This help page is for users in Creator 5. Custom Solution is not supported in the newer version (Creator 6) and for more details please contact partner-support@zohocreator.com. Click here to know your Creator version.
Frequently asked questions
How does pricing for the developer platform works?
Developer Platform does not require you to make any initial payment to deploy your custom solutions. You will be charged only when you onboard clients. We offer three pricing buckets each corresponding to one of the Zoho Creator pricing plans. Number of records, roles, profiles, and other limitations of each pricing bucket corresponds to that of Zoho Creator. Learn more.Plan Base Price / User (in USD) Basic 2 Premium 5 Ultimate 10 Please note that currently we support payment in USD only.
- Do I receive payment from my clients directly?
No. The payment procedure will be the same as Marketplace payments and Commission payout you receive as a partner. The partner must submit invoices, and the payment(Markup price for every user) will be accrued and paid out by Zoho every month. Learn more.
How is Custom Application different from Custom Solution?
Custom Application Custom Solution You can build and publish an application to a single client or sell it in Zoho Marketplace. You can build, test, and deploy an independent white-labeled SaaS application. Single-tenant architecture: Any update made to your app needs to be pushed to each of your customers separately. Multi-tenant architecture: You can update only the shared code-base of your service and it will replicate in all your clients' accounts. This greatly reduces the update time and makes your solution scalable in the long run. Your clients must have their own Creator accounts to publish the required app from your developer account to their account. Your clients need not be aware of Zoho Creator that is running in the background. Your solution behaves as an independent SaaS. You can receive payments from your clients directly or through Zoho Marketplace based on how you publish your application. You can create user-based pricing plans. Your clients subscribe to these plans based on their needs and you receive payments seamlessly.
- Should my client own a developer account to publish his Zoho Creator application as a custom solution?
Yes. Your client needs to own a developer account if he wants to be the owner of the solution.
- How can my client add his user?
You can create different permissions depending on the requirements (For example, Zoho Bookings has three permissions - Staff, Manager, and Admin). And then, create a form with an email field and a drop-down field that lists all the permissions that you've created. In the "On Success" workflow event, you can use the thisapp.permissions.assignUserInProfile Deluge task to add the specified email address as a user with the selected permission. So that your clients can simply fill the form to add users. Similarly, to remove a user, you can make use of the thisapp.permissions.deleteUser Deluge task.
Note: To add users, your clients must have purchased user addons.
- How can users sign up for a private app?
If the signup type in "Preferences" section is set as Private, only the clients that you invite can sign up for your solution. To invite clients, navigate to the "Clients" section on your left pane and click on the "add clients" button.
- Where can I find my unpublished changes?
Click on the “Upgrade To Stage” button from Dashboard. It will list all your changes that are yet to be pushed to stage.
- What happens if my subscription or trial expires?
If your trial or subscription expires, your account will be downgraded to "free plan". In "free plan", you cannot access any of the components in your application. You will need to upgrade your plan in order to use your application again.
- Can I revert my solution to an older version?
As of now, you cannot view or revert to older versions.
- Can I rename my solution?
Yes. You can rename your solution by modifying the Solution Name in the “Preferences” section. Learn more.
- Can I delete my solution?
Yes, you can delete your solution unless it is published. However, you cannot delete a solution that is already published to production.
- Are integrations and connections available in Custom Solutions?
No. This is not supported, yet.
- Can I import my existing Zoho Creator apps?
Yes. You can import the .ds file of your existing app built in Zoho Creator and publish it as a custom solution.
- What are the restrictions for stage testing accounts?
You can create only 3 stage accounts. For each account, you can add only 3 users (including admin).
- Is Developer Platform available in Zoho One?
No. Zoho One is an integrated suite of business products. It is purchased to be used for the various internal business functions - Sales, Marketing, Accounting, etc. Zoho Creator Developer Platform, on the other hand, is an independent product where developers can build and sell applications for their clients. Since they both serve two different purposes, the Developer Platform will not be a part of Zoho One.
- Can the solution be used as a re-branded mobile app?
No, a re-branded mobile app is not possible, as of now. However, we support Progressive Web App (PWA).
- Is API support available for Custom Solutions?
No. API support is not available as of now.
- Is customer portal available for clients?
No. We do not have support for customer portals, yet.
- If a client downgrades, how the refund process will be initiated?
You can contact partner-support@zohocreator.com to initiate a refund.
- Can my custom solution have a form that is pre-populated with metadata?
No. You cannot publish data along with your solution.
- How is my clients' data stored?
Clients' data will be stored separately in their accounts. Partners cannot access them.
- What are the Data Centers (DC) that support Custom Solution?
Custom Solution is available only for our US Data Center.
- Can I add a developer to my account for building custom solutions?
No. You cannot add developers to your account.
- Is data backup possible in Custom solutions?
No. Neither the client nor the developer can perform data backup in custom solutions, as of now.