Create Workflow Rules in Zoho CRM

The steps to create a workflow rule are divided into 4 parts.

Part 1 - Enter the basic details of the rule

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the Workflow Rules page, click Create Rule.
   
3. In the  Create New Rule  pop-up, do the following:
   
   • Select the Module to which the rule applies from the drop-down list.
     
   • Enter the Rule Name and Description.
     
4. Click  Next.  
   
   
   

Part 2 - Specify the rule trigger

There are three options based on which the rule will be triggered for a record that meets the rule criteria. One of these options need to be selected when you create a workflow rule and you cannot change it later by editing the rule. They are:

• A Record Action - Rules can be triggered when records are created, edited, created/edited, deleted or a specific fields are updated.
  
• A Date Field's Value - Rules can be triggered on a particular date by choosing the Date field option. 
  
• A Score Value - Rules can be triggered when the score of a record is either increased, decreased or updated.
  
• Day of recommendation - Rules can be triggered before, after or on the day of recommendation.
  

Execute Based on Record Action 

When new leads are created in Zoho CRM you may want to automatically send an email or a series of emails at set intervals. You may also want to create tasks for these new leads. Also, sometimes when specific fields are updated, you may want to trigger a workflow. This execution option lets you specify an action (Create, Edit, Delete, etc.) based on which workflow rules will be triggered.

For Edit , Create or Edit actions, an option to recur the workflow is provided. You can check  Repeat this workflow every time a record is edited , if you want the rule to recur.

Let's consider some examples to understand this:

If the option is unchecked -  When, Budgeted Cost of Campaign is greater than 1000 $ > Send email notification to the Manager. The notification has to be sent only when a  Campaign is edited  and value for 'Budgeted Cost of Campaign' is set more than 1000$. Once the value is set and the user edits the record or modifies some field, this notification need not be sent (Though the current value for Budgeted Cost is greater than 1000$).

If the option is checked - When Deal stage is 'In evaluation' > Send email notification to the Manager. For every edit irrespective of whether change is made to 'Deal stage' or not, email notification has to be sent to the Manager.

1. Select one of the following:
   
   • Create : Executes the rule when records are created.
     
   • Create or Edit: Executes the rule when records are edited.
     
   • Edit : Executes the rule when existing records are modified. Choose from the below option.
     a. Any field gets modified: Executes the rule when any existing record is modified.
     b. Specific field(s) gets modified: Executes the rule when the values of the specified fields are modified in a record. A maximum of 5 criteria can be added.
     i. Choose the field name from the drop downs.
     ii. Click the All/Any link to toggle the options.
     iii. Choose the criteria of the value of the updated field, for example is the value.
     iv. Choose the value of the updated field, for example contacted.
     
   • 
     
     Delete 
     
     : Executes the rule when certain records are deleted. Only Email Notifications, Webhook and Functions can be associated for such a rule. The action includes: 
     
   • Deleting a record from the Details Page.
     
   • Deleting from the List View (One by one or in bulk).
     
   • Using the Mass Delete feature.
     
   • Deleting from a record's Related List. For example, deleting a contact under an Account.
     
   • Click Next.
     
     
     

You may want to get an email reminder a week before a deal's expected closing date, or may want to send an email to the customers reminding them of the monthly rentals or subscription renewals. In these cases, it is not necessary that the records should be created or edited for the rule to get triggered. It is plainly based on the value in the date fields. This execution option lets you pick a date field from a record and allows you to define the day for the rule to be triggered.

Please note, with this option, a maximum of  5000 records will be triggered every 10 minutes. If there are more than 5000 records in a 10 minutes period, the remaining records will be executed in the next 10 minutes. 

1. Enter the following to specify when you want the rule to be triggered.
   
   • Based on which Date/Time field this rule should execute: Choose one of the options from Created Time, Modified Time, Last Activity Time and Unsubscribed Time.
     
