Enhancements to finance suite integrations

Enhancements to finance suite integrations

Alert
Update:

Based on your feedback, we’ve updated the capabilities for integration users. In addition to the Estimates module, they can now create, view, and edit records in all the finance modules including Sales Order, Invoices, Purchase Order.

We're also running a migration and all existing users who have migrated already will receive an email once this change goes live.

Last modified on: May 15, 2025
Info
Please note that Zoho Subscriptions is now Zoho Billing.
Hello everyone!
 
We're delighted to announce some enhancements we've recently made to the finance suite integration with Zoho CRM. These improvements focus primarily on two major integrations:
  • Zoho Books
  • Zoho Subscriptions
We've implemented these updates carefully based on the valuable feedback we've received to ensure that the user experience is smoother. So without further ado, let's dive into the details!

Enhancements to the Zoho Books integration

We've refined some of the integrated features between Zoho CRM and Zoho Books to address previous challenges and enhance user interactions.

What were the challenges? 
  • Users were unable to send emails using their email addresses.
  • Zoho Books sometimes generated inaccurate reports during audits because records created from Zoho CRM weren't being updated with the correct user names in Zoho Books.
  • User-level permissions, field-level permissions and processes such as the Approval process in Zoho Books weren't being properly handled in Zoho CRM.
  • Users who did not have proper authorization to use Zoho Books were able to create transactions from CRM by using admin's permissions.
All of these challenges arose because the integration operated exclusively via the integration owner/admin's authentication (only the admin-level permissions in Zoho Books are handled, while other user-level permissions are not accounted for), which meant that any actions performed in CRM were recorded under the name of the admin in Books.

What have we enhanced? 

1. Introducing Integration users 

Sales personnel typically manage tasks up to the estimates stage in a sales process. Therefore, CRM users who have primarily worked on estimates modules and have not engaged in subsequent activities like invoices can now be added as Integration Users from CRM to Zoho Books without the need for new licenses in Books. In other words, integration users in Zoho CRM are standard CRM users whose admins can grant specific permissions to carry out certain tasks within the Estimates module, as required.



Info
What permissions do integration users have? 
  • After being added, integration users can perform all operations, including creating, viewing, and editing records within the Estimates module.
    Notes
  • However, they can only access other modules, such as Invoices, Sales Orders, and Purchase Orders in view mode.
  • Integration users will not have direct access to Zoho Books.
  • When integration users are part of multiple finance suite products, their permissions are collectively applied within CRM.

2. Unified permissions between Zoho CRM and Zoho Books  

For users with access to both Zoho CRM and Books, the integration will now ensure proper management of permissions, covering all aspects. This means if a user is restricted from certain actions or features in Zoho Books, these restrictions will be consistently applied in CRM as well. Previously, users could access and interact with features in CRM that they were not authorized for in Zoho Books, leading to discrepancies. This enhancement will eliminate such inconsistencies, ensuring uniform permission management and preventing unauthorized access or actions across both platforms.

Alert
Migration for existing users
  • For the integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Books to function seamlessly, and to maintain uniform user permissions,existing users have the option to migrate immediately.
  • Alternatively, they have a three-month window to complete the migration. After this period, users will be automatically added as 'Integration Users' based on their utilization of the finance module.
    Notes
  • To facilitate this, select the "Migrate Users" option to view and manage users common to both systems. Upon clicking "Save," the backend migration initiates. Following this, the integration adheres to each user's designated scope and permissions.
  • Users can migrate up to 1,000 integration users initially. If they need to migrate more, they can contact the support team for additional help.
  • Users who are already part of Zoho Books can't be added as integration users.
Please note that for new sign-ups, 'Integration users' will be available by default and they can set it up during the initial integration setup process.

Enhancement to the Zoho Subscription integration

Currently, when Zoho Subscription is integrated with CRM, it automatically adds Zoho Subscription as a related list in the Contacts and Accounts modules. You can view subscription details in a pop-up (iframe). Although users can create new subscriptions, there is a limitation on creating subscription-based reports and dashboards.



Now let's take a quick look at the enhancements made to the Zoho Subscription integration.

1. Introducing the Zoho Subscription Module

Zoho Subscriptions will now be available as a module in CRM, accessible to users with appropriate permissions. With this update, users now can generate reports based on Zoho Subscriptions data.



Hereafter, Zoho Subscriptions will be displayed both as a related list and as a module. Users with subscription permissions can currently create and view records in related lists; however, moving forward, they will be able to view and create records from the subscription module as well. Additionally, users will also have the option to view subscription records based on the pre-defined custom views.



2. Reports and analytics for subscriptions 

Zoho CRM offers report and analytical dashboard presets that users can adjust as needed to create personalized reports. In turn, this allows users to gain a better understanding of their customers and track key performance metrics, enabling them to make more informed decisions.
 
To try out system-defined reports based on Zoho Subscriptions, you can navigate to the Reports module and select any of the reports available under the Zoho Subscription Reports folder.



