Zoho Backstage August 2025 Updates

Zoho Backstage August 2025 Updates

Every month, Zoho Backstage grows with you. These updates aren't just features and fixes, they're about making your workday smoother, your events more impactful, and your attendees happier. We’ve listened, learned, and shaped this release to keep things simple where they can be, powerful where they should be, and thoughtful all the way through. Think of it as a mini renovation where the walls stay up, but the lights shine brighter, the doors swing easier, and your coffee somehow refills itself. Let’s take a look at what’s new and enhanced this August.

Session registration  

Turn your agenda into a choose-your-own adventure.

We’re excited to announce the arrival of session registration in Zoho Backstage. This feature gives event organizers more control over premium content, attendee scheduling, and capacity management while creating a more personalized experience for participants.

With session registration, organizers can monetize high-value content such as workshops, masterclasses, and sessions featuring high-profile speakers. Attendees can pre-select the sessions they want to attend, helping them build structured schedules that suit their interests. On the organizer’s side, this avoids overcrowding by enforcing capacity limits and provides valuable insights into which sessions generate the most demand for future planning.



How it works:
  • Session registration can be enabled from the Manage > Agenda screen. Once configured and republished, sessions will appear on the event website with registration options.
  • When attendees register for the event, they can now select tickets, choose sessions, provide attendee details, associate attendees with specific sessions, and complete their payments in a single flow.
  • After logging in, registered sessions appear under a new Your Sessions tab, while order-level details are available in Your Orders. If a session is canceled, attendees will see the update under Cancel and Refund History.
  • Even after ticket purchase, ticket holders can log into the event website, go to Agenda > Register, and sign up for sessions later. Please note that, in this release, purchasers can't register sessions on behalf of other ticket holders.
Event organizers will find new tools to manage and track session registrations:
  • Session Registration tab: Displays a list of all registered attendees, with options to filter by track, sort by details, and manage visible columns such as session name, track, date, time, and attendee count.
  • Register New Attendee: Organizers can register attendees directly from the Session Registration tab or from each session’s View Attendees section. Here, they can export data, apply filters like ticket class or check-in status, and customize visible columns.



  • Session Check-In: Supports both free and paid sessions. Organizers can register and check in attendees directly, even if they haven't registered in advance, through the Yet to Register section under Session Check-In.
After registration, attendees receive session details by email, similar to ticket confirmations. Email notifications also cover session cancelations. Within the Order Details tab, session information is listed alongside tickets, with cancelations and refunds captured in the Cancel & Refund History pane.
Info
Plan availability: Available across all plans. Paid sessions are supported starting from Essentials and above.

Ticket grouping

Because tickets deserve a family tree too.

We’re adding more clarity and flexibility to how tickets are managed in Zoho Backstage with the introduction of ticket class grouping. This feature allows organizers to organize different ticket types into groups, making it easier to present a structured and intuitive registration flow for attendees.

Ticket classes such as General Admission, VIP, Free, Investor, or Partner passes can now be grouped together in a way that highlights their distinctions while still keeping the registration process simple. This helps attendees quickly understand the differences between options and choose tickets that best match their preferences, budget, or privileges.



How it works:
  • Navigate to Registrations > Ticket Class > Add Ticket Group. Create a new group and assign ticket classes to it.
  • Once created, groups can be edited at any time to add or remove ticket classes. If you need to rearrange, simply use the "Move to" option or drag and drop ticket classes within or across groups. If a group is deleted, only the group itself is removed, while the ticket classes remain available and appear as ungrouped.
This update gives organizers flexibility to design their ticketing structure around audience segments, ensuring clarity during registration while keeping the backend easy to manage.



On the event website, tickets are displayed in their grouped structure by default, giving attendees a clear view of available options. Organizers can choose to disable this grouped display from the website builder if they prefer a simpler layout. Any ungrouped ticket classes are automatically displayed under an “Others” section, ensuring no ticket is left out. The grouped view is consistently shown across the Tickets page, the Select Tickets screen, and even when adding an order from the Orders tab.

By grouping ticket classes, event organizers can create a clearer, more organized registration experience that benefits both their team and their attendees.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans. 

Assign primary contacts for custom forms

No more “Who’s handling this?” moments.

Managing form responses just got a whole lot easier. With this update, Zoho Backstage now lets you assign a primary contact for each custom form. That means every submission reaches the right person without extra forwarding or missed follow-ups.



