Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data?

Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field.



What is a Zoho CRM field?

A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM account to prefill the form.

This field accesses the CRM record using a unique key to identify which record you are searching for. The records can be identified by their last name, company, or any other unique field.

Setting up the integration

First you need to add the Zoho CRM field to your form. In the setup configuration, determine the following:
  1. Which field to use to identify the CRM record. For example, the Last Name of the record.
  2. Which details should be prefilled in the form. In the example below, the record's First Name , Email, and Phone are set to be prefilled. 



Notes on using Zoho CRM fields  
  • The Zoho CRM field will not work for embedded forms, or if forms are shared via public link(URL). It can only be used when the form is shared privately (within the organization). 
  • The person updating the data must be a user of both Zoho Form and Zoho CRM and have View/Edit access to records in CRM. 
Send out prefilled forms to your leads/contacts

If you need to share forms with people outside the organization and want the forms to be prefilled with the data from your CRM records, you can send the link to the form as an email in Zoho CRM. This allows a prefilled form to reach the end respondent, with a disabled Zoho CRM field. This keeps the data secure, because the disabled field will not reveal any information from other records.

How prefilling works?

The fields in the form are not populated when the form reaches the respondent. They will need search for a particular CRM record using a unique key, in this example, it is Last Name (as configured above). When the record is found, the mapped values in the Zoho CRM field setup will be autofilled into the form fields.

As shown in the example below, the First Name, Phone and the Email fields are automatically populated with data from the CRM record. The user can further modify the autofilled values, and also fill out the remaining form fields.



Now that you know how to prefill forms, we will discuss how this can be used to update or add data in the upcoming series.



Stay tuned!
Prasana.


If you have any questions or feedback to share, feel free to comment below or drop us an email at   support@zohoforms.com. 


    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #10: Automatically add tags to Zoho CRM records using form responses

      You may be using tags to filter records, create reports based on specific tags, or let your sales team to know which clients to give priority to. Don't skip tagging for the crm records added via forms. The tags can be set to be automatically captured during the form submission. How it works When you set up a configuration to push form entries into CRM, you can add a tag to them automatically. The tag value can vary based on the respondent's input (captured using form fields), or you can include a

    • Tip #2: Prefill forms automatically with existing Zoho CRM data

      How to automatically prefill a form with existing Zoho CRM data? Prefilled forms can be useful when you want your prospects to view and confirm their data, and in a wide range of other situations. In Zoho Forms, we prefill the fields with the values from Zoho CRM using the Zoho CRM field. What is a Zoho CRM field? A Zoho CRM field acts as a two-way communication channel, by sending data to Zoho CRM from forms and fetching information from CRM into Forms. The field will look up data from your CRM

    • Tip #8: Pass Adwords data (GCLID) and UTM parameters to Zoho CRM using forms

      When you are using forms to capture leads, you may wonder: " How did they find me? Which marketing campaign worked best?"  You can answer this question by capturing the Google Adwords data (GCLID) or the UTM parameter details in your CRM using forms. This can be a great way to gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify the most effective ways to capture leads.  Capturing GCLID parameters How it works If a person finds your form by clicking an ad, a GCLID gets created. When they fill out

    • ZUG (Zoho User Group) In-person Meetups - Maximize Data Efficiency with Zoho Forms & Beyond

      Hello Zoho Community, Join us for our upcoming meetups in ANZ, where we'll dive into seamless data handling and maximizing efficiency through Zoho Forms and beyond. Explore the potential of Zoho Forms customization and integration, from mastering the

    • Tip #9: Modify deal properties in Zoho CRM using form responses

      How to modify deal properties of Zoho CRM records using form responses? Deal properties in Zoho CRM records are constantly modified based on the status of the deal. You can automatically modify deal properties (like the deal closing date, or deal name) and even update the deal stage, using form inputs. This can drastically reduce the work your team would otherwise do to search and change individual record details manually. How it works This works by integrating the form with the Deals module of Zoho

    • Recent Topics

    • Add zoho calendar to google calendar

      Hi I keep seeing instructions on how to sync Zoho CRM calendar with google calendar but no instructions on how to view Zoho calendar in my google calendar.

