Sometimes it’s the small things in Zoho CRM that make the biggest difference.
One of those small—but incredibly annoying—things? Formula fields that only updated when a record was edited.
If you've ever relied on a calculated field to power your dashboards or KPI reporting, you know the pain. Let me tell you about a recent client fix that finally made those formula fields behave.
Watch a Walkthrough of the NOW Function
The Problem: Stale Data in Formula Fields
I was working with a customer who used Zoho CRM for sales tracking. One of their KPIs was based on a “Last Updated” formula field that relied on a timestamp to calculate how long it had been since a user took action.
But here was the issue: those formula fields only recalculated when someone edited the record.
Which meant if a user just viewed a record—or if a related change happened elsewhere—the formula stayed frozen in time. That resulted in bad data and skewed reports.
The Fix: Enter the “NOW” Function
Thankfully, Zoho CRM rolled out a game-changer.
You can now use the NOW() function in your formula fields—and when you do, the field will recalculate every time the record is opened. No need to manually edit anything.
Let me say that again for the people in the back: Zoho CRM formula fields can now update in real-time.
Even Better: Add Criteria-Based Conditions
Want to control when the formula updates? You can do that too.
You can write conditional logic so your formula only runs when certain fields are filled in. For example:
This lets you build formulas that are smart, clean, and only update when the right data is in place.bashCopyEditIF(ISNOTNULL(${Billing_Street}) && ISNOTNULL(${Billing_City}),${Billing_Street} + ", " + ${Billing_City},"")
Why This Matters for Your Business
- No more fake edits just to refresh formulas
- More accurate reporting for KPIs and dashboards
- Cleaner automation that relies on up-to-date data
- Less user frustration is always a win
Need Help Auditing Your Formula Fields?
If you’re not sure whether your CRM setup is using this feature to its fullest, I’d be happy to help. At TechnoMap, we specialize in optimizing Zoho CRM for small business workflows and little tweaks like this can make a big difference.