However, for analytics, we're providing two dashboards: Zoho Subscription Overview and Zoho Subscription Insights. You can navigate to the Analytics module and find these dashboards by default on the left panel.



3. Streamlined user permissions

The integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Subscriptions, which used to be controlled by integration owner/admin permissions, will now operate based on the current users' scope. This guarantees uniformity in user permissions across both platforms, preventing users from accessing CRM features that they do not have authorization for in Zoho Subscriptions.
 
That's all we have for the enhancements in this edition. We'll keep you posted on further updates. Please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
 

Release Plan: 
  • These enhancements are being rolled out in phases and are now available to all users across all data centres, with the exception of the US DC, where they are currently available only to organizations on editions below Enterprise. 
Thanks!
Nizamuddin
IdeaP.S. We would like to acknowledge the significant contributions and ongoing recommendations provided by our MVP, @Kevin Flynn. His insights – shared in the community forum – have been instrumental in addressing challenges related to users experiencing difficulties in sending emails with their addresses, as well as issues concerning user and field-level permissions.

    • Recent Topics

    • Navigate with Ease: Announcing Improvements to Your Zoho CRM for Everyone's Setup Experience

      Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce new enhancements to the Setup Menu in our Zoho CRM for Everyone system, designed to simplify your workday and streamline your overall experience. What's New? Addition of a Setup Homepage Faster Search in Setup

    • Currency abbreviations

      Hello, Im stuck, and need help. I need the currency fields for example, opportunity value, or total revenue, to be abbreviated, lets say for 1,000 - 1K, 1,000,000 - 1M, and so on, how should I do this?

    • Account Owner Field From Accounts Module to be Displayed in Contacts module

      I have a field in the Accounts Module in the CRM called "Account Owner" i want that field to be also mapped into the Contacts Module custom single line field called "Account Manager".

    • Update a field in the ZOHO Form, basis numeric value in another field in the same form

      I am trying to create a questionnaire in ZOHO, where clients need to answer 10 questions, and basis response, values are assigned. I have created a total score field where the sum of the values is stored. But i am unable to create a rule whereby another

    • Default Sorting on Related Lists

      Is it possible to set the default sorting options on the related lists. For example on the Contact Details view I have related lists for activities, emails, products cases, notes etc... currently: Activities 'created date' newest first Emails - 'created

    • How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

      Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan

    • Meet up de Zoho en Bilbao

      Buenos días comunidad! Estamos estudiando hacer un Meet up en Bilbao desde zoho y varios Partners. Para que la experiencia sea excelente, queremos saber cuantas pesonas se vendrían a Bilbao al evento. Y para que sea lo mas útil posible, que temas dentro

    • Option to Customize Career Site URL Without “/jobs/Careers”

      Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Career Site URL structure in Zoho Recruit. In the old version of the career site, our URL was simply: 👉 https://jobs.domain.com However, after moving to

    • In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."}

      In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."} this is button Function used in the Creator map Inventory.Create_Credit_note(int CRE_ID) { return_value

    • Creator Change History: Ways to improve

      Hi Everyone, Recently been working in developing this change history(an idea from Zoho Forms) - unlike forms that you can this with a click but using Creator, we can use "old" keyword. The concept I come up with is to put the result in a table however,

    • Marketing Tip #2: Recover lost sales with abandoned cart emails

      Did you know most online shoppers don’t complete checkout? Automated cart recovery emails are an easy way to bring them back. A simple reminder can recover sales you’d otherwise lose. Try this today: Enable abandoned cart emails in Zoho Commerce and set

    • Billing Management: #9 Usage Billing in IoTs

      We live in a world where connectivity has become a lifestyle rather than a luxury. From smart thermostats that adjust your home's temperature to GPS trackers monitoring end-to-end fleets and sensors that optimize energy grids, the Internet of Things has

    • {"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"}

      Today this began failing: sales_order_data = zoho.books.createRecord("salesorders",books_organization_ID,order_data); with this error message. {"code":1038,"message":"JSON is not well formed"} This code has been running for two years. Here is the input

    • Exciting Updates to the Kiosk Studio Feature in Zoho CRM!

      Hello Everyone, We are here again with a series of new enhancements to Kiosk Studio, designed to elevate your experience and bring even greater efficiency to your business processes. These updates build upon our ongoing commitment to making Kiosk a powerful

    • How can I migrate Shared Mailbox from Zoho Mail to Team Inbox?

      I am unable to migrate mails from my shared mailbox in Zoho Mail to Team Inbox. I am the super admin of my Zoho One plan and yet I am getting an error saying only admins can do this? I don't understand the issue.

    • Remember all the ways we've posted?

