How Can Workflows in Zoho CRM Be Effectively Automated

Automation in Zoho CRM can streamline workflows and reduce errors, enhancing sales efficiency with custom business needs. Enhance your business sales efficiency today.
Explore the transformative power of workflow automation within Zoho CRM for unparalleled business growth.

1. HowCanWorkflowsinZohoCRMBeEffectively
Automated?
TheEssenceofWorkflowAutomation
Itisahumantendencytoforgettasks,makeerrors,anddelaywork.ZohoCRMprovides
anautomationoptiontoreducehumanerrorsandspeeduptheworkprocess
automatingtheroutineprocess,likesendingwelcomeemailstonewleads,settingup
follow-upmessagesafteraspecifictimeduration,andcreatingactivitiesfornurturing
theleads.

2. WorkflowComponents
Workflowautomationishelpfulforautomatingbusinessprocesses,salesprocesses,and
muchmore.Youcanassigntaskstousersautomaticallyorupdaterecordsinthesystem
basedondefinedrules.Workflowautomationhasthefollowingcomponentsusedto
automateyourprocessesandtasks:
●FieldUpdate-ZohoCRMallowsupdatingfieldvaluesautomaticallybasedon
triggeringaworkflow.
●EmailNotification-ZohoCRMallowssendingemailalerts/notifications
automaticallywhenspecifiedconditionsaremet.
●Task-ZohoCRMallowsassigningtaskstospecificusersautomaticallybasedon
triggeringaworkflow.
●Webhook-ZohoCRMallowscommunicationwiththird-partyapplicationsby
sendinginstantwebnotifications
●Function-ZohoCRMallowsforperformingactionswiththeuseofDeluge
Script.
ConfiguringWorkflowRule
Workflowrulesareabunchofactionsthataretriggeredbasedoncertainconditionsand
performthespecifiedactions.Aworkflowrulehasthefollowingfundamentals:
●DefineInitialDetails:First,specifythebasicinformationforwhichtheruleis
putin,therulename,anditsdescription.

3. ●DefineWhen:specifieswhenaworkflowruleshouldbeexecutedbasedonthe
record’scondition.Therearefouroptions:
○Recordaction:Executestherulebasedonwhenarecordis:
■Created
■CreatedorEdited
■Edited
■Deleted
○Date/Timefield:Executestherulebasedontheselecteddate/timefield
ofrecord.Here,recurrencecanbesettoonce,everymonth,oreveryyear.
○RecordScore:Executestherulebasedonwhethertherecord’sscoreis
increased,decreased,orupdated.Thisrulecanbeappliedtoallscoring
rulesorselectivescoringrules.
○RecordNotes:Executestherulebasedonwhenrecordnotesare:
■Noteadded
■Noteaddedormodified
■Notemodified
■Notedeleted
●DefineConditions:Specifythecriteriafortriggeringtheworkflowrule.When
aconditionismet,itwillperformtheactionsdefinedinthenextstep.Youcan
definemultipleconditionsfortheworkflow.Eachconditionhastwoelements:
○Setwhichrecordshouldbetriggered(allrecordsormatchedcriteria
records),

4. ○Addingthecriteriabasedonwhichitshouldbetriggered
Belowaretheoptionsthatshowupatthetimeofsettingupconditions:
■Allrecordsmatchcertainconditions:Therulewillbe
triggeredforrecordsthatmeetthecriteria.
■Allrecords:Therulewillbetriggeredforalltherecords.
■Recordsthatdonotmeetanyoftheaboveconditions:This
optionwillbeavailableonlyafterthesecondconditionhasbeen
defined.ItispossibletochoosethisoptionratherthanAllRecords.
●DefineActions:Specifytheactiontobetakenfortherecordthatmeetsthe
definedcriteria.Twokindsofactionscanbedefined,instantactionsand
scheduledactions.
○InstantActions-Whentheruleisexecuted,theseactionsaretriggered
immediately.Actionsthatyoucandefinearefieldupdates,assigning
owners,addingtagsandemailnotifications,tasks,creatingrecords,
webhooks,andcustomfunctions.Youcanalsoperformtheconversion
actions.
○ScheduledActions-Thisactionexecutesafterthespecifiedtrigger
time.Triggertimecanbesetafterspecifiedhours,days,minutes,business
hours,andbusinessdays.Fieldupdates,assigningowners,addingtags
andemailnotifications,tasks,creatingrecords,webhooks,andcustom
functionsareactionsthatwillbescheduledandtriggeredbasedona
specifiedtime.

5. CreateWorkflowRule
Stepstobefollowedtocreatetheworkflowrule:
1.First,gotoSetupfromtheAutomationmenuandselectWorkflowRules.
2.OntheWorkflowRulespage,clickCreateRule.
3.IntheCreateNewRulepop-up,dothefollowing:
a.Selectthemoduletowhichtheruleappliesfromthedrop-downlist.
b.Entertherulename.
c.Enterthedescription,whichdescribeswhatthisrulewilldo.
4.AndthenclickNext.
5.Thenextstepistospecifyaruletriggerfortheworkflow.Thewindowshowsthe
createpageoftheworkflowrule.

