Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 1

Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 1




Hello Everyone!


September's Here! Before we jump into product updates, and community highlights, here's a quick spotlight!

Zoho has launched a Professional Sales Rep Certification course on Coursera, tailored for sales professionals to strengthen their CRM and sales skills. The program covers CRM fundamentals, sales strategies, automation, and real-world CRM scenarios, helping you build both practical experience and recognized credentials. Check out the post to learn more and enroll.

With that exciting news covered, it’s time to dive into this month’s product updates and see what our community has been discussing.

Product Updates: 

Cadences Now Support WhatsApp Follow-ups!

You can now add WhatsApp messages as follow-ups in your Cadences. Choose from pre-approved templates like payment reminders, offers, or feedback requests, and schedule them just like emails or calls. This feature is available for the Leads and Contacts modules. We’ve also introduced combined limits for all follow-up types, allowing you to decide how many emails, calls, tasks, or WhatsApp messages to include in a Cadence.The Cadences limit per module has been increased to 70, with no individual follow-up limits, providing greater flexibility. Permissions for Cadences are now separated from “Manage Automation” for improved control. An add-on option is now available to extend usage without changing your subscription plan. Take a look at this post for more details. 

Zoho CRM Mobile Gets Sleek Updates!

We've introduced some cool new features for the mobile app,including customizable home page widgets and field tooltips that provide helpful guidance while filling fields. You can now update your user profile image directly from the iOS app, something that was previously only possible through the Zoho CRM web app. These updates make the mobile experience more informative, personal, and engaging. Check out the post for more details and a closer look at how these features enhance your mobile CRM experience.

Enhanced Data Export Features Now Live

Zoho CRM now gives you more control when exporting data. Supported enhancement include option to export in .xlsx format, choosing your character encoding while downloading as CSV files, and select exactly which records you want to export instead of full modules. These updates let you export data directly from a module page with more control and convenience. Check out the post for the full breakdown.

 

Quick Wins: 

Mass Email Count Mismatch? Here’s How to Track the Missing Sends
:

@Bill noticed a discrepancy in his campaign stats and wanted to find out which emails weren't sent. While Sent Email Statistics shows overall metrics like opened, clicked, and bounced, it doesn’t list unsent emails individually. To identify them, @Sunderjan suggested using advanced filters to sort records by Email Status   --> “Not Sent”. This lets them quickly see which contacts didn’t receive the email and take quick action or resend if needed. @Sunderjan has also shared a screenshot in the post to guide you through setting up this filter. Check it out for reference!

Track Daily Note Creation in Zoho CRM:

@Kaamil Ajani wanted to know if there’s a way to see how many notes are created each day in Zoho CRM. The good news: you can! Check out the post for the solution shared by @Ishwarya!

Developer Corner: 

Filtering Future Events: The COQL Way

@Simon wanted to retrieve only upcoming events using Zoho CRM’s API but found that their query returned all events instead of just future ones. To fix this, @Sunderjan suggested using Functions to get the current date and time, then fetching records from the open Meetings custom view or use the COQL query API for greater control. The post also covers how to set the timezone offset (for example +05:30) to ensure results align with your local time zone. A must-read post for anyone exploring how Zoho CRM APIs and filters work behind the scenes!

Search Records Under Approval

@Arbaz wanted to know how to fetch both approved and pending approval records using the searchByCriteria API in Zoho CRM. Since the default method only retrieves approved records, @Sunderjan suggested calling the API with the parameter approved=both in the URL. This lets you view records in both statuses at once. Check this post for the shared code and full details. 

Updating Recurring Tasks

@Marco wanted to make CRM tasks repeat every year using the Recurring_Activity field, but ran into  an “invalid recurrence pattern” error. The problem was with how the repeat rule was written. @Sunderjan posted a solution clarifying that recurrence details must be passed as an object containing RRULE, DTSTART, and UNTIL, as these parameters are mandatory. While tasks can be set to repeat annually, it’s currently not possible to set the end date to “Never” since UNTIL must be specified. Check out the post for the working code and full details.

