Zoho News

Zoho CRM: Custom Columns in Forecasts

Forecast reports can now hold up to two custom columns per forecast group, either formula-based for things like pipeline coverage ratios or import-based for manually entered values. Import columns still require an export and reimport cycle to populate, so the workflow is not seamless yet, but it is the first real flexibility this module has seen.

Zoho CRM: Native QuickBooks Online Integration

A native two-way integration links CRM to QuickBooks Online with field syncing, related lists on records, and workflow rules that can fire off QuickBooks field values. Quotes built in CRM route directly into QuickBooks instead of creating duplicates, a big lift for teams that have stayed on QuickBooks rather than migrating to Zoho Books.

Zoho Desk: SalesIQ Live Chat Widget Upgrade

More PSA than news, the older SalesIQ chat widget is deprecated as of May 15 and replaced May 18 with a version that adds async loading, screen reader support, and improved keyboard navigation. Customers using it on their own site will need to swap the embed code, while the ASAP widget inside Help Center migrates automatically.

Zoho Books: May 2026 Product Updates

A heavy slate of updates including free receipt scans up to a thousand per month on Premium, AI-powered custom field types for image-to-text and sentiment analysis, and user-level account segmentation in banking. UK editions also pick up multi-business MTD income tax filing and capital allowances support in the corporation tax flow.

Zoho Billing: April 2026 Updates

April’s wrap-up centers on the new Zoho MCP integration for AI-powered analysis, with subscription quotes that bundle price lists, billing frequency, and cycles into a single document that auto-activates when the customer accepts. Payment links also move to the hosted payment page settings for a cleaner experience.

Zoho Social: Threads Publishing and Monitoring Updates

Threads support gets a meaningful upgrade with location tagging on new posts, plus keyword, username, and mention search now available in the Monitor tab. Published threads can also be deleted directly from Social without opening the app itself.

Zoho Backstage: April 2026 Updates

April brings Safaricom M-PESA payments for events in Kenya, plus an early access DXF import that lets organizers pull AutoCAD floor plan layouts straight into the planner instead of recreating them manually. Floor plan items also switch from pixel-based to feet-based measurements for more accurate scaling.

Zoho Bigin: WhatsApp Templates and Quick Replies on iOS

The Bigin iOS app picks up interactive WhatsApp templates and quick replies, letting reps send rich media messages with call-to-action buttons directly from their phone. Voice messages up to two minutes, message replies, long-message-to-PDF conversion, and inline translation also land in this update.

Zoho Sign: Qualified Electronic Signatures via SIGN8

A new integration with SIGN8, a qualified trust service provider under eIDAS, allows users to collect qualified electronic signatures (QES) that are legally recognized across the EU. Useful for teams handling cross-border contracts and compliance-heavy agreements.

Zoho LandingPage: Native Form Layout and Phone Field Updates

Native forms can now display fields in either a vertical single-column or horizontal two-column layout, picked from the form’s settings in the page builder. Phone number fields also gain a country code dropdown for audiences spanning multiple regions.

Zoho Analytics: SQL Server Connection Migration Required

Action required for anyone connecting Microsoft SQL Server to Zoho Analytics via direct cloud connectivity, particularly on Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, or 2014. Affected users must either upgrade their database server or migrate to Zoho Databridge before the end of May 2026, or scheduled imports will start failing.

Zoho Apptics: Atlassian Jira Integration

Crashes and non-fatal errors caught in Apptics can now flow into Jira as fully populated issues with stack traces, app version, OS, and device details included. Teams can configure crashes and non-fatal errors separately and map them to the appropriate Jira project, issue type, priority, and assignee.

Code Share of the Week

Sort the Rows of a CRM Subform Using Client Script

This week’s code share tackles a small but persistent annoyance, getting CRM sub form rows to sort themselves automatically instead of forcing users to drag rows around manually. The snippet is a client script written in JavaScript that runs in the browser and can be triggered on page change or when a new sub form row is added. A custom sort function compares any chosen field across rows, with toUpperCase handling string sorting and easy edits available to support numeric or date fields. Swapping the greater-than and less-than symbols flips the order between ascending and descending. Drop in your sub form API name and the target field API name to plug it into your own CRM, then test it against non-critical records before rolling it out to your team.

This Week’s Blog

Zoho CRM Core Modules Explained: Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, and Activities

Tyler’s original video walking through the CRM core modules now has a written companion piece, perfect for sharing with team members who prefer text over video. It covers how leads, contacts, accounts, deals, and activities fit together, lead conversion best practices, and how sidebar records and custom modules extend the data hierarchy.

Tips and Tricks

AI Agents for Zoho Creator || Coming Soon!

Tyler previews what’s coming with AI Agents for Zoho Creator, breaking down what they are built to do, how they will be constructed, and whether your business is likely to need one. A useful primer for Creator users who want to be ready when these agents roll out.

How the Purchase Process Works in Zoho Inventory

Nicole from our finance team walks through the purchase side of Zoho Inventory, covering purchase orders, purchase receives, bills, and vendor payments. A great companion for anyone already familiar with the sales process who needs to understand how stock gets in the door.

Question of the Week

Prefilled to ‘Normal’ when starting a new task

This week’s question comes from @lmitch6366 following the recent task management video, asking if there is a way to have the priority field on a new task default to Normal. The answer is yes, and it is a quick fix. Open the Tasks module layout editor, click the three dots on the Priority field, choose Edit Properties, and use the Select Default Value option to set Normal as the default. The same setting works for any pick list in the CRM, so the trick applies anywhere you want a sensible starting value on new records.

This Week’s Quizzes

• Monday Quiz: What is the primary function of the new Map Zoom Sync feature in Zoho Analytics?
• Wednesday Quiz: What allows the latest Zoho Sheet charts to update dynamically as source data changes?