Kaizen 230 - Smart Discount-Based Quote Approvals Using CRM Functions and Approval Process

Kaizen 230 - Smart Discount-Based Quote Approvals Using CRM Functions and Approval Process


Hello everyone!
Welcome back to the Kaizen series!
Discount approvals are a standard part of sales governance.
Most organizations need something like this:

Discount %
Required Action
< 10%
Auto-approve
10–19.99%
Sales Manager approval
≥ 20%
VP Sales approval

Zoho CRM already includes a powerful Approval Process feature capable of routing records, locking them, notifying approvers, and maintaining audit history.
So the natural question is "Isn’t the native Approval Process enough?". Often, yes. But when the discount logic depends on accurate percentage calculation across line items and header adjustments, we need a small architectural enhancement.

This Kaizen combines Functions(for decisions), Workflow Rules(for triggers), Approval Process(for governance), and Reporting Hierarchy(for routing) into a clean, scalable solution.

Understanding the native Approval Process

Before adding anything custom, it’s important to recognize what the Approval Process already does extremely well.
  1. Evaluates criteria based on field values
  2. Automatically submits records
  3. Locks records during review
  4. Routes to users, roles, or hierarchy levels
  5. Maintains approval history
  6. Sends notifications
It is a powerful governance engine.
However, it evaluates existing values and does not calculate new ones. That distinction matters in discount scenarios.

The missing piece: Reliable discount percentage

In Quotes:
  1. Discounts may be applied at line-item level
  2. Discounts may be applied at header level
  3. Grand Total reflects cumulative adjustments

There is no guaranteed native field that consistently represents
True Discount % = (Sub_Total - Grand_Total) / Sub_Total * 100

If approval rules rely directly on partial fields(like “Discount”), they may misrepresent the effective discount.

To ensure accuracy, we introduce a Function to calculate and store a reliable Discount Percentage.
We are not replacing the Approval Process, but preparing accurate data for it.

Here is the architectural flow with each component having a distinct responsibility. This makes the system sustainable.
Quote Saved --> Workflow triggers Function --> Function calculates Discount % --> Function sets Approval_Status --> Approval Process evaluates status --> Record submitted and locked

Let's go over this one step at a time.

Step 1: Create Custom Fields(Quotes Module)

Field
Type
Purpose
Discount_Percentage
Percent
Stores calculated discount
Approval_Status
Picklist
Controls approval trigger. Values:
  1. Auto Approved
  2. Pending Manager Approval
  3. Pending VP Approval
  4. Approved
  5. Rejected
Approval_LevelSingle LineDisplays routing level

Step 2: Write the CRM Function(Decision Layer)

This function calculates the effective discount and determines the approval level. This function becomes the decision engine.
void automation.Set_Quote_Approval_Level(String id)
{
quoteId = id.toLong();
quoteDetails = zoho.crm.getRecordById("Quotes",quoteId);
if(quoteDetails != null)
{
subTotal = ifnull(quoteDetails.get("Sub_Total"),0).toDecimal();
grandTotal = ifnull(quoteDetails.get("Grand_Total"),0).toDecimal();
discount = subTotal - grandTotal;
discountPercentage = 0.0;
if(subTotal > 0)
{
discountPercentage = discount / subTotal * 100;
}
approvalStatus = "";
approvalLevel = "";
if(discountPercentage < 10)
{
approvalStatus = "Auto Approved";
approvalLevel = "None - Auto Approved";
}
else if(discountPercentage < 20)
{
approvalStatus = "Pending Manager Approval";
approvalLevel = "Sales Manager";
}
else
{
approvalStatus = "Pending VP Approval";
approvalLevel = "VP Sales";
}
updateMap = Map();
updateMap.put("Discount_Percentage",discountPercentage.round(2));
updateMap.put("Approval_Status",approvalStatus);
updateMap.put("Approval_Level",approvalLevel);
updateResponse = zoho.crm.updateRecord("Quotes",quoteId,updateMap);
}
}

Step 3: Workflow(Trigger Layer)

Every time a quote is saved, we want the discount to be evaluated automatically.
Create the following Workflow Rule:
Module: Quotes
Trigger: On Create or Edit
Action: Execute Function
Map the Quote ID with the "id" argument in the function.


Step 4: Approval Process(Governance Layer)

Rule 1 - Manager Approval when Discount% is 10 to 19.99
Approval_Status = "Pending Manager Approval" --> Route to Sales Manager(via hierarchy)

Rule 2 - VP Sales Approval when Discount% >= 20
Approval_Status = "Pending VP Approval" --> Route to VP Sales(via hierarchy)
When this process is triggered, CRM:
  1. Submits the record for approval
  2. Locks it
  3. Sends notification
  4. Tracks approval history

The outcome


Why is this layered approach strong?

This design works well because each component in the system has a clearly defined responsibility. The CRM Function acts as the decision layer. It performs the discount calculation, determines the appropriate approval level, and updates the control fields. This ensures that the logic behind the approval requirement is accurate and intentional.

