What's New - March 2025 | Zoho Backstage

Hello there,

 

We’re thrilled to introduce a much-awaited lineup of powerful features and enhancements designed to fulfill your event management needs. Here's a round-up of the latest updates that will enhance your experience with Zoho Backstage this month.

---

Offer Tickets 

Early bird and limited-time offers are powerful tools to boost ticket sales and generate early revenue. With the new Offer Tickets feature, you can create multiple offers as tiers within a single ticket class, making the process more streamlined and automated.

Previously, you had to create separate ticket classes for each offer and manually manage their availability. Now, you can:

• Add multiple offers under a single ticket class
  
• Automate the offer start and stop conditions
  
• Reduce manual intervention
  

Key benefits

 

• Increased marketing impact: Time-sensitive discounts create a sense of urgency, encouraging faster ticket purchases.
  
• Early revenue and cash flow: Early sales provide immediate cash flow to cover event expenses like venue deposits, marketing, and logistics.
  
• Leverage Psychological Triggers:
  
• FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Limited-time availability compels attendees to act quickly.
  
• Perceived Savings: Attendees feel they are getting a deal, making them more likely to buy.
  

How to use

 

Setting up offers

You can add offers as tiers within a ticket class and configure their availability based on:

• Time: Set specific start and end dates for the offer.
  
• Quantity: Define the number of tickets available at the offer price.
  

Flexible offer progression

 

From the second offer onward, you can choose to automatically start the next offer when the previous one ends. Or, set a custom start date for the new offer.

Customizing offer display

You can customize how offers are displayed on your event website using the Website Designer. The offer card can show:

• Current Offer
  
• Previous Offer
  
• Next Offer
  
• Both Previous and Next Offers
  

This flexibility helps you highlight the most relevant deals and enhance visibility.

 

Good to know 

• During the ticket purchase process, the offer name appears alongside the ticket class name. The order summary clearly displays the applied offer.
  
• After attendees purchase their tickets, the "Your Orders" section displays the offer name along with the ticket class name. The invoice also reflects the offer name for transparency.
  
• When manually adding an order, any valid offers associated with the ticket class are applied automatically. There's no need for manual price adjustments.
  
• During check-in, only the original ticket class amount is displayed.
  
• Offer-tiered tickets cannot be selected during manual check-in.
  

Click here to learn more. 

---

Tax Rules - Canada (Early access)

Accurate tax calculation is essential for ensuring compliance and transparency in event management. With the new Tax Rules feature for Canada, you can automatically apply the correct tax rates based on your event location, making tax management simpler and more efficient. Zoho Backstage now allows you to create tax rules for all 10 provinces and 3 territories, which can be selected and applied to an event automatically, ensuring the correct tax rates are applied without manual adjustments. This feature supports in-person, hybrid, and online events, offering flexibility and accuracy.

 

The Canadian tax rule engine covers 10 provinces, 3 territories, multiple tax agencies, and 12 sales tax rates, providing a comprehensive solution for handling event-related taxes.

 

How do taxes work on Canadian events?  

 

For in-person and hybrid events, the tax rate is determined by the event’s physical location, based on the Place of Supply, in compliance with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulations. This ensures attendees are charged the appropriate tax rate according to the province or territory where the event takes place.

 

For online events, where no physical venue exists, the tax is calculated based on the attendee’s location. This ensures the correct sales tax is applied, even when attendees purchase tickets from different provinces or countries.

 

How to use

 

To enable Canada Tax Rules, configure your organization’s location:

1. Go to Portal Settings > Payments and Tax.
   
2. Select Canada as the organization location. 

Once configured, the system automatically populates:

• 12 default tax rates covering all provinces and territories.
  
• 13 tax rules (one for each region).
  
• A default rule for online events, applying the correct tax based on the attendee’s location.
  
• 5 tax agencies for accurate tax handling. 

You can create new tax rates, groups, and authorities to meet your event’s specific needs. Additionally, you can add custom tax rules for both in-person/hybrid and online events, giving you full control over how taxes are applied.

 

Applying Tax Rules to In-Person and Hybrid events  

​

 

For in-person and hybrid events, Zoho Backstage automatically suggests tax rules based on the event location. The 13 default tax rules cover all Canadian provinces and territories. If the event location changes, the system automatically updates the relevant tax rules to reflect the new region’s rates.

