# Set up Contact Synchronization from Zoho Desk

Once Cloud Voice is connected to Zoho Desk, you can turn on a one-way synchronization that copies your Zoho Desk contacts into a dedicated Cloud Voice phonebook. Whenever an associated extension calls or receives a call from a Zoho Desk contact, the matching record is added to that phonebook for you.

## Prerequisites

You have already [integrated Cloud Voice with Zoho Desk](/pbx/integrations/zoho-desk/integrate-cloud-voice-with-zoho-desk/).

## Enable contact synchronization

1. Sign in to the PBX (Private Branch Exchange, your phone system) web portal and go to **Integrations > Helpdesk**.
2. On the Zoho Desk integration page, turn on **Synchronize Contacts Automatically**.
3. Open the **Synchronize Contacts From** drop-down list and choose which record type(s) to bring over from Zoho Desk.

   ![Drop-down for choosing which Zoho Desk record types to synchronize](/images/pbx/sync-contacts-from.png)

   - **Contacts**: The individual people your Zoho Desk agents support. These live in the Zoho Desk **Customers > Contact** module.
   - **Accounts**: The companies or organizations your Zoho Desk agents support. These live in the Zoho Desk **Customers > Account** module.
4. Open the **Synchronize to Phonebook** drop-down list and either select an existing empty phonebook or create a new one to hold the synced contacts.

   :::note
   Contacts can be synchronized only into an empty phonebook.
   :::

   ![Drop-down for selecting or creating the destination phonebook](/images/pbx/sync-to-phonebook.png)
5. Set the **Always Query Helpdesk** option to control whether Cloud Voice looks up contacts in the helpdesk in real time.

   
   ![Cloud Voice, the Always Query Helpdesk toggle on the integration page](/images/pbx/always-query-helpdesk.png)

   - **Enabled**: Cloud Voice queries the helpdesk in real time for contact details, and extension users get live dial-search results for helpdesk contacts in the Cloud Voice App.
   - **Disabled**: Cloud Voice queries the helpdesk only when no matching record is found in the PBX company contacts.

   :::caution
   Real-time querying consumes more API (Application Programming Interface) calls against your Zoho Desk quota, so keep an eye on your usage. Real-time search is also unavailable while masked numbers are turned on.
   :::
6. Click **Save**.

## Result

Under **Contacts > Phonebooks**, the destination phonebook now carries a helpdesk label.

![The helpdesk label shown on the synced phonebook](/images/pbx/help-desk-label.png)

![The Zoho Desk phonebook listed under Contacts with its helpdesk label](/images/pbx/zoho-desk-phonebook.png)

From now on, when an associated extension takes an inbound call from a Zoho Desk contact or dials one, the matching contact details are copied into the phonebook automatically.

:::note
This is a one-way sync from Zoho Desk into Cloud Voice, so the destination phonebook and the contacts it receives are read-only.
:::

## Troubleshoot failed contacts

If certain contacts never appear in the phonebook, the cause is usually missing information on the Zoho Desk side. Confirm that each affected contact has the following fields completed, then run the directory synchronization again:

- At least one of **First name** or **Last name** is filled in.
- At least one phone number field is filled in.