Zoho CRM Community Digest - July P1 | 2025

Zoho CRM Community Digest - July P1 | 2025



Hey everyone,


The start of July 2025 marked a special milestone: 200 posts in our Kaizen series! For those new here, Kaizen is a go-to series for Zoho CRM developers, where we regularly share best practices, tips, and expert insights to help you build better with CRM.

Reaching 200 wouldn’t have been possible without your support, curiosity, and encouragement. So, here’s to your curious brains and to this series never stopping!

Now, let’s dive into the product updates lined up for this fortnight.

Product updates:

Enhancements in Portal User Group creation in flow:

Zoho has revamped the portal user group creation flow to make it clearer and more user-friendly. The term “User Type” has now been renamed to “User Group,” and “Portal Tab Configuration” is now renamed to “Portal Module Configuration.” The setup flow has also been reorganized for better clarity. A new Settings tab has been added: if invites are sent via Email, it includes Portal Forms and Email Templates; if sent via Phone, you'll see an SMS Templates tab instead. 

You can see a complete before-and-after view of the changes in the post.

Smarter Scoring with Zia:

Zoho CRM now offers advanced scoring factors, including Zia Scores for all modules, making lead and record scoring smarter and context-aware. Scoring Rules under Automation now bring Manual and Zia Scores together in one place, simplifying the management of all factors, whether based on custom conditions or VoC-driven insights like sentiment, intent, or competitor mentions. Zia automatically applies the right rule using conditions you define, ensuring scores are relevant to each context. This update also enables Zia Scores to trigger automations across all modules. Check out the post to learn more.. 

Static Subforms are here!

Tired of repeatedly entering the same data structure in subforms? With Static Subforms, you can now predefine rows with fixed values, ideal for cases where your team consistently captures the same type of information across different records. This is especially handy when tracking items like tax breakdowns, standard fee structures, or routine checklists. It streamlines data entry, reduces errors, and saves time. Admins can lock these static rows or allow edits, offering both structure and flexibility. Read the full post to learn more.

Custom Views can now be deployed from Sandbox to Production!

That’s right! Zoho CRM now lets you create and test custom views inside your sandbox and directly push them to your live setup. No more manually recreating views after testing! Explore more about it in this post.


Community Discussion Highlights!

Quick Wins:

Export Just What You Need from Accounts Module:

@Ian B asked how to export specific information from the Accounts module. Take a look at this post where @Pheranda share a helpful screenshot to show exactly how it's done.

Avoiding Duplicate Accounts from Forms:

@Ian had a question about preventing duplicate account creation when someone submits a Zoho Forms application? @Max Tyack offered a solid solution using the Upsert Record option in the Zoho Forms integration, and even suggested creating a custom module to track submission, using workflows to update or create accounts only when needed. Take a look at the post to know more.

Tracking training and certification expirations in Zoho CRM:

@Patrick Meyers asked how to track customers' training certificates that expire after 2–4 years, while also keeping a log of every course taken. The goal was to capture registration details, certification dates, expiry dates, and trigger reminder emails three months before expiration while keeping past records intact. If you're looking to automate renewal and follow-up reminders in Zoho CRM, this post has some practical ideas worth exploring!

 

Functions:

Want to copy related records from a custom module into Deals automatically?

@Emma had a custom module for capturing some data but felt it would be better to capture this data using a separate layout in the Deals module. The data transfer involves notes, subforms, and attachments, and importing them through the back-up process requires updating the parent record ID properly. @Bhoomi Joshi offered a practical Deluge function that moves the record from custom module to Deals, copying over relevant fields including sub-form data, notes and attachments. Take a look at the post for the code!


Developer's Corner:

Searching Call Records by Phone Number with COQL API:

@Clark Janes was having trouble searching Call records by phone number using the calls/search Web API, encountering errors like INVALID_QUERY and FIELD_TYPE_UNAVAILABLE when using criteria or phone parameters. @Jeganprabhu recommended using the COQL API to query the Calls module directly using From_Number or To_Number fields to retrieve matching call records even without linked contacts.

Take a look at this post for details.


And that’s a wrap for this fortnight’s Zoho CRM Community Digest.
Caught something cool we missed? Or have a favorite from this edition? Drop it in the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

We’ll be back in two weeks with more updates and community gems.

Until then, stay tuned!


    • Sticky Posts

    • How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.

      Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity.  We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbers
    • Function #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.

      Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is just
    • Zoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas

      <br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,
    • Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM

      Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practical
    • CRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.

        Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • User Session variables to recall after form submit & redirect to menu

        Hey, Forgive me if this is a simple answer I have overlooked. I have built a big onboarding process for my SAAS platform which is built and managed by an external Dev team. I am hoping to embed my new creator app on the SAAS platform. I have a menu page
      • Zoho Writer Merge Template with data from Zoho Analytics Views

        Hello, Is there any way to pull information from Zoho Analytics and put it into a Merge Template? I am trying to create a bulk export of one report that filters on a field to create a single document for each of the filter fields.
      • Having to enter bill before stock shows as available.

        Hi, Am I right in thinking you must create a bill from the purchase order receipt before the goods are available for shipping?
      • Agent Availability Report

        From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Businesses need to track when their support agents check in and check out from work. This report, titled Agent Availability, is one of the static reports that helps managers track the number
      • Writing by Hand in "Write" Notes

        Hi there! I just downloaded this app a few moments ago, and I was wondering if there was a way to write things by hand in "Write" mode instead of just typing in the keyboard. It would make things a bit more efficient for me in this moment. Thanks!
      • AI-driven construction analytics using Zoho Projects Plus

        Construction projects thrive on timelines; if a project is completed on or before the expected time, it makes headlines, but if it gets delayed, the company’s credibility will be at risk. Such projects require precise planning and constant monitoring,
      • Canadian payroll

        Hello ZOHO, is any updates on when payroll for Canada will be available?
      • Unified customer view: Bringing product intelligence into your CRM data

        For businesses today, applications and digital interfaces are the main touch points in the customer journey. While Zoho CRM data already tells who your customers are and what they buy, Zoho Apptics tells you how they interact and engage with your product.
      • Zoho Creator SaaS app with multiple client AND multiple users

        I am close to finalizing a Zoho Creator app that will be used by different companies to manage sale info, and each company can have multiple users using the app. Things were going perfectly until I tried a search on a report. I use a database field in each table to separate the data for each company, which works great. BUT when I do a search, I get to see ALL the data. This means that Company A could easily see the data from Companies B and C via the built-in search. Is there a way to set up the
      • Project Change Orders and Additions

        We are in the process of migrating from QuickBooks Online to Zoho Books. We have Zoho One and like the ability to sync all of our data across everything. And I like that projects work in a way that's less dumb than QuickBooks. I'm trying to figure out
      • Track online, in-office, and client location meetings separately with the new meeting venue option

        Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce meeting enhancements in Zoho CRM that bring more clarity and structure to how meetings are categorized. You can now specify the meeting venue to clearly indicate whether a meeting is being held online, at the
      • Create custom rollup summary fields in Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone, In Zoho CRM, rollup summary fields have been essential tools for summarizing data across related records and enabling users to gain quick insights without having to jump across modules. Previously, only predefined summary functions were
      • Possible to send Zoom AI Companion transcripts and summaries to contacts in CRM?

        Title says it all. Is it possible to send Zoom AI Companion transcripts and summaries to contacts in Zoho CRM?
      • How do I edit the Calendar Invite notifications for Interviews in Recruit?

        I'm setting up the Zoho Recruit Interview Calendar system but there's some notifications I don't have any control over. I've turned off all Workflows and Automations related to the Calendar Scheduling and it seems that it's the notification that is sent
      • Posibility to add Emoticons on the Email Subject of Templates

        Hi I´ve tried to add Emoticons on the Subject line of Email templates, the emoticon image does show up before saving the template or if I add the Emoticon while sending an Individual email and placing it manually on the subject line. Emoticons also show
      • Clarity on extended contract status

        Clarity on “extended” status- How does Zoho “extend” a contract?  E.g. if client extends by 1 month, can the “end date” be adjusted accordingly in Zoho and tagged as “Extended” with a clear audit trail that also captures the client’s email? Note- Email
      • Customizing contract status

        Can we customize/add/remove status on Zoho contracts ourselves or does Zoho needs to do this? Context- There is a long list of status on Zoho but not all of them are relevant for us . There are few status which are missing and needs to be added. E.g-
      • Set Custom Business Calendars and Holidays for Global Teams

        Managing a project across diverse teams means accounting for more than just tasks and deadlines; it means acknowledging how and when each team actually works. Users might follow different working days or observe region-specific holidays that cannot be
      • [Integration edition] Deluge learning series - Integrations between Zoho apps and Third-party services with Deluge | 28 August 2025

        We’re excited to welcome you to the Deluge learning series: Integration edition! The Integration edition will run for three months: Session 1 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge using inbuilt integration tasks Session 2 – Integrating Zoho Apps with Deluge
      • Critical Vulnerability in all major password manager plugins - is Zoho Vault affected?

