Hello everyone,
We spent the past month rolling out exciting new features to make event management easier. In addition, we’ve improved Backstage's performance and fixed bugs to ensure a smoother event management experience.
So, in case you missed them, here are the latest updates from Zoho Backstage.
1. API guide
We are excited to announce the release of the API guide for Zoho Backstage! Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting out, our comprehensive guide will help you seamlessly integrate with Backstage and unlock its full potential.
The Zoho Backstage API is built using REST principles, ensuring predictable URLs and easy application development. Following HTTP rules, our API supports a wide range of HTTP clients, allowing for flexible interaction.
Check it out here: Zoho Backstage API Guide
2. India tax
Zoho Backstage now complies with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulations in India. Collecting taxes on event tickets is now available for customers in the Essential plan and above.
Tax application varies by event type:
In-person/hybrid events: Tax is applied based on the place of supply.

Online events: Tax is applied if the attendee is in India. For attendees outside India, no tax is applied (considered an export of services).

To configure:
Set the organization’s location and configure the tax rates in your portal settings.
Manage the Tax Type and Place of Supply for an event from the Registrations tab.
While publishing the event, the tax preview will be shown based on event and attendee locations.
If the event location is outside India, GST will not be applicable.
Businesses with turnover above the threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh or Rs.10 lakh as the case may be must register for GST and collect tax on event tickets. Zoho Backstage is not responsible or liable for collecting taxes. We recommend that you contact your local authority for advice on tax procedures or information regarding tax regulations. Tax invoice is in early access. Contact support for access.
3. Apple Pay and Bancontact Stripe payment modes
We’ve added two new payment methods for Stripe: Apple Pay and Bancontact. With Apple Pay, participants can make quick, secure payments directly from their Apple devices using Safari. No extra fees, and payments are processed instantly! Simply enable Apple Pay in the Payments section of your event, spaceor portal.
Bancontact is now available for attendees in Belgium who wish to make payments in Euros. This popular payment method will automatically display on the payment page when:
The organization's location in Zoho Backstage is set to Belgium.
The currency is set to Euros.
The attendee's location (country) is Belgium.
4. Companion tickets (Early access)
We’re excited to introduce a new feature that expands flexibility for your registrants, Companion Tickets. This feature, currently available in early access, allows attendees to register additional guests, such as friends, family, or colleagues.
Event organizers can enable the Companion Tickets feature, which allows attendees to bring guests by purchasing secondary tickets linked to their primary ticket. Companion tickets can be selected only when the associated primary ticket is chosen during registration.
Companion tickets can be paid or free, and offer the following key features:

Registration approval: In some cases, event organizers may have to screen all the registrations before confirming their participation. When the Companion Tickets feature is configured along with the Registration Approval option, the primary and companion tickets are sent for review as part of the same order. Organizers can then approve or reject the entire order and have greater control over who can participate in the event.

The example in the screenshot includes one VIP primary ticket and two Family companion tickets.
Other upgrades
Registration Approval: The Registration Approval tab now displays all pending, approved, rejected, and completed orders. You can also export orders based on specific filters.
Forms: All forms (Registration, Exhibitor, Sponsor, Session Feedback, Get in touch, and Custom Forms) now support importing data for dropdown, single-choice, and multiple-choice fields.
Gamification: Organizers can now configure new challenges for Session Check-in and Event Sign-in from both the web and mobile app, boosting engagement throughout the event.
Font support for badges: You can now use Noto Sans JP and Jost fonts in badge designs for more customization.
Badge customization: You can now move and edit multiple badge elements simultaneously, such as text fields, logos, and QR codes.
Currency options: AED and SAR currencies are now available in the Exhibitor and Sponsor modules.
Order approval emails: The "requesterName" merge tag has been added to Approve Orders emails, allowing for more personalized communication.
We hope these updates make Zoho Backstage even more powerful and user-friendly for you. For early access to new features or any product-related questions, contact us at support@zohobackstage.com.
Thank you for choosing Zoho Backstage!
