The Dispatch Console is the heart of Zoho FSM where the bulk of service appointment scheduling and dispatching takes place. Here, the dispatcher has at their disposal all the information required to assign the right technician to the service appointments based on availability, proximity, and skill. The Dispatch Console comprises of the following views:
- Gantt: It provides a timeline view of the service appointments. Each service appointment is represented by a horizontal bar that spans the duration of the service appointment, making it easy to see when jobs start and end. Thus, it provides you with a real-time view of the progress of service appointments.
- Map: Each work order or appointment is represented by a marker on the map, making it easy to visualize where service calls are located. Technicians' locations are tracked in real-time using GPS, allowing dispatchers to see where each technician is at any given moment. This allows for real-time tracking and efficient resource allocation.
- Calendar: Here, you can view all the appointments to which service resources have been assigned, Holidays in the organization, and the Time Off taken by the resources. You can view all the service appointments on a day irrespective of the service resources or territories. You can also see the details using the Month, Week, Day, and List views.
In addition to these, we are introducing a new view - Grid
In the Grid view of the Dispatch Console, you can view all the service appointments assigned to a service resource on each day. This enables you to assess technician availability, allowing for informed job assignments that maximize efficiency. This view also enables you to make deductions such as the resource utilization for a day, territory-based work density, etc.
Why a new view?
It has spawned from the need to have a different calendar view where the dispatcher can see the prominent details of the appointments at a glance. Although the Gantt view also provides a comprehensive view of the appointments, as the size of the service appointment bars is proportionate to the duration of the job, it is sometimes difficult to quickly grasp appointment details. The user will also have to scroll to view all the appointments. Thus, a new view was created by combining the desirable elements of both the Gantt and Calendar views.
Optimal Job Assignment
As the Grid view gives you a clear picture of the service appointments assigned to a service resource for a day, you can assign new jobs to them based on their workload. Click on a cell in the Grid that corresponds to the day for which you want to schedule the appointment. In the Create Appointment overlay, choose the work order for which you want to create the appointment, modify the necessary details, and click Schedule or Schedule and Dispatch to continue.
Apart from the availability-based assignment, the filters in this view also facilitate skill and territory-based assignments.
Skill-based Assignment
This ensures the right technician is assigned to the right job based on their specific skills, qualifications, and experience. This can reduce the time spent on service calls and minimize the need for follow-up visits. Customers are more likely to be satisfied when their service requests are handled by qualified professionals who can address their specific needs.
Territory-based Assignment
This ensures that technicians are dispatched to jobs within their designated areas, optimizing travel time, reducing costs, and improving service efficiency. With this, organizations can not only leverage technicians' familiarity with the area but also minimize travel distances, leading to faster response times and lower fuel costs.
Comprehensive View of Appointments
To quickly view an appointment's details, simply hover over the entry. For a more comprehensive look, hover over the entry and click on

. A bird's-eye view of the grid view also lets you assess the statuses of the service appointments as indicated by the
color of the header of each entry.
Filter And View Relevant Information
Apart from skill and territory, there are other filters to fetch the desired data:
- Using the Service Resources List, filter the appointments based on whether they are assigned to an agent or crew.
- If you want to see the entries based on Scheduled/Actual Date/Time, choose Schedule or Live from the Appointment Date/Time filter.
- Use the Time Range filter to choose a Day, a Week, or 4 days for which you want to see the service appointments.
- If a service appointment does not belong to the territory chosen in the Service Resources List, then the service appointment entry will have grey background with an orange tip on the top left corner.
Refer to our help documentation for more details. Feel free to contact at us support@zohofsm.com for any queries.
Recent Topics
How can I get base64 string from filecontent in widget
Hi, I have a react js widget which has the signature pad. Now, I am saving the signature in signature field in zoho creator form. If I open the edit report record in widget then I want to display the Signature back in signature field. I am using readFile
Add Setting Values to the Rules
Hi, It would be great to use the rules to set values in fields for submission, such as if a Type is X then set the Field Y to 10. Thanks Dan
So we ran with it for the week
In our company i bit the bullet and ran with FSM for a whole week. Service calls, deliveries and surveys. Covering about 30-120 miles a day to domestic properties. Loved the appointment list and satnav integration. Loved the timer to measure the appointments.
Is there a way to set Document Owner/Sender via the API
When sending requests for zoho sign, it would seem zoho uses the id of the person that created the zoho api cred to determine the owner_id, is there a way to set a default for this?
What's New - September 2025 | Zoho Backstage
September has been a different month for Zoho Backstage. Instead of rolling out a long list of new features, we focused on something just as important: Performance, reliability, and stability The event season is in full swing, and organizers are running
Prevent stripping of custom CSS when creating an email template?