   • Define execution date: Specify the number of  Days, Weeks, or Months after which workflow should be executed.
     
   • Execution time: Choose to execute at the same time of the activity or enter a time of your choice.
     
2. Select the  Once,  Every Month  or  Every Year  from the  Recur  drop-down list.
   
3. Click Next.
   
   

Execute Based on Record's Score 

Rules can be triggered when the score of a record is either increased, decreased or updated. For example, leads from the service industry are your prime prospects and you want to prioritize them based on the scores. You may want to closely follow-up with the leads that have a score of 10 or more. In such cases, you can create a workflow rule based on scores. When the score of a lead is updated and if the score is 10 or more, a task can be created to prioritize and follow-up on the lead immediately. 

1. Choose either  Increase,  Decrease or  Updated  to specify when you want the rule to be triggered.
   

   
   

2. Click Next.
   
3. Specify the Condition  when the rule should be executed.
   
4. Click  Next.
   

   
   

Note

• The execution order of the automation are: Assignment rule > Review process > Scoring Rules > Workflow Rule > Approval Process > Blueprint > Scoring Rules > CommandCenter. Scoring rule occurs twice in the loop to ensure the score is updated upon execution of actions. 
  
• The execution of actions will take place in the following order: Field update > Tags > Email Notification > Task > Slack notification, Cliq notification, Webhook, Custom function, Custom action, Create record (Executes in parallel) > Convert. 
  
• Not all actions are performed in this order. In order to improve the performance, we have offloaded certain actions. That is, certain actions will happen in parallel not sequentially.
  
• Action taking place in parallel: Alert, task, webhook, function, create record, and Cliq/Slack notification.
  
• Actions taking place in sequence: Field update, tags, and convert.
  
• Delay in the workflow execution: Though workflows are supposed to be executed immediately after the trigger of an event, there could be a delay when multiple records are added or updated. The same delay can happen in case of the actions mentioned above. In case of bulk orders there can be a delay of 30 minutes.
  
• Workflow execution based on scores is available in all the Paid editions.
• Notifications via Cliq, Slack, and Cisco can be triggered through instant and scheduled actions. 
  

Note

1. A workflow can be created only for the target module, that is the module where your customers are or to whom the recommendation applies.
   
2. Recommendations that are shown for a product or deal that is already purchased or associated with the contact, are applicable for the Workflow. That is, if the contact has purchased a laptop then Zia will recommend the same product again; for this recommendation you can create a workflow. 
   

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow rules.
   
2. Click Create.
   Only the target modules or the ones for which recommendation is suggested will be available.  
3. In When do you want to execute the rule? select Based on recommendation.
   
4. In Execute, select the number of days and before/after/on from the drop-down list.
   
5. Click Next.
   
6. In Would you like to add some additional conditions to this rule? select Yes or No.
   If you select Yes, enter the desired workflow conditions.
7. Click Done.
   
8. Select an Instant or Scheduled action.
   
9. Click Save.
   

Part 3 - Create a workflow condition

Multiple conditions in a workflow rule help you address cases where you have clearly defined action items for the records that met the specified criteria and the ones that do not.

For each rule, you can add a maximum of 10 conditions in the Enterprise Edition and 5 conditions each in the Standard and Professional Editions.

Example : In a deal follow-up scenario, you may have the following requirements which can be best configured with Workflow conditions.

Workflow Conditions	Records that match the criteria: Deal Amount is >= USD 6000, Campaign Source is Trade Show	Records that match the criteria: Deal Amount is >= USD 2000, Campaign Source is Trade Show	Records that do not match any of the criteria:
Action 1	Send an email to the Sales Manager about the big deal.	Assign a task to the record owner to close the deal in a week's time.	Assign a task to the record owner to close the deal in a week's time and also to provide a 15-day trial.
Action 2	Assign a task to the record owner to cross check the discount guidelines and the final discount value.	-	Update the field value as  Eligible , for the field -  15 Day Trial.