 

Downloading Images from Zoho CRM Image Upload Fields

@Albert wanted to create a button in Zoho CRM to download all images stored in an image upload field for each record. Initial attempts using Deluge, client scripts, and widgets didn’t work, but Zoho MVPs @Bhoomi and @Hugh stepped in to help. @Bhoomi suggested using the API embedded in a button to download the images from the field, while Hugh provided a working Client Script that dynamically builds image download URLs from the record’s API data. After testing, @Albert confirmed that the final script worked perfectly. Check out the post for Hugh’s working code example and try it yourself.

Kaizen:

Answering Your Queries!

(Kaizen #206) - Displaying Related Purchase Orders from Zoho Books in CRM Deals using Queries

 

This post explains how to display related Purchase Orders from Zoho Books within CRM Deals using the Queries feature. The key idea is to create a custom field in Books called CRM Deal ID to link each PO to its respective deal. By setting up a REST API Query and adding it as a related list in CRM, users can view all connected POs directly under a deal. The author also suggested automating this process with a Deluge function or Zoho Flow to maintain real-time sync between CRM and Books.


(Kaizen #207) Advanced Queries using COQL API: 

This Kaizen post goes beyond the basics of COQL, showing how it can fetch complex data using filters, joins, and sub queries, all in a single query, eliminating the need to juggle multiple APIs. It explores real-world scenarios such as filtering deals based on account attributes, identifying missing relationships, and combining multiple sub queries for richer insights. If you want to perform deeper CRM analytics or streamline data fetching across modules, this post is a must-read to level up your developer skills.

And that’s a wrap for this fortnight’s Zoho CRM Community Digest. 


Caught something cool we missed? Or have a favorite from this edition?

Drop it in the comments! We’d love to hear from you. We’ll be back in two weeks with more updates and community gems. 

Until then, stay tuned!


    • Sticky Posts

    • How to reach the official Zoho Support channels and avoid fake ones.

      Dear Customers, Thanks a lot for choosing Zoho! Our applications are built to help achieve your day-to-day business goals. We are committed to engaging with you, to understand and develop solutions that enhance your productivity.  We are happy and ready to help you use our services effectively. Understanding and avoiding fake support Just like using popular bank names and financial applications for phishing purposes, using Zoho and claiming to be providing Zoho Support or services with false numbers
    • Function #35: Close all tasks associated with a lead and create a new task.

      Welcome back everyone! Last week, we learnt how to close all tasks of a deal depending upon the deal stage. This week, let's look at a custom function that lets you close all of the tasks associated with a lead while simultaneously creating a new task, like when you need to halt all progress towards a lead while the lead is not available at the moment but create a reminder task. Business scenario: The success of a company, in one way or another, is determined by the leads it gets. Each lead is just
    • Zoho CRM Webinar - Redesigning Daily User Experiences with Canvas

      <br> Your users across roles use the CRM for day-to-day tasks that are necessary. Whether they perform their tasks on time, the right way, or at all depends on a lot of factors, including User Experience. Many businesses struggle with rigid layouts,
    • Join us at the Canada ZUG Meetup: What’s New in Zoho CRM

      Hello Zoho Community! Start your year with fresh insights into Zoho CRM’s latest updates and tools. Whether you're a CRM beginner or a experienced user, this meetup is crafted to help you optimise your processes and leverage new features. Explore practical
    • CRM Hack #2: Automate sending of birthday greetings to your customers.

        Hello everyone! What sets you apart as a sales person is your ability to add that personal touch to your business relationship with your customers. Sending a gift on a special day, or leaving a note wishing them on their birthdays, are small, yet significant actions that show your customers that you care. And these are actions done without any expectations :) You must be engaging with a lot of customers and it is highly unlikely that they all are your friends on Facebook or some social channel,
    • Recent Topics

    • Welcome to the Zoho ERP Community Forum

      Hello everyone, We are thrilled to launch Zoho ERP (India edition), a software to manage your business operations from end to end. We’ve created this community forum as a space for you to ask questions, comment answers, provide feedback, and share your
    • In App Auto Refresh/Update Features

      Hi,    I am trying to use Zoho Creator for Restaurant management. While using the android apps, I reliased the apps would not auto refresh if there is new entries i.e new kitchen order ticket (KOT) from other users.   The apps does received notification but would not auto refresh, users required to refresh the apps manually in order to see the new KOT in the apps.    I am wondering why this features is not implemented? Or is this feature being considered to be implemented in the future? With the
    • Consolidated report for multi-organisation

