Workflow Rules are declarative automation rules triggered by record events or schedules (Zoho CRM help: Configuring Workflow Rules).
Trigger Types
- Record Action: Created, Edited, Created or Edited, Deleted, or based on a specific field change.
- Date/Time: At a specific date or offset from a date field (e.g., 3 days before close date).
- Score-based: When a record's score increases, decreases, or is updated.
Workflow Actions
Instant Actions (execute immediately on trigger):
- Send Email Alert
- Create Task
- Update Field
- Assign Owner
- Create Record (in any module)
- Call Webhook
- Custom Function (Deluge)
- Send Notification
Time-Based Actions (execute after a delay or at a scheduled time):
- Same action types as Instant, but deferred.
Limits: Up to 6 custom functions per workflow rule (1 instant + 5 time-based).
Automation Execution Order
Assignment Rules → Review Process → Scoring Rules → Workflow Rules → Approval Process → Blueprint → Scoring Rules → CommandCenter. Scoring rules appear twice to capture updates from earlier automation actions (Zoho CRM help: Configuring Workflow Rules).
2025 Enhancements
- Team module fields can participate in workflow criteria and actions.
- Connected record workflows: Automated actions based on events in connected records.
- Workflow reordering: Rules in the same module execute chronologically; admins can reorder.