Introducing the locking option for CRM records

Introducing the locking option for CRM records

Last modified on 06/04/2023: Record locking option in CRM is now available for all Zoho CRM users in all DCs. Note that it was an early access feature available only upon request. 

Hello All,

Hope you're doing well!

We're thrilled to introduce our latest enhancement to CRM—record locking. 

Certain business scenarios demand that records in your organization's modules be safe from editing or deletion once they reach a certain stage in your sales process or satisfy specific conditions.

For example, if a deal has reached the final stage—"closed won" or "closed lost"—then perhaps it shouldn't be further edited or deleted.

Alternatively, let's say a record is in its proposal or review stage. During such a stage, the details of the record need to be verified, and even though a sales rep may be the record's owner, you can't allow them to update the record while the review is ongoing.

There might also be situations where the record doesn't match certain criteria, but the user dealing with the record might want to lock the record to avoid changes. For example, when a sales rep is in touch with a prospect, they may want to temporarily lock the record while prospecting is in progress to prevent other reps from adding incorrect information to the record.

Zoho CRM's record-locking feature enables you to lock records manually or automatically when certain conditions are met.

NOTE (added on 02/03/23): The locking configuration must be set up separately for each module. You can navigate to the specific module in Modules and Fields under Customization in your setup page, and you will find the Record Locking Configuration tab.

Record locking configurations
Now that we've established why locking records can be useful or necessary, let's take a quick look at the different configuration options available:

  • Users can lock records manually from the record details page if they have lock permissions.


  • You can set up automatic locking by setting some default criteria. Create conditions, name them, and decide whether to apply the conditions and lock existing records, or to restrict the conditions only for newly created records.

  • There might be scenarios where, say, you want members of the accounts team to be able to edit quotes, but not other profiles. You can simply lock the records for all profiles except those belonging to members of the accounts team, any other set of exceptions using the multi-select menu. Additionally, you can also choose to lock records for all profiles.

  • You can lock the records that are accessible to your portal users.
  • For locked records, the edit action is disabled by default, but you can restrict other types of native actions, as well as custom buttons.

  • Even when a record is locked, you can configure certain fields which don't affect your business process to remain editable. For example, you might want the Description or comment fields to remain editable. You can leave a maximum of 15 fields unlocked. 

What happens when a record is locked?

Once a record is locked, you will see the lock icon on the record image and in the UI of the record detail page itself. Only fields you've enabled will be available to edit.



The details of the locking, such as the reason (i.e., the locking condition), locking date, and the fields available for edit will be shown on the details button available on the record detail page.

In the record's timeline, you can also see timestamped details like when the record was locked and the condition that was followed.

On the record list view, locked records are indicated by a lock icon.

Additionally, you can filter records in the list view based on the pre-defined filter option, as well as based on the system-defined custom view.

Who can unlock records and how is it done?

If a user locks a record manually, they can unlock it themselves. Admins can unlock records, too. On the other hand, automatically locked records will be unlocked only when they're no longer subject to the lock conditions or criteria.

However, deleting a rule or locking configuration will automatically unlock all records the rule or condition had previously locked.

Additional notes
  • Set up to five rules per module. Each rule will have a name that is displayed on the record detail page when a record is locked.
  • System actions like automation and integration syncs will still be performed on locked records, even when a user who is excluded from locking triggers those processes.
  • Locked records are still displayed in list views. However, bulk actions done from list views are not allowed if the respective action is restricted under the record locking configuration.
  • Record locking configuration is available for enterprise and ultimate editions of Zoho CRM. If an user downgrades from enterprise edition, locking configurations will be ineffective and all records will be unlocked.
Locked status can not be regained upon upgrading back.

That's all for this exciting new enhancement. Read more about the record locking configurations and its usage in our help doc.

Thanks and have a good one!


Note: 
  • Manual locking/unlocking of records is not available for the mobile app as yet. 
  • Auto-locking of records will get reflected on the mobile app, and locked records cannot be updated from mobile app also.
  • The locking configuration must be set up separately for each module.


    Zoho Desk Resources

    • Desk Community Learning Series


    • Digest


    • Functions


    • Meetups


    • Kbase


    • Resources


    • Glossary


    • Desk Marketplace


    • MVP Corner


    • Word of the Day


      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

        Zoho Books Resources


          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

            Zoho Projects Resources


              Zoho Sprints Resources


                Zoho Orchestly Resources


                  Zoho Creator Resources


                    Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                      Zoho Campaigns Resources

                        Zoho CRM Resources

                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                          CRM Community Learning Series


                        • Tips

                          Tips

                        • Functions

                          Functions

                        • Meetups

                          Meetups

                        • Kbase

                          Kbase

                        • Resources

                          Resources

                        • Digest

                          Digest

                        • CRM Marketplace

                          CRM Marketplace

                        • MVP Corner

                          MVP Corner




                          Zoho Writer Writer

                          Get Started. Write Away!