How it works:
  • Navigate to Communicate > Preferences > Primary Contact > Module-Specific Primary Contact > Assign Primary Contact.
  • Or, head to Manage > Custom Forms > Edit > Form Builder and set the contact directly from there.
  • If you ever need to make a change, simply click Change, and you’ll be redirected back to the Primary Contact settings under Communicate. From there, you can update your configuration without any hassle.
Once a primary contact is set, every response submitted through your event website will trigger an email notification to the designated person. This means no more delayed follow-ups or confusion over who’s responsible for handling incoming submissions. Communication becomes more streamlined, and accountability is always clear.

The benefit of this update is simple: by assigning primary contacts, you ensure that form responses never slip through the cracks. The right people receive the right submissions, ownership is straightforward, and your team can manage event communications with greater confidence.

This enhancement is now available across all plans that support custom forms. 
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Premium and Ultimate plans.

Enhancements

A new look for order management in Zoho Backstage

Orders, organized!

The Orders tab in the Registration module has been reimagined. What was once a simple list of purchases is now a full-featured workspace where organizers can view, edit, and act on orders with far more control than before.



At the heart of the update is a redesigned Order Details view. Each order is now broken down into clear sections: Order Information, Purchaser Details, and Order Summary. This structure helps organizers quickly locate the information they need without extra effort. Attendees and session registrations are also displayed in separate panels, making it clear who is associated with each order.

If something needs to be updated, the new Edit Order pane lets organizers adjust purchaser information and access billing addresses quickly. For offline orders, payments can now be marked manually as paid or unpaid, with fields for payment mode, transaction ID, and notes.

From the More Actions menu, every order now comes with tools to:
  • Resend order emails
  • Edit purchaser information
  • Cancel or refund orders (with adjustable fees and refund amounts)
  • Check purchaser email history
  • Track order activity in real time
This means fewer steps, less switching between screens, and a faster workflow for managing registrations.

Events can generate thousands of orders, and keeping them organized is now easier than ever. The Orders tab includes advanced filters for order status, type, payment method, payment mode, and source. Sorting by purchaser name, order ID, or date/time makes it simple to surface the right records. And with 18 column headers to choose from, organizers can design their own view of the data, showing only what matters most.

This release doesn’t just improve the present—it also prepares for what’s ahead. 
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans. 

Exhibitor categories made better

Give your categories a glow-up.

We’ve upgraded your exhibitor category setup and management in Zoho Backstage. The new design gives you a cleaner interface, more flexibility, and better visibility controls.

With this release, categories are now more customizable. Organizers can group and organize benefits within each category, assign distinct colors for easy identification, and use visibility toggles to decide what's shown. Flexible display options allow each event setup to match its specific requirements, ensuring categories are both functional and clear.

The new creation and management screens make it easier to move between categories and their associated benefits. Benefits can be enabled or disabled whenever required, and their availability, counts, and status are presented in a structured way. This gives organizers a complete view of what's currently active in each category.

Categories can also be linked directly to exhibitor or sponsor packages so that reserved benefits are applied consistently. Assigning unique colors to categories adds another layer of clarity, making it simpler to manage and distinguish them.



On the website, organizers can now decide how categories are displayed to attendees. Categories may be shown or hidden, and exhibitor listings can appear in either a card view or a table view, depending on the style that best suits the event.

To start using it:
  • Navigate to Exhibitors > Exhibitor Categories, or configure the display preferences in Design > Website.
With Exhibitor Categories V2, organizers gain more control over how exhibitors are managed and presented, while attendees receive a clearer and more organized view of event participants.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans. 

New withdrawal flow in Registration Approval

Sometimes “no thanks” deserves its own button.

Event registration just got more flexible. We’ve added a new Withdrawn status to make the ticket request process smoother for both attendees and organizers. From now on, attendees who no longer wish to attend can simply withdraw their registration requests directly from the event website. These requests will be neatly recorded in the system and can be found under the Canceled filter in the Registration Approval tab.

On the website, attendees will see their request clearly marked as Withdrawn, ensuring there’s no confusion about whether their registration is still pending. For event organizers, this new status provides better visibility by separating attendee-initiated withdrawals from organizer-declined requests. This way, you’ll always know which cancelations were voluntary and which were rejected during approval.