      I'm hoping to see this feature to be available but couldn't locate in anywhere in the trial version. Is this supported? The main aim to go to ERP is to have visibility of the multi-organisation in once place. I'm hopeful for this.
    • IMAP mail after specify date

      Hi My customer's mail server is on premise and mail storage is very huge. So It never finish sync. and finally stop sync. Cloud CRM have a option like zoho mail sync mail after some date.
    • 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
    • Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM Integration – AI-Powered Sales Automation

      Hello Zoho Community 👋 I’m excited to share a recent integration we’ve worked on at OfficehubTech: ✅ Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM This integration connects Zoho CRM with Claude AI through our custom MCP Server, enabling intelligent AI-driven responses
    • Notes badge as a quick action in the list view

      Hello all, We are introducing the Notes badge in the list view of all modules as a quick action you can perform for each record, in addition to the existing Activity badge. With this enhancement, users will have quick visibility into the notes associated
    • Search Bar positioning

      Why is the Search bar on the far right when everything is oriented towards the left?
    • Basic Mass Update deluge schedule not working

      I'm trying to create a schedule that will 'reset' a single field to 0 every morning - so that another schedule can repopulate with the day's calculation. I thought this would be fairly simple but I can't work out why this is failing : 1) I'm based in
    • The Social Playbook - January edition: Getting started with content creation

      Social media isn’t just about posting some random content. It’s about why certain content works, how brands stand out, and what makes people pause mid-scroll. The Social Playbook is a monthly community series where we break all of that down. Through real
    • Peppol: Accept Bill (Belgium)

      Hi, This topic might help you if you're facing the same in Belgium. We are facing an issue while accepting a supplier bill received by Peppol in Zoho Books. There is a popup with an error message: This bill acceptance could not be completed, so it was
    • Import Error: Empty values for mandatory fields - Closing Date

      Hello, I've tried multiple times to import a CVS Potential list from another Zoho account. But the error message I get is: Empty values for mandatory fields - Closing Date There are valid dates in this field, so I don't understand why this error messages
    • 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,
    • Special characters (like â, â, æ) breaking when input in a field (encoding issue)

      Hey everyone, We are currently dealing with a probably encoding issue when we populate a field (mostly but not exclusively, 'Last Name' for Leads and Contracts). If the user manually inputs special characters (like ä, â, á etc.) from Scandinavian languages,
    • Customizable UI components in pages | Theme builder

      Anyone know when these roadmap items are scheduled for release? They were originally scheduled for Q4 2025. https://www.zoho.com/creator/product-roadmap.html
    • Feature Requests - Contact Coloured Picklist Visibility & Field Visibility During Ticket Creation

      Hi Desk Team, I have 2 feature requests for you. Since Coloured Picklists are now available in Desk, It would be great if the colours were visible on the Related Details (Contact Information) when creating a ticket. In the screenshot below, I have 2 fields
    • How to integrate XML with Zoho CRM

      Hi, I have an eCom service provider that gives me a dynamic XML that contains order information, clients, shipments... The XML link is the only thing I have. No Oath or key, No API get... I want to integrate it into Zoho CRM. I am not a developer nor
    • Feature Request - Ability to Customise Contact Info Card on Ticket Details View

      Hi Desk Team, I've added a "Contact Priority" and "Account Prioirty" field and it would be very useful to agents if they could see that information in the Contact Info card on the Ticket Details view. It would be great if we could choose some fields to
    • Tax in Quote

      Each row item in a quote has a tax value. At the total numbers at the bottom, there is also a Tax entry. If you select tax in both of the (line item, and the total), the tax doubles. My assumption is that the Tax total should be totalling the tax from
    • Zoho Flow integration with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp

      Hi there,  any plans of adding integrations with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp into Zoho Flow? Seems that more and more business are delivering automated updates such as "your order is received",  "your order has been shipped" and so on via these two platforms. Not sure if Whatsapp has the API access needed i am pretty sure that Facebook Messenger has... Kind regards Bo Thygesen 
    • Really want the field "Company" in the activities module!

