Custom Function to Format Phone / Mobile numbers in Australian Standard format

Custom Function to Format Phone / Mobile numbers in Australian Standard format

So I got sick of phone numbers being formatted incorrectly and Zoho not doing anything to standardise phone numbers to meet E.164 formats. So I went and coded my own function to fix this.
And figured I'd share with the community

This is specifically for Australian numbers. 

The CF will take all mobile, local landline, 1800 & 1300 numbers and format them into the format we are used to in Australia.
It will also add the country code +61 to the prefix so you can call directly from the CRM.

It works with all 10 digit numbers (0400 000 000 or 03 9000 0000)
And with all 9 digit numbers (400 000 000 or 3 9000 0000)
IE works with both the starting 0 or without the starting 0 (ie 03 9000 1111 or 3 9000 1111)


The numbers will be formatted as below

All mobile numbers    0400111222 --> +61 400 111 222
                                       400111222 --> +61 400 111 222
All local numbers        0390001111 --> +61 3 9000 1111
                                       390001111 --> +61 3 9000 1111
1800 numbers            1800111222 --> +61 1800 111 222
1300 numbers            1300111222 --> +61 1300 111 222

For the local numbers it will work with all states area codes (02, 03, 07, 08)

Anything that isn't the above will be ignored and stay the way it was. IE 131122 will stay like that
As will any numbers that aren't 9 or 10 digits long. (ie +61400111222 wont be formatted with spaces)

**NB I may do a V2 to format numbers that are +61 already but not planning that for a while.

This function is specifically for the Leads module.
It is Phone/Mobile Field agnostic. In that it will take whatever value is in the Phone Field, format it return it to the Phone Field. and what ever is in the Mobile Field, format and return it to Mobile Field.

I did this specifically as we use Phone to be the contacts Primary contact number and Mobile to be their Secondary contact Number.

It should be pretty easy to adapt to Contacts Module or any other module. You only need to change line 1 & 211.


Setting up with Workflow and Triggering the Function:
This applies for CRM
  1. Go to Setup --> Automation --> Workflow Rules --> Create Rule --> Under Module, select Leads --> Give a Rule name and Description (ie Format Phone Numbers Australia) --> Next
  2. When = Select "On a Record action" --> "Create or Edit" --> Next
  3. Condition = In Conditions, choose "All Leads" --> Next.
  4. Instant Actions --> Function --> New Function --> Write your own --> Add a Function name (ie Format_Phone_Numbers_Au), Display Name (ie Format Phone Numbers Australia), Description --> Create
  5. Copy paste the code from below and proceed to save the code.
  6. "Edit the Arguments" --> Key is id, in Param Value type # and choose your fields (ie Leads and Lead Id) the end result should read id = Leads - Lead Id --> Save
  7. Save the Function 
  8. Save the Workflow.


NOTE: there is probably a better more efficient way of achieving this.
So if anyone know a better way to code the above I'd love to hear.

EDIT: I had to upload the code separately due to restrictions in the post lengths.

EDIT 2: now updated to work with brackets (03) 9000 1111 and hyphens 0400-000-000

EDIT 3: updated to work with the country code already added but no + ie 61400111222  


The number formatting will work with the following

All mobile numbers    --> +61 400 111 222
  1. 0400 111 222
  2. 400111222
  3. 0400-111-222
  4. 61400111222
All local numbers  --> +61 3 9000 1111
(works with 02, 03, 07, 08) 
  1. 0390001111                  
  2. 390001111
  3. (03) 9000 1111
  4. (03) 9000-1111
1800 numbers  --> +61 1800 111 222
  1. 1800111222
  2. 1800 111 222
1300 numbers  --> +61 1300 111 222
  1. 1300111222 
  2. 1300 111 222 
​
​
EDIT: May 2025

Theres been some requests about cleaning up existing phone numbers for leads/contacts.

To do this there are a few steps to do.

