Zoho CRM Integration Overview

Zoho CRM is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform: the system your sales and support teams use to track customers, contacts, leads, and deals. Connecting Cloud Voice to Zoho CRM lets your CRM users work with call details directly inside their CRM records while all voice traffic continues to run on Cloud Voice. There are two ways to connect the two systems, and the method you choose depends on which edition of Zoho CRM you have. This page explains the requirements, the features each method offers, and the terms used throughout the Zoho CRM integration guides.

Both methods integrate only with the Zoho CRM application. Choose the one that matches your Zoho edition:

• CRM API integration: for Zoho CRM free (and higher) editions. See Integrate Cloud Voice with Zoho CRM.
• PhoneBridge integration: for Zoho CRM paid editions, using Zoho PhoneBridge. See Integrate Cloud Voice with Zoho CRM via PhoneBridge.

Tip

Your Zoho CRM edition decides the method. The free edition supports only the CRM API integration. Paid editions can also use PhoneBridge, which lets users work entirely inside the Zoho interface without switching to another app.

Caution

Both methods require Cloud Voice platform version 84.23.0.83 or later. On an older version the integration will not work, so confirm your platform version before you begin.

CRM API integration (Zoho free edition)

This option is built for Zoho CRM free edition users. It links the CRM to your phone system through an API (Application Programming Interface, a defined way for two systems to exchange data automatically) so the two stay in sync. With the API method, every call started from Zoho CRM runs through the Cloud Voice App, which handles the steps needed to keep all of the supported telephony features working correctly.

Requirements

Item	Requirement
Zoho CRM	Free, Standard, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition.
Cloud Voice platform	Version 84.23.0.83 or later.

Note

The integration works only with the Zoho CRM application. It does not support other Zoho products such as Zoho Mail or Zoho Recruit.

Key features

Connecting Cloud Voice to Zoho CRM through the API gives you:

• Click to Call: Place a call with a single click on any recognized number in Zoho CRM, using the Cloud Voice App web client.

  Note

  This feature requires the Cloud Voice App for Google Chrome extension, and the web client must be set up to work together with the extension.

• Call Popup: The contact’s profile opens automatically in the browser when a user (signed in to the web or desktop Cloud Voice App) receives, answers, or wraps up a call with a CRM contact. Users can also open the profile manually from the call window while the call is in progress.

• Call & Chat Journal: Call activity is logged to the CRM automatically once a user tied to a phone system extension finishes a call with a CRM contact. When a user has an external chat with someone whose number matches a CRM contact, the full chat history syncs to the CRM after the session closes, whether the user or the system ends it.

• Contact Synchronization: CRM contacts sync into the associated phone system phonebook on inbound calls from, or outbound calls to, Zoho CRM contacts.

• Contact or Lead Creation: A new contact or lead can be created in the CRM, automatically or by hand, for unknown inbound or outbound calls.

• Call Recording Playback: Zoho users can view and play recordings that are stored on the phone system from the matching call log in the Zoho interface.

PhoneBridge integration (Zoho paid edition)

This option is built for Zoho CRM paid edition users and relies on Zoho PhoneBridge to connect with Cloud Voice. Users do everything from within the Zoho interface, so there is no need to switch to another platform, which makes for a single, streamlined experience.

Requirements

Item	Requirement
Zoho CRM	Standard, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition, or CRM Plus.
Cloud Voice platform	Version 84.23.0.83 or later.

Note

The integration works only with the Zoho CRM application. It does not support other Zoho products such as Zoho Mail or Zoho Recruit.

Key features

Connecting Cloud Voice to Zoho CRM through PhoneBridge gives you:

• Click to Call: Start a call straight from the call button in the Zoho CRM interface, without moving to another platform.
• Call Popup: The contact’s profile opens automatically in a pop-up window when a user receives, answers, or finishes a call with a CRM contact. Users can also open the profile manually from the call window during a call.
• Chat Journal: When a user has an external chat with someone whose number matches a CRM contact, the full chat history syncs to the CRM after the session closes, whether the user or the system ends it.
• Contact Synchronization: CRM contacts sync into the associated phone system phonebook on inbound calls from, or outbound calls to, Zoho CRM contacts.
• Automatic Contact or Lead Creation: A new contact or lead can be created in the CRM, automatically or by hand, for unknown inbound or outbound calls.
• Play Call Recording: Zoho users can view and play recordings that are stored on the phone system from the matching call log in the Zoho interface.

Terminology

The following terms are used throughout the Zoho CRM integration.

Term	Description
Zoho Administrator	The top-level user who can reach all data and manage every user in Zoho CRM, such as a CEO, senior executive, or senior administrator.
Zoho User	A staff member who can reach only the data allowed by their assigned role, such as a sales manager or field application engineer (FAE).
Phone System Extension	The extension number assigned to each staff member. Staff register the extension on a phone or in the Cloud Voice App and use it to make and receive calls.
Zoho Account	A company or department you do business with. One or more contacts can be linked to a single account.
Zoho Contact	A person at an organization your company communicates with while pursuing business opportunities.
Zoho Lead	An unqualified contact or sales opportunity, made up of the raw details gathered about individuals or organization representatives from various campaigns.