What's New - June 2025 | Zoho Backstage

What's New - June 2025 | Zoho Backstage

Plans change. People cancel. Tickets get handed off. It happens, and we understand. As an organizer, you need tools that offer flexibility for attendees while protecting your event’s integrity. That’s why we’ve built features to help you manage these situations with clarity and control.

This month’s updates may not be the flashiest, but they have a clear purpose. They are designed to give you quiet confidence, helping you say "yes" when it matters and "not this time" when it doesn’t. With that balance, your events become more than just efficient. They become intentional and genuinely human.

Let's take a look at what's new and enhanced. 

Cancellation Approval 

Make cancellations work for you and your attendees.

Managing cancellations is now more flexible and organizer-friendly with the new cancellation approval workflow in Zoho Backstage. Instead of canceling tickets immediately, organizers can now receive formal requests from ticket holders, review them, and choose to approve or deny them. This extra layer of control helps you stick to your event policies, handle refunds more accurately, and keep communication clear, especially for complex or high-value requests.

To turn this on: 


  • Navigate to Registrations > Registration Settings from the Dock, and switch on the Cancellation Approval toggle. 
  • Once active, any attempt by an attendee to cancel a main ticket, companion ticket, or session will create a request instead of an instant cancellation. The request will show up as Pending in the attendee’s event portal, so they can see what’s happening at any time.
On your side, these requests appear under a new Cancellation Approval tab in the Registrations module. You can check each request in detail. If it includes multiple items, such as a ticket and sessions, you can approve or deny each item separately. For example, you might approve a ticket cancellation but keep the session registrations active.



When you approve a request:
  • You’ll see the attendee’s reason, the items involved, the cancellation fee (which you can still edit), the refund amount, and an optional comment box. 
  • Once you confirm, the request status changes to Approved on the attendee’s side.
When you deny a request:
  • You’ll see the same details and can add a reason for the denial. 
  • The status will then update to Denied for the attendee. 
  • If only some items are approved, the status will show Partially Approved, and any denied items will be removed from further processing.
To help you stay on top of things, the Cancellation Approval tab has filters to see all requests or only those that are pending, approved, denied, or partially approved. This makes sorting and managing large volumes of requests easy.
Notes
  • If the primary ticket is selected for cancellation, any linked sessions or companion tickets will be automatically included. 
  • Also, once a request has been denied, it can't be submitted again.
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans

Restriction of ticket transfers

Stronger control over how tickets change hands.

A new enhancement has been introduced to give event organizers greater control over how ticket transfers are handled. You can now decide whether to allow or restrict transfers, depending on your event’s needs. This helps prevent unauthorized resale, reduce misuse, and maintain operational clarity, which is especially important for tightly managed or high-value events.

In the past, many organizers offered attendees the flexibility to transfer tickets to others after registration, which worked well for most events. However, as some events grew more complex, organizers began to see new challenges where tighter control became necessary. For example, some reported cases where tickets purchased at the standard price were resold at higher rates, creating potential policy conflicts. In other cases, especially when attendee badges are preprinted, last-minute transfers can lead to mismatches and confusion at the venue.

To address these concerns, organizers can now enable or disable ticket transfers at any point, based on their event’s operational requirements. 



To turn off ticket transfers: 
  • Navigate to Registrations > Registration Settings from the Dock, and switch of the Allow Ticket Transfers toggle. 
  • Here, the ticket transfer policy can be defined for all ticket classes or tailored to specific ticket classes. This ensures that organizers can enforce different transfer rules for different tiers or categories of tickets.
By default, when the Allow Ticket Transfers option is enabled, transfers are permitted. However, organizers also have the option to define a time window during which transfers are allowed. They can choose to allow transfers until the event start date, the event end date, or set a custom date and time. Once this defined period has passed, ticket transfers will be automatically restricted for attendees.
Notes
While attendees are subject to these restrictions, event organizers themselves will retain the ability to transfer tickets on behalf of attendees at any time, regardless of the transfer settings in place.
This is designed to help organizers prevent unauthorized resale, maintain data consistency, and ensure smooth operations on event day.  

Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans

Simplified refunds with automatic cancellation fee application

Spend less time on fee calculations and more time running your event smoothly.