Recent Topics
Introducing Assemblies and Kits in Zoho Inventory
Hello customers, We’re excited to share a major revamp to Zoho Inventory that brings both clarity and flexibility to your inventory management experience! Presenting Assemblies and Kits We’re thrilled to introduce Assemblies and Kits, which replaces the
Does the ability exist to make tax on the customer profile mandatory?
I am reaching out to inquire about the possibility of making the "Customer Tax" field mandatory when creating a new customer in Zoho. We want to ensure that all customers have their tax information recorded to maintain compliance with our internal processes.
email association with CRM
Why is it 2024 (almost 2025) and Zoho has not figured out how to integrate email with CRM? It is so inconsistent at associating emails within CRM. I am an attorney. I have clients and work with other attorneys. Attorney John Doe is associated with multiple
Fix the speed
It takes ages to load on every step even though my dataset is quite small.
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
FSM - Timesheet entires for Internal Work
Hi FSM Team, Several of my clients have asked how they can manage internal timesheets within Zoho FSM. Since their technicians already spend most of their day working in FSM, it would be ideal if they could log all working hours directly in the FSM app.
Add a way of clearing fields values in Flow actions
It would be great if there was an option to set a field as Null when creating flows. I had an instance today where I just wanted to clear a long integer field in the CRM based on an action in Projects but I had to write a custom function. It would be
Role Management
I am creating an analytics dashboard for a company that will be utilized by its various departments such as Finance, Marketing, and HR. My goal is to design the dashboard with separate tabs for each department. Additionally, I plan to implement role-based
Highlight a candidate who is "off limits"
Hello: Is there a way to highlight a candidate who is "off limits"? I would like to have the ability to make certain candidate and / or Client records highlighted in RED or something like that. This would be used for example when we may have placed a candidate somewhere and we want everyone in our company to quickly and easily see that they are off limits. The same would apply when we want to put a client or former client off limits so no one recruits out of there. How can this be done? Cheers,
Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.37.5.0)
Hello Community! Trident for Windows just received a major update, with a range of capabilities that strengthen email security and enhance communication. This update focuses on making your mailbox safer and your overall email experience more reliable.
Early Payment Discount customize Text
Hi, I’m currently using Zoho Books and am trying to customize the standard “Early Payment Discount” message that appears in the PDF invoice template. I’ve reviewed the documentation here: https://www.zoho.com/books/help/invoice/early-payment-discount.html
Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode
Overview of SMS-based OTP MFA mode The SMS-based OTP MFA method involves the delivery of a one-time password to a user's mobile phone via SMS. The user receives the OTP on their mobile phone and enters it to sign into their account. SMS-based OTPs offer
Zoho Sheet - Desktop App or Offline
Since Zoho Docs is now available as a desktop app and offline, when is a realistic ETA for Sheet to have the same functionality?I am surprised this was not laucned at the same time as Docs.
DKIM Now Mandatory - Changes to Zoho Forms Email Policies
Hello Zoho Forms Users, This post is to inform you about an important update regarding the authentication of all email domains in your Zoho Forms account. This year, we are doubling down on our commitment to deliver a secure, seamless, and empowering
Call description in notes
When completing a call, we type in the result of the call in the description. However, that does not show up under the notes history on the contact. We want to be able to see all the calls that have taken place for a contact wihtout having to go into
Email Address for Contact not Populating
When I click "Send Mail" from a Contact's page, their email address does not auto populate the "To" field. How do I make this happen?
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
Why hybrid project management might be the best fit for you?