Anyone have a workaround for this? Zoho really needs to hire new designers - templates are terrible. A custom template has been created, but every time we try to use it, it strips out all the CSS from the head. IE, we'll define the styles right in the <head> (simple example below) and everything gets stripped (initially, it saves fine, but when you browse away and come back to the template, all the custom css is removed). <style type="text/css"> .footerContent a{display:block !important;} </style>
Stock Quotes/Spreadsheet
It would be nice if we could download security and mutual fund prices from Yahoo Finance (or?) in order to maintain an up to date investment portfolio on Zoho. Any chance?
link to any Belgian bookkeeping software?
Hello, Does anyone on this Forum can help me with the question whether the ZOHO CRM (Invoices) or ZOHO Book can be linked to software that is used for Belgian Bookkeeping/accountancy? By linking, I mean either with the help of a middleware program or either by the ability to export the custom made reports as CSV-files... If someone has an experience with online CRM-Accountancy in Belgium, with ZOHO (or other), it would be great to read it... Thank you
marketing automation
wants to know about the zoho marketing automation
Problems with email templates (HTML - Outlook)
Hi there, I've been trying to create a newsletter from the template "Business 4". Everything looks great in the preview, but when I send it to my Outlook inbox, the layout doesn't seems to stick. More particularly: - The line-height is way more reduced, even though I used the line-height tool from the template - Columns but they are sometimes misaligned - Font size is not always the one I've selected. Could you help? Thanks!
How to create a drop down menu in Zoho Sheets
I am trying to find out, how do I create a drop down option in Zoho sheet. I tried Data--> Data Validation --> Criteria --> Text --> Contains. But that is not working, is there any other way to do it. Thanks in Advance.
Introducing Keyboard Shortcuts for Zoho CRM
Dear Customers, We're happy to introduce keyboard shortcuts for Zoho CRM features! Until now, you might have been navigating to modules manually using the mouse, and at times, it could be tedious, especially when you had to search for specific modules
Zoho CRM's custom views are now deployable from sandboxes
This feature is now available for users in the AU, JP, and CN DCs. This feature is now available for users in CA and SA DCs. New update: This feature is now available for users in all DCs. Hello everyone, We're excited to announce that you can now deploy
Zoho One - Syncing Merchants and Vendors Between Zoho Expense and Zoho Books
Hi, I'm exploring the features of Zoho One under the trial subscription and have encountered an issue with syncing Merchant information between Zoho Expense and Zoho Books. While utilizing Zoho Expense to capture receipts, I noticed that when I submit
Limit in number of records for subforms and multi-select lookup fields
It is my understanding that a maximum of 100 items can be selected in a multi-select lookup field, and that a total of 200 items can be selected in total between both subforms in a given module. Are there any ways to work around this limitation if we
Kaizen #136 - Zoho CRM Widgets using ReactJS
Hey there! Welcome back to yet another insightful post in our Kaizen series! In this post, let's explore how to use ReactJS for Zoho CRM widgets. We will utilize the sample widget from one of our previous posts - Geocoding Leads' Addresses in ZOHO CRM
Getting Permission denied to access this portal.
We have one user that can't login to projects even though access has been granted. This user can login to accounts.zoho.com but when login to https://projects.zoho.com/portals.do we get this error: Unauthorized login to this portal Permission denied to access this portal. Check your portal URL again. Sometimes we also get "server too busy". We have tried killing sessions (in accounts.zoho.com) and we have deleted cookies; and tried different computers and still the same problem. All others use can
Does Zoho Docs have a Line Number function ?
Hi, when collaborating with coding tasks, I need an online real time share document that shows line numbers. Does Zoho's docs offer this feature ? If yes, how can I show them ? Regards, Frank
Setting Default Views for Custom, List and Detail Views
Hey, Is it possible to set a default custom view, list view and detail view for a module for every user? We are onboarding a lot of non technical people that struggle with these things. Setting the views as default would really help. Btw: also setting
Custom function return type
Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding
Filter Based API request in Zoho Books using POSTMAN
How do I GET only specified CONTACTS based on created time or modified time in Zoho Books using POSTMAN. In the api documentation, it is written we can apply filters but I need a sample request.
URL validation
We use an internal intranet site which has a short DNS name which Zoho CRM will not accept. When attempting to update the field it says "Please enter a valid URL". The URL I am trying to set is http://intranet/pm/ Our intranet is not currently setup with a full DNS name and given the amount of links using the shortname probably isn't a feasible change for us.
