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

zapier.com > Dashboard > Create Zap

Create a New Zap and Name It

Log in to zapier.com and click the orange 'Create Zap' button in the top-left sidebar. Give the Zap a specific name at the top of the editor — something like 'Zoho CRM Due Tasks → Slack Reminder'. Naming it now saves confusion if you build multiple CRM Zaps later. You'll land in the Zap editor with a trigger step waiting to be configured.

1. 1Click 'Create Zap' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click the untitled name field at the top and type 'Zoho CRM Due Tasks → Slack Reminder'
3. 3Click the '1. Trigger' block to open the trigger configuration panel

Zap Editor > Trigger > App & Event

Set Zoho CRM as the Trigger App

In the trigger panel, search for 'Zoho CRM' in the app search box. Select the official Zoho CRM app published by Zoho Corporation — there are third-party variants, avoid them. Next, click the 'Trigger Event' dropdown and choose 'New Task'. This event fires whenever Zapier polls Zoho CRM and finds a task that didn't exist on the previous poll — typically every 5–15 minutes on paid plans.

1. 1Type 'Zoho CRM' in the 'Search for apps' field
2. 2Select 'Zoho CRM' by Zoho Corporation from the results
3. 3Click the 'Trigger Event' dropdown
4. 4Select 'New Task' from the list
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Account > Sign in to Zoho CRM

Connect Your Zoho CRM Account

Click 'Sign in to Zoho CRM'. A popup window opens asking you to authorize Zapier. Log in with your Zoho credentials and click 'Accept' to grant access. Once authorized, Zapier redirects back to the editor and shows your connected account email. If your organization uses a custom Zoho domain or Zoho One SSO, make sure you log in through the correct region — Zoho splits accounts by data center (US, EU, IN, AU, JP).

1. 1Click 'Sign in to Zoho CRM'
2. 2Enter your Zoho CRM email and password in the popup
3. 3Click 'Accept' on the Zoho permissions screen
4. 4Confirm your account email appears in the account selector
5. 5Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Trigger > Test > Test Trigger

Test the Zoho CRM Trigger

Click 'Test trigger' to pull in a real task from your Zoho CRM account. Zapier fetches the three most recently created tasks and shows them as sample records. Click through the samples to find one with a realistic due date — you'll use this data to build the filter and Slack message in later steps. If no tasks appear, create a test task in Zoho CRM first, then re-run the test.

1. 1Click 'Test trigger'
2. 2Review the sample task records Zapier pulls in
3. 3Click each sample to inspect the fields — look for 'Due Date', 'Subject', 'Status', and 'Contact Name'
4. 4Select the sample that best represents a real follow-up task
5. 5Click 'Continue with selected record'

Zap Editor > + > Filter

Add a Filter: Only Tasks Due Today

Click the '+' icon between the trigger and where the action will go, then choose 'Filter'. This step prevents the Zap from sending Slack messages for every new task — only tasks due today should fire a notification. Set the filter condition to: 'Due Date' contains today's date formatted as YYYY-MM-DD. Because Zapier's filter does exact string matching, you need to use Zapier's built-in date formatting via the 'Formatter' utility or match the format Zoho CRM outputs in the Due Date field.

1. 1Click the '+' plus icon between the trigger and action steps
2. 2Click 'Filter' from the options
3. 3In 'Field', select 'Due Date' from the Zoho CRM trigger data
4. 4Set the condition to '(Text) Contains'
5. 5In the value field, insert today's date using Zapier's date token: type {{zap_meta_human_now}} or use a Formatter step to output today in YYYY-MM-DD format
6. 6Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > + > Formatter by Zapier > Date / Time > Format

Add a Formatter Step to Clean the Due Date

Insert a 'Formatter by Zapier' step before the Filter step. Choose 'Date / Time' as the transformation type, then 'Format' as the action. Set the input to today's datetime (use {{zap_meta_human_now}}) and set the output format to 'YYYY-MM-DD'. This gives you a clean date string like '2025-03-14' that you can reliably compare against the Zoho CRM Due Date field. Reorder this step to sit between the trigger and the filter.

1. 1Click the '+' icon right after the trigger step
2. 2Search for 'Formatter by Zapier' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Date / Time' as the event
4. 4Set 'Transform' to 'Format'
5. 5Set 'Input' to {{zap_meta_human_now}}
6. 6Set 'To Format' to 'YYYY-MM-DD'
7. 7Click 'Continue' and test — confirm output is today's date only, no time

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

This Code by Zapier step runs after the Zoho CRM trigger and before the Filter step. It formats the task's due date, constructs a direct CRM link, and adds a priority emoji prefix — three things Zapier's standard field mapping can't do in one step. Paste this into a 'Code by Zapier' action set to 'Run Javascript', mapping inputData fields to the Zoho CRM trigger outputs for Subject, Due_Date, Priority, Owner, Who_Id, and id.

