Zoho CRM territory management: when you need it and what to watch for

Territories vs roles, per Zoho

Source: Zoho Help: Decision Guide for Territory Management

When it fits, and when it does not

Zoho says it suits cases where sharing depends more on account characteristics than on ownership, where users in several territories need access to several accounts, where users need a forecast target per territory, where admins want fewer individual sharing rules, or where reps move often between teams.

Zoho also says "territory management need not be a requirement for every organization": role hierarchy, sharing rules, groups and assignment rules may be enough when sharing follows ownership.

Source: Zoho Help: Decision Guide for Territory Management

The setup choice you cannot undo

Only a user with the Administrator profile can enable it (Setup > Security Control > Territory Management). Zoho tells you to read its Decision Guide first, then choose Start from Scratch or Extend from Role Hierarchy. For the second, all users in a role become territory members and role managers become territory managers. Zoho states: "Once the option is chosen, you cannot go back to the other option."

The Zoho pages we read do not state which editions include territory management; they link to a feature availability page. Check your edition there. (Some third-party blogs name editions; we have not verified those against Zoho.)

Source: Zoho Help: Using Territories

How records get a territory

• Territories are assigned automatically to accounts, contacts and deals when they are created or modified. A record only reaches a sub-territory if it meets the parent territory's criteria.
• Accounts and contacts can hold up to ten territories; deals can hold only one.
• Contacts inherit from their account. With one account territory the contact gets it; with several, the contact is assigned only if the system can find a single match through the owner or creator being a member or manager of one of them. Otherwise none is assigned.
• Deals check the associated contact first, then the account, and Deal Rules can filter further if enabled.
• Territories added manually can only be removed manually; automatically assigned ones cannot be removed manually.

Source: Zoho Help: Using Territories, Zoho Help: Assigning Territories

Pitfalls Zoho documents when records change

• If an account gains additional territories, its child records stay in the original territory and are not added to the new ones.
• If an account moves to new territories, child records are not assigned to them and may end up in no territory.
• Existing accounts do not get territories until you run the rules manually under Assign Territories; contacts and deals then follow the account.
• A manually assigned territory on a deal prevents automatic assignment for that deal.

Source: Zoho Help: Assigning Territories

Forecasts and disabling

Zoho says that when you switch to territories, forecasts change too, and a single target does not work for a user in several territories. Per the Using Territories page, disabling makes territory information in Accounts, Contacts and Deals inaccessible and permanently deletes territory-based forecasts, while role-based forecasts remain and re-enabling keeps the territory structure. Deleting a territory loses its details permanently, though forecasts for current and previous periods are kept.

Source: Zoho Help: Decision Guide for Territory Management, Zoho Help: Using Territories

Before you enable it (advice)

• Write down the criteria you would use (region, size, industry) and test them against real accounts in a sandbox.
• Decide who owns territory changes when staff move.
• Check whether better roles, sharing rules or assignment rules would solve the same problem more simply.
• Plan how existing accounts will be assigned and how forecasts will be reset.

When to bring in help

If reps cannot see accounts they should, or territory rules produce records in no territory, the fix is usually a redesign of territories with roles, sharing and forecasts together. Skyfall Labs does this as part of Zoho CRM customization. As an official Zoho Partner we have a commercial interest, so treat our view accordingly.