 

You can also create custom tax rules by selecting a specific province or territory and applying a custom tax rate, offering greater flexibility for managing event taxes.

 

Applying Tax Rules to Virtual events

 

For online events, the system uses a default tax rule that covers all Canadian provinces and territories. Taxes are applied based on the attendee's location.

 

Canadian attendees are charged the applicable provincial tax rate.

International attendees are assigned a zero tax rate by default.

 

If you need to apply taxes to international attendees, you can create new tax rules tailored for online events, ensuring compliance with international tax regulations.

• Tax rules in Zoho Backstage are flexible and dynamic. You can modify them at any time during your event setup. However, changes will only apply to new transactions. Existing transactions will retain the original tax rule, ensuring previous purchases remain unaffected.
  
• If you select a non-Canadian location for your event, the Canada Tax Rule will not be applied. This ensures taxes are only charged where applicable, preventing errors in cross-border events.
  

---

Event Category  

Categorize and filter events based on custom classifications for organizers and attendees to find and manage events easily. This new addition is aimed at improving event management by giving organizers the flexibility to create, manage, and filter events using custom categories. Organizers can now create up to 100 custom categories when setting up an event, giving them the freedom to define categories that suit their specific needs.

 

Previously, categories selected in Event Info were not utilized elsewhere, and there was no option to add new/manage categories.

Now, organizers can tailor categories to their specific needs and filter them on the Event Directory.

To access: 

• While Creating an Event: On the Event Info page.
  
• For Category Management: Under Portal Settings > Branding > Event Category.
  

Permissions:

 

Portal Owners & Admins:

• Add, edit, and delete custom categories.
  
• Cannot edit or delete default categories.
  

Event Organizers:

• Can only add new categories.
  
• Cannot edit or delete existing custom or default categories.
  

---

Other Enhancements 

Floor plan Focus Area 

The Focus Area in the floor plan refers to designated spaces within the event venue that are visually highlighted to draw attention to specific sections, such as booths, stages, or key locations. These areas allow organizers to emphasize important spots, making navigation easier for attendees and improving the overall flow of the event. Focus areas help guide visitors to essential parts of the venue, enhancing their event experience.

Custom Dates for  ticket classes (Early access)

In cases where smaller sessions or events (like welcome events, after-event parties, etc.) occur before or after the main event, this feature allows organizers to assign specific dates to separate ticket classes, ensuring tickets are only valid for the selected dates.

Custom dates can be set within 30 days before or after the main event.

New WhatsApp triggers and templates 

The WhatsApp Integration, designed to enhance communication and engagement with all event stakeholders, now includes new triggers and templates to facilitate messaging and ensure timely updates for everyone.

 

For Purchasers:

• Send Registration Confirmation: Instantly confirm registration to enhance the attendee experience.
  
• Order Canceled: Notify purchasers promptly in case of any order cancellations.
  

For Speakers:

• Welcome Speaker: Extend a warm welcome to our speakers and set a positive tone for their participation.
  
• Speaker Added to a Session: Inform speakers when they’re added to a session, ensuring they are well-prepared.
  
• Speaker Removed from a Session: Provide timely updates should there be any changes to their session involvement.
  

For Sponsors:

• Thank a Sponsor Before Website is Live: Show appreciation early on, fostering positive relationships with sponsors.
  
• Welcome and Thank Sponsor After Website is Live: Acknowledge sponsors publicly once the event website goes live.
  
• Deny Sponsor Proposal: Deliver sensitive information with professionalism and clarity.
  
• Acknowledge Sponsor Proposal: Confirm receipt of sponsor proposals, keeping communication open and transparent.
  

For Participants:

• Event Canceled: Quickly inform participants in the event of cancellations, ensuring they’re kept in the loop.
  

We are continuously refining Zoho Backstage to make your event management experience even more powerful and intuitive. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months!

 

---

If you have any questions, please contact support@zohobackstage.com. 

• Topic Participants

• Jithan Raghuraj

  

• Recent Topics

• Customer ticket creation via Microsoft Teams

  Hi all, I'm looking to see if someone could point me in the right direction. I'd love to make it so my customers/ end users can make tickets, see responses and respond within microsoft teams. As Admin and an Agent i've installed the zoho assist app within

• Is there a way to update all the start and end dates of tasks of a project after a calendar change?

