Zoho CRM lead conversion: what gets created, how fields map and what to check first

What conversion creates, per Zoho

• A lead can be converted into an account, a contact and, optionally, a deal. Zoho says an account is created only if the lead has a Company Name.
• Deal creation is optional: tick the create-a-deal option and choose the Deal Stage at that point.
• Zoho says a lead cannot be reverted once converted to a contact or account.
• You can set the owner of the new records (by default, the lead owners) and choose whether tags move across.

Source: Zoho Help: Converting Leads

Field mapping, per Zoho

• Standard lead fields map to account, contact and deal fields by default.
• Custom fields can be mapped in Setup under Lead Conversion Mapping; Zoho says field types and lengths must match.
• Layout-based mapping is available when a module has several layouts, and subform fields can be mapped.
• Subform mapping does not apply during Mass Convert.
• When a lead is converted into an existing contact, lead values fill only fields that are empty.
• Notes move to the deal if one is created; attachments can go to the contact, account or deal.

Source: Zoho Help: Converting Leads

Duplicate checks, per Zoho

Zoho says conversion checks unique fields first (such as phone or website), then system fields: lead email, company name and lead name, with unique fields given priority. Lead name is checked only when the lead's email and company name are empty. The user can then add to the existing record or create a new one.

Source: Zoho Help: Converting Leads

Limits and conditions Zoho states

• Only users with the Convert Leads permission in their profile can convert.
• If a user has read-only access to an existing account or contact, the lead converts and merges, but those records' fields are not updated.
• Validation rules are not checked during conversion.
• In mass conversion, unique fields in Deals are not available, and with several layouts only the mandatory deal fields (Deal Name, Closing Date and Stage) are shown.
• If the chosen stage is not in the default pipeline, the first stage is used.
• To close a lead without converting it, Zoho suggests adding a Closed value to the Lead Status field and filtering by it.
• After an edition downgrade, layout-based conversion stops working, though existing mapping settings remain until edited.
• The page does not list edition availability; check feature availability for your edition.

Source: Zoho Help: Converting Leads

Before you convert at scale (practical advice)

This section is advice from experience, not vendor documentation.

• Map every custom lead field you want to keep before the first bulk conversion, because conversion cannot be undone.
• Convert a handful of test leads first, ideally in a sandbox, and compare each source field with its destination.
• Because validation rules are not checked on conversion, review the converted records for missing required data.
• Decide in advance which stage a converted deal should land in, and confirm it exists in the default pipeline.
• Clean duplicates before a large convert run rather than after.

Losing data when leads convert?

Skyfall Labs designs lead-to-deal flows, field mapping and clean-up in Zoho CRM. Because we are a Zoho Partner, treat our view with the interest we have disclosed.