The workflow serves as the trigger layer. Its only job is to execute the function whenever a quote is created or edited. It does not contain business logic; it simply initiates the evaluation process at the right time.

The approval process becomes the governance layer. Once the function sets the appropriate status, the approval engine evaluates the criteria, submits the record, locks it, routes it to the correct approver, and maintains the approval history. This is where enforcement happens.

Finally, the reporting hierarchy determines who the approver is. Instead of hard-coding specific users, the system dynamically identifies the appropriate manager or second-level supervisor based on the role structure. This keeps the design scalable and adaptable to organizational changes.

By separating calculation, triggering, enforcement, and routing into distinct layers, the solution remains clean, maintainable, and easy to extend. The Approval Process continues to do what it does best—govern and enforce—while the Function ensures that the decision it evaluates is accurate and business-driven.

Summary

Zoho CRM’s native Approval Process is powerful and reliable.
When business logic depends on calculated values, like true discount percentage, introducing a function strengthens the design by ensuring accurate, consistent decision-making.
Used together, Functions and Approval Process create:
  1. Intelligent routing
  2. Accurate governance
  3. Clean audit trails
  4. Scalable architecture
That combination is what makes this solution robust.

We hope you liked this post. We'll see you next week with another interesting one!
Write to us at support@zohocrm.com or let us know your feedback in the comments section of this post.

Cheers!



==========================================================================




    • Sticky Posts

    • Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

      Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! 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.

    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Developer - Feature Request Platform

      Zoho Developer is one of the most underatted platform in zoho ecosystem, however, it may just be what zoho needs to welcome more people to use Zoho Services. The more developers you have creating zoho creator applications and zoho extensions the more

    • Last/Previous month in relative date filter

      In the relative date filter, what is the difference between "Last 2 months" and "Previous 2 months"? So, if we are on 25-July, then is my understanding correct of the following: Last 2 months :=:      25-May~24 July Previous 2 months :=:     01-May~30-June Thanks.

    • Tags get removed from notes on mobile

      I don't know why this keeps happening even after all these app updates but if you log out and log back into the app or you reinstall it, all the tags you assigned to your notes get taken off, but if you go on the desktop version the tags are still there.

    • Introducing Lead Capture: Empower exhibitors to capture leads effortlessly

      Events provide a great opportunity for exhibitors to generate awareness and engage with potential customers. Efficiently distributing attendee information to exhibitors through a seamless and secure way is of paramount importance. Introducing Lead Capture

    • Work Order Creation Issue

      Dear Team, I would like to inquire about the daily limit for Work Order creation in Zoho FSM. Yesterday (02/05/2025) at around 6:30 PM GST, I attempted to create a Work Order, but I have been unable to do so since then. Please find the attached image

    • URGENT: ChatGPT Extension Failing With “gpt-3 Access Error” (Priority Support)

      Appreciate support reviewing this urgently. I am a Priority Support member and need immediate clarification on a recurring issue involving the ChatGPT extensions inside Zoho Desk. Both extensions — including the version created and published by Zoho —

    • Zoho Desk iOS update: Custom buttons, follow/ unfollow option on tickets

      Hello everyone! In the most recent Zoho Desk iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the custom buttons configured on web app(desk.zoho.com). Using custom buttons you can seamlessly execute predefined actions directly from their mobile devices,

    • Zoho pdf suit

      Pl. design products with following feature: 1. Please add all features given in Ilovepdf website to work on pdf files. It is mandatory to use pdf in court work. 2. Courts have prescribed New Times Roman, pl. add this font as well 3. Indexing, signature

    • Zoho Not Working

      Today Zoho not wokring

    • Dynamically autofill fields with URL parameters

      I have a zoho form embedded in my organization's WP website. Our users find their account with a search tool, and then can select to open this page with the embedded form. The URL of the page holds the parameter that I need, but I cannot figure out how

    • Integrate Projects for Desk KB article release tasks

      Could you please look into the possibility of integrating project tasks for Zoho Desk article release processes? We are looking for an internal integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk's KB article drafting, reviewing and releasing tasks. We could

    • Issue in Annual Leave

      We created a policy to credit 21 days at the Start of the Year An employee has taken 16 days of leaves thought the year, so we expect to see 5 Leaves remaining right? But Zoho People is Showing 12 Days of Leave Balance Available If we check the Leave

    • Use the searchBy parameter to find user by email address

      I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get either

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 2

      Hello Everyone! Mid-September vibes: fresh tips, smart hacks, and practical Zoho CRM updates all in one place. Let’s dive in. Product Updates: The All-New Address Field! The new Address field type makes it easier to capture complete addresses in one structured

    • Zoho Vault API: Create new Secrets

      Hello, I attempt to Post Secrets to the vault, since the encrypted entries are almost impossible to decrypt, since there is no documentation on how to decrypt them. Like with the lack of documentation on how to descrypt, there are missing information regarding on how to create new secrets/post secrets. Source: https://www.zoho.com/vault/api/#create-a-new-secret When I try to send JSON Informationen as a POST-Request I only receive the error message: {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",

    • CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column

      When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this.  We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it.   If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quick

    • Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

      "Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems

    • Account name not populating when importing contacts

      When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv file

    • Suggestion to improve zoho writer

      I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks

    • webhook basic authentication

      II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555

    • Issue with Hour Calculation in Zoho People Attendance Module

      I have noticed an issue in the attendance regularization feature of Zoho People. When trying to regularize past dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, if I enter a check-in and check-out time for a previous day, the

    • Push Notification for New Bookings in Zoho Bookings App

      when a someone schedules an appointment through the booking page, is there any option to receive a push notification in the mobile app?