1. Choose one of the following:
   
   • Records Matching the Conditions  - Rule will be triggered only for those records that match the given criteria.
     
   • All Records  - Rule will be triggered for all the records.
     
   • Records that do not meet any of the above conditions  - Instead of  AllRecords , this option will be available from the second condition onwards.
     
2. Specify the criteria.
   You can click the  Add  icon to add multiple criteria.
   
   You can specify  Tags as part of workflow criteria. 
   
   When you add more than one criterion, you will get an option to Edit the criteria pattern.
   
   
   
3. Click  Next  and add instant actions or scheduled actions.
   
4. Click the  Add another condition  link  to add another workflow condition and repeat the steps mentioned above.
   
   Please note that this option will be available only when at least one action (instant or scheduled) is added to the condition.
   

Edit Criteria Patterns

Criteria Pattern Editor in the custom list view helps you to develop the advanced filters using simple logical operators like  and / or.

Note

• You can specify a maximum of  25 criteria  for a list view.
  
• If you are associating a convert action (an instant action) to the rule, specifying the criteria is mandatory.
  
• Maximum 5 lookup fields can be added in the criteria.
  

To edit criteria patterns

1. Go to  Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the  Workflow Rules  page, click on a workflow rule.
   
3. In the  Edit Rule  page, review your existing criteria and click the Change Pattern  link.
   
4. In  Pattern Editor  box, modify filters and click the  Save  link.
   

Example :
You would like to trigger a workflow rule for all the potentials whose Type is New Business, Stage is Need Analysis or Qualification, and Amount is above $50000.

Type is New Business; Stage is Need Analysis or Qualification; and Amount > $50000.

You can create this criteria easily using the Criteria option given below:

The criteria pattern will be automatically set as:

Since the criteria pattern does not match the requirement, you can edit it as:
   

You can use the following characters in the Criteria Pattern Editor: 

• Round brackets: ( )
  
• and / or  operators
  
• Criteria Row Number
  

Part 4 - Associate instant and scheduled actions

A workflow rule is meaningful only if an action is associated to it. These actions include email notifications, tasks, field updates, webhooks, custom functions, and create record. Except create record, all the other actions are grouped under the Actions tab that can either be Instant or Scheduled. These actions once created, can be associated with many rules.

1. In the  Actions  section, do the following:
   
   • Instant Actions - Click to associate instant actions that are triggered instantly when the workflow rule is triggered. You can also create one and associate it to the rule.
     
   • Scheduled Actions - Click to associate scheduled actions that will be triggered at a specified time once the rule is triggered. A maximum of 5 scheduled actions can be created.
     
2. Click  Save.
   
   Note that you cannot save a rule without creating either an instant or a scheduled action.
   

Associate Actions to Rules

Add Instant Actions

Instant action includes email notifications, tasks, field updates, webhooks, custom functions, and record creation that are triggered immediately when the rule is executed. There are two options to associate these actions.

• Create  email notifications, tasks, field updates, tags, webhooks, custom functions or record and associate them to the rule. You can also create an action to convert leads, quotes or sales orders.
  
• Select existing  email notifications, tasks, field updates, webhooks or custom functions to associate to the rule.
  

To associate an instant action

If you are creating a workflow rule, directly go to  step 4

1. Go to  Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the  Workflow Rules page, click on the rule for which you want to create an action.
   
3. Click  Edit to modify the rule settings.
   
4. Under a Condition , click Instant Action/Action link and select the action from the drop-down list.
   
5. In the pop-up, select the actions that are listed or click New [Action]  to create one and then associate.
   
6. Click Associate.
   

Note

• For a workflow rule, all the actions (email notifications, tasks, field updates, tags, webhooks, and functions) will not be listed. If the rule is for Leads, only the actions created for Leads will be available for association.
  
• If the records are deleted via Workflow, you cannot retrieve their information using get API as the record is already deleted.
  
