Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk integration not syncing contacts: what to check

How the integration works

Zoho's help says information in the Accounts, Contacts and Products modules can be synced between the two products. Direction is set per module: one-way sends data only from CRM to Desk, and two-way sends it both ways. Records are matched on the Email field by default, with a secondary email field as an option. Only a Desk administrator can set up the integration, and Zoho notes that you can associate only one portal with Zoho CRM.

Source: Zoho Help: Zoho Desk integration (Zoho CRM)

Setup in order

Menu names change between releases, so follow the current Zoho Desk help page for the exact path.

• In Zoho CRM, go to Setup, Marketplace, Zoho, select Zoho Desk and click Setup Now (the help article also covers creating a new Desk portal or using an existing one).
• Choose the portal and configure the sync: which modules and which direction.
• Set the mutual users and ticket visibility.
• Invite CRM users to Desk and assign each a role.

Source: Zoho Help: Zoho Desk integration (Zoho CRM)

Two things people miss

• Zoho's article says that once the sync is activated you can only pause it. Deactivating the integration from CRM (Setup, Marketplace, Zoho, Zoho Desk, Deactivate) ends it in both accounts, stops data sync and removes the Desk tab from CRM. Decide your direction before you activate.
• Users need the Zoho Desk Integration permission in their profile to access the feature.
• If the administrator whose login was used leaves the organisation, Zoho says the integration must be reconfigured with new login details.

Source: Zoho Help: Zoho Desk integration (Zoho CRM)

Symptoms people report

One Zoho community thread describes a one-way CRM to Desk sync where accounts synced but two later contacts had not appeared in Desk after at least 16 hours, with the sync showing as active and the sync history and failure log empty. That is a single user report with no Zoho answer visible, not confirmed Zoho behaviour, and we have not found an official fix for it.

Source: Zoho Community: Integration of contacts between Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk not working

A checklist for "it is not syncing" (practical advice)

This section is advice from experience, not vendor documentation.

• Is the sync paused rather than broken?
• Does the person who set it up have the right profile permission and admin rights in both products, and is that person still in the organisation?
• Is the email on the record filled in? Records are matched on the Email field by default.
• Check the sync history and failure log in Desk for failed records.
• Were accounts renamed or merged before the sync? Test with one record you know is affected.
• Is the sync direction what you assumed? One-way sync will never push changes the other way.
• Check both products' edition and any limits that apply to your plan.

Need it sorted out properly?

Skyfall Labs can review the field mapping and design the support-to-sales flow around how your team works. Because we are a Zoho Partner, treat our view with the interest we have disclosed.