COQL API in Zoho CRM - Part I

COQL API in Zoho CRM - Part I

Hi everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! 

This week, we will discuss the COQL Queries in detail.

COQL (CRM Object Query Language) is a powerful query language based on SQL syntax that allows users to write their own queries and fetch records using module API names and field API names. In this post, we will discuss the operators supported by COQL in detail and also provide examples to help you understand better.  Please note that the information in the article holds true for version 4 of Zoho CRM APIs.

When should you use the Query API?

Use Query API when you want to query for a module's data and/or it's look up related data using various comparators, or for records that fall into a custom view without actually creating one. For example, if you want to query for all products in a specific price range, with a 5 star rating and sort the results by price, use the Query API. Similarly you can use Query API to query for records from cross-modules (linked via lookup field), such as filtering products based on the vendor's details. 

What types of queries are supported by COQL?

COQL supports only the SELECT query, which is used to select data from the CRM, based on the conditions specified by the clauses. 

Here is a sample query:
SELECT {field_api_names} FROM {module_api_name} WHERE {field_api_name} {comparator} {logical_operator} {value} ORDER BY {field_api_name} ASC/DESC LIMIT {limit} OFFSET {offset}

What are the clauses & aggregate functions supported by COQL?

WHERE - used to select records based on specific conditions.
FROM - specifies the module from which to fetch the records.
ORDER BY - used to sort the results in ascending or descending order.
LIMIT - used to limit the number of records returned by the query.
OFFSET - used to skip a specified number of records while retrieving the records.


{
 "select_query" : "select Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile, Final_Score from Leads where (Lead_Status = 'Not Contacted') ORDER BY Final_Score DESC LIMIT 5 OFFSET 10"
}


For example, the above query retrieves the Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile and Final_score of all Leads whose status equals 'Not Contacted'. The results will be sorted in descending order based on the Final_Score field, and only the 5 records after skipping the first 10 will be returned.

NOTE : You can also use the syntax "LIMIT offset, limit" to achieve the same result. For example :


{
 "select_query" : "select Last_Name, First_Name, Mobile, Final_Score from Leads where (Lead_Status = 'Not Contacted') ORDER BY Final_Score DESC LIMIT 5, 10"
}
​

Aggregate functions can perform calculations on a set of values and return a single value. 
SUM() - to get the sum of the values of an aggregate field in a module.
MAX() - to get the maximum value of an aggregate field.
MIN() - to get the minimum value of an aggregate field.
AVG() - to get the average value of the values of a field.
COUNT() - to get the number of records that satisfy the criteria.

Wildcard Character Support in COQL

In COQL queries, the only supported wildcard character is %. This % wildcard can be used with the like operator to achieve functionality similar to the contains, starts_with and ends_with operators. For instance, '%tech" queries for field values ending with tech, 'C%' queries for the values starting with C, and '%tech%' translates to contains 'tech'.

Supported field types and Comparators

The following table gives a gist of the field types whose data you can query for, and the comparators for each field type.
Field TypeComparators
Text and Picklist=, !=, like, not like, in, not in, is null, is not null
Lookup=, !=, in, not in, is null, is not null
Date, DateTime, Number, Currency=, !=, >=, >, <=, <, between, not between, in, not in, is null, is not null
Boolean=

Supported field types and Comparators

1) Text and Picklist Fields

Supported comparators : =, !=, like, not like, in, not in, is null, is not null. Please note that the like operator is used for starts_with, ends_with, contains, and not like operator is used for not contains. 

Sample Query 1: (=, like, in)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Status = 'Pre-Qualified') and (Company like '%zylker%')) and Industry in ('Technology', 'ERP'))"
}

This SELECT query retrieves the First_Name and Last_Name of all Leads whose Lead_Status is Pre-Qualified, Company contains zylker, and Industry is either Technology or ERP. 

Sample Query 2:(not in, like, not null)

{
"select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Status not in ('Closed-Won', 'Closed-Lost')) and (Lead_Source like '%Web%')) and (Skype_ID is not null)) LIMIT 2"
}

This query will return the first name and last name of all leads whose lead status is not Closed-Won or Closed-Lost, whose Lead Source fields contains web, and whose Skype ID field is not empty.