  Hi! Here's my situation. I've built a complete project planning. All its tasks have start dates and due dates. After completing the planning, I've realized that the project calendar was not the right one. So I changed the project calendar. I now have

• How to update task start date when project start date changes?

  Hi there, When the start date of a project changes, it's important to update the start dates of the tasks associated with that project to reflect the new timeline. Is there a way to shift the start date of all project tasks when the start date of a project

• Issue with Picklist Dropdown Not Opening on Mobile

  Hello I am experiencing an issue with picklist values on mobile. While the arrow is visible, the dropdown to scroll through the available values often does not open. This issue occurs sporadically, it has worked occasionally, but it is very rare and quite

• using the client script based on the look up filed i wnat to fetch the record details like service number , service rate

  based on selected service look up field iwant to fetch the service serial number in the serice form how i achive using client script also how i get the current date in the date field in the on load of the form

• 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

• Zoho Commerce - How To Change Blog Published Date and Author

  Hi Commerce Team, I'm discussing a project with a client who wants to move from Woo Commerce / Wordpress to Zoho Commerce. They have around 620 blog posts which will need to be migrated. I am now aware of the blog import feature and I have run some tests.

• Does zoho inventory need Enterprise or Premium subsrciption to make Widgets.

  We have Zoho One Enterprise and yet we can't create widgets on inventory.

• ZMA shows as already connected to Zoho CRM, but integration not working

  When I try to connect ZMA with Zoho CRM, it shows as already connected, but the integration doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve attached the screen recording for reference.

• Automatic Email Alerts for Errors in Zoho Creator Logs

  Hello, We would like to request a feature enhancement in Zoho Creator regarding error notifications. Currently, Zoho Creator allows users to view logs and errors for each application by navigating to Zoho Creator > Operations > Logs. However, there is

• Password Assessment Reports for all users

  I'm the super admin and looking at the reporting available for Zoho Vault. I can see that there is a Password Assessment report available showing the passwords/weak and security score by user. However I'm confused at the 'report generated on' value. Monitor

• Setting certian items to be pickup only

  How do we have some items that are pickup only? I have several items in my item's list that I do not ship. But they need to be on the website to be sold, and picked up in store. Need to be able to do this as one of these products is a major seller for

• Using gift vouchers

  We would like to be able to offer a limited number of gift vouchers, of varying values, to our customers, and are looking for the best way to do this. We have looked at Coupons and Gift Certificates, but neither seem to fit the bill perfectly. Coupons:

• Automatically updating field(s) of lookup module

  I have a lookup field, which also pulls through the Status field from the linked record. When the lookup is first done, the Status is pulled through - this works perfectly. If that Status is later updated, the lookup field does not update as well. As

• Zoho Commerce and Third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration

  We are implementing a third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration for our Zoho Commerce store and have made significant progress. However, we need guidance on a specific technical challenge. Current Challenge: We need to get the customer input to

• Adding custom "lookup" fields in Zoho Customization

  How can I add a second “lookup” field in Zoho? I’m trying to create another lookup that pulls from my Contacts, but the option doesn’t appear in the module customization sidebar. In many cases, a single work order involves multiple contacts. Ideally,

• Can you import projects into Zoho Projects yet?

  I see some very old posts asking about importing project records into Zoho Projects. But I can't find anything up to date about the topic. Has this functionality been added? Importing tasks is helpful. But we do have a project where importing projects

• Zoho Inventory. Preventing Negative Stock in Sales Orders – Best Practices?

  Dear Zoho Inventory Community, We’re a small business using Zoho Inventory with a team of sales managers. Unfortunately, some employees occasionally overlook stock levels during order processing, leading to negative inventory issues. Is there a way to

• Automation #10 - Auto Assign Ticket based on Keywords

  This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips on optimizing

• Automate attendance tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

  I wish remote work were permanently mandated so we could join work calls from a movie theatre or even while skydiving! But wait, it's time to wake up! The alarm has snoozed twice, and your team has already logged on for the day. Keeping tabs on attendance

• Reusable Custom Functions Across Department Workflows

  Dear Zoho Desk Team, We appreciate the powerful workflow automation capabilities in Zoho Desk, particularly the ability to create and use custom functions within workflows. However, we have encountered a limitation that impacts efficiency and maintainability.

