For too long, service-based businesses using Zoho CRM have had to work around a fundamental gap in the Inventory modules: the inability to include services alongside products in Quotes, Sales Orders and Invoices. That gap has now been closed, and if you work with a Zoho UK Partner to implement this correctly, the impact on your billing and quoting workflow could be significant.
What Has Changed?
Zoho CRM has introduced a Service Details subform within the Quotes, Sales Orders and Invoices modules (collectively referred to as the Inventory modules). This sits alongside the existing Product Details subform under a parent section called Order Information, allowing businesses to include both product and service line items within a single transaction record.
The feature builds on the recently introduced Services module, which first brought structured service records into Zoho CRM. To take advantage of the new subform, administrators must first enable the Services module, then toggle on the Service Details option within the module builder for each relevant Inventory module.
Flexibility for Mixed and Pure-Service Businesses
One of the most practical aspects of this update is the configurability around mandatory fields. Businesses that deal exclusively in services - such as salons, consultancies or maintenance firms - can set the Service subform as the only mandatory section. Businesses that sell both products and services can mandate both subforms. For those where the nature of each transaction varies, a "custom" option allows neither subform to be mandatory independently, whilst still requiring that at least one is populated per record.
The Services subform includes two Lookup fields by default: Services (linking to the Services module) and Added As (an Appointment lookup that distinguishes between scheduled and unscheduled service delivery).
It is worth noting that this enhancement applies to Quotes, Sales Orders and Invoices only. Purchase Orders continue to support products exclusively.
A Practical Example
Consider an air conditioning company that sells units and provides installation. Previously, they would have needed separate records or workarounds to capture the product sale and the service charge. Now, a single Quote can contain both the AC unit under Product Details and the installation fee under Service Details, with an Order Total that automatically sums both grand totals. That Quote can then be converted to an Invoice or Sales Order, carrying the service information forward seamlessly.
Available On
This feature is available on Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Zoho CRM. As a certified Zoho UK Partner, 1 Cloud Consultants can help you enable and configure the Services module and Inventory subforms to match your business model, ensuring a smooth rollout across your team.