• Edit or delete triggers do not function when records are auto-merged. These triggers will work if records are merged manually. 
• Only one set of instant action can be created with email notifications, tasks, etc. associated to it.
  
• You can associate a maximum of 5 email notifications, 5 tasks, 5 field updates, 1 custom function, 1 webhook, and 1 create record to the instant action. 
  

Record Creation as Instant and Scheduled Action

Available for Professional and above edition only.

You can configure an instant or scheduled action to create records when certain conditions are met, such as:

1. You can create a deal if the contact status is changed to interested. 
   
2. You can create a case a day after the customer inquiry is made.
   

Records can be created in both standard and custom modules. Only the following standard modules are supported: Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals and Cases. The execution parameter can be set only on  a record action or on a Date/Time. 

While configuring the rule you must:

• Select the module and layout to which the new record will be added.
  

• Select the owner of the record. You can either select the logged in user (the person who creates the workflow rule) or any other CRM user. 
  
  Similarly, you can select a reference user. That is, any user lookup field that you have added in the layout. For instance, if the Contacts module has a user lookup for Accounts and Vendors, then you can select a user from these lookup modules as the record owner. You can even select a user from the custom user field (only single user field can be used) as a record owner, but it should be a single user field. 
  
  

• Enter the values for fields like record name, amount etc. The values that you enter here will be pre-populated for the record that is created. By default, the mandatory fields (both standard and custom fields) from the layout will be displayed here, you can also add the other fields present in the layout and enter a value. You can either enter the values or use merge fields. For example, the email field values can be entered using the merge fields.
  

Note

1. You can create only one record create action/condition.
   

To set up record creation

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow rules.
   
2. Create a rule and define the rule execution. 
   
3. Only On a record action or On a Date/Time can be selected. 
   
4. Click Next and define the condition.
   
5. In  Instant Action , select Create a record  and choose the module.
   
   
   
6. Select the layout from the drop-down list. 
   
7. In Record Owner, select Users or Reference from the drop-down list.
   Select the appropriate user field, if you choose the reference option. 
8. Enter values for the other fields.
   Click + to add more fields.
9. Click Submit.
   
10. Click Save.
    

Adding Tags for convert instant action

1. In Instant Action, select Convert from the drop-down list.
   
2. In the Convert popup , do the following:
   
3. In Convert leads to check all or either of the following: Contact, Account, and Deal.
   
4. Choose an owner of new records if needed
   
5. In Carry over tags to check all or either of the following: accounts, contacts, and deal.  
   
6. Click Done.
   

Instances when the scheduled actions will be rescheduled:

• The Execution Criteria for the Rule is either  Edit  or  Create or Edit. When the rule criteria is satisfied for a record, the instant actions are triggered and scheduled actions are scheduled for the record.
  
  If a user edits the record and the rule criteria is not fulfilled, then the scheduled actions scheduled earlier will be deleted. If the record is edited again and the criteria is satisfied, then the scheduled actions will be rescheduled.
  
• For Scheduled Actions, the  Execution Time  can also be based on the custom Date & Time field. When a rule criteria is satisfied for a record, the instant actions are triggered and scheduled actions are scheduled for the record.
  
  If a user edits the record to change the value of the date & time field, the scheduled actions will be rescheduled as per the new date & time value.
  

Instances when scheduled actions will be deleted or not be rescheduled:

• The Execution Criteria for the Rule is either  Edit  or  Create or Edit. When the rule criteria is satisfied for a record, the instant actions are triggered and scheduled actions are scheduled for the record.
  
  If a user edits the record but the rule criteria is not fulfilled, then the scheduled actions will not be scheduled again.
  
• When the Enterprise Edition is downgraded to the Free Edition, all the scheduled actions that are scheduled for the record will be deleted.
  
• When records are deleted, all the scheduled actions scheduled to the record will also be deleted. If the deleted records are restored, the scheduled actions will not be rescheduled.
  

