Modules in Zoho CRM let you categorize and keep
track of various aspects of your business such as Sales, Marketing, Customers,
Products, Events and the like. Modules in Zoho CRM are represented in the form
of tabs such as Leads, Contacts, Potentials, Activities etc. They are of two
kinds.
· Standard Modules
· Custom Modules or User-Generated Modules
Zoho CRM lets you work with more than 10 standard
modules for Sales, Marketing, Customer Support and Inventory management. These
predefined modules come with a set of default fields and layout. You can edit
most aspects of a standard module to suit your requirements. For example, if
there is a field called Twitter in the Leads module and you think none of your
leads use Twitter, you can remove this field from the Leads layout. Similarly
there are many other customization options provided to Standard modules. The
customization options and their exceptions vary depending on the module you
wish to modify.
Standard, predefined modules are available to all
Zoho CRM users, regardless of the Edition they have subscribed to.
Sometimes,
the standard, predefined modules present in Zoho CRM do not always meet all
your requirements. In such a case, Zoho CRM lets you create a new module
depending on your business needs. For instance, Leads, Contacts and Potentials will not be ideal for an educational
institution. Students, Teachers and Parents would
be more appropriate modules for them and they can create these modules. A
hospital can create new modules called Doctors, Patients, and Nurses.
To address these unique business requirements, you
can create your own modules. With the Custom Modules functionality in Zoho CRM,
you can develop new modules using built-in tools that need no programming
skills. These custom modules can seamlessly integrate with core CRM modules and
need not be stand-alone modules. What's more, you can:
· Add
fields and modify the page layout as per your needs.
· Use
roles and profiles to define access controls for the custom modules and its
fields.
· Import
data to the custom modules with ease.
· Take
a backup of your data, anytime.
· Send
mass emails to the records in the custom module.
· Create
mass email schedulers.
· Use
macros to execute a set of actions.
· Create
workflow rules to automate your business process.
· Build
module relationship by linking custom module records with standard module
records.
· Use
autoresponders to send automated replies and follow-up emails.
Permission Required: Module Customization permission.
Administrator profile users will have this permission by default.
With Zoho CRM's simple WYSIWYG Module Editor
(What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get Editor), you can create new modules as well as
edit existing modules easily.
Both Custom Modules and Custom Apps are two different
functionalities in Zoho CRM that helps you extend your CRM to suit the
requirements that are unique to your business.
· Custom Modules - Create
custom tabs, just like other standard modules, and build module relationship by
linking custom module records with standard module records. Like other standard
modules, you can customize, import and export data, configure workflow rules
and generate reports for the custom module.
· Custom Apps -
Create custom applications, forms and views (powered by Zoho Creator) and
use them to build custom tabs inside Zoho CRM.
Using the What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG)
Module Editor you can easily create/edit modules in Zoho CRM. Take a quick
glance at how to use this editor to customize your module.
1. Name/Rename the module.
2. Drag and drop one or more fields to
the layout from the New Fields tray and click Save Layout.
3. Edit the Field Properties and Set Permissions
for the fields from the Settings icon. Remove fields
from the Layout using the Trash icon.
4. Drag and drop new sections to the layout
from the New
Fields tray.
5. Switch between single-column layout and
two-column layout for a section. Move the sections around to rearrange them.
Use the Delete icon to
delete a section.
6. View the removed fields in the Unused Fields section.
7. Set Module permission for
different user profiles.
8. Preview the module layout
as a particular profile. This is useful if you have given different Field
Permissions for different user profiles.
9. Save the Layout, once you
are satisfied with it.
As you add
new fields and remove existing fields, Custom Fields Left automatically tells you
how many more fields you are allowed to create based on the field limits
applicable for your Edition.
As you can see, you can create fields, edit
layout, set permissions, preview your module, all from a single place.
Instructions on customizing your module are given below in detail.
1. Log in to Zoho CRM with Administrator
privileges.
2. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and
Fields.
3. Under the Modules tab, click Create New Module.
5. Click Save.
To add a new field
1. From the New Fields Tray on the left,
drag and drop the fields you require in the section.
Note:
· There is a limit to the total number of fields
that you can create in your account and also a limit to the type of fields that
you create. This varies based on your Zoho CRM Edition. Refer the following
link to check the field limits: Custom Field Limits
· Custom fields are not available in the Free
edition of Zoho CRM.
· Lookup and Formula fields
are not available in the Standard Edition of Zoho CRM.
To add a section
Note:
· In the Leads and Contacts module,
the Field Settings menu of the Email field includes an
option called Do
not allow duplicates. When you select this option Zoho CRM will not
create allow creation of records with the same email address.
· When you change edit a value of a pick-list
field, the change is reflected in the existing records as well.
To set module-level permission for
your module
1. Click the Module Settings icon and
select Module
Permission from the drop-down menu.
2. In the Module Permissions-[Module] pop-up,
select the profiles that should have access to the new module.
Note:
· The options Module Permission and Set Permission will
not be available in a single-user account. They are available only for accounts
with more than one user.
You can rearrange fields and sections by a simple
drag and drop action. You can also change the column-layout of sections.
· Click the Section Settings icon
and select between single column or double column layouts for the section as
required.
· To
rearrange fields, simply click on a field and drag and drop in the required
place. To rearrange section drag and drop the section to its new place.
A preview of the module is available that helps
you get a quick idea of what the module will look like to users in each
profile. All you have to do is select the user profile to check out the
preview. Based on the preview, you can modify permissions and layout, if
required.
To preview the custom module
1. In the layout builder page, click the Preview link.
Note:
· Availability of custom modules for a user is
subject to the Zoho CRM Edition that the user is part of. See Custom Modules Limits to
check limits for your Edition.
· The Field Properties of
default fields of custom modules as well as standard modules are not editable.
For all other custom fields which you create from the New Fields Tray,
the Field Properties are
editable.
· The Default Field Name label of the custom
module is editable.
The Events page
layout is different from the other modules' page layout but you can still add
or remove fields, rearrange the fields and mark them as mandatory. The
following three links provides the options to edit the layout of the event
related details:
· Create - Adding an event
requires you to fill up a form. The form lists some fields that can be
customized. You can change the order of the fields, remove fields that are not
required and also mark them as mandatory.
· Quick View - While
viewing an event in your calendar, you can choose to have a quick glance at
only the most important information about the event. That can be defined here
in the Quick View.
· View - While viewing an
event in the Activities tab, you can rearrange the fields and add sections. You
can also check out the fields used for the business card view.
To edit a module (standard module
or a user generated module)
1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and
Fields.
Quick-Edit Options for Modules
Zoho CRM
lets you edit a few items of a module directly from the Modules List View. You
do not have to go to the Module Editor to edit these items. Follow the
instructions below to access the quick-edit options.
1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and Fields.
2. Under the Modules tab, point your mouse
to the required module.
3. Click the More icon and select a
desired option from the drop-down list.
4. Execute the appropriate action as required and Save the
action.
In Zoho CRM, the standard modules cannot be
deleted but when there is a need to delete a custom modules make sure that it
is not linked to another module. Once you delete the custom module, you can't
restore data from it. Before deleting make sure you have checked the following:
· You have taken a backup of your data using the Export feature.
· The
module is not liked with any other custom or standard modules.
· Workflow
rules that are configured for the custom module are deleted.
Alternatively, you can hide the custom module for
all the users in the organization's CRM account or only to specific profiles.
To delete a module
1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules and
Fields.
2. Under the Modules tab, point your mouse
to the required module.
3. Click the More icon and select Delete from
the drop-down list.
4. Read the warning message on the pop-up. If you
wish to go ahead, click Yes, Delete now to
confirm the action.