Zoho CRM Connector for MS Excel

Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.

In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate Zoho CRM data in MS Excel without coding. We will use high-performance Zoho CRM Connector to easily connect to Zoho CRM and then access the data inside MS Excel.

Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that!

Download Documentation

Zoho CRM Connector for MS Excel is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few.

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

Step-by-step instructions

To get data from Zoho CRM using MS Excel we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Zoho CRM. We will later be able to read data using MS Excel. Perform these steps:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver:

ZappySys API Driver
- Create and use User DSN if the client application is run under a User Account. This is an ideal option in design-time, when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit.
- Create and use System DSN if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. Usually, this is an ideal option to use in a production environment. Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Zoho CRM" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Zoho CRM" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

ZohoCrmDSN

Zoho CRM

Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

OAuth

Zoho CRM authentication

OAuth Connection for Zoho CRM API [API reference]

To register custom App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)

Go to Zoho API Console
Click Add Client link
Select Server-based Applications option
Enter desired client name (Display purpose only)
Enter some URL for Company homepage
For Authorized Redirect URI enter https://zappysys.com/oauth (Or enter your own but we recommend using ZappySys one if possible). This URL must match on Zoho Connector UI.
Click CREATE.
Copy Client ID and Secret and paste on Zoho Connector UI.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

ZohoCrmDSN

Zoho CRM

OAuth [OAuth]

https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/[$Version$]

Optional Parameters
ClientId
ClientSecret
Permissions	ZohoCRM.settings.all ZohoCRM.modules.all ZohoCRM.coql.READ
AccountUrl	https://accounts.zoho.com
RedirectUrl	https://zappysys.com/oauth
API Version	v2
RetryMode	RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch
RetryStatusCodeList	429
RetryCountMax	5
RetryMultiplyWaitTime	True

Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:

ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.

ZohoCrmDSN
Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in MS Excel to retrieve data from Zoho CRM. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT * from Accounts
```
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the Zoho CRM API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful data much faster.
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in MS Excel:
ZappySys API Driver - Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM Connector can be used to integrate Zoho CRM API in your App / BI Tools. You can exchange data on Accounts, Leads, Contacts and many other modules.

ZohoCrmDSN
```
SELECT * from Accounts
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Zoho CRM API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Zoho CRM servers).
Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Video Tutorial

Read data in Excel from the DSN

In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

ZohoCrmDSN
Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:

ZohoCrmDSN
Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
Finally, finally, use data extracted from Zoho CRM API in an Excel worksheet:

Refresh data source in Excel

When data updates in Zoho CRM, it is not automatically refreshed in Excel. To update the worksheet, go to Data or Table Design tab and click the Refresh button:

Centralized data access via Data Gateway

In some situations, you may need to provide Zoho CRM data access to multiple users or services. Configuring the data source on a Data Gateway creates a single, centralized connection point for this purpose.

This configuration provides two primary advantages:

Centralized data access
The data source is configured once on the gateway, eliminating the need to set it up individually on each user's machine or application. This significantly simplifies the management process.
Centralized access control
Since all connections route through the gateway, access can be governed or revoked from a single location for all users.

	Data Gateway	Local ODBC data source
Simple configuration
Installation	Single machine	Per machine
Connectivity	Local and remote	Local only
Connections limit	Limited by License	Unlimited
Central data access
Central access control
More flexible cost

If you need any of these requirements, you will have to create a data source in Data Gateway to connect to Zoho CRM, and to create an ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway in MS Excel.

Let's not wait and get going!

Creating Zoho CRM data source in Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Zoho CRM in Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Search for gateway in Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click Add button
- In Login field enter username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click Add button
- Give Datasource a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
ZohoCrmDSN

ZappySys API Driver
When the ZappySys API Driver configuration window opens, configure the Data Source the same way you configured it in ODBC Data Sources (64-bit), in the beginning of this article.
Very important step. Now, after creating or modifying the data source make sure you:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes, once asked if you want to restart the Data Gateway service.
This will ensure all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may result in the new settings not taking effect and, therefore you will not be able to connect to the data source.

Creating ODBC data source for Data Gateway

In this part we will create ODBC data source to connect to Data Gateway from MS Excel. To achieve that, let's perform these steps:

Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server:

ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server

If you don't see ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server driver in the list, choose a similar version driver.
Then set a Name of the data source (e.g. Gateway) and the address of the Data Gateway:

GatewayDSN

localhost,5000

Make sure you separate the hostname and port with a comma, e.g. localhost,5000.
Proceed with authentication part:
- Select SQL Server authentication
- In Login ID field enter the user name you used in Data Gateway, e.g., john
- Set Password to the one you configured in Data Gateway
Then set the default database property to ZohoCrmDSN (the one we used in Data Gateway):

ZohoCrmDSN
Continue by checking Trust server certificate option:
Once you do that, test the connection:
If connection is successful, everything is good:
Done!

We are ready to move to the final step. Let's do it!

Accessing data in MS Excel via Data Gateway

Finally, we are ready to read data from Zoho CRM in MS Excel via Data Gateway. Follow these final steps:

Go back to MS Excel.
In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:

GatewayDSN
Read the data the same way we discussed at the beginning of this article.
That's it!

Now you can connect to Zoho CRM data in MS Excel via the Data Gateway.

If you are asked for authentication details, use Database authentication or SQL Authentication option and enter credentials you used when configuring Data Gateway, e.g. john and your password.