      The world celebrates World Postal Day in 2025 with the theme “#PostForPeople: Local Service. Global Reach". The story of the “post” is a story of human connection itself, evolving from simple handwritten notes carried over long distances to instant digital

    • In arattai received message can't be deleted

      The issue has been noticed in following: arattai app (Android) arattai app (Window) arattai web While the message posted by me may be deleted, the ones received from others can't be. The item <Delete> change to <Report> when the message is a received

    • Add Support for Authenticator App MFA in Zoho Desk Help Center

      Hello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement related to security for the Zoho Desk Help Center (customer portal). Currently, the Help Center supports MFA for portal users via SAML, JWT, SMS authentication,

    • Can no longer upload my own Notebook cover

      I've had Notebook for over a year and have been able to create my own notebook covers, but when I tried to upload my own cover for a new notebook today, the upload feature has suddenly been starred, requiring me to upgrade my account. When did this

    • External File Share - Allow delete

      Hi Team, when I share an external link and give it edit rights the external user can add but not delete files and folders. what am i doing wrong?

    • Elevate your CX delivery using CommandCenter 2.0: Simplified builder; seamless orchestration

      Most businesses want to create memorable customer experiences—but they often find it hard to keep them smooth, especially as they grow. To achieve a state of flow across their processes, teams often stitch together a series of automations using Workflow

    • Zoho Desk - Cannot Invite or Register New User

      Hi who may concern, we encountered a problem that we cannot invite user or the visitor cannot register for a user at all through our help center portal, with the snapshot shown as below and the attachement. It always pops up that "Sorry, Unable to process

    • Kaizen# 209 - Answering Your Questions | All About Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post! Thanks for all your feedback and questions. In this post, let's see the answers to your questions related to Client Script. We took the time to discuss with our development team, carefully

    • 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

    • Reports: Custom Search Function Fields

      Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report with

    • Custom domain issue

      I recently changed records for my support area custom domain for a few months, I then wanted to come back to Zoho, but now I can't connect it and I can't login as it's having an SSL issue. I cannot get a good response from support, as I've been notified

    • SOME FEATURES ARE NOT IN THE ZOHO SHEET IN COMPARISION TO ZOHO SHEET

      TO ZOHO sir/maam with due to respect i want to say that i am using ZOHO tool which is spreadsheet i want to say that some features are not there in zoho sheet as comparison to MS EXCEL like advance filter and other Features which should be there in ZOHO

    • Zoho Sheet - Desktop App or Offline

      Since Zoho Docs is now available as a desktop app and offline, when is a realistic ETA for Sheet to have the same functionality?I am surprised this was not laucned at the same time as Docs.

    • 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

    • Auto-upload Creator Files to WorkDrive

      Hi everyone, I’m working on a workflow that uploads files from Zoho Creator to specific subfolders in Zoho WorkDrive, as illustrated in the attached diagram. My Creator application form has two multi-file upload fields, and I want—on successful form submission—to

    • How do you generate personalized certificates and save them in dynamic folders using Writer's mail merge?

      Zoho Writer's mail merge feature can help you enhance the certificate management process. It's a great way to save time and effort! Merge certificates and maintain a well-organised repository with personalised certificates stored in separate folders for

    • Zoho Editor

      Zoho PDf Editor is not working I am clicking on EDIT PDf then it again bringing me back to the same page. again and again.

    • The present is a "present"

      The conversation around mental health has been gaining attention in recent years. Even with this awareness, we often feel stuck; the relentless pace of modern life makes us too busy to pause, reflect, and recharge. In the world of customer support, this

    • Export as MP4 or GIF

      Hi, Just wondering if there's a way to export/convert a presentation to an MP4 video file or even a GIF. One use case would be to use the animation functionality to create social media graphics/charts/gifs/videos. Thanks for a great tool... Rgds Jon

    • Zoho Autoplay Issue

      Currently, we run our graphics on a playlist with youtube videos interspersed in our office -- however, when we go to update the playlist (since last Thursday at around 8-9am EST) it no longer saves the autoplay function.  We have tried making a new account, manually saving with cntrl+s, making a new show, etc but nothing seems to work.  Even with our old program, we can't change it off of autoplay for ones that were created in the past. Another issue is that if we change a slide transition to anything

    • Where is the Global Search field?

      I am looking for an alternative to SF.com. Zoho CRM seems to be work fine, and be customizable in terms of the fields and reports. But there's one big thing missing and it's going to prevent us from using it: there's no global search box at the top of

    • Zoho Sheet Autofit Data

      While using Autofit Data function in Zoho Sheets with Devnagri Maratji or Hindi Fonts, a word or a number, it keeps couple of characters outside the right side border.

    • KPI Widget dashboard select periods

      I have a problem with selecting periods as a user filter. In the beste scenario I would like to have to have a period filter like Google Analytics has of Datastudio (see attachment). In the KPI widget I "Group by "inquiry_date" on week&Year". It selects

    • Unattended Access on Android without Play Store

      I'm testing Zoho Assist for remote config and maintenance of our IoT devices. The devices are running Android 8.1 and do NOT have Google Play Store installed, nor can it be installed. I've been able to install Zoho Assist on the devices and load the enrollment

    • Search in Zoho Community Not Working

      I realize this is a bit of a meta topic, but the search for the various Zoho Communities appears to not be working. I'm under the impression that they run on some version of the Zoho Desk platform, so I'm posting this here.

    • Next Page