Keep Brixi and Zoho CRM in Sync
Keep contacts, leads, and deal data aligned between Brixi and a Zoho CRM account. The connector authorises once against Zoho, lets you pick the modules and fields to sync, and then keeps the two sides aligned per the rules you set.
Entry pointAutomation → Integrations
| Article summary | Details |
|---|---|
| Requires | Account admin role in Brixi and an Administrator profile (or equivalent) in Zoho CRM. |
| Where to go | Integrations → Zoho CRM → Manage. |
Before You Connect
Run through the CRM Integrations checklist first. Specifically for Zoho, confirm:
- You know which Zoho data centre your account uses
(
.com,.in,.eu,.com.au,.jp) — the OAuth flow needs the matching region. - The admin profile has API access enabled and read/write on the Contacts, Leads, Accounts, and Deals modules you intend to sync.
- Custom fields you need to sync are visible to the admin profile.
- Any Zoho layout rules that restrict field visibility per profile won't hide fields the connector needs.
Zoho's free edition has stricter API limits than paid editions. If your Zoho plan caps API calls per day, run the initial sync during off-hours to avoid hitting the cap.
Connect Zoho CRM
- In Brixi, open Integrations from the main navigation.
- Find Zoho CRM (or filter by the CRM category).
- Select Manage on the Zoho CRM card.
- Select Connect Zoho CRM. Brixi opens a Zoho login window for the data centre you select.
- Sign in with the admin account and approve the requested scopes (read/write on Contacts, Leads, Accounts, Deals).
- Zoho redirects you back to Brixi. The connection status changes to Connected.
- Pick the modules to sync (Contacts / Leads / Accounts / Deals) and the fields per module.
- Save the configuration.
What You Should See
After connecting, the Zoho CRM card shows a Connection Details panel with:
- Status — Connected / Reconnect needed / Failed.
- Connected Zoho account — the org name and data centre.
- Connected user — the Brixi user who completed the OAuth flow.
- Last sync time — when the connector last pulled or pushed changes.
The connected user's Zoho permissions are what the sync runs with. If that user leaves the company and their Zoho account is deactivated, the sync stops. Reconnect with a service account, not a personal one.
What Syncs
Brixi maps Zoho modules to its own records as follows:
| Zoho module | Brixi record | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Contact | Phone, email, owner, standard demographic fields. |
| Leads | Contact (with lead type) | Created as a Contact with the appropriate lead type / status. |
| Accounts | Company | Linked to the contacts that belong to it. |
| Deals | Deal | Pipeline and stage are mapped via the stage map you configure. |
| Users | User | Mapped by email so owners line up across systems. |
Activities (tasks, notes, calls, emails) are not synced by default — they remain in whichever system created them.
Field & Owner Mapping
When you save the configuration, Brixi shows two mapping screens.
Field mapping — for each Zoho field, pick the matching Brixi field. Required Brixi fields (Name, Phone) need a Zoho source. Optional fields can be left unmapped.
Owner mapping — Brixi matches Zoho users to Brixi users by email. Users without a match show in an Unmapped owners list — fix them before turning on the sync, otherwise records arrive unassigned.
Map a default owner for unmapped Zoho users — usually a sales ops account — so test records always land somewhere reviewable rather than going to the Unassigned queue.
Run a Test Sync
Never run a full sync first. Use the test flow:
- In the Zoho connector settings, pick a test segment — either a Zoho custom view, a tag, or a small filter (e.g., records modified in the last 24 hours).
- Select Run test sync.
- Wait for the run to finish (a small segment usually takes under a minute).
- Open Contacts in Brixi and verify:
- Records have owners assigned.
- Phone and email fields are populated.
- Lead type and status match what Zoho shows.
- Tags and custom fields are present where mapped.
- Open one record and confirm the Source is Zoho CRM (or your configured source).
Only proceed to the full sync after the test segment looks right.
Monitor Sync Health
After the connector is live, check it weekly:
| Where | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Integrations → Zoho CRM | Status is Connected, last sync time is recent. |
| Reporting → Contacts | Total contacts grow at roughly the rate you expect. |
| Reporting → Deals | Deal stage distribution looks like Zoho's. |
| Contacts list | Sort by created date and spot any obvious duplicates from the sync. |
If the status flips to Reconnect needed, the OAuth token expired or the data centre handshake broke — see Disconnect or Reconnect.
Disconnect or Reconnect
Reconnect when the connector shows Reconnect needed or Failed:
- Open Integrations → Zoho CRM → Manage.
- Select Reconnect (or Connect Zoho CRM if the connection is fully broken).
- Sign in with the same Zoho account and the same data centre.
- Confirm the previous field and owner mappings are still correct.
- Run a small test sync before resuming the full one.
Disconnect when you no longer need the sync:
- Open Integrations → Zoho CRM → Manage.
- Select Disconnect.
- Confirm in the dialog.
Disconnecting stops new data from arriving but does not delete the records already synced into Brixi. Plan separately for cleanup if that's what you need.
Common Issues
| Issue | What to check |
|---|---|
| Connection failed at OAuth | Wrong data centre selected, admin profile missing API access, or two-factor flow blocked the redirect. Confirm region and retry. |
| Sync stopped after working for weeks | Token expired or the connected user was deactivated. Reconnect with a service account. |
| Wrong account connected | Connected to the wrong Zoho org or data centre. Disconnect and reconnect from the correct one. |
| Imported records have no owner | Owner mapping has unmapped Zoho users. Add a default owner or map the users by email. |
| Deal stages look wrong in Brixi | Stage map missing or wrong. Re-check the stage map and rerun the test sync. |
| Records sync but custom fields are blank | Custom field isn't visible to the admin profile, or it wasn't included in the field mapping. |
| Duplicate contacts appear | Matching field (phone / email) wasn't consistent. Use a Zoho external-ID-style field for the cleanest match. |
| Sync runs slow or pauses | Zoho API rate limit hit. Wait for the quota window to reset; consider upgrading the Zoho edition for higher limits. |
Contact support if Zoho connects successfully but:
- Records don't sync at all after a test run.
- Status keeps flipping between Connected and Failed.
- A large segment imports but a specific module (e.g., Deals) is missing.
- Field mapping save fails silently.
Include the Zoho data centre, the connected user, the module types involved, and a sample Zoho record ID that should have synced but didn't.