WhatsApp and Telegram,
inside the Zoho CRM record.
With the Zoho CRM WhatsApp integration your team keeps writing from its current number. The incoming message matches the contact or lead in Zoho; if there is no record, one is created automatically. Your agent replies either from FlexInbox or from inside the Zoho record.
See the Zoho CRM integration liveOne-click authorization · Users come from Zoho · 14 days free
Lead · Contact · DealWhichever line you use, there is a single record on the Zoho side
The right record is found on its own, the rest stays in Zoho
Three things change for a team using Zoho CRM: whose record an incoming message lands in, where the conversation starts, and where the owner and stage are kept.
The message finds the right record by itself
The number is searched first in Contacts, then in Leads, and verified exactly. The conversation opens with the record's name and owner; it is never written to the wrong record.
One-click conversation from the record
The 'Write on WhatsApp' button on the lead, contact and deal pages opens the conversation inside Zoho. Your team replies without switching to the panel.
Owner and stage stay in Zoho
Owner, status and stage changes made from the conversation are written to the Zoho record; your note lands on the record. The two sides never drift apart.
Authorize Zoho, the rest is set up
You do not go looking for an add-on in the Marketplace. You click 'Connect to Zoho' in the panel and grant permission on Zoho's own screen. Users, lead statuses, deal stages and the CRM fields you use are pulled from Zoho automatically.
Authorize your Zoho account
Select your data center in the panel, then click 'Accept' on the Zoho screen that opens. It is done once with an admin account. The permissions requested are limited to the lead, contact, deal and note modules plus reading the user list, field definitions and account information; no access to other modules is requested.
Match users with lines
Your Zoho users arrive in the panel on their own. You give each person a role, connect their line and choose who else can use that line. You do not create users by hand.
Connect the line
Scan the QR code for a personal number, or pick your WABA number for an official line. Both work under the same Zoho account.
Data center: If your Zoho account is in the Europe (zoho.eu) or US (zoho.com) data center, you select it in the panel and connect. For the India and Australia data centers, write to us before setup; the connection is prepared for you.
An incoming message finds the right record by itself
The customer writes on WhatsApp and the conversation opens with their Zoho record and its owner. Nobody in between has to search for 'who is this, do we have a record'.
Technical details: owner, number verification and the Zoho API quota
The owner comes from Zoho
The record's owner in Zoho becomes the owner of the conversation. If you change the owner in the conversation, the owner in Zoho changes too; the two sides never drift apart.
The number is matched exactly
A Zoho search can also return similar numbers that differ by country code. If the number on the returned record is not exactly the same as the number writing to you, it is not accepted; the note and the owner are never written to another customer's record.
Respect for the Zoho API quota
The record and the owner are resolved once on the first message, not asked of Zoho again on every message. If no record is found, the same number is not searched again for 15 minutes.
Start a conversation from the record in one click
If your team works inside Zoho all day, it does not need to switch to the panel. A 'Write on WhatsApp' button is added to contact, lead and deal records; the conversation for the number on the record opens inside Zoho, and the reply goes from there.
Technical details
- The full conversation history for the phone number on the record is shown; on a deal record the number is resolved from the linked contact
- Audio, images and documents open and play in the same window
- An agent can write only from their own line; permissions are defined in the panel
- We define the button in your Zoho account during setup; the Zoho Marketplace add-on is in preparation
See the whole conversation
without leaving the record
Change the owner and the status
without leaving the conversation
The Zoho record right above the conversation
While you talk to the customer, change the owner on the same screen, move the lead status or the deal stage forward, add a note to the record. Once the conversation ends there is no step left where you think 'now let me enter this into Zoho'.
Technical details
- The status and stage lists come straight from Zoho (Lead Status, Deal Stage); options you renamed appear under their own names
- The comment you write lands on the Zoho record as a note (Notes)
- If a contact has more than one deal, you pick which one to work with; the choice is remembered for that conversation
- Answers to a WhatsApp form you send on an official line are written into the fields of the Zoho record; a field that is already filled is not overwritten
- Tags stay on the FlexInbox side; they are used for filtering and reporting
- If you do not want a conversation written to Zoho, there is a 'do not save to CRM' box
Who is on which line, in one table
Your Zoho users arrive in the panel on their own. Each row holds that person's panel account, role, connected WhatsApp or Telegram line and who is allowed to use the line.
You scan the QR code here,
and choose who will use the line
Technical details: roles, permissions and panel login
Roles
Admin, supervisor and personal roles. An agent with the personal role sees only the conversations on their own lines.
Who can use the line
You can let more than one person use a number, and you can revoke that permission at any time.
Panel login
A panel account is created with the Zoho email address. You do not have to give a separate login to someone who will write only from inside Zoho.
No per-person fee
The price does not change no matter how many users you add. The fee is set by the number of lines you connect.