To help you stay on top of your workflow, the Registration Approval tab now follows a simple guide. Pending requests are those awaiting review, approved requests are the ones you have confirmed, rejected requests are those you have declined, and withdrawn requests are those attendees have chosen to cancel themselves.
This update not only simplifies your approval process but also gives attendees more control over their registrations, making the overall experience clearer, more transparent, and easier to manage for everyone involved.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Free, Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans. 

More flexibility with Transaction ID requests

Ask for details only when you really need them.

We’ve introduced a new level of flexibility to how transaction details are collected during ticket registration. Event organizers can now choose whether to display the Transaction ID pop-up when attendees select an offline payment option.

By default, the Transaction ID request will appear for Bank Transfer, Check, and Other payment modes, ensuring that important reference details are collected upfront. However, if you prefer not to request these details, you now have the option to disable it with a simple setting change. On the other hand, for Pay at Venue, the Transaction ID request will remain disabled by default, but you can easily enable it if your workflow requires attendees to provide transaction details in advance.



To keep things transparent, any changes you make to the offline payment settings will be automatically recorded in the activity logs. This gives you a reliable trail of updates and ensures accountability across your event management team.

With this enhancement, you have greater control over how payments are managed, offering both convenience and flexibility for your attendees while keeping your processes streamlined.
Info
Plan availability: Included in the Essentials, Premium, and Ultimate plans

Other updates

New UI in Marketing Plus

A refreshed Zoho Backstage interface has been introduced in the Marketing Plus and CRM Plus bundles. The updated design improves navigation, creates consistency across modules, and helps organizers manage events with greater clarity and ease.

New themes: Velvet and Neo Noir

The Velvet and Neo Noir themes has been added to the website, giving organizers a bold and stylish option to match event branding. These modern designs introduce a darker palette with sleek layouts for professional-looking event pages.

New session card layout

A third layout style has been released for session cards under Design > Website settings. Organizers can select from multiple layouts to better highlight speakers, timings, or details, creating an agenda design tailored to their event.

Publish events without a location

Events can now be published without requiring a location to be entered, giving organizers more flexibility when setting up offline or hybrid events. This change makes publishing faster while accommodating events that may not need a physical address.

Schedule Demo option for Trial plans

Trial plan users are given the option to schedule a demo directly from their account. This addition makes it easier for new users to explore features, understand workflows, and receive guided assistance before moving to a paid plan.

Host parallel sessions

The restriction limiting organizers to a single active session has been lifted. Organizers gain more flexibility to test, manage, and run multiple tracks or parallel sessions without interruption, making event operations more efficient.


That’s everything we have for this month. Every improvement comes from your feedback, ideas, and support. Thank you for being part of this journey and for trusting Backstage to power your events. We'll be back soon with more updates. Until then, here’s to smoother planning, stronger connections, and events that leave lasting memories.

Info
All the features and enhancements mentioned in this article are available across all Zoho Backstage-supported data centers.
For additional assistance or questions regarding these new features, contact support@zohobackstage.com. Stay tuned for continued updates designed to enhance your event management capabilities.

    • Recent Topics

    • Self Client Authorization Code Flow for Mail returns 404

      Hello, I'm having trouble getting the Zoho mail api setup and want a sanity check. I am trying to follow this guide to get an access token for the mail api: https://www.zoho.com/accounts/protocol/oauth/self-client/authorization-code-flow.html Unfortunately

    • Zoho Knowledgebase Help Center Categories linkages are wrong

      Greetings, I am build a help center in zoho desk, based on the additional custom brand I have paid for. My knowledge base has 4 main categories. I have this setup this way in my knowledgebase customization theme area. The page layout is like this: Here

    • Resizing a Record Template Background Inage

      Hi everyone, I have an issue which I can't seem to resolve: Basically, I'm designing a record template in certificate form. I've specified A5 landscape. I've set my background image the same dimensions with total pixels at 443,520. Whatever I try, when

    • Connecting Learn to a Custom GPT

      Hi all! I am attempting to connect a Learn Space and all it's articles into a custom GPT. Has anyone successfully done this? I have worked on it with no success so far.

    • Tip 12: How can you customize the display name while sending emails from Zoho Creator.

