The CRM Zen Show Episode 397 – The Group That Links Together Meets Together

Zoho News

Zoho CRM: Expanded Zia Capabilities Now Available in Professional Edition

Zoho CRM now includes more Zia AI capabilities in Professional Edition, giving lower-tier users access to features like email writing, smart prompts, and automation assistance without upgrading to Enterprise.

Zoho Sprints: Version 3.0 Enterprise Upgrade

Zoho Sprints 3.0 adds more enterprise-grade functionality, including budget tracking, test management, custom modules, MCP integration, and QEngine support for stronger QA and development workflows.

Zoho Books: Advanced Reporting Tags and Inventory Enhancements

Zoho Books introduced advanced reporting tags with better hierarchy and line-item allocation, plus smaller but useful updates across invoicing, inventory, field access, and custom line-item fields.

Zoho Bookings: Online Group Appointments

Zoho Bookings now supports video meeting links for group appointments, making it easier to manage webinars, trainings, and multi-attendee sessions without manual setup.

Zoho Social: File Converter & Carousel Expansion

Zoho Social added a built-in file converter, expanded carousel image support, and alt text improvements, making social publishing more flexible and accessible across channels.

Zoho Backstage: February ‘26 Updates

Updates introduced early access for Abstract Management, along with new WhatsApp reporting, exhibitor meeting approvals, website builder tools, and lead source tracking.

Zoho Vault: CLI for Developers and Automation Workflows

Zoho Vault’s CLI gives developers and IT teams a secure way to access and manage credentials from the terminal, making it easier to use secrets in scripts, automation workflows, and CI/CD pipelines.

Zoho Vertical Studio: Canvas Builder & Data Enhancements

February updates added more Canvas flexibility with inline editing, CSS styling support, and version history, while also expanding lookup filters, wizard support, and record-level sharing controls.

Zoho Mail: iOS App Displays Recipient Nicknames

Zoho Mail’s latest iOS update now shows recipient nicknames in contact suggestions, making it easier to identify the right contact while composing emails.

Zoho Sprints: iOS App 2.1 Global View & Security

Adds a new Global View for managing work items across projects, along with stronger mobile security through screen capture controls, file encryption, and faster tag management.

Zoho Projects: Conditional Layout Rules for Tasks on Mobile

Zoho Projects now applies task conditional layout rules from the web app to its Android and iOS apps, giving teams more consistent field behavior and validation.

Things We Noticed

CRM for Everyone Bypassing Admin

Zoho’s CRM for Everyone rollout may expose non-admin users to module, workflow, and blueprint creation through a much more visible UI, so teams should review profiles and disable setup permissions before March 26.

Code Share of the Week

Upload Zoho Books Invoice PDF to Workdrive using DELUGE

This snippet shows how to pull an invoice PDF from Zoho Books, upload it into Zoho WorkDrive, and optionally generate a public download link for sharing. It is especially useful when you want customers to access invoices alongside other shared files without needing a separate Books portal login.

This Week’s Blog

Trust Point HCM – Case Study

This case study covers how Trust Point HCM uses Zoho CRM, Desk, Projects, Sign, Cliq, and Calendar to manage client onboarding, service delivery, and internal visibility.

Tips and Tricks

Zoho Forms Lead Intake Complete Walk Through

This tutorial walks through how to build a Zoho Form, connect it to CRM, configure tracking fields, and embed it on a website. It is a strong end-to-end guide for teams that want cleaner lead capture.

Zoho One Pricing EXPLAINED

This video breaks down Zoho One pricing, including the difference between all-employee and flexible user licensing, plus where each model makes financial sense.

Question of the Week (AZAAZ)

Tracking post-win activities in Zoho

When a deal is ‘Won’, what is the natural next step in Zoho to track the post-win activities (Customer contracts, POs, Export/Import Licenses, Shipping, Delivery, Inspections, etc.)? We discuss whether you should update the workflow in Deals to account for this activity or create a Project. Watch the answer here.

This Week’s Quizzes

• Monday Quiz: In which regions can Zoho Spend currently manage compliant payroll services to help track large business expenditures?
• Wednesday Quiz: In the updated Zoho Billing interface, how are associated plans and coupons organized within a specific Product?