    • Date/time displayed in ZohoCRM does not match date/time of entries in ZohoForm

      Hello there, we use a ZohoForm as a worksheet, i.e. users use it to track start time, break and stop time for every working day. The ZohoCRM org time zone is set on GM -4, so is the Time Zone in the Date&Time section in ZohoForm (see attachment). Despite

    • Dynamically Populate Picklist Values from Another Module Using Client Script

      I am working in Zoho CRM and trying to dynamically populate a picklist field in the Partners module using values stored in another custom module. I have two modules: 1. Partners Module Field: Partner_Type_Pick Field Type: Picklist 2. Partners_Type Module

    • World date & time format

      Hello, Is there a timeline to get the worldwide used date and time format ? I mean not the american one... I mean day month year, and 24 hours clock. Regards

    • Zoho Meeting - Feature Request - Introduce an option to use local date and time formating

      Hi Zoho Meeting Team, My feature request is to add an option for dates to be displayed in the users local format. This is common practice across Zoho applications and particularly relevant to an application like Zoho Meeting which revolves around date

    • Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

      Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration

    • How Zoho Desk contributes to the art of savings

      Remember the first time your grandmother gave you cash for a birthday or New Year's gift, Christmas gift, or any special day? You probably tucked that money safely into a piggy bank, waiting for the day you could buy something precious or something you

    • Conditional layouts - support for multi-select picklists

      Hi, The documentation for conditional layouts says the following: "Layout Rules cannot be used on the following field types: Auto Number Lookup Multi Select Lookup User Lookup Formula File Upload Multi Line" I have a custom module with a multi-pick list

    • Dont want to list inactive items.

      If an item is made inactive, there is no point in showing it in the item list. Please provide an option to hide all inactive items in 'Preferences'. 

    • Introducing Formula Fields for performing dynamic calculations

      Greetings, With the Formula Field, you can generate numerical calculations using provided functions and available fields, enabling you to derive dynamic data. You can utilize mathematical formulas to populate results based on the provided inputs. This

    • Possible to freely prompt/query CRM data using Zia?

      Is it possible to prompt Zia to query on any information stored in the CRM, especially on the data stored in custom text fields? My use case is the people in my organisation have entered lots of text in custom text fields to capture information from an

    • Actual vs Minimum

      Hi all, I am sure I am not the only one having this need. We are implementing billing on a 30-minute increment, with a minimum of 30 minutes per ticket. My question is, is there a way to create a formula or function to track both the minimum bill vs the

    • Client Script Not Working When Field is Set by Workflow

      Problem Context: I have implemented a client script in the Cases module that automatically assigns commands based on the value of the Priority field. The script functions correctly when the Priority field is manually set by a user through the form. Observed

    • Integration of CRM and Recruit

      hi team, Is it possible to sync deals <> job openings from only 1 pipeline? My configuration of CRM has pipeline for each business unit, so I will have all data in the CRM system. body leasing and recruitment is one BU (hence 1 pipeline) - can I sync

    • {Action Required} Re-authenticate your Google Accounts to Continue Data Sync

      Hello Users! To align with Google’s latest updates on how apps access files in Google Drive, we’ve enhanced our integration to comply with the updated security and privacy standards, ensuring safer and more reliable access to your data. With this update,

    • Zoho DataPrep integration with OpenAI (beta)

      We are thrilled to announce Zoho DataPrep's integration with OpenAI. The public beta roll-out opens up three features. Users who configure their OpenAI Organizational ID and ChatGPT API key (Find out how) will be able access the features. The features

    • Approvals in Zoho Creator

      Hi, This is Surya, in one of  my creator application I have a form called job posting, and I created an approval process for that form. When a user submits that form the record directly adding to that form's report, even it is in the review for approval.

    • Select CRM Custom Module in Zoho Creator

      I have a custom module added in Zoho CRM that I would like to link in Zoho creator.  When I add the Zoho CRM field it does not show the new module.  Is this possible?  Do i need to change something in CRM to make it accesible in Creator?

    • Cannot give public access to Html Snippet in Zoho Creator Page

      Hi, I created a form in Zoho Creator and published it. The permalink works but I want to override the css of the form. (style based URL parameters is not good enough) So I created a page and added an Html snippet. I can now override the css, which is

    • integrating Zoho CRM vendors with Zoho projects

      In most of our projects we collaborate with our Vendors. Being able to integrate only Accounts and not Vendors from CRM, is a huge limitation for our perspective and needs. We would really love to see this feature in the CRM-Projects integration.

    • Zoho Creator Workshops 2026—Europe & UK | Coming to a city near you!

