Kaizen #164 : Client Credentials

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to Kaizen. 

In this post, we will discuss Client Credentials Flow and when it can be used.

What is Client Credentials Flow?

According to RFC6749, the official specification for the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework, 

"The client credentials (or other forms of client authentication) can be used as an authorization grant when the authorization scope is limited to the protected resources under the control of the client,or to protected resources previously arranged with the authorization server. Client credentials are used as an authorization grant typically when the client is acting on its own behalf (the client is also the resource owner) or is requesting access to protected resources based on an authorization previously arranged with the authorization server."

For Zoho CRM APIs, the credentials used are client id and client secret.

When can Client Credential Flow be used?

The client credentials flow is appropriate for machine-to-machine communications in which the application does not need to act on behalf of a specific user as the program can authenticate using just their own credentials to receive an access token. Here the credentials are client id and client secret.

Compared to the flow of creating access tokens in the self client flow, the client credentials flow can be used to perform one-time tasks like one-time data migration or testing Zoho CRM API calls, etc. We recommend using self client or server-based authorization for integration purposes. The main benefit of the client credentials flow is the simplicity in creating an access token, requiring only the client ID, client secret, OAuth scopes, and SOID.

If you are a first time user of Zoho CRMs, you can get started with Zoho CRM APIs by using the client credentials flow for authorization. Head over to Zoho CRM API Collection where a Client Credentials sample is added. Make sure that you have the required request parameters available in your environment for a smooth setup.

How to obtain access token in client credentials flow?

To obtain an access token using the client credentials flow, make an API call to the following endpoint

{accounts_url}/oauth/v2/token?client_id={client_id}&client_secret={client_secret}&grant_type=client_credentials&scope={scope}&soid={org_id_or_portal_id}

Request Parameters

• grant_type: Enter the value as "client_credentials".
• client_id: Specify the client-id obtained from the connected app.
• client_secret: Specify client-secret obtained from the connected app.
• scope:  Enter the corresponding scope for the resource you want to access from the user's account. Multiple scopes can be given in comma separated format.
• soid: Enter this parameter in the format ZohoCRM.{zsoid} where zsoid is the unique ID of your org or portal. If your application has multiple orgs or portals, the token created is bound to this org or portal. For example: ZohoCRM.600xxx46

Response

If successful, the response will look something like this:

{     "access_token": "1000.b2caxxxxx3c6",     "scope": "ZohoCRM.org.ALL ZohoCRM.settings.ALL ZohoCRM.users.ALL ZohoCRM.templates.email.READ ZohoCRM.templates.inventory.READ ZohoCRM.modules.ALL",     "api_domain": "https://www.zohoapis.com",     "token_type": "Bearer",     "expires_in": 3600 }

Response Keys

• access_token: Access token to access ZohoCRM APIs.
• scope: The scope for the resource you want to access from the user's account that was provided in the parameters.
• api_domain: The domain for API requests, varies by environment (e.g., sandbox.zohoapis.{domain}).
• token_type: Type of token obtained. "Bearer" indicates this is an access token.
  
• expires_in: Time in seconds after which the access token expires.

This completes the authentication. Once your app receives the access token, send the token in your HTTP authorization header to Zoho CRM API with the value "Zoho-oauthtoken {access_token}" for each endpoint (for each request).

The response does not contain a refresh token. When an access token expires, make an API call to the same endpoint to get a new access token (if required).

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!

If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section.

Cheers!

Previous Post: Kaizen #163 - Extension Widgets in Zoho CRM | Kaizen Collection: Directory | Help document link: Client Credentials

• Topic Participants

• Mable Mary M P

  

• Colin Small

• Sticky Posts

• 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

• Kaizen #142: How to Navigate to Another Page in Zoho CRM using Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. In this post, let us see how you can you navigate to different Pages using Client Script. In this Kaizen post, Need to Navigate to different Pages Client Script ZDKs related to navigation A.

• Recent Topics

• Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | November 2025

  Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this November. Zoho Mail Format comments easily using Slash Commands With Slash commands, you can easily format text, insert

• Right-Click Pipeline to Open in New Tab

  Please add the ability to right-click on a pipeline to open it in a new tab

• Adjusting Physical Inventory

  Not getting very far with support on this one, they say they are going to fix it but nothings happened since November. Please give this a thumbs up if you would like to see this feature or comment if you have some insight. Use Case: Inventory set to be

• I need to Record Vatable amount and non vatable amount separately in zoho books in a single line

  I need to Record Vatable amount and non vatable amount separately in zoho books in a single line give me the customisation option and in invoice copy to customer the total amount should be inclusive 5%vat and no need to show the vatable and non vatable

• Sending automated messages that appear in the ticket's conversation thread

  Good morning, esteemed Zoho Desk community, warm greetings Today I am here to raise the following problem, seeking a solution that I can implement: I need to implement an automation that allows me to send reminder messages to customers when I am waiting

• sync views to sheet

  Im looking to sync my views aka reports in analytics to zoho sheets, when data is updated in analytics it also should be updated in sheets, till now zoho sheets only offer raw data connection and it is not enough as these reports are difficult to re-do

• How to update the Status in a custom module?