6. 6.Firstly,selecttheexecutionofthisworkflowrulebasedonthetriggerevent.The
workflowrulewillbetriggeredwhenitmeetsthedefinedcriteria.Therearefour
optionsavailablefortheselectionofthetriggerevent:
1.ExecuteBasedonRecordActions-Whenitisrequiredtorunthe
workflowbasedonthecreation,modification,ordeletionoffields.For
example,Onthecreationofanewleadinthesystem,youmaywanttosenda
welcomeemailautomatically,onthedeletionofalead,youwanttogeta
notification,ontheclosingofadeal,youwanttosendathankyouemail,etc.
Selectionofatriggereventfortheworkflow:
a.Create:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenrecordsare
created.
b.Create/Edit:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenrecordsare
createdoredited.Forthe‘Edit’and‘Create/Edit’actions,thereisan
optionprovidedfortherecurrenceoftheworkflowrule.Byselectingthe

7. checkboxforrepetition,theseworkflowswillbeexecutedonevery
occurrenceofthetriggerevent.
c.Edit:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenrecordsareedited.
Optionofchoosingthemodificationconditions:
■Anyfieldgetsmodified:Byselectingthisoption,wecansetthe
triggereventforanymodificationtotheexistingrecordofa
particularmodule.
■Specificfield(s)getsmodified:Byselectingthisoption,wecan
setthetriggereventformodificationoftheselectedfield.Herewe
specifythecriteria,andwhenarecordmeetsthecondition,therule
getstriggered.Themaximumlimitfordefiningtheconditionisfive.
●Selectthefieldname.
●Choosetheconditionfortheselectedfield.
●Providetheupdatedvalueforthefield.

8. ●Forthemultipleconditions,itgivestheoptionofsatisfying
conditionsbasedontheAny/Alloptionselection.
■Anyfieldinaspecificsection(s)getsmodified:Byselecting
thisoption,wecansetthetriggereventforanymodificationinthe
fieldsoftheselectedlayouts.
d.Delete:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenrecordsare
deleted.Onlyafewactionscanbeperformedwhenrecordsaredeleted,
emailnotification,webhook,andfunctions.

9. 2.ExecuteBasedonDate/TimeField-Whenitisrequiredtorunthe
workflowonaparticularday.Forexample,setafollow-uptaskafterthe3rd
dayofleadgeneration,getanemailreminderonaspecificdate,etc.Itallows
youtopickadatefieldfromtherecordanddefinethedayforthetrigger
event.Totriggertherule,youneedtospecifythefollowing:
a.BasedonwhichDate/Timefieldthisruleshouldexecute:It
showsdate/timefieldsfromtherecordasadrop-down.Choosefromone
oftheoptionslikeCreatedTime,ModifiedTime,LastActivityTime,
ClosingDate,etc.
b.Defineexecutiondate:Here,specifytheexecutiondatefortherule;it
canbethenumberofbusinessday(s)after,day(s)after,week(s)after,or
month(s)after.
c.Executiontime:Ithastwooptionseitherchoose‘Sameasthetimein
aboveselectedTimefield’orgiveaspecifictime
d.Recur:Ithasadrop-downlistwithvaluesofonce,everymonth,and
everyyear.Chooseoneoptiontosetuptherecurrence.

10. 3.RecordScore-Whenitisrequiredtoruntheworkflowbasedonthescore
ofarecord,Forexample,setacloselyfollow-uptaskfortheleadsthathavea
scoreof10ormore,prioritizeleadsbasedonscores,etc.Itexecutestherule
basedonwhethertherecord’sscoreisincreased,decreased,orupdated.
Also,itcanbeappliedtoallscoringrulesorselectivescoringrules.
4.RecordNotes-Whenitisrequiredtoruntheworkflowbasedonactions
suchasnoteadded,noteaddedormodified,notemodified,ornotedeleted,
For
example,
basedon the
note
content,
create
activities.

11. Rulescanbetriggeredwhennotesis/arecreated,created/modified,ordeleted:
a.NoteAdded:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenanewnote
iscreated.
b.Noteaddedormodified:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrule
whenanewnoteiscreatedoranexistingnoteismodified.
c.Notemodified:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenan
existingnoteismodified.
d.Notedeleted:Ittriggersorexecutestheworkflowrulewhenanexisting
noteisdeleted.
Apartfromtheabove,wecanadditionallyaddcertainconditionsonnotes
totriggertheworkflowforallrecordsorspecificrecords.Wecanchooseto
triggeraworkflowforallnotesorsetcriteriaforthenotesattribute,which
are:
●Createdby
●Createdtime
●Modifiedby
●Modifiedtime
●Notecontent
●Noteowner
●Notetitle