Instances when the Scheduled actions will not be executed:

• When an event is canceled, all the scheduled actions scheduled for the event will not be executed.
  
• When a lead is converted, all the scheduled actions scheduled for the record will not be executed.
  

Points to remember 

• When the Change Pattern  box is being used to edit, you cannot add or delete a criteria row under the  Specify Criteria section.
  
• The operator precedence will not be taken into account if you do not specify brackets. For example, if you specify the criteria as  1 or 2 and 3 , it will be considered as  ((1 or 2) and 3)
  
• You can change the  and  or  or  of the criteria rows and it will be updated in the Editor below.
  
• You can change the  and  or  or  condition in the pattern and it will be updated in the rows above.
  
• If you specify  1 and 2  and save it, on editing the view the pattern will be shown as  (1 and 2). For  (1 and 2) or 3  the pattern will be shown as  ( (1 and 2) or 3 )
  
• If you add more rows in the editor and delete one by one there will be additional brackets displayed in the pattern. For example if there are 4 rows added and you delete the 3rd row, the criteria pattern will be as  ( ( ( ( 1 and 2 ) ) ) or 3 ). If the first row is deleted then it will be shown as  ( ( ( ( 1 ) ) ) or 2 ). However, on saving the criteria, it will change as  ( 1 or 2 ).
  
• Make sure that you do not use the following as they are invalid:  () ,  (and) ,  (or).
  
• If the brackets do not match it will be treated as invalid.
  
• There will an error message, if the number of rows and the numbers given in the pattern do not match and also, if there are any numbers missed in the pattern.
  
• In case the final brackets are missing, there will be a difference in the Criteria Patterns Editor and its view mode.
  

  Your Criteria Pattern in Editor	Your Criteria Pattern in View Mode
  ( 1 and 2 ) or ( 3 and 4 )	(( 1 and 2 ) or ( 3 and 4 ))
  1 and 2 and 3 and 4	(1 and 2 and 3 and 4 )
  ( 1 or 2 ) and ( 3 or 4 )	( ( 1 or 2 ) and ( 3 or 4 ) )

1. To address workflow triggers in loops when a record is edited, the following case will take place:
   Suppose, Workflow A triggers on edit of a contact and Workflow B on edit of a deal, then whenever a contact is edited Workflow 1 will trigger. In case, WF 1 is triggered such that a loop occurs then you can expect the following result:
1. If Workflow A updates the same contact thru the Workflow functions action, then Workflow A will be triggered again for  that contact. As it will be considered as edit of contact, the loop will be stopped once the same workflow has been executed twice.
   
2. If the Workflow A functions action edits a deal, then Workflow B will be triggered for the deal. If the Workflow B, triggers an edit on the same contact, then Workflow A will be triggered for the contact as this will be considered as edit of the contact. After executing workflows 3 times (WF A - WF B - WF A) the loop will be closed.
   

Lock Workflow Rules

When you want to make sure that no one edits a workflow rule unless absolutely necessary, you can lock the rule. When a rule is locked, it cannot be edited. One has to unlock the rule in order to edit it again. A locked rule sends out the message to fellow administrators that it is not meant to be edited unless absolutely required. A workflow rule can be locked after it has been created.

To lock a workflow rule

1. Go to  Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. From the Workflow Rules list view under the Rules  tab, click the rule that you wish to lock.
   
3. In the selected workflow rule details page, click the  Lock  icon next to the rule name.  
   
   
   
4. In Lock Rule, enter the reason for locking the rule. This message will be displayed to fellow administrators who try to unlock the rule for editing.
   
5. Click  Lock.
   

Note

• Only Administrators can lock/unlock a workflow rule. This option is available so that other users are not able to edit or delete the rule. If required others can clone the workflow rule.
  
• A rule can be unlocked by following the same procedure. In a workflow rule's details page, you can click the  Unlock icon and proceed to edit the rule.-A locked rule cannot be edited by other users. If required, they can clone the rule to create another.
  