                          Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                            Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                              ご検討中の方

                                • Recent Topics

                                • Host not reachable

                                  Good morning. I have four mail accounts and they have been working well for years. Now, suddenly, I am unable to send any e-mails from any of them. I allways have this pop-up: Thank you. Regards. Luis Fernández
                                • BIN Locations

                                  Hi, I’m new to Zoho inventory and unless Im missing something, I cannot find BIN locations anywhere in ‘items’? please tell me it’s there somewhere?!? Thanks
                                • Zoho Marketing Campaign

                                  I want a details report of marketing API . which API i can use to get a full flexed detail of email campaign , sms , social media ,and all other campaigns ?
                                • Zoho Marketing Automation APIs

                                  When I want to create New lead in marketing automation , I want to add First Name and Last Name as well along with Email but there is no option like this in API . Can you please give me the API which will fulfill my condition ?
                                • Adding Folders in Android App

                                  Is it possible to create a new email folder within the Zoho Mail Android app?  Or can this only be done from the desktop version of Zoho Mail? Cheers!
                                • Collaborative editing of spreadsheets by multiple users simultaneously - Is it really possible?

                                  I work in a SharePoint 2010/SharePoint Server 2010 environment and we use MS Office 2007(Excel 2007) . I have been trying to create a MS Office document which will allow multiple users to work on a spreadsheet simultaneously. For that I have: 1) Created a excel workbook and published as a workspace as suggested by Andrea Kalli in her link: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-collaborate-files-between-sharepoint-and-office-2007-182172/ 2) Set up and saved the Excel Workbook as "Shared" and made it available
                                • Ability for customer to give feedback after receipt of an order

                                  Is there any way we can receive feedback from customers regarding their order after delivery (other than just an email, obviuosly)? This is not the same as product reviews, as it may concern other points, but would ideally have an inbuilt reference to
                                • All notes disappeared

                                  I've been using the notebook app for over five years on my phone without being logged into an account. A few days ago I opened the app and all my notes had disappeared. Since then I tried restarting my phone, updating the app and logging into my account,
                                • Conversion of functions from Google Spreadsheets

                                  Hello! I use this formula "=QUERY(ResumoOrdemVencimento!A3:O38;"SELECT A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O WHERE C != '' ORDER BY C,G")" in Google Sheets but when importing my spreadsheet into Zoho Sheets the formula was not converted. The QUERY function brings data from another spreadsheet, and then I sort and apply conditional formatting. The order of data will change automatically as I update the source spreadsheet. What Zoho Sheets function is equivalent to QUERY? I have some other spreadsheets to
                                • Zoho Books Sandbox environment

                                  Hello. Is there a free sandbox environment for the developers using Zoho Books API? I am working on the Zoho Books add-on and currently not ready to buy a premium service - maybe later when my add-on will start to bring money. Right now I just need a
                                • Zoho Books | Product Updates | November 2024

                                  Hello users, We are back with exciting new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From multi-criteria workflows to writing off customer opening balances, discover the new updates designed to make your bookkeeping swift. Attach XRechnung to Invoices
                                • Spell check sucks

                                  Come on guys, it's 2024 and your spell check is completely retarded. You gotta fix it.
                                • Signature image logo not displaying in recipient mail clients

                                  Whenever I send an email to another person the image that forms part of my logo is not displayed just a broken link to: https://mail.zoho.com/mail/ImageSignature?fileName=Email-log.jpg&accountId=47238000000007001&storeName=NN1:-3205531763309921492 I can see the logo because I've got a zoho account and I'm logged on but others without a zoho account can't see it. How do I fix this? Thanks -Martin
                                • Sales Order, what are the statuses under Confirmed and Closed

                                  Hi, I have to build a workflow in Deluge which should be triggered when Sales Order status is Confirmed or Closed. But these 2 states don't exist when you fetch a sales order. Which of the statuses are considered as Confirmed or Closed ? Here is a list
                                • Notifications for calendar meetings

                                  So we have been happy users for a few months now. This is an important problem we face, since I have forgotten meetings already cause of lack of notifications. The problem: I have notifications (email, popup and notifications) set for my calendar by default.
                                • Reusuable Sections & Universal Brand Settings

                                  Zoho Email Campaign setups take longer than other software I've used because it doesn't have reusable sections or universal brand settings (fonts and colors). These enhancements should be added to help us create our campaigns more easily.
                                • Blockchain technology

                                  Blockchain technology is being used to revolutionize accounting and financial reporting. With blockchain, financial transactions are recorded on a decentralized ledger, making tracking transactions and verifying their accuracy easier. This technology
                                • Este domínio já está associado a esta conta