Step 1 - create a new Custom Function called "Format Phone Numbers Au - mass update"
(or what ever you want to name it)

Use the same code as the single run fuction and add a recurring "loop" section to the start of the code, and a small closing at the end.
The way I have it setup is to use the following opening code before Line 1. 
Line 6 of the below code replaces Line 1 in the full code.

  1. string button.Format_Phone_Numbers_Au_mass_update(String leadIDs)
  2. {
  3. idList = leadIDs.toList("|||");
  4. for each  rec in idList
  5. {
  6. a = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Leads",rec);

Then to close the function replace the final Map (line 208-213) with the following

  1. }
  2. mp = Map();
  3. mp.put("Phone",nph);
  4. mp.put("Mobile",nmob);
  5. update = zoho.crm.updateRecord("Leads",rec,mp);
  6. info mp;
  7. info update;
  8. }
  9. return "Success";
  10. }

This new function will take your selected list of Leads and then "for each Record in the idList will run the function"

Step 2 - Create a Mass Update Button in the List view of the Leads/Contacts Module

Go to Settings > Customizations > Modules and Fields > [Module Tab} > Leads
Then go the the Buttons tab > Create New Botton

Button Name: Phone Numbers Mass Update
Define action: Function
Select Page: In List
Select Position: Mass Action Menu  (preview to see where the botton will be placed)
Configured Function: Select the function you created in the above step

Doing the above will create a new botton in the main list view for the Module. 
To use the button you need to select the entries you want to run the function then click the button.

Step 3 - Create a custom View for your Leads/Contacts so that you have less than 1000 

Zoho CRM Limits mass update functions to run for max of 1000 entries at a time. So if you have 10,000's leads you need to figure out how to narrow your view down to less than 1000 entries.

One way is to create a View with specific criteria like 
Email starts with A - this will show all leads with email address beginning with A
If this is still more than 1000 then figure out how to reduce it further to less than 1000

Step 4 - Select all records
Select the check box of the view at the top of the Column. This will select all records in the current window.
Windows are limted to 100 records, so you need to select all 1000 
You will then see a Blue text option to "Select All records in this view". Click this and all records will be selected.
If you have more than 1000 records in the view you wont be able to do the following step so make sure you've limited the view.

Step 5 - click the Mass Update button

Click the Mass Update Button you created above in Step 2. This will run the fuction for all the entries.
It'll take some time and entries will be added to the execution que. If you are interested you can check the api usage to make sure you keep your usage under the daily limit.

Step 6 - Figure out how to vary your list View for the next batch

Rinse and repeat Step 3-5. 
Figure out how to change the View so you see the next 1000 batch but exclude the ones you have already done.

Step 7 - Finish

Make sure you remove the Button you created in Step 2, otherwise someone will definitily run it in future when you dont want them to.


    • Recent Topics

    • SMTP Email Sending Not Working for My Domains and Apps

      Hello Zoho Support Team, I am experiencing a critical issue with sending emails via Zoho SMTP for my domain humanhup.com. Both of my applications, HumanHup and CheapUI, are unable to send emails using Zoho SMTP, even though the same setup was working

    • Receiving too many Spam Leads. Why?

      I am receiving so many junk leads from web forms created by zoho's platform. The junk queries are increasing day by day and are affecting our business. I am continuously following up with zoho team from the past one year but not getting any satisfactory

    • Why is Zoho supporting the Proud Boys?

      Hello. This is the only way I can find to contact your company. There is someone in Maine posing as a law enforcement officer, attempting to kidnap immigrants. They are also recruiting for a known hate group. They have an email address hosted by Zoho.com.

    • Composite Item - Associated/Component Items

      I am trying to find the Associated Item/Component Item field in the Composite Item Table in Analytics. Has anyone been able to find and utilize this field in Analytics?