• The actions such as, email notifications, field updates, tasks, etc. associated to a locked rule is also locked and cannot be edited or deleted by users.
  
• For a rule to be triggered using the  Field Update  option, both the rule criteria and the execution criteria must be true.
  
• If your Zoho CRM account is downgraded or the subscription expired, the workflow rules will be disabled. If you renew the subscription, you will need to manually enable the rules.
  
• When the  Delete  option is selected as the execution criteria, a workflow rule will not be triggered if records are deleted from the Recycle Bin.
  
• You can configure and associate only email notifications, functions, and webhooks to a workflow rule with the execution criteria as  Delete .
  
• Workflow Rules will be triggered when records are modified using Mass Update, Macros and when ownership of records are changed. Rules are also triggered when tasks are created through Macro.
  
• When you configure a workflow rule for the  Events  module, you will see another rule trigger called  Cancel.
  
• The  Cancel  trigger can be chosen when you want to configure a workflow action on the cancellation of an event.
  
• When you configure a workflow rule for the  Visits  module, you will see only the  Create  rule trigger. The other rule triggers like  Edit, Field Update , etc. are not available for the  Visits  module.
  
• When  Workflow Actions  are configured on creation of  Visits , those actions will be executed for the leads/contacts associated with the Visit and not for the Visit itself. For example, when email notifications are configured for the visit, the emails are sent to the leads/contacts associated with the visit. Similarly a task created on the creation of the visit is assigned to the record owner of the associated lead/contact. 
  

Use List View & Summary View

There are two views for workflow rules that are created - the  List View  and the  Summary View . By default, you will see the list view, which is a list of all the workflow rules for All modules/Selected module.
   
The Summary view lists out the Criteria and Field Updates associated to the rules that will help you get a clear picture of all the rules and where they are used to avoid any confusion. 

Note

• You need to select a module to check the summary view. This view is not available when you select the "All Modules" option.
  
• The Summary View is available only for the workflow rules and not for the email notifications, tasks and field updates.
  
• In the List View you can reorder the rules to change the sequence in which the rules need to be executed. The  Reorder  option will be available only after you select a module from the drop-down list. 
  

To use summary view

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the Workflow Rules page, select a module from the drop-down list.
   
3. Click  Summary View icon.
   
   All the rules for the selected module will be listed along with the Criteria and the associated Field Updates. You can click the  Show More link to see the other items associated to the rule.
   
   
   

To reorder the workflow rules

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the Workflow Rules  page, select a module from the drop-down list.
   
   Make sure you have selected the List View and not the Summary View.
   
3. Click Reorder Rules.
   
4. Drag and drop the rules in the order that you require.
     
   

View Workflow Usage

You can see insights on the usage of your workflow rules that have the action to send email notifications associated to them. Based on the open rate of the email template associated with your workflow rules, the best performing workflow rules are listed for every week.

Availability

Permission Required

All the users have permission to view workflow usage.  

Check Feature Availability and Limits 

To track the workflow usage,

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the Workflow Rules  page, click the Usage  tab.
   
3. In the  Usage  page, you will be able to:
   

• View the list of top performing workflow rules by email open rate for the last 7 days.
  
• Track the open rate of each email template via the respective workflow rule along with the overall open rate. 
  
• Click open the rules to see more elaborate details on usage.
  
  
  
  

Delete Workflow Rules

You can also delete the workflow rules from the list view and also while viewing the rule. When you delete a workflow rule, all the scheduled actions for the records will also be deleted.

To delete workflow rules

1. Go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules.
   
2. In the  Workflow Rules  page, move you mouse pointer to the rule you want to delete and click the  Delete icon.
   
   Alternatively, click on the rule that you to delete. In the rule details page, click the more options button and then click  Delete.
   
   
   

Note

1. In the audit log you can view details of each and every update that is made in the workflow.  See Also  Audit Log.