• Don't Allow Customer to Edit Values After Submitting Ticket

  After a customer submits a ticket through the customer portal, they can go into the ticket and see some of the values from the questions they answered in the sidebar. Currently, a customer can edit these values even after they submitted them. This makes no sense. We ask very specific questions that we don't want customers to later change! Please disable the ability for customers to edit the values to their submission questions in the portal. Screenshot attached.

• Analytics <-> Invoice Connection DELETED by Zoho

  Hi All, I am reaching out today because of a big issue we have at the moment with Zoho Analytics and Zoho Invoice. Our organization relies on Zoho Analytics for most of our reporting (operationnal teams). A few days ago we observed a sync issue with the

• text length in list report mobile/tablet

  Is there a way to make the full text of a text field appear in the list report on mobile and tablet? With custom layouts, the text is always truncated after a certain number of characters.

• Automation #4 - Auto Delete Tickets based on Rules

  This is a monthly series in which we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Unwanted tickets spamming

• Zoho Community Digest — Enero 2026

  ¡Hola, comunidad! 🌟 Aquí os traemos las novedades más interesantes de Zoho durante este mes de enero, incluyendo actualizaciones de productos, integraciones y un recordatorio sobre los workshops certificados que vuelven a España. 🎓 Eventos y Comunidad

• Automation #3 - Auto-sync email attachments to tickets

  This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Most of our customers use email

• Automation #11 - Auto Update Custom Fields with Values from Emails

  This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips to optimize

• Automation #13 - Auto assign tickets based on agent shift time

  This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips to optimize

• Automation #14: Capture Jira Issue Key/ID in a Ticket Custom Field

  Hello Everyone! This month's edition brings you a custom function to consolidate your records associated with Jira integration. Jira integration enables support engineers and R&D units to collaborate seamlessly on feature development, product improvement,

• Automation #16: Automate Ticket Reopening on Scheduled Timestamp

  Hello Everyone! This edition uncovers the option to schedule reopening a ticket automatically. Zylker Finance tracks insurance policyholder activities through Zoho Desk. For policyholders who pay monthly premiums, tickets are closed upon payment completion.

• Automation#19:Auto-Close Tickets Upon Task Completion

  Hello Everyone! We’re excited to bring you another custom function this week. In this edition, we’ll show you how to automatically close tickets when all associated tasks are marked as completed. Let’s see how ZylkaPure, a leading water filter company,

• Automation #15: Automatically Adding Static Secondary Contacts

  Rockel is a top-tier client of Zylker traders. Marcus handles communications with Rockel and would like to add Terence, the CTO of Zylker traders to the email conversations. In this case, the emails coming from user address rockel.com should have Terence

• Improved UX design for Projects CRM integration

  The current integration embeds the entier projects inteface into the CRM this is confusing and allows users to get lost. For example as a user i navigate to an account and go down to the related projects list and want to get information about a specific

• Transformer vos stocks en décisions intelligentes avec Zoho Inventory et Zoho Analytics

  Zoho Inventory permet de suivre facilement les niveaux de stock et d’anticiper les restockages. Pour de nombreuses entreprises, cela suffit à gérer les opérations au quotidien. Mais à mesure que l’activité se développe, cette clarté peut commencer à montrer

• Security Enhancements | Migrate to the Updated Policies

  Hello everyone, Zoho Directory's security policies have been updated and reorganized into three new policies with features that enhance the overall organization security. These policies provide a stronger and more secure sign-in methods and improve the

• Bring Zoho Shifts Capabilities into Zoho People Shift Module

  Hello Zoho People Product Team, After a deep review of the Zoho People Shift module and a direct comparison with Zoho Shifts, we would like to raise a feature request and serious concern regarding the current state of shift management in Zoho People.

• Facturation électronique 2026 - obligation dès le 1er septembre 2026

  Bonjour, Je me permets de réagir à divers posts publiés ici et là concernant le projet de E-Invoicing, dans le cadre de la facturation électronique prévue très prochainement. Dans le cadre du passage à la facturation électronique pour les entreprises,

• Quick Create needs Client Script support

  As per the title. We need client scripts to apply at a Quick Create level. We enforce logic on the form to ensure data quality, automate field values, etc. However, all this is lost when a user attempts a "Quick Create". It is disappointing because, from

• How to block a WhatsApp user for sending spam

  Is there a way to block those whatsapp users that just come to play and annoy our service, they also spam us. We have a waba service with sales iq

• Next Page