  Hi, I have a custom module "cm_payment_registry" in Billing, I am trying to change the status which is "Draft" with: array = {"custom_status":"Approved"}; zoho.billing.update("cm_payment_registry",organization.get("organization_id"), XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, array,"connectionname");

• Reporting Tags

  We've been using reporting tags for years (before itemizing was available) and now we are finding reporting these tags are impossible to track. Reports have changed in the customization and our columns of reporting tags no longer show up. We do not use

• Opening balances - Accounts Receivable and Payable

  Our accounting year starts on 1st August 2013 and I have a Trial Balance as at that date, including Accounts Receivableand Accounts Payable balances, broken down by each customer and supplier. Q1 - do I show my opening balance date as 31st July 2013 or

• Replace Zoho Invoice with QuickBooks

  We are implementing Zoho FSM for a cleaning business in the US with 50+ field workers. This business has been using Quickbooks for accounting for decades and will not migrate to Zoho Books. A major issue in the integration is the US sales tax calculation.

• 2025 Highlights: A Year of Steady Progress and Significant Developments

  As we come to the end of 2025, let's take a moment to reflect on the significant progress and developments we've made to improve your travel and expense management. In the Spotlight Introducing Online Booking (US edition only - Early access) Enable online

• Function #42: Show the actual rate of items on invoices

  Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In Zoho Books, you have the ability to create Price Lists, wherein you can mark up and mark down the item rates by a specific percentage or set custom rates. Generally, when you apply a price list to an

• Ability to Set Text Direction for Individual Cells in Zoho Sheet

  Dear Zoho Sheet Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement in Zoho Sheet that allows users to set the text direction (right-to-left or left-to-right) for individual cells, similar to what is available in Google Sheets. Use

• New in CRM: Dynamic filters for lookup fields

  Last modified on Oct 28, 2024: This feature was initially available only through Early Access upon request. It is now available to all users across all data centers, except for the IN DC. Users in the IN DC can temporarily request access using this form

• Warehouse fast processing

  Hey guys, would anyone be interested in something like the attached image ? If there's any interest I'd be willing to develop it further for others to use, it's much faster than using Zohos native solutions, it can part pack, pack in full, part ship,

• Automatic Invoice Number generation for createRecord

  Hello, while testing some custom Buttons in my Zoho Books application, I noticed that I get an error that previously did not occur. After some further digging I found that the automatic transaction numbering of invoices no longer work in my organization.

• Can I create a CODE 128 custom field for my items in Zoho Inventory and then use it for generating Sales Orders?

  Can anyone helps me, I don't want to use the SKU code for scanning my products.  ​Because all my products have a CODE-128 label attached.

• Start/Stop Timmer in Chrome Extension

  The chrome extension is great and allows you to do allot however one of the most common things employees working on projects need to do is track their time. Having an easy start/stop timer to track time would be great.

• Invalid collection string

  I haven't changed anything in one of my functions. I'm trying to run it manually and suddenly "Invalid collection string" appears. My code has 6 lines and the error says that the error is on 7th line. Why? What does this error mean? Nothing has been changed

• Zoho Directory 2025: New Features | Security Enhancements | Enriched UI

  Hello everyone, Greetings from the Zoho Directory team! 2025 has been a highly successful year for Zoho Directory. We are delighted to introduce a fresh set of features, an enriched UI, and major product enhancements. These updates aim to deliver a smoother

• Bulk Schedule for Posting TikTok

  Hallo, We have a client whose business is a social media agency specifically TikTok. Currently they are handling 30 TikTok accounts from. I think zoho Social can handle it with Agency License + with Add on 10 Brands. Their concern is related to posting

• zoho people 5 report

  How do I customize my report in Zoho People Report? I understand that I can get the results of multi-table queries through SQL join statements, but I don't know the relationship between each table. I tried to create a report using Attendance User Report