12. 7.Aftersettinguptheruletrigger,wecandefinetheconditions.Specifythecriteria
fortriggeringtheworkflowrule.Whenaconditionismet,itwillperformthe
actionsdefinedinthenextstep.Youcandefinemultipleconditionsforthe
workflow.Wecanaddthecriteriaforallrecords,forrecordsthatmeetthe
criteria,orforrecordsthatdonotmeetconditions(thisoptionwillbeavailable
onlyafterthesecondconditionhasbeendefined).Whenmorethanonecondition
isadded,itshowstheoptionofEditPattern.ClickonNextafterspecifyingthe
conditions.
8.Thefinalstepistoassociateactionswiththerule.Whatneedstobedoneis
definedasanactionwhenaworkflowistriggered.Theseactionsincludeemail
notifications,thecreationofarecord,andassigningtasksandactivities.Two
kindsofactionscanbedefined,InstantActionsandScheduledActions.This
actioncanbesetasautomated:
a.FieldUpdate:Anactioncanbesetasanupdatetothespecifiedfield.It
willautomaticallyupdatethefieldvaluewhenitsassociateworkflowrule
getstriggered.

13. b.Assignment:Anactioncanbesetasanassignmentofthespecifiedfield.
Itwillautomaticallyassignaspecifiedvaluewhenitsassociateworkflow
rulegetstriggered.Forexample,assigntheownerofadealoraccount
module.
c.Tags:Automationofaddingorremovingtagscanbedonewiththehelpof
tagactions.Itwillautomaticallyadd/removetagswhenitsassociated
workflowrulegetstriggered.
d.EmailNotification:Anactioncanbesettosendanemailnotificationto
specificusers.Itwillautomaticallysendanemailwhenitsassociate
workflowrulegetstriggered.
e.Activities:Automationofassigningtasksorcreatingmeetingscanbe
donewiththehelpofactions-activities.Itwillautomaticallyassignthe
tasktothespecifieduserorcreateameetingwhenitsassociatedworkflow
rulegetstriggered.
f.Webhook:Communicateswiththird-partyapplicationsbysending
instantwebnotifications(one-way)everytimeaneventoccursinZoho
CRM.
g.Function:ItallowsyoutodevelopasetofDelugeScriptstoperform
actionslikereceivingresponsesfromotherapplicationsorupdatingCRM
moduleswhentheirassociatedworkflowrulegetstriggered.

14. 9.Afteraddingactionsthatyouwanttoautomate,clickontheSavebuttontosave
theworkflow.
10.Whenyourworkflowrulemeetsthetriggeredevent,itwillperformallthetasks/
actionsautomatically,asdefinedinit.
WorkflowScenarios
Therearemultipletasksandprocessesthatcanbeautomated,andtheyvaryfrom
businesstobusiness.Therearesomecommonscenarioswhereautomationcanbedone:
●Leadqualificationandfollow-upprocess
●Taskassignmentprocess
●Updatedealstages
●Getnotifiedbasedoncertainconditions
Benefits
AutomationisanoutstandingbenefitofZohoCRM.Withthehelpofthisfeature,
userscanautomatetheirday-to-dayorrepetitivetasks.Ithelpstoconcentrateonwork
ratherthanmanagetheprocesstobefollowed.Theusercansetalertsforthespecific
conditionsoftheirbusinessesandsetupnotifications.ZohoCRMhasmany

15. componentstoautomatedailywork/tasksandsimplifylife.Belowarethekeybenefits
ofautomatingworkflowsinZohoCRM:
●ImproveEfficiency
●Reducehumanerrors
●Timemanagement
●EnhanceCustomerExperience
●DateIntegrityandAccuracy
WrappingUp
InembracingtheessenceofworkflowautomationwithinZohoCRM,a
transformativejourneyunfolds,pavingthewayforenhancedefficiency,reducedhuman
errors,andoptimaltimemanagement.Aswedelveintotheintricaciesofworkflow
componentsandthemeticulousconfigurationofworkflowrules,theroadmapto
seamlessautomationbecomesclearer.Theabilitytodefineinitialdetails,settrigger
events,establishconditions,andassociateactionsculminatesinarobustframework
poisedtorevolutionizedailytasksandprocesses.
Thecreationofworkflowrulesbecomesastrategicendeavor,withconsiderationsfor
recordactions,date/timefields,recordscores,andnotes.Thediversescenarioswhere
automationcanbeapplied,suchasleadqualification,taskassignment,dealstage
updates,andconditionalnotifications,exemplifytheversatilityofZohoCRMincatering
tovariedbusinessneeds.

16. MetaTitle:HowCanWorkflowsinZohoCRMBeEffectivelyAutomated?
Des:AutomationinZohoCRMcanstreamlineworkflowsandreduceerrors,enhancing
salesefficiencywithcustombusinessneeds.Enhanceyourbusinesssalesefficiency
today!