Zoho CRM Common Operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS [Hide]

Navigating Records
Searching Records
Managing List Views
Creating Records
Importing Records
Merging Duplicate Records
Associating with Other Records
Exporting Records
Changing Record Status
Changing Record Owner
Viewing Reports
Printing Record Details
Deleting Records
Customizing Modules

You can perform the following common operations in Zoho CRM:

• Navigate records
• Search records (Alphabetical or Advanced search options)
• Manage custom views
• Create records (form filling, quick create, or duplicate options)
• Import records (from external sources)
• Associate record with other records
• Merge duplicate records
• Export records (to spreadsheet programs)
• Change record status (individually or in bulk)
• Change record owner (individually or in bulk)
• View Reports & Dashboards
• Print record details
• Delete records (individually or in bulk)
• Customize records

Note: Import link is displayed only if you have privilege to use Import feature. Please contact your administrator in ase these links are disabled.

Navigating Records

Access Permission	Tab Visibility & View
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

You can navigate the records according to the status of the records.

To navigate records

1. Click Records the tab.
2. In the Module - Home page, under the Record List section, select one of the views from Select View drop-down list
   Display the list of records according to the status of the records (For example, Contacted, Hot, Won, and others).
3. In the <Record> List section, click the Previous or Next buttons to access the respective list of records.

Searching Records

Access Permission	Tab Visibility & View
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

You can search the records alphabetically or filling the required information in Search box.

To search records

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records Home page, under record Search section, do one of the following:
3. • Specify the search criteria in Search box and click the Go button. Or
   • Select one of the alphabetical search links.
3. In the record List page, a list of records is displayed as per search criteria.

Managing List Views

Access Permission	View/Write Permissions
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

In the record List you can create/modify/delete the custom views, sort columns in the list view (ascending/descending order), search the records available in the current list view. In addition, you can modify some of the columns in standard list views. By default, the following standard list views are available in the records module:

• Standard Views
  • All Open records
  • My records
  • Toady's records
  • Converted records
• Recent Views
  • Recently Created records
  • Recently Modified records
  • Recently Viewed records

Note: User created list views are displayed under User Created Views category in View drop-down list.

For more details, refer: Managing List Views

To create custom views

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records Home page, under record List section, click the Create View link.
   
   

   Note: Under the record List section some of the standard list views are displayed. You can only rearrange the order of columns and more columns.

3. In the Create New View page, do the following:
   • In the View Information section, specify name of the custom view in the View Name (mandatory) field. The custom view name appears in the View drop-down list. You can also set the custom view as a default list view by selecting the Set as Default View check box.
   • In the Specify Criteria section, specify the filter criteria. For more details refer to the Specifying List View Criteria section.
   • In the Choose Columns section, select the columns to be displayed in the List View. For more details refer to the Selecting List View Columns section.
   • In the Accessibility Details section, select the users to whom custom list view has to be enabled. For more details refer to the Enabling View Access section.
4. Click Save. The custom list view is displayed in the View drop-down list.

Creating Records

Access Permission	Write Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

In the Zoho CRM system, you can create records by:

• Entering data manually into record details form
• Importing records from external sources
• Capture records from Web site through Web-to-record form

Note: Some of the standard fields listed below may not be visible/editable depending on your organization business process and field-level security settings. In case your organization added/modified fields please contact your System Administrator for more details about usage of the other fields.

Creating Records Individually

You can create records manually whenever there are very less number of records. For example, you might have met a person in travel, and in normal chat, he/she has shown some interest in your product/service. After that, you have exchanged business cards and were asked to contact him/her later with more details about the product/service. The next day morning, you can create a record manually with the available details. The best way to handle this type of scenarios is to create records manually where you can fill the available details instantly.

You can create records by:

• Filling details in the record creation form.
• Using the Quick Create, a quick create component present in left hand-side of the records Home page.
• Duplicating the record with few changes in the existing record details

Note: By default, the person who creates the record owns the record. If you want to assign the record to a different user, select the user name from the Change Owner field in the record details view. In addition, the record status is marked with a default record status as per your organization's sales process.

To create records individually

1. Click the New <record> link.
2. In the record: page, enter the record-related information.
   
   Note: The Last Name and Company fields are mandatory. Refer to the List of Standard record-related Fields section for more details.
3. Click Save.
   Record details are displayed in record: <record Name> page where you can perform the additional operations. Refer to the Associating records with Other Records section for more details.

To create records instantly

1. Click the <Module> tab.
2. In left hand-side under the Quick Create section, enter the mandatory details, such as Last Name and Company name.
3. Click Save. record details are displayed in records Home page, where you can update the additional details.

To create duplicate records

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the record List view page, select the record to be duplicated.
3. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Clone button.
4. In the Edit: <record Name> page, modify some of the record details.
5. Click Save. record details are displayed in the record: <record Name> page where you can perform the additional operations.

Importing Records

Access Permission	Data Import Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

You can import records, if you are authorized to perform this operation. Otherwise, Import records button in records Home page will be hidden in your user interface. By default, record ownership is held up with the user, who imports the records. You can change the record ownership while importing by adding a record owner column in import (CSV/XLS) file and map to the Assigned To field. This will automatically assign records to particular users. Use the exact Zoho CRM users' names while creating the record import file, otherwise records are not created in Zoho CRM.

Important Tips Before importing records, you must have the record details in a CSV/XLS file. You must have privilege to import the records into the Zoho CRM system. Before importing the records, close the CSV/XLS file and the Spreadsheet program. Remove apostrophe any place in the CSV file (For example, ABC's). You can import a maximum of 1000 records in one import cycle.

To import records

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page under record Tools section, click the Import My records or Import My Organization records button.
   