      Hi folks, Usually when you send emails to your users, the display name defaults as your From email address. Most often, you would like to set a custom display name to represent your organization or the context of the email. You can mask or customize the display name (From Address) using Deluge script as long as the From email address has been verified. This would be very useful to you if you want to send bulk emails to a large audience.    Let's say you have a Student Registration form for your dance

    • Importing Data to update and not add

      I'm very new to Zoho created and tried searching the forums for the answer. Nothing I found has helped me make sense of how to do this. I created a app based on an excel spreadsheet but no matter what I do, whenever I import data it duplicates the record. I have a field I would like to use as a unique identifier, but I'm not sure how to tell my app that.  Any assistance, even a link to a tutorial on creating functions in the workflow of the app, would be very helpful. Unfortunately I can't share

    • Allow me to duplicate a field

      Hi, Many times I need to create new field with slightly change compare to an existing one. So when I click an existing field, can you add one more option "duplicate"? That'd be very helpful. You mayc heck wufoo.com to see this feature. Thanks, Li lhong1

    • Community Digest Noviembre 2024 - Todas las novedades en Español Zoho Community

      ¡Hola, Español Zoho Community! Wow, ya termina el año, ¡gracias a vuestra participación se nos ha pasado volando! Por eso mismo estamos preparando sorpresas para todos los que participáis en la Español Zoho Community para el próximo año, ¡estad atentos

    • Zoho Mail iOS app - Complete revamp of the UI including insert image option, toolbar customization, calendar widgets and more!

      Hello everyone! The new Zoho Mail iOS app introduces a fresh look, blending native iOS features with a refined UI and UX to make email management more intuitive. The updated design focuses on simplicity, ensuring smoother navigation throughout the app.

    • Download API file contents from browser

      Hi Team - is there something being planned to be able to trigger file downloads from the browser via a deluge script? i.e. retrieve a file via API, trigger the file download directly from the browser. Or... using the convertToPdf function (https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/functions/file/convert-to-pdf.html)

    • Adding a work order for Assets vs. changing the contact person

      When adding a work order for an existing Assets (e.g. service), the assigned contact cannot be changed (deleting the contact deletes the selected Assets). This results in such an illogical operation that if you want to change the person to be contacted,

    • DOMIN NME

      How many email account do zoho supports

    • Assign admins to the application

      I want to know who to assign admins to UAE Payroll application. I tried from inside the application, and from one.zoho.com >> directory and nothing is happening, knowing that I have enabled zoho people integration with payroll. Can someone help me?

    • Zoho Marketing Campaign

      I want a details report of marketing API . which API i can use to get a full flexed detail of email campaign , sms , social media ,and all other campaigns ?

    • ¿Puedo migrar mi sitio desde WordPress a Zoho? ¿Zoho admite herramientas con código personalizado?

      ¡Hola comunidad! Estoy evaluando la posibilidad de migrar mi sitio web https://calculadoradenotas.cl/ desde WordPress a una solución Zoho, y tengo algunas dudas técnicas que espero puedan aclararme. Mi sitio no es solo informativo: es una herramienta

    • Automating SharePoint Folder Creation based on Equipment Module

      Dear Team, I would like to seek your valuable advice on one of my requirements. My objective is to automatically create a SharePoint folder whenever a record is created in the Equipment module. The folder should be named based on the equipment name. Once

    • Can I view a gallery of attachments related to an Account, Contact, or Subscription

      It is often useful to review photos related to an account or contact by service type. It would be nice to be able to see the photos collected through workorders or appointments all associated.

    • Language Field on Contact Person-level

      Dear at Zoho Books, would it be possible for you to have a Field for 'Language' for the Contact Persons under a Company. In CRM and Bigin we could create a Custom Field (Dropdown) for this effect but without any present in Zoho Books we could never sync

    • Customise Zoho FSM Work Order Name

      Hi there, is there a way for us to customise the work order number? For example - I want to add auto look up for company name or dates at the end of the work order number. WO4 - Company ABC

    • Introducing Dynamic Display in Zoho CRM mobile apps

      Hello everyone, We're happy to announce that Dynamic Display is now available in the Zoho CRM mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. Mobile apps have become synonymous with convenience and flexibility. As more and more businesses rely on mobile

    • How we can integrate pdf attachments in zoho crm with xero

      when i tried to integrate the data and attchment from zoho crm to to xero only the data get integrated with xero how we can integrate the pdf attachment as well nb zoho apis are not working via functions

    • Delete user profile

      Hello, How can I delete a User Profile?

