an iframe dialer pad.
• You will see a phone icon near the Phone data fields, enabling quick calls directly from the record.
• After calls, you can take notes and log them as a related list for the CRM record.
  

Additional Components

Consider adding these components to enhance the functionality of your telephony extension widget:

• Call Recordings Widget: Create a related list widget that automatically stores all call recordings for future reference. Refer to this page for help. 
• Call Analytics: Using Ring Central SDKs support users can integrate call duration, frequency, and outcomes into a CRM dashboard Widget for performance tracking.
• Custom Workflow Triggers: With the help of Insert Records SDK in the extension widget, you can automatically log the call details into the Calls module. This enables you to trigger workflow rules for follow-up tasks, notifications, or actions based on call outcomes. 
  

From managing call center operations to automating task follow-ups, the potential of widgets is vast and adaptable to a variety of business needs. We encourage you to explore the complete potential of widgets to build custom solutions that elevate your workflows. 

For further assistance, explore our Widget fold in the Kaizen collection or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com. You can also drop your questions in the comments below. 

Cheers! 

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

Related Reading

1. Zoho CRM Widget - An Overview, Installation and Creation, Mobile Compatibility, other Kaizens.
2. Widget SDKs - An Overview, Insert Records API and SDK, Add Notes API and SDK. 
3. Zoho Marketplace - An Overview
4. Zoho Developer Console - An Overview, Creating Extensions, Building Connected Apps, and a Quick Start Guide.
5. RingCentral - Getting Started, Ring Central SDKs.

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

Previous Post: Kaizen #158 - How to effectively handle API calls to optimize API credits? | Kaizen Collection: Home

• Topic Participants

• Kiruthiga G

  

• Sticky Posts

• 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

• Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

  Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

• Recent Topics

• Handling/tracking escalation management in Zoho

  Hi all, I am working on finding a tool to register and track our escalation management process. Specifically, this is about client escalations, typically related to project delivery issues. The idea is that we could have some sort of form with core questions

• Global Choice List share ownership

  I have created several forms that use one or more Global Choice Lists. These lists have been published to Org. I would like to allow one or more admins to edit the choices in these lists. Any help appreciated. Geoff

• Setting up property management in Zoho Books

  Hi, I run a property management business that manages property complexes. There are multiple owners, some owning more than one property on the same complex. My role is to manage the fees they pay for maintenance of common areas, such as the swimming pool

• How to prevent users from switching price lists in an order?

  Hi, I have Zoho Finance integrated with Zoho CRM. My team will be placing orders through the CRM using the Finance module. When creating a new customer I will assign it a price list, I don't want the sales rep to switch to a different Price List, other

• Mollie Connect in Zoho Books

  Have noticed that Zoho Books is missing the most popular payment provider in Europe: Mollie. Knowing that Mollie has a solid Java SDK, why is this not yet implemented in Zoho Books for European customers?  More info: https://docs.mollie.com/oauth/ov

• Unable to change Lookup field from Multi Select to Single Select

  I am trying to change a Lookup field in my Zoho Creator form from Multi Select to Single Select, but I am unable to find any option to do this.

• Simple Callback Notifications Needed

  My team are terrible at remembering their CRM callbacks, often due to how long in the future they are set for. Is there a way i can set an e-mail notification for when a callback is due? For example we set it for 9am one day and five minutes before they

• Personal Data (RODO), Cookies / Trackers - ePrivacy

  I have noticed several issues that should be addressed on the customer support page. Zoho Desk provides the support portal, but it currently lacks the following options: A GDPR and personal data processing consent checkbox before logging in, located in

• How to set a multi-lookup field as mandatory?

• Allow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support

  Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when scheduling

• Audit Log for Zoho One Admin Panel

  Dear Zoho One Team, We would like to request the addition of an Audit Log feature in the Zoho One Admin Panel. This log should provide visibility into any changes made within the Zoho One admin panel and directory, including but not limited to: Adding,

• 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,

• Bug: OAuth 2.0 State Parameter fails with Pipe Delimiters (RFC 6749 Non-Compliance)

  I've discovered a bug in how Zoho's API Console handles the OAuth 2.0 authorization flow when the state parameter contains pipe characters (|), and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. The Issue Zoho's OAuth 2.0 implementation

• Custom Function to increment a value by one

  Hi, I'm trying to find a solution to set up a counter on CRM records that tracks how many times certain actions have taken place. As a specific example: We have a field on Deals called "Times Close Updated". This starts at 0 on record creation. I'd like

• 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

• Access token generate from the refresh token not working for API

  Dear Sir/Madam, When I use my refresh token to obtain new access_token, that token return INVALID_TOKEN when the same API is called. I made sure that my api site is correct and match the auth web site. However the original access_token work fine.

• why does my campaign move back to draft?

