Migrate from Column Case Management to Zoho CRM

Column Cases map to Zoho CRM Deals as the primary record. Case number, case type, case status, priority, and assigned investigator migrate as custom fields on the Deal. If your organization tracks multiple case types, we recommend a custom 'Cases' module instead, which we set up during migration.

Column Subjects (persons linked to a case) migrate directly to Zoho CRM Contacts. Subject name maps to Contact name, email to Email, phone to Phone. Subject role labels (Suspect, Victim, Witness, Complainant) migrate as a custom pick-list field 'Subject_Role__c' on the Contact.

Column Subjects that represent organizations (not individuals) merge into Zoho Accounts as the company record, with the organization's name, address, and industry preserved. Individual contacts at that organization link via the standard Account-Contact relationship. The merge process also maps the organization's primary contact phone and website to the Account's Phone and Website fields, ensuring that downstream sales and support workflows reference the correct corporate details.

Column Evidence files migrate as Attachments linked to the corresponding Zoho Deal (Case). Evidence metadata (file name, description, evidence type, custody status) is captured in a custom field 'Evidence_Type__c' on the attachment or as a Note record with the description. Chain-of-custody timestamps migrate as custom datetime fields.

Column Case Tasks migrate to Zoho CRM Tasks linked to the corresponding Deal. Task subject maps to Task Subject, due date to Due Date, assigned user to the Zoho User via email match, and status to Zoho Task status. Original Column task ID is stored as 'Source_Case_Task_ID__c' for traceability.

Column Case Events (interviews, hearings, meetings) migrate to Zoho CRM Events with original start and end times preserved, linked to the corresponding Deal and the assigned Contact (Subject). Attendees map to Event invitees linked to Zoho Users. Each event record also retains its location field and any associated agenda notes stored in Column.

Column Case Notes migrate to Zoho CRM Notes linked to the Case-Deal record. Note content and original create date are preserved. If the note contains HTML or rich text, it migrates as a Note with the Content field populated. We also migrate any attachments referenced in the note as linked Files in Zoho, preserving context.

Column Case states (Intake, Active Investigation, Pending Review, Closed, Archived) map to Zoho Deal Stage values. We configure the stage pick-list in Zoho to match your Column case workflow states, preserving the stage transition order. Stage-entry timestamps migrate as custom datetime fields.

Column Case Priority (Critical, High, Medium, Low) has no direct Zoho CRM equivalent on the Deal object. We create a custom pick-list field 'Case_Priority__c' on Deals to preserve this value during migration. The priority values are mapped directly, and the field is added to all Deal layouts so that users can sort, filter, and report on case priority without additional customization.

Column assigned investigators resolve to Zoho CRM Users by email match. Unmatched investigators are flagged before migration — your team either creates their Zoho user account first or assigns their Cases to a fallback owner. Original investigator assignments are preserved in 'Original_Investigator__c' custom field.

Column parent-child case relationships (for multi-case investigations) have no native Zoho CRM equivalent. We create a custom lookup field 'Parent_Case__c' on Deals pointing to the parent Deal, or map to a custom Cases module with a self-referential lookup relationship. This approach enables hierarchical reporting in Zoho Analytics and ensures that case linkages are maintained across the migrated dataset.

Column custom fields (case type classifications, regulatory flags, jurisdiction codes) migrate as Zoho CRM custom fields on the target object. Field data type is matched: text fields to text, pick-lists to pick-lists, dates to date fields. We create any missing custom fields in Zoho before migration.

Column Case Management report templates have no Zoho CRM equivalent. We export the template definitions as a reference document for rebuilding in Zoho Analytics or as custom reports in Zoho CRM. The underlying case data that feeds those reports does migrate.