Your WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS conversations, in Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM integration setup guide

Watch the walkthrough (connect, sync, disconnect, about two minutes, with narration):

This guide covers everything from connecting Zoho CRM to removing it:

• Before you start
• Connect Zoho CRM
• Permissions and why they are needed
• Choose what gets logged
• Using the integration
• Zoho CRM Free edition
• Disconnect
• What happens to your data

Before you start

• A Timelines workspace. You need to be an owner or admin who can manage integrations.
• A Zoho CRM organization on any edition, including Free, hosted in the US, EU, India, Australia, Japan, UK, Canada or Saudi Arabia data center.
• At least one connected channel in Timelines, such as a WhatsApp number, a Telegram account or a phone number.

The Zoho CRM integration is included with Timelines at no extra cost, and it is available during the 7-day free trial.

Connect Zoho CRM

1. In Timelines, open your workspace and go to Integrations.
2. Click Add integration and choose Zoho CRM.
3. Click Continue to Zoho.
4. Sign in to Zoho if asked, review the permissions and click Accept to approve access for your organization.
5. Zoho sends you back to Timelines, where Zoho CRM now shows as connected with your organization's name. New conversations start appearing in Zoho right away.

Timelines works out which Zoho data center your organization is in (US, EU, India, Australia, Japan, UK, Canada or Saudi Arabia) and talks only to that data center.

Permissions and why they are needed

Timelines asks only for what the integration uses. It does not ask for deals, accounts, products or any other module.

Choose what gets logged

After connecting, open Integrations → Zoho CRM in Timelines to change these settings at any time. Changes apply to new messages.

• Channels to log. Choose any of WhatsApp, SMS, Telegram, web chat and calls. All are on by default.
• Create contacts for new numbers. On by default. When a phone number matches no contact (or lead), Timelines creates a contact. Turn it off to log only to records you already have.
• Also search Leads. On by default. When no contact matches, Timelines looks for a lead with that number and logs there. Leads are matched, never created.

Using the integration

There is nothing to do day to day. Keep working in the Timelines inbox and each message reaches Zoho CRM shortly after it is sent or received:

• Each message is a note on the matching contact or lead, showing the channel, who wrote it and when.
• Each call is a record in the Calls module, linked to the matching record, with direction, status and duration.

In the Timelines inbox, the chat panel shows the linked Zoho record with an Open in Zoho link, and tells you when the contact was created by Timelines. When several contacts or leads share a number, Timelines does not guess: nothing is logged for that chat until someone picks the right record in the panel. Chats without a phone number, such as most Telegram chats, can be linked to a record by pasting its Zoho record ID.

Zoho CRM Free edition

The integration works on the Free edition. Zoho allows a Free organization 5,000 API calls per day, shared with your team and any other apps you use. Timelines paces its own calls and keeps to part of that allowance, so on a very busy day some messages may reach Zoho later. To stay well within the limit, log only the channels you need. Paid Zoho editions have a much higher limit.

Disconnect

1. In Timelines, open Integrations → Zoho CRM.
2. Click Disconnect and confirm.

Timelines stops logging immediately, revokes its access in Zoho and deletes the Zoho tokens it stored. You can connect again at any time. If you remove Timelines’ access from the Zoho side instead, Timelines stops logging as soon as Zoho refuses its access, and shows Zoho CRM as disconnected.

What happens to your data

• While connected, Timelines reads contacts and leads to match phone numbers and writes the notes, calls and contacts described above. Access tokens are stored encrypted.
• After you disconnect, nothing already logged is deleted from Zoho. The notes, calls and the contacts Timelines created stay in your Zoho CRM organization, and you can remove them there if you want.
• In Timelines, access is revoked in Zoho and the stored tokens are deleted. Your conversations stay in your Timelines inbox as before.

Read more in our privacy policy and on the security and compliance page. Questions? Kontakt os.