  Every time I try to send my email campaign, it reverts back to Draft status.. this has happened three times in a row..how do i find out what the problem is? Thanks

• Service and Parts Line Item Limitations

  Hi FSM Team, We work with clients who deliver large-scale field service projects. In many cases, a single work order can contain 200+ service and parts line items. Currently, Zoho FSM limits work orders to 30 service and parts line items. While this works

• 【Zoho CRM】やりとりの要約機能リリースのお知らせ

  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、新機能のやりとり要約機能をご紹介します。 Zoho CRMのやりとりの要約は、Ziaが生成する機能で、データに関連付けられた最近のやりとりを簡潔にまとめて提供します。 メール、通話、ミーティング、メモなどを1つの明確な要約にまとめ、重要なポイント、過去の話し合いの要点、結果、次のステップを表示することで、日常的な課題に対処します。 Ziaの強みは、単なる要約にとどまらず、内容の解釈も行える点です。やりとりの要約では、顧客との会話に潜む遅延、フォローアップ漏れ、約束、期限、感情、意図を特定します。

• Recent post analytics not very useful

  Hi, I'm enjoying some aspects of the Zoho Social. like being able to schedule posts to multiple channels. However, the recent posts analytics is disappointing. For example, I put up a reel on Instagram and Facebook yesterday. Instagram insights shows

• Zoho Commerce and Third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration

  We are implementing a third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration for our Zoho Commerce store and have made significant progress. However, we need guidance on a specific technical challenge. Current Challenge: We need to get the customer input to

• What happens to the files created by user, whose account is deleted.

  Hello, I created a folder in the My folders names "Quote" I shared the same with my colleague. She created some files and folders in that folder over the period of 1 and half year. Now she left company, and I deleted her account from Zoho. What happens

• Internal Error When Accessing Team Inbox.

  All our users are seeing this error in teaminbox. Because its a critical tool kindly resolve this issue ASAP.

• Sharing URLs and direct access

  Hello, I am storing my team's email signature images on Workdrive. I am creating a public image download share and adding “?directDownload=true” so that the image can be accessed without the Workdrive interface. A few questions: 1) Can we generate friendly

• Zoho Mail Android app update: Calendar enhancements

  Hello everyone! In the most recent version of the Zoho Mail Android app update, we have introduced various new enhancements for the calendar module. Let's explore what's new. Drag and drop events to update the date and time We have enhanced the calendar

• Enhance Delay Configuration in Zoho Flow

  Dear Zoho Flow Support Team, We are writing to request an improvement to the delay configuration process within Zoho Flow. Currently, users are required to manually enter the exact delay duration (e.g., "2 days") in the delay block. This can be time-consuming

• Contratação ProdutivosX

  Bem-vindo(a) ao processo de contratação da ProdutivosX. Este formulário tem como objetivo coletar informações essenciais para análise de perfil profissional, alinhamento de competências e possível integração ao equipamento ProdutivosX. A ProdutivosX é

• Enhance Sign CRM integration

  Hello all, I'm working on a custom Deluge script to enhance the integration between Zoho CRM and Sign by using a writer merge template for additional flexibility. I want to replicate the post-sign document integration that exists between CRM and Sign

• Unified WhatsApp Number Management in Zoho Desk and SalesIQ

  Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are currently utilizing both Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ for our customer support operations. While both platforms offer WhatsApp integration, we are facing challenges due to the requirement of separate WhatsApp numbers

• 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

• Email Field Validation Incorrectly Rejects RFC-Compliant Addresses (Forward Slashes)

  I've encountered a validation issue with Zoho Creator's Email field that rejects RFC-compliant email addresses containing forward slashes, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update. The Issue When entering an email address containing

• Customer ticket creation via Microsoft Teams

  Hi all, I'm looking to see if someone could point me in the right direction. I'd love to make it so my customers/ end users can make tickets, see responses and respond within microsoft teams. As Admin and an Agent i've installed the zoho assist app within

• Plug Sample #15 - Enable Human-Like, Contextual Interactions in SalesIQ with Zia Agents

  Zia Agents are conversational AI assistants designed to understand user intent and respond intelligently, helping businesses automate conversations and offer personalized support at scale. While Zia Agents are yet to be publicly released, access is currently

• Best way to schedule bill payments to vendors

  I've integrated Forte so that I can convert POs to bills and make payments to my vendors all through Books. Is there a way to schedule the bill payments as some of my vendors are net 30, net 60 and even net 90 days. If I can't get this to work, I'll have

• Seamless Round-Trip Navigation for Related Blocks (Detail View)

  As highlighted previously in this post (and here, here, here, and here), we still lack a fundamental capability for seamless navigation in Related Blocks. The popup that appears when adding a related record doesn't exist for viewing/editing existing records,

• Social Profile Logo Format

  Hello, I'm using Zoho Sites and am attempting to add a couple of social media accounts to my profile that aren't included in the default platforms that are available. What format is the logo required to be in? I have tried .png and .jpg with no success.

• How to create Sepa Direct Debit XML file: solution and code

  Even though Books provides a payment integration for Stripe and Gocardless (in Europe) there are customers that want to use the Sepa services of their own bank. Mainly because Stripe and Gocardless are quite expensive. In that case they would need a Sepa

• Traditional Spreadsheet vs Zoho Tables

  Hello everyone, This article explains the differences between Spreadsheet applications and no-code databases, such as Zoho Tables. While both tools belong to the "grid" family, the core difference lies in their purpose. A spreadsheet (such as Zoho Sheet,

• RFQ MODEL

  A Request for quotation model is used for Purchase Inquiries to multiple vendors. The Item is Created and then selected to send it to various vendors , once the Prices are received , a comparative chart is made for the user. this will help Zoho books

• Delegate Access - Mobile iOS/iPad

  We’re over the moon that delegate access is now available in Zoho Mail as we were nearly ready to switch platforms because of it! Is there a timeline on when delegate mailboxes will be accessible from the iOS and iPad OS applications? Thanks, Jake

• Next Page