Managing cancellations is now faster and more consistent with our new automatic cancellation fee application. When you use the Cancel and Refund option, the cancellation fee you defined during ticket setup is automatically applied to the refund amount. This removes the need for manual adjustments and helps you maintain fairness and consistency across all refunds.

Full control when you need it:
  • You still have the flexibility to adjust the cancellation fee percentage before finalizing the refund. This means you can easily handle special cases, such as emergencies or loyal attendees, while protecting your revenue and saving valuable time.
If you issue a refund without canceling the ticket, such as for a goodwill gesture or a partial adjustment, no cancellation fee will be applied. In these cases, the ticket remains valid, and you can manually adjust the refund amount to suit the situation.
Notes
Automatic cancellation fees are only applied if you’ve set a cancellation fee for the ticket class during ticket setup.
This update makes your refund process quicker, clearer, and more reliable, allowing you to focus on delivering great event experiences instead of double-checking fee calculations.

Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans

Alt Text support for all website images

Make your event website more accessible and search-friendly.

Alt Text support has officially arrived in Zoho Backstage, helping you build more inclusive and discoverable event websites. Whether you are aiming for WCAG compliance or looking to improve your site's SEO performance, this feature ensures your visuals are both beautiful and meaningful.

Every time you upload an image in the website builder, you will now see an Alt Text field in the right-side panel. It comes with a default value of “image,” but you can and should replace this with a custom, descriptive phrase that accurately represents the image. This allows screen readers to convey the content to visually impaired users and gives search engines better context to index your site.



For bulk management:
  • Navigate to Settings > Customize Text > Alt Text (available on all paid plans). You’ll see a preview of each image, making it easy to update values at scale. Multilingual sites are fully supported—you can switch languages and refer to the source-language Alt Text while entering translations.
For a spreadsheet-based workflow:
  • The Event Website - Alt Text sheet is now part of the language export file. Update it in bulk and import it back into Backstage to instantly reflect the changes across your website.
Whether you're optimizing for discoverability or inclusivity, this update ensures your event content is both meaningful and compliant.

Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Prem​ium, and Ultimate plans

Register companion tickets anytime (Early access)

Give attendees more flexibility for their guests.

Attendees can now register companion tickets anytime after they purchase their main ticket, as long as their ticket includes the companion benefit. They simply log in to your event website and add companion tickets from either Your Orders or Your Tickets.

From Your Orders:
  • Navigate to Your Orders > Event Tickets > Register Companions. This takes them to the ticket selection page to complete the registration.
From Your Tickets:
  • Navigate to Your Tickets > Register Companions. This also directs them to select and confirm companion tickets.
Each companion ticket will appear as a separate order on the website, linked to the main ticket ID. On your end, the companion registration is also tracked as its own order, keeping everything clear and organized.

We’re just getting started.

The updates you see today are only part of our bigger vision to make Zoho Backstage more flexible, reliable, and rewarding for every organizer. In the second half of 2025, we’ll roll out more practical enhancements and thoughtful tools to help you handle change smoothly, deliver better experiences, and run every event with more confidence.

Thank you for being with us on this journey. Stay tuned, because there is more to come.

Note: All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.

If you have any questions or would like to try out our early access features, feel free to contact us at support@zohobackstage.com.

    • Recent Topics

    • Important update: Enhanced security measures for account operations in Zoho Cliq

      Greetings from the Zoho Cliq team! We’d like to share an important security update that has an influence on some admin actions such as password reset, MFA reset, and MFA backup code generation. What’s changing? With our latest security enhancements, these

    • Boosting efficiency through faster ticket rendering

      This enhancement will provide faster access for support teams and end-users, significantly boosting productivity for everyone. Get ready for a more efficient and satisfying experience! Immediate benefits Faster ticket rendering reduces wait times and

    • Read webpage - MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP

      I have the following VBA script, put together from various sources (mainly zoho forum/help/support, so it once worked, I guess): private Sub GetListOfSheets() Dim url As String Dim xmlhttp As Object Dim parameters As String Dim html As String range("B1").value

    • Sales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens

      find attached extract of my report

    • Can I execute two 'functions' when completing a mail merge from CRM?