Sample Query 3:( !=, not like, null)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT First_Name, Last_Name, Mobile FROM Leads WHERE (((Lead_Source != 'Webinar') and (City not like '%New York%')) and (Skype_ID is null))"
}

This query retrieves the first name, last name and mobile of leads where the lead source is not a webinar, the city is not New York, and the Skype ID field is empty or null.

2. Lookup Fields

=, !=, in, not in, is null, is not null are the supported comparators for lookup fields. If you want to get the name of the lookup field in the response, you must include the field API name in the query. Otherwise, the system will return only the ID of the field.

Sample Query 1: (=, not in, !=)

{
 "select_query": "select Last_Name, First_Name, Full_Name, Account_Name, Owner from Contacts where (((Account_Name.Account_Name != 'Zylker') and (Owner = 4876876000000327001)) and Vendor_Name.Vendor_Name not in ('Skytech','SR')) LIMIT 2"
}

This query retrieves the last name, first name, full name, account name, and owner of two contacts whose account name is not Zylker, whose owner ID is 4876876000000327001, and whose vendor name does not contain Skytech or SR.
Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "First_Name": "John",
            "Full_Name": "John Wilson  ",
            "Owner": {
                "id": "4876876000000327001"
            },
            "Last_Name": "Wilson  ",
            "Account_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000000333089"
            },
            "id": "4876876000000333182"
        },
        {
            "First_Name": "Josephine",
            "Full_Name": "Josephine Darakjy",
            "Owner": {
                "id": "4876876000000327001"
            },
            "Last_Name": "Darakjy",
            "Account_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000000333090"
            },
            "id": "4876876000000333183"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

In this query, the id of the account is returned but not the name since we have not specified the field API name in the query. To fetch the field name, specify the field API name in the query. Refer to the following sample query to know how.

Sample Query 2:  (in, is null, is not null)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Account_Name.Account_Name, Created_Time FROM Deals WHERE (((Account_Name.Account_Name in ('Grayson','Zylker')) and (Owner is not null)) and (Contact_Name is null)) ORDER BY Created_Time DESC LIMIT 2"
}

This query retrieves the Deal Name, Account Name, and Created Time of the 2 most recently created Deals whose Account Name contains Zylker or Grayson, and do not have a Contact Name associated with them but have a Deal Owner associated with them. The results will be ordered in descending order by the Created Time.
 
Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Westborne Deal",
            "Created_Time": "2023-04-06T10:04:02+05:30",
            "Account_Name.Account_Name": "Grayson",
            "id": "4876876000003548001"
        },
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Eastwing Deal",
            "Created_Time": "2023-04-05T19:10:55+05:30",
            "Account_Name.Account_Name": "Grayson",
            "id": "4876876000003526011"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

In the same query, if you want to use the Account ID instead of the name, replace ((Account_Name.Account_Name in ('Grayson','Zylker')) with ((Account_Name in (4876876000001236083, 4876876000002799001)) to include the IDs instead of the field API names and the account names.
{
    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Account_Name.Account_Name, Created_Time FROM Deals WHERE (((Account_Name in (4876876000001236083, 4876876000002799001)) and (Owner is not null)) and (Contact_Name is null)) ORDER BY Created_Time DESC LIMIT 2"
}

3. Date, DateTime, Number, Currency Fields

=, !=, >=, >, <=, <, between, not between, in, not in, is null, is not null are the supported comparators for these fields.

Sample Query 1: (between, <, >)

{

    "select_query": "SELECT Deal_Name, Amount, Stage, Probability FROM Deals WHERE (((Closing_Date between '2023-01-01' and '2023-03-31') and (Probability < 99)) and (Amount > 10000))"

}

This query retrieves the deal name, amount, stage, and probability of all deals whose closing date is between January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023, and whose probability is less than 99 and amount is greater than 10000.