    • Send emails directly via Cases module

      Greetings all, The ability to send emails from the Cases module, which users have been eagerly anticipating, is now available, just like in the other modules. In Zoho CRM, Cases is a module specifically designed for managing support tickets. If your organization

    • Introducing delegate signing in Zoho Sign

      Hi everyone! We are happy to announce a new feature in Zoho Sign — Delegate Signing! Whether you're tied up in meetings, away on vacation, or managing multiple responsibilities, you can now assign a delegate to sign documents on your behalf. This ensures

    • Deleting Salutation Field

      We have updated our lead input screen and 'Salutation' has appeared. This is not visible in the 'Edit Pgae Layout' screen so cannot be moved to 'List of Removed Fields'  Salutation is visible in the list in 'Customization - Fields' however I can only 'Edit' or 'Replace' I cannot delete and I do not need this field on my lead input screen.  Please can you advise how to get rid of this.  Screen shots can be provided if needed.  Thank you Tasha

    • Zoho Voice VS in Zoho CRM for logging calls

      I don't understand the differences between logging calls in Zoho Voice VS in Zoho CRM. Why the 2 separate platforms? Seems confusing

    • Updates to Auto-Upgrade in Zoho Campaigns

      Hello everyone, We've rolled out a new update that slightly modifies how the auto-upgrade option in Zoho Campaigns works. Even if you hit the contact limit, this update ensures that your account is upgraded and that contacts are imported smoothly—without

    • Adding Sub-Forms to Merge Documents

      I am setting up a Mail Merge, which includes sub-form table data. I've done it before but now I am having issues: 1. The headings don't show. I had to enter these manually 2. The table lines are separated. I want them together. Anyone know how to fix

    • Zoho Bookings Online Training | July 31, 2025

      Hi everyone! We’re back with the second session of our Zoho Bookings training series! This time, we’ll show you how to automate your scheduling, manage appointments more efficiently, and explore advanced features for your industry. Join our free, two-hour

    • Translation of Tooltip Messages

      The descriptive help messages should be available to provide translations for.

    • Delete Inactive Zoho Accounts - Access Cleanup_User Id: 60001640923

      As part of our Zoho access hygiene, we’ve reviewed and deactivated several inactive user accounts. These accounts have not been used in the past year and are no longer tied to active operations. All access rights have been revoked, and records retained

    • CREATE button is grayed

      On Android adding new notes to notebooks with collections is impossible because the CREATE button is grayed. What can be done?

    • Can Zoho Creator Apps have multiple actors and steps? Example

      Mortgage Application App- Outside party fills out form via published website form, Inside party approves for additional documentation, outside party recieved requests for x, y, and z documents.  Outside party submits x, y and z but z is wrong.  Inside

    • How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go

      Hi All, Appreciate if anyone could help me with steps for below requirement. How to download all attachments from inbox, send, other folders in one go. Even mapping to new folder will help me.  Thanks in advance. 

    • Re-Apply SLA When Ticket Reopened from Closed Status?

      If you have an SLA applied, timers are deactivated when going to "On Hold" status type and reactivated when going back to an Open status type. What we discovered is when a customer replies to a closed case and it reopens, the SLA is not applied and timers

    • Zoho Expense Reimbursement

      I am using Zoho Expense for employee expenses.  At year end I accounted for reimbursement for the founders' expenses by doing a manual entry between employee reimbursements and shareholder loan.  All is correct in the balance sheet, but in Zoho expense the expense report totals are showing as owing still.  It doesn't impact the books, but I don't want to see amounts owing.  How can I zero these out?  The only way I can see it is by creating a transaction in Books that pays the employee via a bank

    • Request to Delete Mistakenly Created Zoho Desk Account – Access Blocked to Company Directory

      Dear Zoho Support Team, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to request assistance regarding a Zoho Desk account I mistakenly created using my company email address. I created the account before being officially onboarded by my company, and

    • Introducing an AI-driven CAPTCHA for Help Center that offers improved accessibility and enhanced security | Zoho Desk | Product Update

      Captcha protects your help center from fraud and abuse without creating friction. What is a CAPTCHA? CAPTCHA is a test used in computing to verify that a user is human by requiring them to complete a challenge. It helps prevent bot attacks and reduce

    • Announcing new features in Trident for Windows (v.1.29.4.0)

      Hello Community! Trident for Windows just got better! It’s packed with new features designed to enhance communication, manage important information securely, and give you a smoother, more productive experience. Let’s dive into what’s new! Access Zoho

    • Exporting Ticket Threads/Comments and Attachments in Reports

      Hi, I would like to know is it possible for Ticket Comments and/or Attachments to be displayed in Reports?

    • Next Page