    • Use openUrl() to edit a specific record

      I am working on a queue app for my organization. I have a master queue that is a report of meetings with workflow buttons to manipulate the records. One of these buttons I would like to open the record and edit for the purpose of changing the queue lookup

    • why i cant access my web without the www

      please help me

    • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

      Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number

    • Help Centre Articles in Desk, Zia and iframe

      Hi, We embed SOP documents into articles from Scribe into using iframe. We are looking at zia indexing articles to present to agents to aid their work. Please advise if zia can view and learn from the content within the iframe?

    • Rich Text/WYSIWYG Input Area

      I'd like to have an option on ZoHo creator to create an input text area for HTML/rich text formatting. :)

    • How to create a directory report from one-to-many relationship

      Hi all, Newbie here. I'm converting an Access DB to Creator. I've learned Forms are tables and Reports are used to edit table rows, not Forms. I've got the data loaded and can maintain it with the Reports already done. I've done filtering and sorting,

    • Change Default Selection for Lookup field

      I have a Lookup field that I have locked, when I unlock it - the user can select the proper Zone but I need it locked, since this may change based on user selection of another field. Example. There are 3 potential zones. User A selects the Hospital Account

    • Restrict visibility and user permissions Creator 5

      I don't understand how restrict visibility for reports interacts with the already established role permissions. It seems that the default on restrict visibility has everything checked for all users, but I cannot set up different levels of permission for different individuals.  Right now I have three different ways to manage users and their access and it's confusing because everything has not migrated to Creator 5. Don't the role permissions extend to the reports as well? Are the selections under

    • LMS - Why do Trainers have to be Users?

      I'm not sure why the software is set up where trainers must be users (i.e., employees). This should really be changed, as there are many cases (the majority of cases for some companies) where classroom trainers are external or contractors. If this is

    • ZOho mail not stopped working with my domain.

      i have changed my name server settings in my domain sigmasquaretec.in . After that my emails are not working with ZOHO.

    • Request to Cancel Zoho Mail Subscription

      Hello Zoho Team, I have migrated to Google Workspace and would like to cancel my Zoho Mail subscription for my organization. Organization Name: AR Creators Media Admin Email: roman@arcreatorsmedia.com Subscription ID: RPUS2005901960812 Please cancel the

    • zoho smtp limit for free users

      What is Zoho SMTP limit for free users?

    • Mailboxes and Alias Email Addeases - Best Palestine’s and Advice:

      Mailboxes and Alias Email Addresses - Best Practices and Advice: what is the best practice for the efficient means to manage And sort, alias, email addresses and third-party after or even the Zoho app itself. I am currently using both Thunderbird and

    • Has anyone built a discussion forum with a Creator Portal?

      I have built a Creator app for organisations to apply for refurbished tools that are sent by a charity. The charity now wants recipient organisations to be able to connect with each other within a region or country, to share advice on maintaining the

    • Ability for Super Admin to Set Locale Information for Users in Zoho Recruit

      Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability for Super Admins to configure Locale Information (Country/Region, Date Format, and Time Format) for users in Zoho Recruit. Currently these settings are only configurable

    • Add a block or widget to Zoho Sites that allows users to create an interactive contact card with contact buttons (email, LinkedIn, website, etc)

      The proposed feature consists of a pre-designed, customizable block that displays a person's contact information (e.g., a speaker, sales representative, or independent professional) and offers quick access to: Email (icon with mailto: link) LinkedIn profile

    • Zoho Recruit > Email Templates

      Dear All Background: We are using Zoho Recruit for the 4 business units under our group of company it our posting our of Job it will be done via our internal recruiter. In the Email templates, i want to be able to insert the individual business unit,

    • Zoho Voice & Zoho Recruit/CRM

      Hello, I'd love to use Zoho Voice with Recruit and CRM but it would need something very important to me, that has been a game changer to my daily routine, like Calendly has been for scheduling interview. It's call transcription with AI. I'm using Noota

    • Change start time after starting the timer

      Hello Projects Community, an amazing feature would be to change the start time of a running timer. I know this from some other time tracking softwares. Any idea about this? Best wishes Niels

    • Sending possible. Receiving not possible.