        Hi Zoho, a security researcher found a critical clickjacking vulnerability in all major browser password managers: DOM-based Extension Clickjacking: Your Password Manager Data at Risk | Marek Tóth Is Zoho Vault affected as well? Apparently the Vault extension
      • Introducing SecureForms in Zoho Vault

        Hey everyone, Let’s face it—asking someone to send over a password or other sensitive data is rarely straightforward. You wait. You nudge. You follow up once, twice—maybe more. And when the information finally arrives, it shows up in the worst possible
      • Tables from ZohoSheets remove images when updated from source

        I have a few tables from a ZohoSheet in a ZohoWriter document that will remove the images in the cells when I refresh from the source. The source still has the images in the table when I go to refresh. After updating from the source, as you can see the
      • 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 for your answer. Regards, Juerg
      • Inventory Adjustments

        Hi, How to transfer the material from one head to another ? Like materials purchased for manufacturing the laptop need to transfer from consumption inventory (Quantity of raw materials reduced) to destination inventory ( Quantity of Laptop increased)
      • Need Your Insights

        Hi Zoho, I'm confused why the flow only sends to one output. setVariable15 is from a list. It doesn't consider the 2nd entry. Any thoughts?
      • Map Dependency Fields - How can can I limit picklist values from a multi-select Parent field?

        I know the "Map Dependency Fields" feature doesn't allow a multi-select parent field. However, I need the functionality. Can I do it through a deluge function, and would it still support color coding picklists? We need the color coding for quick scanning
      • DYK 1 - Color Palette for Enhanced Visual Identification of Status

        Introducing the Did You Know series of posts. The goal of this series is to familiarize users with certain features or enhancements in Zoho Projects that may not be evident at first glance. The first post in this series deals with color palettes for indicating
      • Invalid field in the COQL query

        Dear Zoho Support! I believe that you already helped me with a similar problem a few years ago. One of my clients has a custom field named "LOB" in the "Deals" Module (see the field's metadata below). The COQL query using this field: : "select id, Deal_Name,
      • Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq

        Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition of
      • Transferring domain registration to new registrar and switching email hosting at the same time?

        I need to transfer an existing domain uv cure adhesive that's currently with SiteGround to Porkbun. I also need to move the existing custom email addresses from SiteGround to Zoho Mail. I'm not sure if I should transfer the domain first and then tackle
      • Split deposits

        Can Zoho do split deposits. One deposit, two checks for two separate invoices from different customers. This is one of the most common tasks I can imaging. When I mark the two invoices paid, there are two deposits in bank register. When I try to match,
      • Feedback: Streamlining Note Management in Zoho Notebook

        Dear Team/Support, I would like to share some feedback regarding the note management system that could help improve usability and accessibility for users like myself. Notebook 1 (screenshot attached): Currently, the system does not allow selecting and
      • Deactivate Desk Contact without Deleting Contat

        We have a client who has multiple tenants for regulatory purposes, and as such, has a few users that have email addresses in both tenants. They've then emailed into the ticketing system, so we have multiple contacts (no big deal, we want to keep their
      • Delete my store of Zoho commerce

        Hi Team, I want to delete my stores of commerce. Please help me asap. Looking for the positive response soon. Thanks Shubham Chauhan Mob: +91-9761872650
      • Ability to add VAT to Retainer Invoices

        Hello, I've had a telephone conversation a month ago with Dinesh on this topic and my request to allow for the addition of VAT on Retainer Invoices.  It's currently not possible to add VAT to Retainer Invoices and it was mutually agreed that there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be, especially as TAX LAW makes VAT mandatory on each invoice in Europe!   So basically, what i'm saying is that if you don't allow us to add VAT to Retainer Invoices, than the whole Retainer Invoices becomes
      • [Free Webinar] Learning Table Series - Zoho Creator for Asset Management with AI Enhancements

        Hello Everyone! We’re excited to invite you to another edition of Learning Table Series, where we showcase how Zoho Creator empowers industries with innovative and automated solutions. Each month highlights a specific sector, and this time our focus is
      • Menu Building is completely broken

        I have been 3 hours, I have not been able to edit the menu. Either it is completely broken, very little intuitive or I do now know anything... There is no way to create a megamenu, no way to create a menu. Despite the fact I go to menu configurartion
      • Can you sell Subscriptions using Zoho Commerce?

        In addition to physical products and the apparently coming soon 'Digital Products', it is possible to sell Subscriptions using Zoho Commerce?
      • Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

        🎊 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.
      • Multiple Languages for Product Names

        Hi, I use 2 languages: spanish and english. I want to have for every product a name in spanish and a name on english. I want to have to possibility of choosing one of these languages when making an invoice or a purchase order. Is there any way to do
      • Next Page