      Hello everyone! We're excited to announce the Zoho Creator Workshop Series 2026, coming to cities across Europe and the United Kingdom this year! Whether you're looking to explore the intermediate-to-advanced capabilities of Creator or you're a seasoned

    • Validation rule for Date field

      The condition settings for a Date field are are absolutlly usless. Conditions can only be set for a specific date, which is logically ineffective in most cases. When setting a condition for a Date field, users usually need to compare the value relative

    • merhaba

      merhaba sosyal medya paketimiz mevcut ama yorumları göremiyoruz ve o yüzden cevap veremiyoruz destek rica ediyoruz.

    • Number 9 envelopes for invoice printing

      I email and print invoices. Being new to Zoho and coming from QB, we did both as we have a more traditional So in Zoho i want to do the same using Number 9 envelopes. These have both a return window and mail to windoow see attached image. Im just looking for best suggestions on how to get a ZOHO invoice to work, so I can mail my invoices...

    • Zoho Books/Square integration, using 2 Square 'locations' with new Books 'locations'?

      Hello! I saw some old threads about this but wasn't sure if there were any updates. Is there a way to integrate the Square locations feature with the Books locations feature? As in, transactions from separate Books locations go to separate Square locations

    • agentid : Where to find?

      I've been looking around for this agenId to check for the total ticket assigned on a specific agent url :"https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/ticketsCountByFieldValues?departmentId=351081000000155331&agentId=35108xxxxxx132009&field=statusType,status" type :GET

    • Open Sans Font in Zoho Books is not Open Sans.

      Font choice in customising PDF Templates is very limited, we cannot upload custom fonts, and to make things worse, the font names are not accurate. I selected Open Sans, and thought the system was bugging, but no, Open Sans is not Open Sans. The real

    • Super Admin Logging in as another User

      How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

    • Add Reporting feature to display variance/change columns when comparing periods

      When running reports to compare periods (for example, Profit and Loss comparing current year to previous), I would like to be able to display variance columns in both (a) amount or (b) percentage.

    • Payroll and BAS ( Australian tax report format )

      Hello , I am evaluating Zoho Books and I find the interface very intuitive and straight forward. My company is currently using Quickbooks Premier the Australian version. Before we can consider moving the service we would need to have the following addressed : 1.Payroll 2.BAS ( business activity statement ) for tax purposes 3.Some form of local backup and possible export of data to a widely accepted format. Regards Codrin Mitin

    • Intergrating multi location Square account with Zoho Books

      Hi, I have one Square account but has multiple locations. I would like to integrate that account and show aggregated sales in zoho books. How can I do that? thanks.

    • Invalid scope choice: Workdrive integration in CRM

      Bug: There is an invalid option in the permission choices for Workdrive integration in CRM. If the entry "WorkDrive.teamfolder.CREATE" is selected, it will return a message indicating invalid OAuth scope scope does not exist.

    • What's New - February 2026 | Zoho Backstage

      February 2026 brings a major new addition and a collection of enhancements across Zoho Backstage. We thought about writing a long introduction, but the updates in this release make a strong case on their own. So we’ll skip the buildup and dive straight

    • Attaching files to emails within CRM Deals.

      Hello, We have recently started using the extension "Workdrive for CRM" (Related List) to view/store our documents for each Deal, instead of using Attachments. Overall it feels like a better way to go but the user experience is not so great when it comes

    • Connect Bank in Zoho Books

      Can I connect UOB or Ariwallex in Zoho Books?

    • Clone entire dashboards

      If users want to customize a dashboard that is used by other team members, they can't clone it in order to customize the copy. Instead they have to create the same dashboard again manually from scratch. Suggestion: Let users copy the entire dashboard

    • Anyone worked out how to export or screengrab a full heatmap?

      I'd love to be able to include a copy of a heatmap in a report but can't work out how to grab the whole thing as there doesn't appear to be an export function? Thanks in advance.

    • Establishing Relationships among contacts/leads with Reciprocal

      Is there any way to create a relationship between contacts and leads and be able to go into just one of the files and have it reciprocate the entry in the other file? For example, if I have two people say John and Jane Smith who are husband and wife.

    • 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

    • Print a document from Zoho Writer via Zoho Creator

      If i use the code below i can get writer to create a new document or email it to me but i want to be able to print it directly from the browser and not have to send it via email and then print. Below is the code im using. Attached options form zoho writer

    • Next Page