      We are not receiving mail in our company email. Could you please solve this. It has been recurring and I want it to be resolved once and for all. Please help.

    • Problema para enviar y recibir correos

      Buenos días, mi cuenta de correo secretaria@construccmauro.com presenta problemas y no me permite ni me envía ni recibe correos, me sale este error.No fue posible enviar el mensaje; Motivo: 554 5.1.8 Correo electrónico bloqueado saliente.  Aprende más., Agradezco

    • Data access tasks like 'For each record' aren't supported for 'integration forms'.

      My code is not running because i get the error "Data access tasks like 'For each record' aren't supported for 'integration forms'." I have my integration setup with Zoho CRM + Zoho Creator, the form is visible and working on my zoho creator however in

    • Zoho Reports Not Grouping from Subforms

      I have created reports from a subform. We have a budget from a standard field, and the bills added to a subform. I've summarised the bills in a field. In edit mode, the bills are joined per supplier, which is what we want. But then it converts and separates/duplicates

    • Create Automation for the Field "Mark up by"

      Hello everyone, I'm importing expenses from Zoho Expense to Zoho Books. I want to auto-calculate the "Mark up by" field based on the custom field “Discount” I created before. The trigger of the workflow will be the creation of the expense itself. The

    • Free Webinar Alert! Before vs After: Proven ROI from Zoho CRM + Workplace Integration

      Hello Zoho Workplace Community! Before: Scattered tools, lost leads, fragmented communication. Are you ready to stop the constant back and forth between tools to manage leads, emails, and team communication? After: Connected tools, streamlined processes,

    • Zoho Forms to Zoho Sign Integration - Fields Missing

      If a Zoho Form has image fields, it seems these can't be transferred to a Zoho Sign template for digital signature. Is there any way of pre-filling Zoho Form images onto a Zoho Sign template? Many thanks.

    • Is zoho SMTP slow today?

      Hi guys, Since yesterday I'm facing a slow communication over SMTP while sending emails. I already tried to use tls and ssl but nothing changes. There is anyone else experiencing related issues? I didn't find any maintenance in progress. Tested another

    • Link project invoices to sales orders

      As a business owner and project manager I create estimates with my clients which then become sales orders. When billing for project work I want to invoice against the agreed sales order. I see that I can create invoices and link them to sales orders in

    • The Urgent Need for Native Brazilian Payment Integrations: PIX and Direct Bank Connections

      Hello Zoho Team, I am writing to emphasize a critical functionality gap for Zoho Books in the Brazilian market: the lack of modern, native payment gateway integrations. The current options are insufficient. The Mercado Pago integration, for instance,

    • How to Fetch Images from Related Modules in Zoho CRM Mail Merge Templates?

      Hi team , Hope this email finds you well. I have a requirement where I need to create mail merge templates within Zoho CRM in such a way that they fetch images from a record stored in a different module. The way it works is I have one module "A" which

    • Zoho Calendar (Refresh Rate)

      Why don't the calendars refresh more than every 12 hours? That is crazy. I cannot be the only user who wants to see this change? I see and understand that I can MANUALLY update them, but need them to auto refresh either (1) whenever there is a change

    • "In Zoho CRM, during the Blueprint transition to the QC stage, I want to make the 'Packing Proof' image field mandatory."

      @Dr Saurabh Joshi @Haiku Technical Support @Ishwarya SG @Sparrow Hill President @Hugh Marshall "In Zoho CRM, during the Blueprint transition to the QC stage, I want to make the 'Packing Proof' image field mandatory."

    • Flow Error

      Hi Zoho Team, Any idea on this? This happens recently. Zoho Desk says "You are not authorized to access this resource."

    • 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

    • Books/Square integration with multiple bank accounts

      Hello, I need some workaround ideas! We have two parts of our business which have their own bank accounts and customers. We use 'locations' in Square to allocate the payments to the correct place and we use 'branches' in Zoho Books to define which transactions

    • 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.

    • Next Page