    • Automation in Zoho Sprints

      Hi. I have a Sprints board with the following statuses: ToDo, InProgress, CodeReview, Testing, Preprod, Live When a ticket is moved from e.g. Testing to Preprod, the following tags should be modified: remove 'tested OK' remove 'ready for Preprod' add

    • Export Purchase orders as Excel

      Is it possible to export purchase orders as excel rather than PDF? Our suppliers don't want orders made in PDF, they need it to be excel

    • Draft & Schedule Emails Directly in Bigin

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to email in Bigin. We'll go over each one in detail, but here's a quick overview: Previously, you couldn't draft or schedule emails in Bigin, but

    • TDS Filing

      Is there any option for automatic 26Q and 24Q filing in Zoho books. Even Tally has this option. Why don't Zoho has this ? Is there any customisation available for this ?

    • Zia’s AI Assist now helps you write clearer notes — in seconds

      After helping recruiters craft job descriptions, emails, and assessments, Zia’s AI Assist is now stepping in to make note-taking effortless too. Whether you’re recording feedback after an interview or sharing quick updates with your team, you can now

    • Shortcut to fill a range of cells

      Good evening: I'm writing because I haven't been able to find a feature that allows you to select a range of cells, type in one of them, and then use a key combination to type in all of them. In Excel, the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Enter. I haven't found

    • Object required error

      Hi, I am getting an 'Object required' error on the line Call HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws, startOfWeek, endOfWeek) when I run the ShowCurrentWeek macro but not when I run the ShowCurrentMonth macro. Any ideas? Regards, GW Option Explicit Sub HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws

    • Zoho CRM - Rename "Estimates" in CRM Finance Suite Integration to "Quotes"

      I'm not sure if it's been 2 or 3 years now since Zoho Books renamed Estimates to Quotes. I still see "Estimates" in the Zoho CRM integration. Could this be added to Translation settings so that some customisation could be made on an account by account

    • Its 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later

      I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely useful

    • New Series Announcement - Ecommerce Marketing Tips

      Running an online business is more than just having a website. It’s about getting the right customers to discover you, trust you, and keep coming back. To support your growth journey, we’re launching a weekly Marketing Tips series right here on Zoho Commerce

    • Marketing Tip #7: Add a blog to your online store

      A blog is more than content. It’s a magnet for new customers. Sharing product guides, styling tips, or industry insights through blog posts builds trust and helps you rank higher on search engines. Try this today: Write one blog post answering a common

    • Allow Regular Users to Directly Transfer Ownership of Files & Folders

      Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to file and folder ownership management in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, a regular user cannot directly transfer ownership of their files or folders

    • Triggering rules on lead conversion

      There is no field on the Rule list for rule conversion to trigger an alert on liead conversion to a potential. I assigned a rule to file on any creation or update of a lead. The lead was changed a lead to a potential but no rule was fired. Rajesh Bhadra

    • Customised Funnel

      We are running the standard plan for our ZOHO CRM. I have been asked if there is a way to combine data from the Calls module, Deals module and Contact Module into 1 funnel, similar to the view you can get when viewing Deals By Stages, you can see the

    • Trigger Zapier on Deluge Insert Into Function?

      Hello, To get around the limitation of not being able to trigger a Zapier Zap on Record Update(this would be extremely useful to be able to do btw), I have created a Deluge script to copy the data from Form A to a Trigger Form B using the Insert Into expression from a Custom Action button on a Report from Form A.  This action does not trigger the Zapier Zap whereas manually adding a record or duplicating an existing record does trigger the Zap. Is Insert Into not the same as a manual Add in the context

    • Can you inject JS in an HML+CSS+Deluge Page?

      I have an HTML + CSS + Deluge page and need just a little vanilla JS functionality. However, it seems like Zoho Creator does not allow that. I'm required to create a JS widget. Is this correct? If so: 1. Won't this quickly consume my API limit if there

    • Zoho unified inbox

      The new changes have definitely improved things for switching between accounts.  But zoho still desperately needs a unified inbox.  It sucks to have to enter filters and folders for each and every inbox.  This seems like such a simple thing, i wonder why Zoho hasn't done it?

    • Best Practice for Penny Rounding & FX Adjustments in Zoho Books

      Hi everyone, I’m just looking for some clarity on the correct way to handle very small rounding differences in Zoho Books when dealing with foreign-currency payments. What I’m currently doing: • I enter the supplier bill exactly as shown. • When paying

    • Next Page