Let AI give the first reply
The assistant you train on your own content handles the first questions; your agent takes over the conversation whenever they want. A separate agent can be assigned to each WhatsApp or Telegram line; you set the assistant's personality, knowledge sources and model from the panel. Details: Zoho CRM AI integration.
Technical details
- Your price list, your frequently asked questions or your website become the source
- The conversation is visible in the panel and in the window on the Zoho record; record matching works the same on a line with an assistant
- A separate agent can be assigned to each line; the sales line and the support line do not have to match
- Turning the assistant off is a single choice, and the line keeps working
The assistant answers the first question,
your team runs the rest
Zoho CRM Telegram integration
A Telegram account is connected the same way from the Zoho user list. An incoming message is matched to a lead, contact or deal record; the owner, stage and note rules work exactly as they do on WhatsApp.
The right record is found on its own
The phone number is searched in Zoho; lead, contact and deal records are scanned in the same order.
You write from the record card
In the chat window on the Zoho record you pick which line to write from: WhatsApp or Telegram.
Line assignment in the same table
In the table that lists your Zoho users, a WhatsApp line and a Telegram line are assigned to each person separately.
Setting up a Telegram line, its limits and how it differs from a bot account: Telegram integration
What you should know up front
Some of these come from the CRM's own rules, some from the current scope of the integration. We share all of them openly before you start.
Open all six items
Messages are not written to Zoho as notes
The whole conversation is visible from the button on the record and from the panel; only the comments you write and form answers go to Zoho. Not filling the record with hundreds of note lines is a deliberate choice.
Automatic record creation is optional
For an unknown number a Lead, Contact or Contact + Deal is created; you can turn it off. If the number already exists in Zoho, no second record is created; if the same number is both a contact and a lead, the contact takes precedence.
No Zoho workflow action yet
The Zoho equivalent of the Bitrix24 robot that sends a message when a stage changes is not live yet. Today the message is sent by hand from the conversation or from the record.
Meta ad forms go to Bitrix24 today
Sending Facebook and Instagram lead forms into the CRM works for Bitrix24 today. Zoho is next in line; incoming WhatsApp messages are not affected by this.
Group chats are not carried into the CRM
WhatsApp groups appear in the FlexInbox panel and are answered there, but they are not written to Zoho records. A group does not have a single customer record.
A QR code line is subject to WhatsApp rules
Sending bulk or unsolicited messages from a personal number can get the number restricted. That risk comes from how the tool is used, not from the tool itself.
About the Zoho integration
Which Zoho CRM modules does it work with?
With the Leads, Contacts and Deals modules. Incoming messages match these records; from the conversation you change the owner, the lead status and the deal stage, and add a note (Notes) to the record. No permission is requested for other modules.
What happens if a message arrives from a number with no record in Zoho?
Depending on the mode you choose, a new Lead, Contact or Contact + Deal is created; the source field is set to 'WhatsApp' and the owner becomes the owner of the line. If you do not want automatic creation you turn it off, and the message still lands in the panel.
Are messages visible on the Zoho record?
Yes. The window opened by the 'Write on WhatsApp' button on the record shows the whole conversation, and you reply from there. Messages are not written to Zoho one by one as notes; only the comments you add and form answers are saved to the record.
My Zoho account is in the US data center, can I connect?
Yes. While connecting you choose Europe (zoho.eu) or the US (zoho.com) in the panel. For the India and Australia data centers, you only need to write to us before setup.
Is the Zoho WhatsApp integration installed from the Marketplace?
No. The connection is set up from the FlexInbox panel, through Zoho's own authorization screen. The 'Write on WhatsApp' button on record pages is defined in your account during setup.
Is there a Zoho CRM Telegram integration as well?
Yes. Your Telegram account connects the same way; Telegram messages also match the Zoho record and follow the same owner and stage rules. WhatsApp and Telegram come together in one panel.
Is the WhatsApp Business API required?
No. You can connect your own number with a QR code. If you want a Meta-approved official line, we open that under the same Zoho account too; the two work together and land on the same record.
How many users can I add?
We do not charge per person. All of your Zoho users come into the panel; the price is set by the number of lines you connect.
Do you use a different CRM?
Same panel, same lines; only the place the record lands changes. You will find all WhatsApp CRM integration features on the home page.
Bitrix24 integration
Open Channels, robots and Meta ad forms come with a single setup.
Go to the page
HubSpot integration
Every message stays in the activity timeline of the contact record; the conversation opens from the contact card.
Go to the page
GoHighLevel integration
WhatsApp takes the place of the SMS channel; workflows and AI talk over WhatsApp.
Go to the pageConnect your Zoho CRM today
Setup starts by authorising Zoho. The record button is defined from the panel; if an official line is needed, the application is subject to Meta's approval.
No credit card · 14 days free