IT Setup: Zoho / Cloven Integration

Last updated: April 3, 2026

Focal connects to Zoho CRM (including Cloven) to sync your contacts, push meeting summaries, and push tasks directly to your CRM. Once connected, your Zoho contacts populate in Focal automatically, and changes sync between both platforms.

Connecting Zoho / Cloven

Important: You need to have admin privileges in your Zoho CRM to complete this setup. To check, click the Gear icon in the top right corner of Zoho, then click Users. Your profile should say Admin or Super Admin. If it says Standard, you will need to ask your IT team who has admin access to your Zoho account.

Prerequisite: Before connecting, make sure Zoho CRM API Access is enabled for your user profile. See How do I enable Zoho CRM API Access for Focal / Cloven? for step-by-step instructions.

  1. In Focal, go to Settings > User Management > Firm Integrations

Focal Settings - Click Firm Integrations in the left sidebar

  1. Find the Zoho integration and click Configure

Firm Integrations - Click Configure on the Zoho CRM card

  1. Click Connect — a Zoho authorization window will appear

  2. Click Next, scroll down and click Allow, then click Accept to grant Focal access to your Zoho data

  3. In the dropdown that appears, select your Zoho organization

  4. Click Yes to confirm, and wait for the confirmation toast notification to appear

  5. Click Close (the X button)

  6. Back in Focal, go to Settings > Integrations, scroll down to Zoho, and click Connect

Focal Settings - Integrations page showing Zoho CRM

  1. Once the integration status shows Enabled, go to Clients in the left sidebar to verify your Zoho contacts have populated

Contact sync

  • Zoho → Focal: New contacts added in Zoho appear in Focal within 3–5 minutes.

  • Focal → Zoho: Contact edits made in Focal (name, email, etc.) sync back to Zoho in real time.

  • Synced contacts are fully editable and deletable within Focal under Clients.

Pushing meeting summaries to Zoho

  1. In Focal, go to Conversations and open a conversation

  2. Click Push Meeting Summary on the right-side panel

  3. Search for and select the Zoho contact to attach the summary to

  4. Click Push to CRM

The summary will appear as a timestamped note under the contact’s Notes section in Zoho.

Pushing tasks to Zoho

  1. In Focal, go to Conversations and open a conversation

  2. Click the Review and Push Task arrow on the right-side panel

  3. Select Zoho as the CRM

  4. Check the box next to the task you want to push

  5. Click on the task to assign a due date and person

  6. Click Push All to CRM

The task will appear as an open activity under the contact in Zoho.

Troubleshooting

  • Connection fails on first attempt: Go to Settings > User Management > Firm Integrations, click Disconnect, and repeat the configuration steps above. This disconnect-and-reconnect resolves most initial connection issues.

  • Contacts not appearing after connecting: Refresh your browser, then navigate to Clients. If contacts still do not appear, disconnect and reconnect the integration.

  • New Zoho contacts not syncing: New contacts take approximately 3–5 minutes to appear in Focal. If the contact has not appeared after 5 minutes, try refreshing Focal.

  • Phone number edits not syncing: Edits to phone numbers in Focal may not sync back to Zoho immediately. Other fields (name, email) sync in real time. To update a phone number, edit it directly in Zoho and it will sync to Focal.

  • API access errors: If you see permission or API errors during connection, make sure Zoho CRM API Access is enabled. See How do I enable Zoho CRM API Access for Focal / Cloven?

Related articles