const { subject, dueDate, priority, owner, contactName, taskId } = inputData;
// Format today's date as YYYY-MM-DD for filter comparison
const today = new Date();

const { subject, dueDate, priority, owner, contactName, taskId } = inputData;

// Format today's date as YYYY-MM-DD for filter comparison
const today = new Date();
const todayStr = today.toISOString().split('T')[0];

// Map priority to emoji prefix
const priorityEmoji = {
  'High': '🔴',
  'Medium': '🟡',
  'Low': '🟢'
};
const emoji = priorityEmoji[priority] || '⚪';

// Build the Slack message text
const slackMessage = `${emoji} Follow-up due today: *${subject}* with ${contactName} — Assigned to: ${owner} | Priority: ${priority}`;

// Build direct Zoho CRM task link (replace ORG_ID with your actual org ID)
const orgId = '3892710'; // <-- update this to your Zoho org ID
const taskLink = `https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org${orgId}/tab/Tasks/${taskId}`;

// Is this task actually due today?
const isDueToday = dueDate === todayStr;

return {
  slackMessage,
  taskLink,
  todayStr,
  isDueToday,
  priorityEmoji: emoji
};

Zap Editor > Filter Step > Edit > Value Field

Update the Filter to Use the Formatter Output

Go back to your Filter step and update the value field. Instead of the raw date token, map in the output from the Formatter step you just created — it should appear in the dropdown as something like '2. Formatter > Output'. Now the filter compares Zoho CRM's Due Date field against a clean YYYY-MM-DD string. Test the filter again with your sample task to confirm it passes.

1. 1Click on the Filter step to open it
2. 2Click into the value field on the right side of the condition
3. 3Delete the previous date token
4. 4Click the data picker icon and select '3. Formatter — Output' (or whichever step number applies)
5. 5Click 'Continue' and retest the filter

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > + > Action > Slack > Send Channel Message

Add Slack as the Action App

Click the '+' icon after the filter and add an action step. Search for 'Slack' and select it. Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the action event if you want reminders in a shared team channel, or 'Send Direct Message' if reminders should go only to the assigned rep. For most sales teams, a dedicated #follow-ups channel works better — it creates visibility and accountability.

1. 1Click '+' after the Filter step
2. 2Search for 'Slack' and select the official Slack app
3. 3Choose 'Send Channel Message' as the action event
4. 4Click 'Continue'
5. 5Click 'Sign in to Slack' and authorize Zapier in the popup
6. 6Select your Slack workspace from the account dropdown
7. 7Click 'Continue'

Zap Editor > Action > Slack > Configure > Channel + Message Text

Configure the Slack Message

Set the 'Channel' field to your target Slack channel (e.g., #follow-ups). Build the message text by mapping in fields from the Zoho CRM trigger: task Subject, Contact Name, Due Date, and Task Owner. Write the message so a rep can immediately understand what action is needed. A format like '🔔 Follow-up due today: [Subject] with [Contact Name] — assigned to [Owner]' gives all the context in one line. Optionally add a direct link to the Zoho CRM record using the Record ID.

1. 1Click the 'Channel' field and type or select '#follow-ups' (or your preferred channel)
2. 2Click into the 'Message Text' field
3. 3Type: '🔔 Follow-up due today: '
4. 4Click the data picker and insert 'Subject' from the Zoho CRM trigger
5. 5Type ' with ' then insert 'Contact Name'
6. 6Type ' — Assigned to: ' then insert 'Task Owner'
7. 7Optionally add a CRM record URL: type 'https://crm.zoho.com/crm/org[YOUR_ORG_ID]/tab/Tasks/' and append the Task ID field

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Zap Editor > Action > Test > Test Action

Test the Full Zap

Click 'Test action' to send a real Slack message using your sample Zoho CRM task data. Open your Slack workspace and check the target channel — you should see the formatted reminder message appear within 10–15 seconds. Review the message carefully: confirm the task subject, contact name, owner, and date all look correct. If any fields show as 'undefined' or blank, go back to the message configuration and re-map those fields.

1. 1Click 'Test action'
2. 2Open your Slack workspace in a separate tab
3. 3Navigate to the #follow-ups channel
4. 4Confirm the test message appears with all fields populated
5. 5If a field is blank, click 'Edit' on the action step and remap it

Zap Editor > Publish > Turn On

Turn On the Zap

Click the 'Publish' button in the top-right corner of the Zap editor to activate it. Toggle the Zap to 'On'. Zapier will now poll Zoho CRM for new tasks every 5–15 minutes (depending on your plan). Every new task with today's due date that passes the filter will trigger a Slack message. Monitor the Zap History tab for the first 24 hours to confirm tasks are being picked up and messages are sending without errors.

1. 1Click 'Publish' in the top-right corner
2. 2Click the toggle to set the Zap status to 'On'
3. 3Navigate to 'Zap History' from the left sidebar
4. 4Wait 15 minutes and refresh — confirm at least one successful run appears if tasks were due today
5. 5Click any run to inspect the trigger data and action output