Zoho Authorized, Advanced and Premium partner: what the tiers mean

What each tier is, per Zoho

Zoho's partner tiers page describes Authorized as the entry level. An Authorized partner must cross a revenue threshold, acquire required certifications and demonstrate implementation successes within six months of onboarding. If those criteria are not met, Zoho says the status is re-evaluated and the partner may be terminated.

Advanced partners must show a higher level of achievement in revenue, implementation success, certifications and customer engagement, and score more than 400 points in Zoho's Value Scoring. Premium is described as the highest level a partner can reach, requiring the highest accomplishment in the same areas and a Value Score greater than 600.

Source: Zoho partner tiers

How Value Scoring works

Zoho says partners can earn up to 1,000 points across four categories: Revenue, Customer Success, Market Readiness and Zoho Engagement. Escalations deduct points. The overall score determines the tier, the evaluation repeats annually, and tier status is updated by January.

Source: Zoho partner tiers

What the tiers do not tell you

The tier criteria on Zoho's page are about revenue, certifications, customer outcomes, case studies and engagement with Zoho. They are not a guarantee of fit for your size, industry or the specific Zoho apps you use. As practical advice rather than a Zoho statement, treat the tier as one signal and judge the rest from relevant experience and references.

Zoho also states that it does not have visibility or control over a partner's service charges and is not a party to the agreement between you and a partner, so a higher tier does not set or cap what a partner will quote.

Source: Zoho partner tiers, Zoho: find a partner, points to note

How to verify a partner

• Search Zoho's Partner Directory. Zoho says to choose at least one operating country, and the directory can be filtered by industry, products, Zoho certifications, supported languages, partner expertise and experience.
• Check the tier and certification status shown in the directory.
• Read the case studies and testimonials on the partner's website or directory profile to see whether they have worked with businesses like yours.
• If a partner is not listed, Zoho says it may not have met the listing criteria yet. Zoho's page points to its partner operations contact for confirming a partner's status.

Source: Zoho: find a partner, points to note, Find a Zoho partner (directory)

Questions to ask whatever the tier (practical advice)

• Which Zoho products and versions have you implemented, and which of your people hold current certifications?
• Who exactly will do the work on my project?
• What is in scope and out of scope, and how are changes handled?
• How do you handle data migration, testing and training?
• What support is there after go-live?
• Can I speak to a past customer with a similar setup?

Source: Zoho: find a partner, points to note

Agreeing the work in writing

Zoho advises setting up an independent service agreement with the partner defining scope and conditions, agreeing an SLA early, and making pricing, timelines, deliverables and risks transparent.

Source: Zoho: find a partner, points to note

Where to go next

For a fuller checklist read our guide on choosing a Zoho partner, or see how Skyfall Labs approaches Zoho work.