Kaizen #196 - Zoho CRM Queries - Best Practices

Kaizen #196 - Zoho CRM Queries - Best Practices

 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you!
Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone. 
​
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!

Queries in Zoho CRM can power much of what makes a customized CRM experience work—Canvas views, Kiosk pages, custom related lists, and more.

But writing effective queries goes beyond just “getting the data.” It’s about writing queries that are reusable, performant, and easy to maintain.

This Kaizen highlights some of the field-tested best practices to make your queries smarter and your CRM UI smoother.

1. Choose the right query type

Your choice of query type defines your flexibility, and matching the query type to the task reduces unnecessary complexity.
  • Module-type queries work best when you need a quick fetch from a single module. For straightforward data retrieval, a simple Module query is often faster and easier to manage.
  • COQL-type queries follow the SQL-like language model and allow you to filter, sort, and join data more deeply.
  • REST API-type queries enable Zoho CRM to retrieve real-time data from external systems via GET requests, allowing you to display externally computed or stored information within CRM views.

2. Name your queries clearly and consistently

  • Avoid query names like Get_Contacts_Test or Canvas_Query_1 as they become confusing over time.
  • Instead, use names that reflect what the query actually returns and where it is used. For example, Open_Deals_By_Owner_For_Canvas, Upcoming_Activities_By_Account. This helps you or your team find and reuse queries faster.

3. Use nested lookups selectively

  • Use nested lookups in COQL-type queries selectively to balance power and performance. Nested lookups in COQL help in reducing the number of API calls by fetching related records in the same query, but use only the lookup fields that are truly necessary when using queries in UI components or optimizing for speed.
  • Limit yourself to the lookup fields your UI or logic actually needs. For example, do not retrieve Account.Owner.Territory.Name if you're only displaying the account name.
  • If multiple nested fields are needed for display, consider flattening the data using serializers to keep the query clean and efficient.

4. Limit returned record count for list views

  • For queries used in related lists or Canvas, fetch only the required number of records/rows to keep your UI focused and efficient.
  • For example, in a Canvas View, it is best to fetch only the immediately relevant records like the latest notes, top deals, most recent activities etc,. This ensures that the data is concise, relevant, loads the UI quickly, and remains user-friendly across devices.

5. Use Variables to keep queries reusable

  • Hard-coding values like record IDs or user names limits reusability.
  • Instead, define variables like {{User_ID}}, {{Record_ID}}, or {{Account_ID}}, and pass them dynamically. This means you can use the same query across multiple records, users, or components.

6. Blend static and dynamic filters

  • Not all values need to be variables.
  • If a certain condition will always be true like 'Status = Open', hard-code it. But for user-specific and record-specific values, create variables. This mix of static and dynamic variables in your filters makes your query both specific and versatile.

7. Avoid fetching unnecessary fields

  • Avoid selecting all fields by default. Fetching unnecessary fields increases response size and adds clutter.
  • Limiting the field selection makes the query easier to maintain, especially when working with nested lookups and across modules.
  • Smaller and focused responses are easier to format and bind in the UI components leading to better data handling.
  • Even though CRM handles larger data well, brevity in the query leads to faster rendering and, ultimately, a better user experience.

8. Use serializer to format your output

  • Don’t pass raw API data directly into your UI. Use serializers to clean, rename, and shape your response.
  • For example, merge first and last names into a single full name field in the serializer.
  • This keeps the UI logic clean and puts formatting responsibility where it belongs—inside the query layer.

9. Customize the schema after your query

  • Zoho CRM auto-generates a schema for your query output, but it may not reflect exactly how they're used in your interface.
  • Rename keys to reflect how they’re used in your interface, remove unused fields, and flatten nested objects where possible.
  • A clean and relevant schema makes data binding faster and reduces errors.

10. Understand your return type: Map vs Table

  • Use a Map when returning a single record (like in a summary view).
  • Use a Table when returning a list (like in a data grid or related list).
  • Using the wrong type and misalignment can break your Canvas component, show blank widgets or broken layouts.

11. Map queries to the right components

Design your queries with the target component in mind. This ensures clarity, reusability, and context-driven results.
  • In Canvas, use queries to control what each widget displays.
  • In Kiosk, tie queries to user flows or form submissions.
  • In Custom Related Lists, pass record-level variables like {{Deals.Deal_ID}} for contextual filtering.

12. Use record ID-based filters properly

  • Filtering with ID variables is common and useful, but too many queries filtered by IDs can lead to firing many API calls and consuming more API credits.
  • Reuse queries and batch where possible.

13. Standardize REST API outputs with the 'crmAPIResponse' object

  • REST API type queries give you flexibility, but may not return the response in the format that your UI expects.
  • Use the 'crmAPIResponse' object to standardize the output, extract what you need, and define fallback values in case something is missing.
  • This control in the output structure allows you to fit the output to your schema and maintain consistency across your queries.