Sample Response:
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Deal_Name": "Chapman Deal",
            "Amount": 2500000,
            "Probability": 97,
            "Stage": "Closed Won",
            "id": "4876876000003550011"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

Sample Query 2: (<=, !=, >=)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Product_Name, Qty_in_Stock, Vendor_Name, Cost_Price FROM Products WHERE (((Sales_End_Date <= '2023-04-30') and (Qty_in_Stock != 0)) and (Cost_Price >= 500))"
}

This query retrieves the product name, quantity in stock, vendor name, and cost price for all products whose sales end date is on or before April 30, 2023, whose quantity in stock is not zero, and whose cost price is greater than or equal to 500. Since Vendor_Name is a lookup field, only the ID will be returned in the response.
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Cost_Price": 2000,
            "Vendor_Name": {
                "id": "4876876000001039017"
            },
            "Product_Name": "Sigma",
            "Qty_in_Stock": 30,
            "id": "4876876000001036109"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

Sample Query 3: (not between, is not, >)

{
    "select_query": "SELECT Last_Name, First_Name, Referred_By.Full_Name FROM Leads WHERE (((Final_Score not between 10 and 20) and (Annual_Revenue is not null)) and (No_of_Employees > 200)) LIMIT 1"
}

This COQL query selects the last name, first name, and the full name of the lead's referred by field, for one lead whose final score is not between 10 and 20, annual revenue is not null and whose number of employees is greater than 200. 
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "First_Name": "Chau",
            "Last_Name": "Kitzman",
            "id": "4876876000000333403",
            "Referred_By.Full_Name": "Simmons Truhlar"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 1,
        "more_records": true
    }
}

Sample Query 4: (>, not in, =, is null)

{
   "select_query":"SELECT PO_Number, PO_Date, Status, Discount FROM Purchase_Orders WHERE (((PO_Date = '2023-04-06') and (Due_Date not in ('2023-04-10','2023-04-11', '2023-04-12'))) or ((Discount > 10) and (Requisition_No is null)))"
}

This query selects the PO_Number, PO_Date, Status, and Discount from the Purchase_Orders module where the PO_Date is equal to '2023-04-06' and Due_Date is not any of '2023-04-10', '2023-04-11', or '2023-04-12'; OR Discount is greater than 10 and Requisition_No is null. In this query, we have used both AND and OR operators to combine the clauses.
Sample Response
{
    "data": [
        {
            "Status": "Created",
            "PO_Date": "2022-05-10",
            "Discount": 9990,
            "PO_Number": "PO-JL-3876",
            "id": "4876876000001125176"
        },
        {
            "Status": "Created",
            "PO_Date": "2023-04-06",
            "Discount": 370.37,
            "PO_Number": "PO-DA-1932",
            "id": "4876876000003561019"
        }
    ],
    "info": {
        "count": 2,
        "more_records": false
    }
}

We hope you found this post useful and that it has given you a better understanding of COQL queries. In our next post, we will discuss the rest of the field types, aggregate functions with more examples, and provide more queries to help you get started.

If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know in the comments below, or write to us at support@zohocrm.com. We would love to hear from you! 

Additionally, if you have any questions about the COQL API or how to construct a query, kindly let us know in the comments.

Additional Reading:


    • Recent Topics

    • Note not being pulled for other modules in email template

      Hi there, Currently i am creating an email template that is able to pull the data from notes field in estimate module and email it to procurement team where they will be able to receive the email with the contents of the note, i am unable to replicate

    • Grouping payments to match deposits

      Is there a way to group multiple invoice payments together so they match credit card batches and grouped deposits in the bank account? Basically, we are creating invoices for each of our transactions, and applying a payment to each of the invoices. Our payments are either credit cards or checks. We want to be able to group payments together so when our bank account reflects a credit card batch made up of many transactions, or the deposit we took to the bank that has multiple checks from different

    • No Sales Returns on SO's with Dropped Shipped items + Inventory Items

      We have encountered an issue in Zoho related to sales orders that include both dropshipped items and inventory items. Specifically, it is currently not possible to create sales returns for the company’s own inventory items from these sales orders. This

    • Pre-fill TO and CC fields for Email Templates

      This would be a game changer to be able to set either specific email addresses or merge fields based on deal role titles into email templates. Please pass this along to *hopefully* add to future features of Zoho CRM.