Has anyone been experiencing slow issues?
Dear all, I just want to ask if anyone has been experiencing slow issues with Zoho Creator in the past two weeks? I worked with the ISP to improve network quality by changing routes and upgrading bandwidth, but nothing changed. I am in Vietnam.
Zoho Projects Roadshows 2025 - USA
Dear Users, After an amazing response to our roadshows in 2024, we are excited to be back for the second year in a row! Join our team of experts as they walk you through the most-used features in Zoho Projects, explore powerful automation capabilities,
Billing Management: #6 Usage Billing in SaaS
Imagine a customer shuffling across multiple subscriptions, a streaming service, a music app, cloud storage, and a design tool. Each one charges a flat monthly fee, regardless of how much or how little they use. Some months, the customer barely opens
Is there anyone who has been experiencing issues regarding the Zoho Creator Certification Website in the past 2 weeks?
Dear all , I just wanted to ask is there anyone who was planning on taking the Zoho Creator Developer Certification Test in the past 2 weeks and have been facing errors stating that the website is under maintennance and also not allowed to access the
Directly Edit, Filter, and Sort Subforms on the Details Page
Hello everyone, As you know, subforms allow you to associate multiple line items with a single record, greatly enhancing your data organization. For example, a sales order subform neatly lists all products, their quantities, amounts, and other relevant
Allow syncing Activities from other applications
Marketing Automation could be a much more powerful platform if you were able to sync activities into the platform (e.g. purchase, donation, etc) outside of a user doing something on your website. I'd love it if you could sync Custom CRM Modules as activities,
Create static subforms in Zoho CRM: streamline data entry with pre-defined values
Last modified on (9 July, 2025): This feature was available in early access and is currently being rolled out to customers in phases. Currently available for users in the the AU, CA, and SA DCs. It will be enabled for the remaining DCs in the next couple
Global Sets for Multi-Select pick lists
When is this feature coming to Zoho CRM? It would be very useful now we have got used to having it for the normal pick lists.
Integración Books para cumplir la ley Crea y Crece y Ley Antifraude (VeriFactu)
Hola: En principio, en julio de 2025, entra en vigor la ley Crea y Crece y Ley Antifraude (VeriFactu). ¿Sabéis si Zoho va a cumplir con la ley para cumplir con la facturación electrónica conectada a Hacienda? Gracias
Ask the Experts #1
Hello everyone! It’s time to transform how you manage projects. Define the processes. Automate the tasks. Streamline the workflows. Let us dive into automation in Zoho Projects — from configuring workflows and custom functions to building triggers, using
How to overcome Zoho Deluge's time limit?
I have built a function according to the following scheme: pages = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}; for each page in pages { entriesPerPage = zoho.crm.getRecords("Accounts",page,200); for each entry in entriesPerPage { … } } Unfortunately, we have too many entries
Checking if Creator has Change History
Like zForms - whenever an entry was updated there's an option to attached change history to email notif. Trigger -> Successful form submission
how to use validation rules in subform
Is it possible to use validation rules for subforms? I tried the following code: entityMap = crmAPIRequest.toMap().get("record"); sum = 0; direct_billing = entityMap.get("direct_billing_details"); response = Map(); for each i in direct_billing { if(i.get("type")
Adding contact role to a specific deal js sdk malfunctioning
i was trying to add the contact role to a specific deal contact but repeatedly i am getting this error: { "code": "SUCCESS", "details": { "statusMessage": { "code": "INVALID_DATA", "details": { "expected_data_type": "jsonobject" }, "message": "body",
Q3 Updates from Bigin!
Hey Biginners, Hope you’re doing great! As we approach the end of 2025, we truly hope Bigin has been a part of helping you build your dream business this year! We've been busy working behind the scenes to bring you features that make running your business
New Series Announcement - Ecommerce Marketing Tips
Running an online business is more than just having a website. It’s about getting the right customers to discover you, trust you, and keep coming back. To support your growth journey, we’re launching a weekly Marketing Tips series right here on Zoho Commerce
Client Script | Update - Introducing Subform Events and Actions
Are you making the most of your subforms in Zoho CRM? Do you wish you could automate subform interactions and enhance user experience effortlessly? What if you had Client APIs and events specifically designed for subforms? We are thrilled to introduce
{"errors":[{"id":"500","title":"Servlet execution threw an exception"}]}
Here's the call to move a file to trash. The resource_id is accurate and the file is present. header = Map(); header.put("Accept","application/vnd.api+json"); data = Map(); data_param1 = Map(); att_param1 = Map(); att_param1.put("status",51); data_param1.put("attributes",att_param1);
Next Page