14. Use Queries to supercharge related lists

  • Queries can now power custom Related Lists where you are not limited to predefined module relationships.
  • Use parent record variables to filter child records, apply sorting logic, and format fields for a clean display.
  • Keep the row count reasonable for performance and readability.

15. Always test and monitor

Before going live
  • Try the query to preview data, validate filters, and confirm variable substitution. It’s far easier to fix errors here than once the query is embedded in a Canvas view or live layout. Include user role and profile tests where needed.
  • Check how schema or field updates affect the output.
  • Log serializer issues or failed REST calls during development.

Good queries don’t just fetch data—they shape the user experience. Whether you’re building a dashboard or a simple record view, thoughtful query design ensures you deliver the right information, fast, and in the format that makes sense to your users.

We hope you liked today's post. We will see you next week with another one!
Cheers!






    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI

      Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • Zoho CRM for Everyone's NextGen UI Gets an Upgrade

        Hello Everyone We've made improvements to Zoho CRM for Everyone's Nextgen UI. These changes are the result of valuable feedback from you where we’ve focused on improving usability, providing wider screen space, and making navigation smoother so everything

      • Zoho CRM - Kiosk Studio : Use action responses across your kiosks with sequential actions

        Hello Everyone, Imagine building a kiosk that gives you full control over how actions are executed in later screens in that same kiosk. What if you could use data from a previous action later in that kiosk—with no interruptions or data gaps? This is exactly

      • Ability to CC on a mass email

        Ability to CC someone on a mass email.

      • Get Cliq Meetings in my O365 calendar

        Hi, we are currently evaluating to replace the Teams Messaging and Meetings with Cliq. We currently still have all our email and calendars in O365. What i want to achieve is, to create a (ZOHO) meeting from Cliq and have this meeting added to my Outlook/O365

      • Custom Button to convert a Deal to a Custom Module?

        Hello Community I am in process of building out a custom CRM for my team and part of this is looking at building out a Custom Button or function of some sort where when a Deal is marked Closed Won the system will allow for a "Convert to Job" option to

      • Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!

        Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient

      • Changes to the send mail Deluge task in Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously enhance our security measures to ensure a safer experience for all users. As part of our ongoing security enhancements, we're making an important update on using the send mail Deluge task in Zoho CRM. What's changing?

      • Change eMail Template for Event-Invitations

        Hello ZOHO-CRM Team How I can change the eMail Template for Event-Invitations? I work with the German Version of the Free Version. I know how I can modify eMail alerts or Signature Templates, but where I can other eMails modify you send out? Thank you

      • Workdrive Oauth2 Token Isn't Refreshing

        I have set up oauth for a bunch of zoho apis and have never had a problem with oauth. With workdrive i am using the exact same template i usually use for the other zoho apps and it is not working. All requests will work for the first hour then stops so

      • How can I import OLM to Yandex Mail easily?

        For migrating Mac Outlook OLM data to Yandex Mail efficiently, the Aryson OLM Converter is a reliable professional tool that ensures complete data integrity throughout the process. Unlike manual methods, which can risk inconsistent formatting or missing

      • Introducing Radio Buttons and Numeric Range Sliders in Zoho CRM

        Release update: Currently out for CN, JP, AU and CA DCs (Free and standard editions). For other DCs, this will be released by mid-March. Hello everyone, We are pleased to share with you that Zoho CRM's Layout Editor now includes two new field formats—

      • 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.

      • Implementing Inventory Process

        I am just starting to create an inventory system through Zoho for a nonprofit. We receive in-kind donations of items for kids, and utilize them in 2 or 3 different programs. Then families come in and take the items. I'm thinking of this structure: Our

      • Best way to start zoho inventory with bulk openning stock

        We are already using zoho book since long time for cars trading company. Now to streamline more, would like to import the excel data of closing stock of inventory to zoho inventory and to start on. Since we need to track each VIN (unique vehicle id number)

      • Service Reports.

        Hello Team, I have a requirement to create multiple service reports for a single AP. That means, in one AP I have 5 service line items, and all line items are linked to assets. Once I complete the AP, I want to generate 5 individual service reports, one

      • Blueprint enhancements - Parallel and multiple transitions, and more

        Last modified on Sep 4, 2023: All Zoho CRM users can now access these enhancements. Initially, these features were available only on an early access basis and by request. However, as of August 2, 2023, they have been made available to all users in all

      • Item Bulk Edit - Allow for Reorder Level

        We're implementing a process for using the Reorder Level field for Items, and I have to go through and add this value to a huge chunk of our Items. It's driving me bonkers that I have to do this individually through the UI rather than bulk updating. It

