Modules in Zoho CRM are the tabs you see in the sidebar, such as Leads, Contacts, Deals, and Tasks, and they are used to categorise and track different aspects of your business, from sales and marketing to customer support. Organisation modules come in two forms: standard modules, which Zoho CRM provides out of the box, and custom modules, which you build yourself to suit your own processes.

Standard modules

Zoho CRM comes with more than ten standard modules covering sales, marketing, customer support, and inventory management, each with its own default fields and layout. Most aspects of a standard module can be edited to suit your requirements. For example, if the X (formerly Twitter) field in the Leads module is not relevant to your business, you can simply remove it from the Leads layout, along with a range of other customisation options, although the exact options available vary by module. Standard modules are available to every Zoho CRM user, regardless of the edition they are subscribed to.

Custom modules

Where the standard modules do not fit your business, Zoho CRM lets you build your own. An educational institution, for instance, might have little use for Leads, Contacts, and Deals, and would benefit far more from modules called Students, Teachers, and Parents. Similarly, a hospital might create modules for Doctors, Patients, and Nurses. Custom modules can be created without any programming knowledge and can be fully integrated with the standard modules rather than existing as isolated tabs. With a custom module, you can:

• Add fields and adjust the page layout to suit your needs
• Control access using roles and profiles
• Import data easily
• Take a backup of your data at any time
• Send mass emails to records in the module
• Set up mass email schedulers
• Use macros to run a set of actions
• Create workflow rules to automate business processes
• Link records to standard modules to build module relationships
• Use autoresponders for automated replies and follow-ups

Custom modules versus Custom Apps

Custom Modules and Custom Apps are both ways of extending Zoho CRM, but they work differently. Custom Modules give you standard-style tabs that can be linked to other modules, customised, imported and exported, and reported on in the same way as any other module. Custom Apps, on the other hand, are built using Zoho Creator, letting you design entirely custom applications, forms, and views that appear as tabs inside Zoho CRM.

Who can create modules, and how many are allowed

Only users with Module Customisation permission on their profile can create or edit modules, though this permission is enabled by default for administrative profiles. The number of custom modules you can create, combined with team modules, depends on your Zoho CRM edition:

Creating a module

Zoho CRM's WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Module Editor lets you build and edit modules without writing any code. To create a new module:

1. Open Setup. Go to Setup, then Customisation, then Modules and Fields.
2. Start a new module. Under the Modules tab, click Create New Module.
3. Choose the module type. Click Organisation Modules, or select Team Modules if that suits your needs better.
4. Name the module. Enter both the singular and plural forms of the module's name.
5. Save the name. Click Save.
6. Choose teamspaces. Click + Add Teamspace to select which teamspaces, and which folders within them, the module should appear in.
7. Set access. Under Module Permission, select the profiles that should have access to the module.
8. Save the module. Click Save.

Adding fields to a module

The number and type of fields you can add is limited according to your Zoho CRM edition. A running count of remaining custom fields is shown at the bottom left of the screen as you add and remove fields. A few points worth noting: custom fields are not available on the Free edition, formula fields are not available on the Standard edition, and you can assign fields specifically to the Quick Create form or the Detail View for a given layout. To add a field, drag it from the New Fields tray on the left into the relevant section of the layout.

Adding sections

To add a new section to a module, drag the Add New Section option from the Module Builder tray on the left into the layout.

Setting module permissions

To control which profiles can access an organisation module:

1. Open Modules and Fields. Go to Setup, then Customisation, then Modules and Fields.
2. Find the module. Hover over the relevant module, click the More icon, and select Module Permission from the drop-down menu.
3. Choose profiles. In the Module Permissions pop-up, select the profiles that should have access to the module.
4. Save. Click Save.

Designing the module layout

A module's layout controls how its fields and sections are arranged on screen, and you can choose between a single-column layout, where fields are stacked one below another, and a double-column layout, where fields appear side by side in two columns.

To rearrange fields, hover over the field you want to move and drag it to its new position. To change a section's layout, click the gear icon at the top right of the section, then choose either Single Column or Double Column under Section Layout.

Previewing a module

Before finalising your changes, you can preview how the module will look to users in a particular profile. In the layout builder, click Preview, then choose the profile you want to check from the Preview Layout As drop-down.

Customising the Meetings module

The Meetings module has a different page layout to other modules, but its fields can still be added, removed, rearranged, and marked as mandatory. Three separate views can be edited: the Create view, used for the form filled in when scheduling a meeting; the Quick View, which controls the brief summary shown when glancing at a meeting in your calendar; and the View, which controls the fields shown in the Meetings tab and on the business card view, including the ability to add sections.

Editing modules from the sidebar

You do not always need to go into Setup to make changes. Hovering over a module in the sidebar and clicking the More Actions (three dots) icon gives you quick access to configure that module directly.

Deleting a module

Standard modules cannot be deleted. A custom module can be deleted, but only once it is no longer linked to any other module, and the deletion cannot be undone. Deleting a custom module permanently removes all of the following associated with it:

• Created records
• Custom fields
• Workflows
• Email Parser rules
• Email templates
• Reports
• Dashboard components
• Associated portal users and user types
• Associated Zia features
• Segmentation
• Scoring rules
• Wizards
• Canvas designs
• Associated appointment records
• Client scripts
• Cadences
• CPQ configuration
• Auto-response rules

To delete a module:

1. Open Modules and Fields. Go to Setup, then Customisation, then Modules and Fields.
2. Find the module. Hover over the module you want to remove.
3. Choose Delete. Click the More icon and select Delete from the drop-down list.
4. Confirm. Click Yes, Delete Now to confirm.