   

   Note: Import link is displayed only if you have privilege to use Import feature. Please contact your administrator in case these links are disabled.

3. In the Specify Import File: page, browse the records-related import file (CSV/XLS format) and then click the Next button.
4. In the Fields Mapping page, map the CSV/XLS column header with record fields in Zoho CRM.
5. Click the Import button. It will take few minutes to complete the importation.
6. In the Import Summary page click the Go to records List button.
7. In the records: Home page, imported records are displayed under the records List section. You can continue the importation further or complete the operation.

Merging Duplicate Records

Access Permission	Find & Merge Records
Available in	Leads, Accounts and Contacts
Edition	All Editions

Over a period, there may be a chance of accumulation of duplicate fields in records module. You can merge the duplicate records for a better organization of records.

To merge duplicate records

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records Home page, under the record List section, click the required record.
3. In the record Details page, click the Find & Merge Duplicates button.
4. In the Find Duplicate records page, do the following:
   1. Under the Search Criteria section, by default the some of the matching criteria and the corresponding values are displayed. Add additional criteria if required. Click the Search button.
   2. Under the Matching records section, select the records to be merged.
   3. Click the View Duplicates button.
5. In the Merge records page, select the fields to be updated to master record. All the duplicate fields are highlighted with a different color.
6. Click the Merge button. The fields details will be merged with the master record record and record details page is displayed for further operations.

Associating with Other Records

Access Permission	View/Write Permissions
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

After creating records, you may need to associate records with other records, such as tasks, events, E-mails, products, attachments, and notes until the record is reached to a certain stage where it can be converted to potential as per your organization's sales process.

To associate with other records

1. In the record: <record Name> page, you can update the following details:
2. • Open Activities: To add tasks and events (meetings, and calls).
   • Closed Activities : To archive the closed activities.
   • Products: To add products to the record.
   • Attachments & Notes: To attach documents and notes to the record.
   • Mails: To archive the sent email messages as part of the mass mailing.
   • Notes: To add notes to the record.
2. After updating the associated records, you can work with the next record.

Exporting Records

Access Permission	Data Export Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

Occasionally it is very useful to export the records from Zoho CRM to Spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, and others for further data analysis.

To export records to external sources

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page under the record Tools section, click the Export All records button.
3. In the File Download pop-up dialog, Click Save to save the records details in CSV/XLS file format.

Changing Record Status

Access Permission	View/Write Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

When the prospecting is in progress, it may be very useful to change the status of some of the records in a single step. record status is customizable and your administrator has already configured the record Status field as per your organization's sales process. You can change the status of individual record or group of records.

To change the status of records individually

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, select the record.
3. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Edit button.
4. In the record: <record Name> page, change the record status from record Status pick-list.
5. Click Save to update the record status.

To change the status of records in bulk

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, go to the record List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the records. You can also select all the records.
3. Click the Change Status button.
4. In the records: Change Status page, select the status from the Select New Status pick list and click the Update Status button.
   
   

   Note: records status will be changed to a new status, irrespective of its existing status. Use this operation carefully, otherwise records at different states will be changed to new status violating the organization's sales process. If you are not sure of using this operation, change the status of records one-after-another. The other ways of overcoming this problem is first search the records with a required status then change the status in bulk.

Changing Record Owner

Access Permission	Change Owner Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

When the prospecting is in progress, occasionally it may be very useful to change the owner of some of the records in a single step. You can change the owner of an individual record or a group of records.

To change owner of records individually

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, select the record.
3. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Edit button.
4. In the record: <record Name> page, change the record owner from the record Owner lookup field.
5. Click Save to update the record owner.

To change owner of records in bulk

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, go to the record List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the records. You can also select all the records.
3. Click the Change Owner button.
4. In the records: Change Owner page, select the user from the Select New Owner pick list and click the Update Owner button to change the owner of the records permanently.
   
   

   Warning: records ownership will be changed to another user, irrespective of its existing owner. Use this operation carefully, otherwise records belonging to different users will be changed to new user. To overcome this problem, first you may search the records with a required owner name then change the owner in bulk.

Viewing Reports

Access Permission	Manage Reports
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

You can directly access some of the standard reports pertaining to records from the record Reports section. In addition to reports you can access one of the dashboards in records module.

By default, the following reports are displayed under records module:

• records By Source
• records By Status
• Today's records
• records by Ownership
• Converted records
• records by Industry

To view report

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, go to the record Reports section.
3. Click the required Report link. The Report is displayed in Reports page, which can be further customized as per your requirements.

Printing Record Details

Access Permission	View Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

You can view the record details in printable form and print them using browser’s Print function.

To print record details

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, go to the record List section and select the required record.
3. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Printable View link.
4. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Print Page button. You can print the document using the Web browser print function.

Deleting Records

Access Permission	Delete Permission
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

Occasionally you may need to remove some of the unnecessary records from the Zoho CRM system for a better user experience. You may consider removing records that are not useful for future reference.

Warning: The deleted records are temporarily stored in Recycle Bin. If required you can restore the deleted records again. But if you delete records from Recycle Bin, you cannot restore again.

To delete records individually

1. Click the records tab.
2. In the records: Home page, select the record.
3. In the record: <record Name> page, click the Delete button.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to remove the record permanently.

To delete records in bulk

1. Click the <Module> tab.
2. In the <Module>: Home page, go to the List section and select the check boxes corresponding to the records to be removed.
3. Click the Delete button.
4. In the Confirmation dialog, click OK to remove the selected records.

Customizing Modules

Access Permission	Product Customization
Available in	All Modules
Edition	All Editions

Customization of the module includes, renaming the tab name, modifying the pick list values in standard fields, adding new custom fields, modifying record page layout, and show/hide the related list views according to your business process. For more details, refer to Customizing Zoho CRM