      Hi, I have set up a mail merge from CRM Deals to a template. I want a copy of this to be saved in Workdrive, and then a copy also saved back into the deal record from which the merge occurred. I can do both independent of each other, and managed to get

    • No Functional Autosave or Manual Save Button

      Application : Zoho Notebook So I wanted to try Zoho Notebook(On Ubuntu) as an application, I installed the application and went solving my LeetCode problems visually(Drawing mode), at one point the app just stopped saving anything... Every time I tried

    • Enterprise subscription support

      My organization sells subscription services to enterprise customers, which is a different model from the consumer subscription model that Zoho Billing has been designed to support and I beleve this capability should be added. An enterprise subscription

    • Issue with Creator's IF logic

      Hi, I found the following code produces unexpected results: if(-1.0 < 0.0000000) {       info "True"; } else {       info "False"; } if(-1.0 < 0.000000) {       info "True"; } else {       info "False"; } The output returned is: False True However, the

    • Need option to send Package PDF in shipment email (Shipment PDF is missing Lot info)

      Is there any way to automatically attach the Package PDF instead of (or alongside) the Shipment PDF in the notification emails? We really need this feature because the default Shipment PDF creates a blind spot for our customers. It does not display Batch/Lot

    • zoho creator view is not present in the workspace and blank reports

      Hi Support,  Users who have "write" permissions keep getting this error for all of our embedded reports all of a sudden. See screen shot below: Meanwhile, my developer permissions account sees a blank screen in view and edit mode as shown in the screenshots

    • Customize portal email template

      Can i fetch only first name of the user in portal email template instead of the below code Hi ${User.FULL_NAME}

    • Can't we let users decide which options they'd like to add at embed widget?

      It seems embed widget DOES NOT offer a feature, where users can choose options upon subscribing plans. What Zoho has instead, is that admins have to manually create plan with options. How come no one in Zoho dev team never raised issue about usability

    • Reupload and rename from one field to another field (file upload)

      Hi Everyone, Sorry, i have question to use invoke url for rename and reupload attachments file to another field. Tested on development mode. Zoho C6. Refer to https://www.zoho.com/creator/help/api/v2/upload-file.html look my error notification. Does anyone

    • Printing Multi-Page Reports (PDF Export)

      Hi, I am moving a report from Google's Looker Studio to Zoho Analytics and trying to reproduce the Looker page by page dashboard editing experience. With Google, what you see is what you get when you print to PDF. But I can't seem to create the same experience

    • Resume Harvester: New Enhancements for Faster Sourcing

      We’re excited to share a set of enhancements to Resume Harvester that make sourcing faster and more flexible. These updates help you cut down on repetitive steps, manage auto searches more efficiently, and review candidate profiles with ease. Why we built

    • I NEED TO NUMBER TO TEXT NO HERE

      =NUMBERTEXT NEEED

    • Error: View is not present in the workspace

      When saving a dashboard, user receives a popup with the following error. "View is not present in the workspace" What does this mean or refer to? There is no further insight given.

    • Dear Zoho CEO: Business Growth is about how you prioritise!

      All of us in business know that when you get your priorities right, your business grows. Zoho CRM and Zoho Books are excellent products, but sadly, Zoho Inventory continues to lag behind. Just this morning, I received yet another one-sided email about

    • Is there any way to send an Excel received by email to Dataprep?

      Every day I receive an email alert with an Excel file that I want to process through a Dataprep pipeline. To do this, I need to: -Save the file to disk -Open the pipeline -Run the pipeline -Update the source -Several clicks to select and open the saved

    • Bin Locations

      Dear all, I am wondering if someone has the ability to develop the bin locations option for zoho inventory (integrated with zoho books) Regards, Ryan

    • Create and populate a record in an instant: Introducing zero-shot field prompting to Zia's ICR

      A couple of months ago, we upgraded our in-house AI image detection and validation tool, Zia Vision, with intelligent character recognition (ICR). By training Zia with sample images, you could create and enrich CRM records with data extracted from standard

    • How to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People

      How to Prevent Users From Skipping LMS Videos in Zoho People Hello Zoho Developers, In this blog, we will quickly look at how you can stop users from skipping or fast-forwarding videos in Zoho People LMS. Zoho People provides a feature called Disable

    • Sent mail sort by date disappeared

      Hello, We used to be able to sort the emails by date in the sent folder, but this feature has recently disappeared. Can we bring it back?