      • Zoho CRM || Unable to Bulk Assignment of Territories for Contacts

        Dear Zoho CRM Support Team, I hope this email finds you well. We recently performed a bulk upload of Contacts into Zoho CRM using the official sample Excel template downloaded from the CRM. The upload itself was completed successfully; however, we encountered

      • What's New in Zoho Inventory | August – October 2025

        Hello customers, The last quarter has been incredibly productive! We've released a powerful slate of new features and enhancements in Zoho Inventory designed to give you better control, greater efficiency, and expanded functionality across your inventory

      • Disable Zoho Inventory Tracking / Delink Zoho Books & Inventory

        We have integrated zoho inventory with zoho books? Now after a long time, we want to disable inventory tracking and delink these 2 modules. Zoho says we cant do it. Anybody else going thru the same ? Any possibility at all? Why does zoho not allow to

      • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

        Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could

      • Work Order wont mark as Completed

        I have a couple of work orders that won't mark as completed even when I've marked the Service Appointments as completed fully.

      • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

        Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with

      • Tracking Non-Inventory Items

        We have several business locations and currently use zoho inventory to track retail items (sales and purchase orders). We were hoping to use zoho inventory to track our non-inventory items as well (toilet paper, paper towels, etc). I understand that we

      • Price Managment

        I have been in discussions with Zoho for some time and not getting what I need. Maybe someone can help explain the logic behind this for me as I fail to understand. When creating an item, you input a sales rate and purchase rate. These rates are just

      • Set Warehouse based on Vendor

        Greetings. I would like to set automaticaly the Warehouse based on the Vendor. Context: I am working on an adaptation of a Purchase Order to be used as a Quotation. I have defined that when a user has to raise a quote the Vendor will be "PROCUREMENT" I would like to set the Warehouse to a predefined value when "PROCUREMENT" is set as Vendor. I have tried to do with the Automation feature using the Field Update option, but Warehouse does not is listed as a field. Can you help? Thanks in advance.

      • How to add interviews through API

        I'm trying to add an interview without much luck. The documentation gives examples of adding just about everything except an interview. However, the issue might be the way I'm formatting it, because the documentation is unclear to me. It seems as if the xml should be passed in the url, which seems unusual. I've tried the data as both plain and character escaped, but nothing seems to work, nor do I even get an error response. https://recruit.zoho.com/recruit/private/xml/Interviews/addRecords?authtoken=***&scope=recruitapi&version=2&xmlData=<Interviews> <row

      • Deprecation of the Zoho OAuth connector

        Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously evaluate our integrations to ensure they meet the highest standards of security, reliability, and compliance. As part of these ongoing efforts, we've made the decision to deprecate the Zoho OAuth default connector

      • Auto tagging

        Some of the articles I enter into Notebook get there when I enter them in Raindrop.io and IFTTT copies the articles in Notebook. When this happens the notes are tagged but instead of useful one word tags with topic the tag pertains to the specific article

      • Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI

        Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the

      • How do I save audio files to my PC that I record into Zoho Notebook from my phone?

        I was thinking of using Zoho Notebook as a way to store composition ideas, as well as for other things if it can handle this. For this to be useful for me though, I need to be able to have an easy way to download those audio files to my PC, either individually

      • How to filter subform report based upon main form report in dashboard

        Hi Team, I am creating a dashboard in Zoho Analytics. I want to have a main form report and below I want to show subform report of main form. If I filter the main form with date then I want to show subform records based upon main form. how can I achieve

      • Search mails in shared mailbox

        Hi everyone, is there a way to search mails in shared mailbox's? Search in streams or mail doesn't return anything from mails in shared mailboxes. Thanks! Rafal

      • Kaizen #186 : Client Script Support for Subforms

        Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post on Client Script! In this edition, we’re taking a closer look at Client Script Support for Subforms with the help of the following scenario. " Zylker, a manufacturing company, uses the "Orders"

      • 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

      • Writing SQL Queries - After Comma Auto Suggesting Column

        When writing SQL Queries, does anyone else get super annoyed that after you type a comma and try to return to a new line it is automatically suggest a new column, so hitting return just inputs this suggested column instead of going to a new line? Anyone

      • Introducing Multiple Sandbox Types and Support for Module's Data Population

        Register here for the upcoming Focus Group webinar on Multiple Sandbox | Help documentation to learn more about the new enhancements Hello everyone,  Sandbox in CRM is a testing environment for users to create and test new configurations like workflow

      • Is It Possible to Convert a Custom Module to a Quote?

        I recently created a custom module in our CRM environment for RFQs so that our sales team can submit quote requests directly in Zoho rather than by email/phone. This allows for a cleaner overall process, minimizing potential errors and potentially encouraging

      • Convert invoice from zoho to xml with all details

        How to convert an Invoice to XML format with all details

      • Importing into the 'file upload' field

        Can you import attachments into the file upload field. I would expect it to work the same way as attachments do, But can't seem to get it to work.

      • Next Page