Project management techniques are designed to equip teams with proven methods for easy and efficient project execution. While management teams may have apprehensions about adopting the hybrid method of project management, we’ve compiled the top reasons
Allow all Company Users to view all projects, but only owner/admins can change projects
I was wondering if there was a permission setting I could adjust to allow all our company users to see all projects created. Then, only the project owners and admins with the change permission. Thanks
Fail to send Email by deluge
Hi, today I gonna update some email include details in deluge, while this msg pops up and restrict me to save but my rules has run for one year. can you tell me how to use one of our admin account or super admin account to send the email? I tried to update
Seeking help to be able to search on all custom functions that are defined
Hello I have a lot of custom functions defined (around 200) and i would like to search some specific strings in the content of those. Is there a way to accomplish that? If not, is there a way to download all existing custom functions in some files locally
Totals for Sales Tax Report
On the sales tax report, the column totals aren't shown for any column other than Total Tax. I can't think of a good reason that they shouldn't be included for the other columns, as well. It would help me with my returns, for sure. It seems ludicrous
Add Bulk Section / Grid Layout Duplicate Feature in Zoho Forms Builder
Currently in Zoho Forms, users can only duplicate individual fields. There is no option to duplicate an entire section or two-column/grid layout with all internal fields. This becomes inefficient when building structured forms such as Family Details,
Leistungsdatum in Rechnungen (Zoho Books)
Hallo, ist es irgendwie möglich den Leistungszeitraum in der Rechnung aufzuführen? Beste Grüße Aleks
Zoho Trident Windows - Streams Not Visible
Namaste We’re having an issue with Streams not being visible in Trident (Windows), which is important for us as we share many emails internally. It appears that the feature to show Streams above the Inbox folder, as seen in the default mailbox view, is
Sales IQ Chat Widget is Only Displaying Last Name
Can anyone suggest why the widget is only displaying "last name"?! We have the latest version of the wordpress plugin installed. Thanks Thanks!
Shopify - Item sync from Zoho Inventory
Hi team, We’ve connected Shopify with Zoho Inventory. We want that when an item is created in Zoho Inventory, it must create a product in Shopify. But currently, new items created in Zoho Inventory are not getting created in Shopify even after clicking
Bulk upload image option in Zoho Commerce
I dont know if I am not looking into it properly but is there no option to bulk upload images along with the products? Like after you upload the products, I will have to upload images one by one again? Can someone help me out here? And what should I enter
Is it possible to setup bin locations WITHOUT mandating batch tracking?
Hi fellow zoho users, I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar issue to me? I only have some products batch tracked (items with shelf life expiry dates) but I am trying to setup bin locations for my entire inventory so we can do stock counting easier.
Kill zoho meeting
Saying the quiet part out loud. Can zoho please just give up on the idea that they can make a meeting platform and just make our workplace licenses cheaper when you remove it so people can switch to zoom or teams. Tired of the excuses, you guys cant make
Utilisation de Zoho en conformité avec l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI)
Cher(e) client(e), Conformément à l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI) impose aux entreprises assujetties à la TVA d’utiliser des systèmes de caisse ou de gestion commerciale certifiés lorsqu’elles enregistrent des ventes à des particuliers.
Unable to Create Task as a Support Administrator
Hello! I want to ask for help regarding creating tasks within the tickets. I am by default the Support Admin. I should be able to create tasks or activities right? But there's a prompt that I need to contact the Administrator. See photos for reference.
Introducing Forms in Zoho Sheet
We hereby bring you the power of forms in Zoho Sheet. Now, build and create your own customized forms using Zoho Sheet. Be it compiling a questionnaire or rolling out a survey, Zoho Sheet can do it all for you. Forms is an excellent feature that helps you collect information in the simplest of ways and having it in Zoho Sheet takes it a notch higher. Build Simple yet Powerful forms Building forms using Zoho Sheet is fairly simple. The exclusive 'Form' tab lets you create one quickly. Whether you
Layout one survey question in a time & redirect next Page based on previous response
I have doubt while, I am scripting survey on the Zoho where I redirecting to next page based on my previous response but didn’t get success on this. Please help me on this and tell me how I layout one survey questions in a time when I submit response
Zoho Bookings form pre-filled with Zoho Forms in
Hi, I've got a contact page on my website and I'd like to have the option to book an appointment (redirected to zoho bookings page) after an option is submitted on the contact form. how would I go about doing this? thanks
Support “Other” Option with Free Text in Dropdown Fields
Hello Zoho Bookings Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the registration form fields in Zoho Bookings, specifically for dropdown fields. Current Limitation: At the moment, dropdown fields do not support an “Other” option that allows
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
Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]
Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child
Please verify my account
Hi, We have just launched our website and received media coverage in our country. Hundreds of users are signing up for our platform every day. We would like to send them a welcome email, but we are unable to do so because our ZeptoMail account has not
Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?
Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned
Next Page