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How to Set Up a Custom Zoho CRM Integration

Custom Zoho CRM integrations with other apps and services give new meaning to the term “empowerment” by allowing organizations to streamline operations and maximize the value of their technology solutions.

Integration requirements can vary widely and may include business applications for marketing, collaboration, telephony, messaging, customer support, finance, events, social media, storage, live chat, and more. 

What is a Custom Zoho CRM Integration?

Zoho crm logo.

In simplest terms, a Custom Zoho CRM Integration is a project that results in Zoho CRM being able to fluidly communicate with other applications and vice-versa. The integration lets you take advantage of the best features of both software applications and eliminates any need for duplicated data entry or processes.

If there is no pre-existing integration tool available for the software you want to integrate with Zoho CRM, or the tool doesn’t handle the modules or datasets you want to sync, custom integration is the answer.

What are the benefits of Custom Zoho CRM Integrations?

Zoho CRM is designed to address the primary needs of companies across countless industries including education, finance, insurance, life sciences, non-profits, real estate, software, technology, and start-ups. With such a wide scope, it’s not possible to meet the needs of all customers.

By integrating with other tools in your workflow, or building custom applications that expand the basic Zoho CRM functionality, you can maximize the value of Zoho CRM for your business.

Why would I want to pursue a Custom Zoho CRM Integration?

The Zoho suite of products can do just about anything, but in some cases, companies need to continue using legacy software for business purposes. 

Zoho recognized this when building its product and created several ways to integrate its CRM with other applications, including built-in integrations, the Zoho Flow migration tool, and other pre-built integration engines like Zapier. 

Common applications to integrate with Zoho CRM include:

  • Google Workspace  
  • PandaDoc
  • Microsoft 365 
  • RingCentral
  • Twilio 
  • Knowlarity
  • SMS-Magic 
  • BurstSMS 
  • Klenty
  • GoToWebinar
  • GoToMeeting 
  • Eventbrite 
  • Zoom 
  • Quickbooks 
  • Zero
  • Saasu 
  • Proposify
  • QuoteWerks 
  • iQuoteXpress 
  • DocuSign 
  • Adobe Sign 
  • Leadfeeder
  • Address Locator 
  • Google Ads
  • MailChimp 
  • ActiveCampaign 
  • Facebook Ad Manager 
  • Dropbox 
  • Google Drive 
  • Box 
  • Google Sheets 
  • Slack
  • Kanban Board 
  • Mail Parser 
  • Front 
  • Idle Deal Alert 
  • Lead Queue 
  • Get Response 
  • Pie Sync 
  • Zapier 
  • SurveyMonkey
  • Chatbot

Don’t see yours on that list? Don’t worry. Using ZBrains’ expertise, experience, and integration tools, practically any third-party legacy software or system can be integrated with Zoho CRM.

Preparing for Your Custom Zoho CRM Integration

A group of people preparing for Zoho Integration.

  • Identify pain points

Why do you need a custom integration? What functionality are you missing that you’d like to build? Understanding these “requirements” is essential to determining the integration tools and processes best suited to achieving the outcome you’re investing in.

  • Define business needs

Determine your scope, defining which modules or data needs to be synced, the sync direction, and the sync interval (Is it enough to sync once per day in batches, or do you need immediate sync every time data is undated?). 

This information is necessary to determine which type and how many API calls will be needed (REST APIs, Bulk APIs, Notification APIs, and Query APIs). The number and type of API calls needed directly impacts the project budget.

  • Define goals and objectives

Set and define goals and the objectives needed to reach them regarding the integration timeline and budget. 

Steps To Setting Up a Custom Zoho CRM Integration

  1. Set up and enable basic CRM features, including organizational details, user roles and profiles, data security, and data visibility rules
  2. Customize fields and modules, creating a detailed mapping plan for the two applications
  3. Establish workflow automation processes, including email notifications, field updates, record creation, actions defined through functions, and webhooks.
  4. Decide on an integration method, including Zoho Flow, built-in CRM integrations, or another pre-built integration engine such as Zapier. 
  5. Execute the integration
  6. Troubleshoot any problems encountered
  7. Test to confirm accurate migration and syncing
  8. Refine and optimize, an ongoing process post-integration

How ZBrains Can Help with Custom Zoho CRM Integration

Zbrains Logo 10.

Zbrains is a top Zoho Premium Partner for business solutions. Since 2012, we’ve built end-to-end solutions to transform organizations through technology. 

Advantages of working with ZBrains

  • Expertise/experience

Simply stated, our experience and expertise save our clients time and money. We provide consulting, training, customization, development, and other services related to the Zoho suite of apps. Our clients include organizations of all sizes in practically all industries, although we primarily serve companies in field services, construction, manufacturing, distribution, technology, and SaaS.

  • Tailored solutions

Zbrains is not your “normal” Zoho consulting shop. We offer tailored solutions.

AgilitySync is our proprietary ETL (extract-transform-load) platform for connecting Zoho apps to third-party ERP apps, connecting Zoho CRM, Finance, and Creator to programs like QuickBooks and Sage 100 ERP, among others.

Conclusion

Organizations don’t have to forego the benefits of Zoho CRM because they aren’t ready to let go of their other systems. Custom Zoho CRM integrations with other apps and services allow you to streamline operations and maximize the value of your technology solutions.

Ready to explore a custom Zoho CRM integration? Reach out to Zbrains, a trusted partner, to understand what will be the fastest, most reliable, and most economical way to integrate your third-party application with Zoho CRM.

At ZBrains, we understand what it takes to get your system up and running, and we know how to save you time and money. Contact our team for guidance and support

Written by

Raven is a consultant with ZBrains. He has extensive experience working with manufacturing and field service businesses.

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