    • Pick list - Cannot save list "Special Characters not Allowed" error message

      Bulk uploading values. All values are pretty standard - with the exception of a "-" (dash). Like:  Industry - Prepared Food Is the simple dash a special character too? Jan

    • Whatsapp Limitation Questions

      Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based

    • Flow with CRM

      Hello, I have a simple flow that uses a web hook to enter data into a Sales Order. I have the web hook sending Flow data which has a PO field. If the PO has a special character like - or / or \ the task fails. How can I get the flow to be okay with the

    • Making the Resolution Tab Mandatory

      Hello Everyone! This edition is here to show you how to make the Resolution mandatory when closing a ticket. The Ticket Resolution tab helps keep a record of the solution provided for the ticket query. The resolution can serve as a quick reference to

    • Remove County field from Customer Address input screen (or allow input to be deleted)

      We are in the USA and have just noticed that there is now a County field in the Customer Address input screen (and maybe other areas of Zoho Books, but this is the one affecting us at the moment). County is not important to our business, and in fact we

    • Notificación de cumpleaños

      Hola: Se puede enviar alguna alerta de felicitación al personal que cumple años, que se dispare solo? Si existe como se puede hacer? Saludos

    • Automation#25: Move Tickets to Unassigned When the Owner Is Offline

      Hello Everyone, Welcome to this week's Community Series! 'Tis the holiday season—a time when work often takes a brief pause. The holiday spirit is in full swing at Zylker Techfix too, with employees taking some well-deserved time off. During this period,

    • Callback URLs

      I need to connect to an external service through an API that requires me to provide a Callback URL so that a status update can be sent back when the API request has been processed. Is there a way to do this in Creator without having to use a middleware

    • Email signature not being included if user creates ticket / sends email

      When I create a ticket (send email), the signature doesn't appear to be added to the ticket. Can you confirm if this is the case? It would obviously be useful to include the user's signature even when sending a client an email and not only on replie

    • Pulling Specific Products from Sales Orders in Books to a CRM Record

      We currently process orders directly through our website (woocommerce) as well as through manual sales orders in zoho books. When an order comes through the website, all of the individual products from that order show up in the CRM record of that customer.

    • Zoho Notebook window ignores taskbar

      When maximized to full screen, the Zoho Notebook window ignores the presence of the taskbar and overlaps it. What could be the problem? Linux Mint 22 Cinnamon. Zoho Notebook 3.2.0

    • Document images

      We used to be able to rotate the images but this has now been removed ???

    • VENDORS ARE NOT SYNCHED WITH CONTACTS IN CRM

      Hello, While the ACCOUNTS and CONTACTS (Including the primary contact) are synced with the CONTACTS module in CRM, the vendor's CONTACTS are not synced with CRM - which basically forces the users to re-enter all vendor's contacts twice and then update

    • Join ZohoPeers - A New Community Discord Server for Zoho Users!

      Hello Zoho Community, We would like to invite you to join ZohoPeers, a brand new Discord server created to complement the official Zoho community forum. Please note, this server is not meant to replace or detract from the official forum, which remains

    • Involved account types are not applicable when create journals

      { "journal_date": "2016-01-31", "reference_number": "20160131", "notes": "SimplePay Payroll", "line_items": [{ "account_id": "538624000000035003", "description": "Net Pay", "amount": 26690.09, "debit_or_credit": "credit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000403", "description": "Gross", "amount": 32000, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000427", "description": "CPP", "amount": 1295.64, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000376", "description":

    • KB Templates

      * It would be nice if Zoho can provide users an option to create custom templates for KB articles. Also, it would be nice as well if the users can have an option to 1.) select a default template and 2.) declare default tag/tags, for KB articles created through Ticket's resolution.

    • Zoho CRM Reports Module on Mobil App

      I have the mobile app and the reports module doesn't appear in the sidebar for some reason. I saw a Youtube video where the user had the Reports module on mobile. Is there a setting to show it on mobile? Thanks.