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • [Integration Edition] Deluge Learning Series – Custom API with Deluge | November 2025

      We’re excited to conclude this four-month Integration Edition of the Deluge Learning Series: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using Built-In Integration Tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge Using invokeURL and invokeAPI Session

    • Automate Backups

      This is a feature request. Consider adding an auto backup feature. Where when you turn it on, it will auto backup on the 15-day schedule. For additional consideration, allow for the export of module data via API calls. Thank you for your consideration.

    • Tips for Organizing Workflows and Improving Team Coordination in Zoho

      Hi everyone, I’m looking for some general advice on how different teams are organizing their daily work within Zoho’s apps. Our team recently expanded, and we’re trying to streamline how tasks, discussions, and documents are shared so everything stays

    • Batch/lot # and Storage bin location

      Hi I want to ask for a feature on Zoho inventory I own a warehouse and I've gone through different management software solutions with no luck until I found Zoho, it has been a game changer for my business with up to the minute information, I'm extremely happy with it. It's almost perfect. And I say Almost because the only thing missing for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone) is the need of being able to identify the lot number of my inventory and where it is located in the warehouse. Due to the nature

    • Prevent user from viewing all records?

      I have a report that is meant to be used by vendors to view only the records that are assigned to them. All the vendor information is stored in a separate application, so I need to call a function to get the current user's ID (not the zoho user ID). The report settings criteria doesn't support using function calls, so instead I'm embedding the report in an html page like this: if (thisapp.Global.CurrentUserIs("Vendor")) {       personID = common.getLoggedInPersonID();       query = "Assigned_Vendor.ID="

    • Series Label in the Legend

      My legend reads 'Series 1' and 'Series 2'. From everything I read online, Zoho is supposed to change the data names if it's formatted correctly. I have the proper labels on the top of the columns and the right range selected. I assume it's something in

    • Zoho Site pages not displaying in iframes

      I simply want to show a Zoho Site page inside an iframe on another non Zoho website. When testing this across many browsers, the iframe content simply does not appear. IE reports that the host does not allow their content to be displayed in iframes. Very disappointing. Is there a way around this please? Here is the URL of the page I would like to appear in an iframe. http://ips-properties-to-rent.zohosites.com

    • Zoho Inventory as connector in Zoho Creator

      Hello, It doesn't appear that Zoho Inventory is one of the many built in connectors in Zoho Creator? I see that there are non-Zoho inventory applications that have built in connectors such as Cin7, which leads me to believe that I'm missing something

    • Send Zoho Forms Link using Zoho CRM Email Templates

      I have set up Zoho Forms and CRM integration to pre-populate data from Zoho CRM to Zoho Forms. The setup is working fine. I have also created an email template in the Zoho CRM deals module to send Zoho forms links. So when I send an email using that template

    • My go to On Load Client Script - Fast, efficient, and works for ALL profiles; Hides everything except initial fields

      This is my on Load client script that I use for Create pages. I use a modified version for Edit and Display pages which you can create yourself using the same basic structure that I will give you below. First up, the script. Below that will be an explanation

    • 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

    • Zoho Books Finance Modules Not Accessible in Zoho CRM Mobile App

      We have integrated Zoho CRM with Zoho Books using the Zoho Finance Suite integration. In the CRM web version, we can see the Finance modules (Estimates/Quotes, Invoices, Sales Orders, Items, Payments) and are able to create invoices and quotes directly

    • Custom Search using HTM+CSS Snippet

      Suppose I wanted to create my own list view using HTML and CSS snippets inside a Page with a custom search input at the top of the list (not the Search snippet). Without Javascript, is there a way to retrieve a user's entry from that search input and

    • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

      Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

    • Mass Update of Lookup Fields not possible

      Hello List I've created a custom field for Leads and Contacts 'Current Campaign'. This is very Handy as I can filter leads and then related them to a campaign. Everything ready, but then I realized that mass update doesn't work for lookup fields... a

    • Zoho CRM Kiosk Upload Files

      Hello all, We are trying out Kiosks at the moment to see where it can fit best in our business. We are still a bit off in the application but lets say we will sort this out. My question is the following - when I create a Kiosk I can add "File Upload"

    • Next Page