Migrate from Criminal Case Management to Zoho CRM

The central matter or case record maps to a Zoho Deal. Case name becomes Deal Name, case number maps to a custom field (Case_Number__c), and the primary client contact resolves to the Deal's primary Contact via email matching. Case status (Open, Closed, Pending) maps via value mapping to Zoho Deal Stage names.

Clients with an existing billing or matter relationship in the source system land as Zoho Contacts. Prospective or archived contacts with no open matters route to Zoho Leads. The split is determined by the contact's association to an open matter at migration time — any contact linked to a live matter becomes a Contact; archived or stale records become Leads.

Each attorney or paralegal assigned to a matter is resolved by email match to a Zoho User. The primary attorney becomes the Deal Owner. Secondary assignees require post-import population of Zoho's multi-user linking module (Deals_X_Users) via Deluge script or manual update, since Zoho Deals natively support only one owner per record.

Contacts stored as Related Parties or Opposing Counsel in the source system map directly to Zoho Contacts. Their relationship to the matter is preserved in a custom pick-list field (Party_Type__c) on the Contact record. No native Zoho equivalent exists for role-labelled associations, so the custom field holds the context.

Billable hours are stored in Zoho as Tasks with custom fields for billing rate (Billing_Rate__c), hours logged (Hours__c), and time entry date (Entry_Date__c). The Task Subject carries a reference to the associated matter. Note: Zoho Projects offers native time tracking but requires a separate license — Tasks with custom fields serve as a lightweight substitute when only CRM access is available.

Court dates, filing deadlines, and client meetings stored as calendar events in the source system map to Zoho Events. The Event description carries the matter name. Court location and hearing type are preserved as custom fields (Court_Location__c, Hearing_Type__c) on the Event. Recurring events are squashed to a single entry on export per Zoho's ICS limitation, with RECURRENCE-ID preserved for single-instance overrides.

Case notes in the source system migrate to Zoho Notes. Rich-text formatting is preserved where the source API returns HTML. Document file references that point to external storage re-upload as Zoho Attachments on the associated Deal — inline images are extracted, downloaded locally, and re-hosted as Zoho Files.

Any custom property stored on a matter record — statute codes, venue jurisdiction, sentencing guidelines, client ID numbers — has no standard Zoho equivalent. FlitStack AI creates the matching custom field in Zoho CRM (via POST /settings/fields) using the same data type (pick-list, text, number, date) and populates it during the Deal migration. Source pick-list values are re-created as Zoho pick-list options.

Source custom objects that store related entities — witness records, insurance claims, medical exhibits — map 1:1 to Zoho Custom Modules. The module API name follows Zoho's convention: filename.csv with an underscore-C suffix (Witness_C.csv) triggers auto-creation by Zoho's Data Migration Wizard, or FlitStack creates the module via the Modules API before import.

Workflows that trigger on case-stage changes, deadline reminders, or assignment notifications do not have a Zoho CRM equivalent that migrates automatically. FlitStack exports the workflow definitions as a JSON blueprint document so your Zoho admin can rebuild them in Zoho Blueprint or Deluge. This is always a manual step — plan 2–4 hours per complex workflow.