How to Send Zoho CRM Follow-up Reminders to Slack with n8n

n8n Dashboard > Workflows > New workflow

Create a new n8n workflow

Log into your n8n instance (cloud at app.n8n.cloud or self-hosted). Click the orange 'New workflow' button in the top-right corner of the Workflows list. Give it a clear name like 'Zoho CRM Follow-up Reminders → Slack'. You'll land on a blank canvas with a single '+' node in the center.

1. 1Click 'New workflow' in the top-right corner
2. 2Click the pencil icon next to 'My workflow' and rename it to 'Zoho CRM Follow-up Reminders → Slack'
3. 3Click the '+' node in the center of the canvas to open the node picker

Canvas > Node Picker > Schedule Trigger

Add a Schedule trigger

Search for 'Schedule Trigger' in the node picker and select it. Set the trigger to run at 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM local time on weekdays — use the 'Cron' mode and enter two separate cron expressions. The morning run catches overnight-due tasks; the afternoon run catches anything added that morning. Make sure your n8n instance timezone matches your sales team's timezone, set under Settings > Personal > Timezone.

1. 1Search 'Schedule Trigger' and click to add it
2. 2Set Mode to 'Custom (Cron)'
3. 3Enter '0 8 * * 1-5' for the 8 AM weekday trigger
4. 4Click 'Add Rule' and enter '0 13 * * 1-5' for the 1 PM run
5. 5Click 'Save' to confirm

Canvas > + > Zoho CRM > Credentials > Create New

Connect Zoho CRM credentials

Add a 'Zoho CRM' node after the Schedule Trigger. Click 'Create New Credential' in the credential dropdown. n8n uses OAuth2 for Zoho CRM — you'll need to register an app in the Zoho API Console first to get a Client ID and Client Secret. Set the redirect URI in Zoho's console to the URL n8n shows you in the credential dialog before clicking Connect.

1. 1Click '+' after the Schedule Trigger node
2. 2Search 'Zoho CRM' and select the node
3. 3Click the Credential dropdown and select 'Create New Credential'
4. 4Copy the OAuth redirect URL from n8n
5. 5Paste that URL into your Zoho API Console app settings, then copy the Client ID and Secret back into n8n
6. 6Click 'Connect my account' and approve access in the Zoho popup

Zoho CRM Node > Resource: Activity > Operation: Get All

Fetch due tasks from Zoho CRM

Configure the Zoho CRM node to search for Activities (Tasks) due today or earlier. Set Resource to 'Activity', Operation to 'Get All', and add a Search Criteria filter. Use the COQL query approach by switching to 'Search By Criteria' and filtering where Due_Date is less than or equal to today and Status is not equal to 'Completed'. Set Return All to true so you get every matching task, not just the first page.

1. 1Set Resource to 'Activity'
2. 2Set Operation to 'Get All'
3. 3Toggle 'Return All' to true
4. 4Under Filters, add criterion: Due_Date <= {{$today}}
5. 5Add second criterion: Status != Completed
6. 6Click 'Execute Node' to test

Canvas > + > Code Node > JavaScript

Deduplicate with a Code node

Add a Code node after the Zoho CRM fetch. This is where n8n earns its place — you'll track which task IDs have already been notified using n8n's static data store so reps don't get the same reminder twice per day. The code checks each task ID against a stored set, passes only new ones through, then updates the stored set. Paste the code from the pro tip section below into the JavaScript editor.

1. 1Click '+' after the Zoho CRM node and search 'Code'
2. 2Select 'Run Once for All Items'
3. 3Paste the deduplication script into the JavaScript editor
4. 4Click 'Execute Node' to test — on first run, all tasks pass through

This Code node runs deduplication using n8n's built-in static data store and also flags overdue tasks with a warning emoji. Paste it into the Code node set to 'Run Once for All Items', placed immediately after the Zoho CRM fetch node.

// Deduplication + overdue flag for Zoho CRM follow-up reminders
// Paste into Code node > Run Once for All Items
const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');

// Deduplication + overdue flag for Zoho CRM follow-up reminders
// Paste into Code node > Run Once for All Items

const staticData = $getWorkflowStaticData('global');

// Initialize the notified set and reset it daily
const today = new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0];
if (staticData.lastRunDate !== today) {
  staticData.notifiedTaskIds = [];
  staticData.lastRunDate = today;
}

const notifiedIds = new Set(staticData.notifiedTaskIds || []);
const outputItems = [];

for (const item of $input.all()) {
  const task = item.json;
  const taskId = task.id;

  // Skip already-notified tasks
  if (notifiedIds.has(taskId)) {
    continue;
  }

