Zoho CRM SMS Integration for Leads, Deals and Site Visits

What you can automate with Zoho CRM SMS integration

Zoho's own help pages list SMS reminders to field sales reps as a typical use of webhooks, and the same set-up covers messages to customers. Any workflow rule that fires when a record is created, edited or reaches a date can call our API. The SMS goes out with values from that record, such as the lead's first name, the deal stage or the visit date, placed into your approved DLT template.

Speed matters most with new enquiries. A lead from your website form, an IndiaMART listing or a Facebook ad that gets an SMS right after it is created knows the enquiry was received. Your rep gets the details on their phone before calling back. Deal stage updates and visit reminders then cut down the follow-up calls your team makes just to confirm what happens next.

• New lead acknowledgement to the customer, naming the next step
• Lead assignment alert to the rep's mobile
• Deal stage updates such as quote sent or order confirmed
• Visit or appointment reminders a day before, through a time-based action
• Payment due reminders from a date field on the deal

Setting up the webhook in Zoho CRM

In Zoho CRM, go to Setup, Automation, Actions, Webhooks and click Configure Webhook. Choose GET as the method. In URL to Notify, enter our send URL with your api_key, sender_id and route=T, and add phonenumber=${Leads.Mobile} at the end. Then add message as a user-defined parameter, type your template text and insert merge fields with the # key. With GET, Zoho sends these parameters as part of the URL when the webhook runs.

Save the webhook, open Workflow Rules and create a rule on the Leads module that runs when a record is created. Pick the webhook under Instant Actions. For reminders, base the rule on a date field and attach the webhook as a time-based action. Zoho allows one instant and up to five time-based webhooks per rule, and you need the Manage Workflow permission. The example URL on this page shows everything on one line for reference.

• Method: GET
• URL to Notify: our send URL with api_key, sender_id, route and phonenumber=${Leads.Mobile}
• User-defined parameter: message, with your template text and merge fields
• Keep the URL under Zoho's limit of 300 characters

Writing SMS that match your DLT template

Zoho fills each merge field with whatever is stored on the record, so plan your template around real data. Each {#var#} in a DLT template holds up to 30 characters. Company names and full addresses often run longer, so use the first name, a short area name or a record number instead. If a field can be blank, such as First Name on a lead from a quick form, the message will not match the template. Make that field mandatory, or use one that is always filled.

Store mobile numbers as 10 digits, or with 91 in front, without spaces. Our API reads the last 10 digits, so a number saved as 98430 12345 fails with -5. Add the approved template under your sender ID in our panel as well. Our platform checks each message against your templates, and a message that matches none of them fails, with the reason shown in your MIS report. Words and punctuation outside the variables must stay exactly as approved.

• DLT template: Hi {#var#}, thanks for your enquiry with Acme Interiors. Our designer will call you today. - Acme Interiors
• In Zoho: Hi ${Leads.First Name}, thanks for your enquiry with Acme Interiors. Our designer will call you today. - Acme Interiors
• Each merge field value: 30 characters or fewer, and never blank

Zoho Flow, your own handler, or WhatsApp

A plain webhook suits one fixed message per rule. When you need logic, such as cleaning up phone numbers or choosing a template by deal stage, use Zoho Flow or a small handler of your own. Zoho Flow's Send webhook action supports GET and POST with parameters, so it can call the same URL. A handler on your server can receive Zoho's webhook and call our REST API v2 with JSON, a Bearer key and your DLT entity and template IDs. We also have a Zapier connector.

For WhatsApp, every business-started message must use a template approved by Meta, and it goes through our WhatsApp Business API from Zoho Flow or your handler. Plans start at ₹999 a month plus a one-time setup fee, with utility messages from ₹0.12 to ₹0.16 each. Our WhatsApp automation can also send chat contacts into Zoho CRM as new leads, so enquiries that start on WhatsApp land in the same pipeline as your other leads.

Limits, testing and cost

Zoho caps webhook calls per day by edition, and the Free edition has no webhooks. Standard allows 25,000 calls a day or 100 per user licence, whichever is lower. Professional allows 50,000 or 100 per user licence, and Enterprise and Ultimate allow more. A five-user Standard account can make about 500 webhook calls a day, which covers most lead flows. Zoho waits up to 10 seconds for a reply, and after a failure it sends one more attempt 15 minutes later.

Before building the webhook, paste the URL with your own number and a test message into a browser. The reply appears on screen: a message ID means success, and a negative number points to the problem. This matters because our API returns HTTP 200 even with an error code, so Zoho will not flag a wrong sender ID. SMS costs ₹0.15 to ₹0.20 per delivered message plus GST, with a minimum purchase of 5,000 SMS and credits valid for a year.