Zoho CRM lead assignment rules and lead scoring not working: what to check

Assignment decides the owner; scoring rates the lead

Assignment rules decide who owns a record. Scoring rules give a record a number that Zoho says helps qualify prospects: "the higher the score, the more likely the prospect is to become a customer." A scoring rule never changes the owner, and an assignment rule never changes the score.

Source: Zoho Help: Set assignment rules, Zoho Help: Scoring rules

Assignment rules: what Zoho says

Assignment rules can be created for Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, Tasks, Cases, custom modules and team modules. When you select several users, records are assigned in a round-robin pattern. Each rule entry can have up to 25 criteria, and entries run in sequence, which you can reorder in the list view.

Importantly, Zoho states that rules apply to records created through import, web form and API, and that you cannot use assignment rules when creating records manually. Zoho's use-case page lists the Assignment Rule feature as available in Professional and above.

Source: Zoho Help: Set assignment rules, Zoho Help: Lead assignment based on lead source

When the record goes to a default user instead

Per Zoho, the record falls to a default user if the selected user is unavailable (not logged in or not available in shift), or has been deactivated or deleted. Unconfirmed users are never assigned ownership. If availability is checked by online status, Zoho notes the status can take up to 5 minutes to update.

Source: Zoho Help: Set assignment rules

Scoring rules: what Zoho says

Scoring rules can be configured for Leads, Accounts, Contacts, Deals and custom modules. You can add or subtract points when a factor meets your criteria. Each layout can have up to ten rules, of which five can be active, and each rule can map up to six score fields. Managing them needs the Manage Automation permission.

For duration-based factors such as "in the last 15 days", Zoho says old records are updated automatically, but only those created or modified in the past 6 months. Deactivating a rule keeps existing scores but stops new calculation. On the Standard edition, Zoho says criteria and scoring are available only for the Calls channel.

Source: Zoho Help: Multiple scoring rules

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

This section is advice from experience, not vendor documentation.

• Was the record created manually? Assignment rules do not apply to manual creation.
• Is the rule active, and is it in the right module and layout?
• Is an earlier rule entry catching the record first? Entries run in sequence.
• Does the incoming value match the criteria exactly (lead source spelled the same way your form sends it)?
• Is the target user online, in shift, confirmed and active? Otherwise the default user gets the lead.
• For scoring: is the rule active, are you inside the limit of five active rules per layout, and is the record recent enough to be recalculated?
• Check your edition: some of this needs Professional or above.

Want it designed properly?

Skyfall Labs designs lead routing and scoring around how your team actually sells. Because we are a Zoho Partner, treat our view with the interest we have disclosed.