                                  Fui fazer meu cadastro na zoho e quando digitei meu domínio recebi essa mensagem que meu domínio estava associado a uma conta que eu nem faço idéia de quem seja. Como que faço pra resolver isso? Atenciosamente, Anderson Souza.
                                • not able to hit inventory api

                                  when i hit the api with my account keys and the access is provide by the client
                                • Zoho email setup in office365

                                  When i am trying to setup zoho mail setup using my domain in office365 and it is not working and it says that we couldn't log on to the incoming (IMAP) server and please check your email address and password and try again. I was able to login using my
                                • 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
                                • 553 Relaying disallowed error

                                  Hi, I am receiving a "553 Relaying disallowed" error when sending emails to my domain email address which I have configured in Zoho. However, I am able to receive emails from my domain email to my gmail account. The SPF and MX entries are all configured
                                • Leads and Deals Issue

                                  Hi! Is Zoho having trouble today? I've been experiencing issues today. When I move a deal to closed/won, it previously would require a closing date but today the screen just went blur and the closing date did not pop up. And then under leads, I was trying
                                • !! URGENT My sent mail goes to spam

                                  I tested a few times and every time I send mail out it goes the recipients spam box.  Why is it marking my mail as spam? please help me ! thanks
                                • Event Time Zone in meeting invites are confusing users

                                  When sending calendar invites to internal and external users, the first section "Event Time Zone" is confusing people and they are automatically declining events. Can this section please be removed??? It already shows the correct time zone next to the
                                • Request For Quotation (RFQ) module

                                  Hello, Do you have any plans to implement a RFQ module in to ZOHO Inventory? I would like to chose items that I require a price for, select a number of different suppliers to e-mail and have them submit there pricing online. I would then like to see a
                                • Constant Sync Errors 🙄

                                  I'm constantly getting sync error notifications with no actual resolution. Also... I have folders and files with a (!) on the cloud icon, indicating it's not accessible. This has also led to the complete loss of certain folders. Like... the go missing!
                                • Display your zoho contact name when they call your mobile number

                                  As per the title If a contact calls the office number, the contacts name shows on mobile as long as I have their contact details registered in my crm. Is there a way that if the contact calls my mobile, their name can be displayed? Currently just their number shows when they call.
                                • In Zoho Projects, is there a way to create a folders template under documents that can be used once a project is created?

                                  We have a specific folder structure that we would like to use that is standard across every project. Instead of having to create this structure every time a project is created, is there a way to create a template for the folders that can be added?
                                • Custom view for Milestones

                                  Hi, Just an idea for the future... would it be possible to create custom views for the Milestones view under Work Overview ? I usually need to look at this view filtered by project group but the filter doesn't remain when navigating away. A custom view
                                • Zoho Books API Limit Is RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  The 2,500 API call limit in Zoho Books is about as useful as AOL dialup.  Seriously Zoho, not only can I use up 2,500 API calls in no time with my own app but YOUR OWN STUPID IPAD APP blows through them super fast too, so if any one of my clients wants
                                • javax.mail.authenticationfailedexception 535 authentication failed

                                  Hi, I am facing 535 authentication failed error when trying to send email from zoho desktop as well as in webmail. Can you suggest to fix this issue,. Regards, Rekha
                                • Out of Office not working

                                  I have set up out of office on zoho mail, however, it does not reply to every mail sent to it. I have tested it by sending several test messages from multiple different email accounts, I will get a response to some of them, but not all of them this is
                                • Always display images from this sender – Is this feature available?

                                  In Zoho mail, I had my "Load external images" setting set to "Ask me", and that's fine. That's the setting I prefer. What's not fine though is I always need to tick "Display now" for each email I get, regardless if I've done that multiple times from several
                                • Simplify your day-to-day sales operations with new List View actions

                                  Greetings everyone, Here are a few enhancements for quick actions in modular List Views that will make your day-to-day CRM operations much easier. List Views in modules display records in rows and columns based on set criteria, and are useful for presenting
                                • Placeholder for Agent Signature in Email Templates

                                  Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. We currently face a limitation when designing email templates in Zoho Desk. While we can create email templates and include a footer at the end, the agent signature is always appended by default at the
                                • Some emails are not being delivered

                                  I have this problem where some of my mail just seems to disappear. When I send it, it appears as sent with no mention of any problem, but my recipient never gets it, not even in the Spam folder. Same for receiving, I have a secondary e-mail address, and
                                • Unbilled Items Report?

                                  Hello! Is there any way to display a list of items that remain unbilled, without creating an invoice for each customer to see if the unbilled items box is displayed? ;-) Ben
                                • Making Calls Using ZDialer on Zoho Creator Widgets

                                  The Zdialer Browser Extension does not seem to recognize phone numbers on custom widgets. What is the best way to work around this?
                                • ALL sent mails from my zoho email id go to spam

                                  when we send emails out of Zoho as like Gmail , ALL mails go to spam... more than urgent to get a solution !!!!!!
                                • Next Page