• Leave Report Emailed Weekly

  I am wondering if someone knows how to have a report generated either weekly or monthly or both for department heads and ownership of upcoming employee leave. For instance, it would be nice to get an emailed report on Friday for the upcoming week of who

• Zoho Flow Decision Continuing Despite Not Meeting Conditions

  I have a picklist field called Lead Status in the leads module, with the following lead Statuses: New Lead Attempted Contact - 1 Attempted Contact - 2 Attempted Contact - 3 Attempted Contact - 4 Attempted Contact - 5 Attempted Contact - 6 Attempted Contact

• Tip #55- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Exploring Vision Settings- 'Insider Insights'

  As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good moment to reflect on how we can make our tools more inclusive and easier to use for everyone. Remote support often involves long hours in front of screens, varied lighting conditions, and users with different

• Zoho Recruit Slow and Freezing on all screens

  We have had an issue with Zoho Recruit for weeks being extremely slow and at times freezing.  We have 100 mega internet, and I went into each computer and updated the virtual memory so there is more available.  Also restarted all computers daily.  Still having the issues.  Almost unable to work.

• Credit Management: #2 Configuring Right Payment Terms for Credit Control

  Think about the last time you ordered something online and saw that little note at the checkout, "Pay on Delivery" or "Pay later". It's simple, but it actually sets the tone. As a business owner, you know exactly when payment is expected. Now, imagine

• Dependent (Conditional) Fields in Zoho Bookings Forms

  Hello Zoho Bookings Team, Greetings, We would like to request the ability to create dependent (conditional) fields in Zoho Bookings registration forms. Current Limitation: There is currently no way to make one field’s available options depend on the value

• Bug Report: Search fails to find existing notes after Evernote import

  Hello, I recently migrated from Evernote (~2600 notes across 23 notebooks), but the search functionality is currently broken. The Issue: I can manually browse to a specific note and see it exists. However, when I type the exact or partial title of that

• Marketing Tip #13: Win repeat customers with post-purchase emails

  The relationship with your customer doesn’t end after the sale; that’s when it begins. A thoughtful post-purchase message shows customers you appreciate them, keeps your brand top of mind, and can even lead to another sale. You can thank them, ask for

• Zoho Form

  I have problem with Zoho Form. One of form i don't received the PDF version. Others okay except this one. W904533

• Create & Update Zoho Vault Passwords via Zoho Flow

  Hi Zoho Flow / Zoho Vault Team, We’d like to request an enhancement to the Zoho Vault integration in Zoho Flow. Current Limitation: At the moment, Zoho Flow supports only the following selected Zoho Vault actions, such as: Fetch passwords, Share passwords

• Credit Note for Shipped and Fatoora pushed invoices

  We have shipped a Sales Order and created an Invoice. The Invoice is also pushed to Fatoora Now we need to create a credit note for the invoice When we try it, it says we need to create a Sales Return in the Zoho Books, we have already created a Sales

• Custom Related List Inside Zoho Books

  Hello, We can create the Related list inside the zoho books by the deluge code, I am sharing the reference code Please have a look may be it will help you. //..........Get Org Details organizationID = organization.get("organization_id"); Recordid = cm_g_a_data.get("module_record_id");

• Features, Feedback and Votes

  We’re launching the Feedback Forum for our customers. This is 'THE' place where you can add everything you’d like to see in Zoho Books. If you don't find the specific feature you need, simply add it so others can also vote for it. While we cannot promise

• Payment system for donations management

  I manage an organization where we receive donations from payers. Hence, there is no need to first create invoices and then create payments received against the invoices. What are the recommended best practices to do this in ZohoBooks?

• There Might Be A Glitch in Determining If A String Represents A URL

  I suspect there might be a glitch in determining if a string represents a URL or not. For example, I cannot embed the following URL. Perhaps the exclamation mark or parentheses are the culprit? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Grinch_Stole_Chri

• Customer Management: #4 Enhance Customer Journey

  When Neha started DefineOps, a growing IT support and consulting firm, most of her work was straightforward. A client would sign up for a free version, decide whether the service works for them, and then either continue or discontinue. Billing was simple,

• Android app sync problem - multiple devices have same problem

  Hello, I am having a problem with synchronization in the Android app. When I create a drawing, the data does not sync correctly—only a blank note is created without the drawing. I tested this on multiple devices, including phones and tablets, and the

• Marketing Tip #1: Optimize item titles for SEO

  Your item title is the first thing both Google and shoppers notice. Instead of a generic “Leather Bag,” go for something detailed like “Handcrafted Leather Laptop Bag – Durable & Stylish.” This helps your items rank better in search results and instantly

• Next Page