    • Contacts Don't Always Populate

      I've noticed that some contacts can easily be added to an email when I type their name. Other times, a contact doesn't appear even though I KNOW it is in my contact list. It is possible the ones I loaded from a spreadsheet are not an issue and the ones

    • Calendar View for Zoho Tickets

      Is there a way to view your tickets with due dates on a calendar view? I can not find a way to merge my Zoho Calendar and Tickets. This would be extremely helpful to my team.

    • Zoho Projects Android app update - List view enhancement

      Hello, everyone! In the latest android version(v3.9.15) of the Zoho Projects app update, we have enhanced the List view of tasks. We have also introduced a complete scroll of the tasks in the list view without scrolling the task fields(status, start date,

    • Print PO receipt

      Hi I would like to print the PO receipt. There does not seem to be any way to do this. I track batch numbers and printing the PO does not show this. Only the receipt would show the details of the receipt. Currently I print the screen which does not have

    • On the US Data Centre rather than the UK but dont know how to migrate it

      We have a new staff member with an external email address and cant add them to Zoho chat - we have been told its becuase we are in the UK but on a US Data centre - we therefore need to change it but no idea how to can anyone else as we are going round

    • Zoho Sheet Custom function column showing Error #EVAL!

      Hello I have a custom function in Zoho Sheet developed to convert a date time from one time zone to another. The custom function takes date and time columns and then using subHour( ) converts the time to PST time. However, though the custom function works,

    • How to add a Data Updated As Of: dynamically in text?

      I need to add a "Data Updated As Of" in the dashboard to show when was the last date the data was updated. I tried to create a widget but it does not look really good, see below. Is there a way I can do this through the text widget and update it automatically

    • Employees can not add some expenses suddenly

      Zoho expense was working fine and whenever there was a new merchant, it would automatically add and also the same auto added in Zoho Books (due to merchant-vendor sync) untill now. From today, it is having problems in searching the existing vendors and

    • Create Your Own Issue Management System

      Effective issue management is a cornerstone of project success. Every bug or issue, no matter how small, needs to be tracked and resolved in time to maintain project momentum. In this post, we’ll explore how an issue management system in Zoho Projects

    • Resource utlisation

      Dear Team, We use the excel for the weekly predicted people utilization how the resource are allocated , is there any way that i can use any of the zoho products.

    • Ask the experts - A live Q & A discussion on Zoho Recruit

      We are delighted to come back with another edition of Ask the Experts community series. This edition, we'll be focusing on everything about Zoho Recruit. The topics will focus on the features that are used/asked by the majority of users and also based

    • Bug - OTP (email) and No Duplicates

      Scenario: Form with an email field, Validation: "No Duplicates" (because I want to ensure 1 entry per email). Embedded form into website (JS option). Enabled email based OTP. 1st test (via my website) - entered my email address - sent OTP - entered pin,

    • Personal Facebook page posting instead of Business Page

      I have a Facebook page that is associated with my Personal Profile and I am the Admin of that Page. I would like to schedule and Post to my Personal Page not the Business Page. Each time I try to connect to the "Page" it takes me to the Business Page. Is there a way of connecting to my personal page?

    • Fixed asset management

      I want to know if there is any individual module for fixed assets management

    • Recording depreciation of fixed assets as a percentage of residual value

      In India, fixed assets are depreciated as a percentage of their residual value at the beginning of each fiscal year. I went through the documentation for creating recurring journal entries, but could only find ways to depreciate by a fixed rupee amount

    • Function #28: Automatically calculate Customer Loyalty points

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! Today, we're excited to share a workflow designed to streamline the management of loyalty points. Many businesses offer incentives or rewards in the form of loyalty points to their customers as a way to

    • Function #6: Calculate Commissions for paid invoices

      Zoho Books helps you automate the process of calculating and recording commissions paid to sales persons using custom functions. We've written a script that computes the commission amount based on the percentage of commission you enter and creates an

    • How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?

      How to Add Product SKU in Invoice?

    • Tracking movement between departments

      I've been developing a reporting system in Zoho and one of the groups I want to develop a report on primarily moves tickets from department to another. Is there a way to set up the reporting on Zoho (or Zoho Reports) that can tell me the number of tickets

    • Next Page