      Hi team! Something we are really missing is able to see the field Company when working in the activities module. We have a lot of tasks and need to see what company it's related to. It's really annoying to not be able to see it.🙈 Thx!
    • Multi-currency and Products

      One of the main reasons I have gone down the Zoho route is because I need multi-currency support.  However, I find that products can only be priced in the home currency, We sell to the US and UK.  However, we maintain different price lists for each. 
    • Campaigns unsubscribe/manage preferences links

      Hi, Where can I edit the unscubscribe and manage preferences link in the footer of the email. I would like it so that when you click 'manage preferences' an form opens up that allows the person to choose what type of emails they do and don't wish to
    • email address somehow still not verified (?!)

      L.S. After creating a new email template in CRM I was about to send a group email to my clients, then Zoho CRM announced that they would change the sender address to some kind of Zoho-e-ddress because my email address "has not been verified". Not only
    • Marketing Tip #17: Add credibility to your online store with Review Widgets

      One of the fastest ways to build trust in an online store is to show real customer feedback right where people are deciding to buy. Third-party widgets let you embed things like Google Reviews, Instagram feeds, or even a WhatsApp chat button. These add
    • adding several team members to an Opportunity

      How can we add several team members to one opportunity for collaboration? I have researched and only found something called Deal Team which I cannot find in my CRM to configure.
    • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

      Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),
    • PDF Annotation is here - Mark Up PDFs Your Way!

      Reviewing PDFs just got a whole lot easier. You can now annotate PDFs directly in Zoho Notebook. Highlight important sections, add text, insert images, apply watermarks, and mark up documents in detail without leaving your notes. No app switching. No
    • Bulk update Profile Permissions

      Dears, What should we do if we add new forms or reports and need to update more than 20 permissions? Updating them one by one feels pretty harsh, doesn’t it?
    • From Zoho CRM to Paper : Design & Print Data Directly using Canvas Print View

      Hello Everyone, We are excited to announce a new addition to your Canvas in Zoho CRM - Print View. Canvas print view helps you transform your custom CRM layouts into print-ready documents, so you can bring your digital data to the physical world with
    • Unify Overlapping Functionalities Across Zoho Products

      Hi Zoho One Team, We would like to raise a concern about the current overlap of core functionalities across various Zoho applications. While Zoho offers a rich suite of tools, many applications include similar or identical features—such as shift management,
    • Filter in fields from Jira extension

      We have installed the Jira extension so we can maken Jira issues from Zoho desk. In Zoho desk I can also see the Jira issue status for example but I can not filter on this field. I would like to setup an filter showing me the closed Jira issues. How can
    • 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.
    • Zoho Creator customer portal limitation | Zoho One

      I'm asking you all for any feedback as to the logic or reasoning behind drastically limiting portal users when Zoho already meters based on number of records. I'm a single-seat, Zoho One Enterprise license holder. If my portal users are going to add records, wouldn't that increase revenue for Zoho as that is how Creator is monetized? Why limit my customer portal to only THREE external users when more users would equate to more records being entered into the database?!? (See help ticket reply below.)
    • Link Contacts to Billed Accounts

      Hello, I want to do a survey on all my customers of 2025. For that I want to select all contacts linked to accounts who where billed in 2025. How to I create this link to I can then use Zoho Survey with this database of contacts?
    • Export all of our manuals from Zoho Learn in one go

      Hi, I know there's a way to export manuals in Zoho Learn, but I want to export everything in one go so it won't take so long. I can't see a way to do this, can I get some assistance or is this a feature in the pipeline? Thanks, Hannah
    • 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.
    • Historical Sales Info - Blend with Finance Invoice Line Items, Access in CRM and Desk

      My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usually
    • Is there API Doc for Zoho Survey?

      Hi everyone, Is there API doc for Zoho Survey? Currently evaluating a solution - use case to automate survey administration especially for internal use. But after a brief search, I couldn't find API doc for this. So I thought I should ask here. Than
    • Pre-Zoho Sales Info - Best Way to Add to Desk / CRM

      My company has been using Zoho One since 2021, with sales data going back through 2020. However, we have been in business much longer, and we have historical sales information that we want to have at our fingertips when talking with customers (usually
    • Next Page