How to Connect Excel to Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a popular cloud-based solution for managing customer relationships and enhancing business operations. Its functionality and excellent customization capabilities provide various data-handling options. However, many businesses prefer to manage Zoho CRM data in Excel which is familiar to most users and is well-suited for organizing, structuring, and analyzing data. As a rule, it suggests exporting the data from Zoho CRM as Excel files that can be edited locally. After that, users should upload Excel into Zoho CRM again to apply changes.

The Devart Excel Add-in for Zoho CRM allows users to connect Excel to Zoho CRM directly, enabling them to load data into Excel, work with it, and then save it back to Zoho CRM. With such integration, users can easily manage Zoho CRM objects in standard Excel worksheets, utilizing all functionalities offered for data cleansing and processing.

Key features of the add-in include:

Simple and precise data selection, including specific tables, columns, filters, and sorting parameters
Advanced SQL support for retrieving data based on specific criteria
Data preview before importing to an Excel worksheet
Instant data refresh from Zoho CRM within the Excel environment
Instant data validation with error highlighting
Direct data editing in Excel with highlighting of changes
Uploading changes back to Zoho CRM using the Devart Excel connector

This article discusses the usage of the Devart Zoho CRM Excel connector, including the process of establishing a connection between Excel and Zoho CRM and describing the options available for working with the data.

Configure Zoho CRM connection

After you download and install the required Excel add-in, a new tab labeled Devart will appear on the Excel ribbon. To configure the Zoho CRM connection, simply click Get Data.

View the available options on the Devart tab

In the Import Data Wizard, select Zoho CRM from the Data Source list.

Next, configure your Zoho CRM connection. To generate the Zoho CRM Refresh Token, click Web Login. This will redirect you to the online Zoho portal. Log in with your credentials, and you will be taken to the necessary area. Click Accept to authorize the Devart Excel Add-in to access your Zoho account data.

The generated token will be automatically inserted into the Zoho CRM connection parameters in Excel. Make sure to choose the appropriate Domain from the list. It should match the one you use online.

Optionally, you can set additional connection parameters such as proxy options, timeouts, behavior, etc. For that, click Advanced and view the available options.

Also, consider the below optional parameters:

Allow saving add-in specific data in Excel worksheet: This lets you store details like add-in settings and queries in Excel. If unchecked, you will need to reconfigure settings each time you use the add-in.
Allow saving connection string in Excel worksheet: This enables you to reuse connection settings when reloading or updating Zoho CRM data, thus simplifying future data operations.
Allow saving security info: Keeps security settings consistent across connections. Leave it unchecked if you prefer to specify security settings for each new connection.
Allow reuse connection in Excel: By default, this is unchecked. If selected, you can use the specified Zoho CRM connection in other Excel workbooks. Save the connection under some specific name in Manage Connections and reference it whenever you need to access Zoho CRM data from Excel.

After configuring, you'll see all parameters specified in the Zoho CRM connection strings.

Click Test Connection to ensure all details are correctly set before starting the process of data import.

Import data from Zoho CRM

To load Zoho CRM data into Excel after connecting, follow these steps:

In the Import Data Wizard, click Next to select the data source (specific table) and the columns containing the data you need.

Select the table to import the data from into Excel

Refine your data selection by adding specific criteria and filters on the right side. You can configure the basic query to retrieve the data visually or proceed to the SQL Query tab for more advanced query syntax if needed.

Construct and apply the SQL query to select and import data

Preview your selection to ensure the Zoho CRM data is configured correctly. You can always return to the previous tab to adjust your data import parameters. Click Finish to start loading the data.

Preview the selected data before importing it into Excel

The selected data will then be available in your Excel worksheet.

Live edit Zoho CRM data

The Zoho CRM export to Excel has been successfully completed, and the data is now available in your Excel worksheet. To start working with it, click Edit Mode in the ribbon. It ensures that you can edit the records and save changes successfully.

Enable the Edite mode to make and save changes

Note: You will see that certain portions of the data are not editable; these lines are greyed out in the Excel window.

You can work with the data just like any other records in an Excel worksheet: edit cell contents, delete rows, or add new rows. To insert a new row, enter the values into the last table row highlighted in green.

All changes made to the imported data are highlighted in yellow.

To ensure you are always working with the latest data, click Refresh to load Zoho CRM data from your account at any moment.

If you make any errors while working with Zoho CRM data in Excel, click Rollback to revert all changes and return to the initial data version.

Click Rollback to return to the initial data version

After making all the necessary changes, you can upload the data back from Excel to Zoho CRM. The Devart Excel Add-in makes this process simple and efficient.

Upload Excel data into Zoho CRM

Simply saving your changes in Excel does not automatically update the online data, we need to upload Excel data to Zoho CRM. For that, use the Commit option: click Commit on the ribbon and confirm the action to initiate the data transfer from Excel to Zoho CRM.

When you upload Excel to Zoho CRM, verify the update. Log in to your Zoho CRM account and review the data. You will see that the changes made in Excel are now reflected online.

This way, the Devart Excel Add-in for Zoho CRM allows you to efficiently manage Zoho data within Excel and then upload Excel to Zoho CRM, updating the online data with your local changes.

Conclusion

Zoho CRM, a component of the expansive Zoho platform, is widely favored for its comprehensive functionality and user-friendly interface. However, its built-in options in data processing and analysis could be further improved. Many users turn to Microsoft Excel for such tasks. Devart's Excel Add-in for Zoho CRM offers a straightforward and effective way to connect and synchronize data between Excel and Zoho CRM, making it easier and more convenient for users to manage Zoho CRM data locally.

Devart's Excel Add-in for Zoho CRM can be installed separately or as part of the Universal Pack, which includes dedicated Excel add-ins for 26 different sources, such as databases and cloud platforms.