  // Flag overdue tasks
  const dueDate = new Date(task.Due_Date);
  const todayDate = new Date(today);
  const isOverdue = dueDate < todayDate;

  outputItems.push({
    json: {
      ...task,
      isOverdue,
      overdueLabel: isOverdue ? ' ⚠️ Overdue' : '',
      taskId,
    }
  });

  notifiedIds.add(taskId);
}

// Persist updated set back to static data
staticData.notifiedTaskIds = [...notifiedIds];

return outputItems;

Canvas > + > Zoho CRM > Resource: User > Operation: Get

Look up the Zoho user's email

The task Owner field in Zoho returns an object with an ID and name, but Slack needs an email address to find the right user. Add another Zoho CRM node configured to get the User record by the owner ID extracted from each task. Set Resource to 'User', Operation to 'Get', and pass in the Owner.id from the previous node using an expression.

1. 1Add a new Zoho CRM node after the Code node
2. 2Set Resource to 'User'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Get'
4. 4Set User ID field to expression: {{ $json.Owner.id }}
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' to confirm the user record returns an Email field

Canvas > + > Slack > Resource: User > Operation: Get By Email

Look up the Slack user by email

Add a Slack node configured to look up a Slack user by their email address. This maps the Zoho CRM owner email to a Slack user ID, which is required to send a DM. Set Resource to 'User', Operation to 'Get By Email', and pass the email from the previous step. The output will include the user's Slack ID in the id field.

1. 1Add a Slack node and connect your Slack credentials
2. 2Set Resource to 'User'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Get By Email'
4. 4Set Email to expression: {{ $json.Email }}
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' — confirm the output shows a Slack user id field

Canvas > + > Set Node

Format the reminder message

Add a Set node to assemble the Slack message text before sending. Build a clear, actionable message that includes the task subject, the contact or deal name it's linked to, the due date, and a direct link to the Zoho CRM record. Use Slack's mrkdwn format for bold and links. This node outputs a single 'message' field that the Slack send node will consume.

1. 1Add a Set node after the Slack user lookup
2. 2Add a field named 'message' with type String
3. 3Set the value to an expression combining task fields — e.g.: *Follow-up Due:* {{ $('Zoho CRM').item.json.Subject }}\n*Contact:* {{ $('Zoho CRM').item.json.Who_Id.name }}\n*Due:* {{ $('Zoho CRM').item.json.Due_Date }}\n<https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org{your_org_id}/tab/Activities/{{ $('Zoho CRM').item.json.id }}|Open in Zoho CRM>
4. 4Add a field named 'slack_user_id' set to {{ $('Slack').item.json.id }}
5. 5Click 'Execute Node' and verify the message field looks correct

Canvas > + > Slack > Resource: Message > Operation: Send

Send the Slack DM to the rep

Add a final Slack node configured to send a message. Set Resource to 'Message', Operation to 'Send'. Set Channel to the slack_user_id field from the Set node — sending to a user ID creates a direct message automatically, no channel needed. Set Text to the message field. Enable 'As User' if you want the message to appear from your bot rather than the default n8n app.

1. 1Add a Slack node and use the same credentials from step 7
2. 2Set Resource to 'Message'
3. 3Set Operation to 'Send'
4. 4Set Channel to expression: {{ $json.slack_user_id }}
5. 5Set Text to expression: {{ $json.message }}
6. 6Click 'Execute Node' — check your Slack DM inbox for the test message

Node Settings > Continue on Fail | Workflow > Add Error Trigger

Add error handling

Click the three-dot menu on the Zoho CRM fetch node and select 'Settings'. Enable 'Continue on Fail' so a single bad task record doesn't stop the entire batch. Do the same for both Slack nodes. Add an Error Trigger node as a separate branch at the workflow level — connect it to a Slack node that posts failures to a #automation-errors channel so your team knows when a reminder silently failed.

1. 1Right-click each Zoho CRM and Slack node and select 'Settings'
2. 2Enable 'Continue on Fail' on each node
3. 3Click the '+' outside the main flow to add an Error Trigger node
4. 4Connect it to a Slack node targeting your #automation-errors channel
5. 5Set the error message to include {{ $json.error.message }} and the workflow name

Canvas > Activate toggle (top right) | Workflow > Executions

Activate and verify

Click the toggle in the top-right of the canvas to activate the workflow. Wait for the next scheduled run or click 'Execute Workflow' manually to trigger it immediately. Open the Executions tab to confirm the run shows green for all nodes. Check a rep's Slack DMs to confirm they received the message with the correct task details and a working link.

1. 1Click the gray toggle in the top-right corner — it should turn green and show 'Active'
2. 2Click 'Execute Workflow' to trigger a manual test run
3. 3Open the 'Executions' tab and click the most recent run
4. 4Click through each node to confirm green status and check the output data
5. 5Verify the Slack DM arrived in the correct rep's inbox