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Salesforce Flow: A Complete Guide to Automating Your Business with Ease

Use Salesforce Flow to automate your business for streamlined operations and efficiency.
Table of Contents

What if you could automate complex business procedures in Salesforce without writing a single line of code? Salesforce Flow makes this possible! Automation may greatly boost productivity, reduce manual tasks, and improve customer service. Flow is one of the most powerful tools in Salesforce. It allows businesses to automate difficult procedures without a high level of technological expertise.

If you’re looking to not just understand but master Salesforce Flow, this guide is designed for you.

What is Flows in Salesforce?

Salesforce Flow is your go-to tool for automating business processes within the Salesforce platform. With Flow, you can automate operations and reduce human effort without writing a single line of code, whether you’re working with simple workflows or complex ones.

Fundamentally, Flow lets you automate tasks like creating notifications, posting to Chatter, updating records, and sending emails. Flows can be scheduled to execute automatically or triggered by user input.

Why Do You Need Salesforce Flows?

  1. Efficiency Boost: Automating manual tasks reduces human error and speeds up business processes.
  2. Enhanced Customer Experience: Flow ensures timely interactions with customers, improving service delivery.
  3. Scalability: Whether your business is small or large, Flow can adapt and grow with your needs.
  4. Cost-Effective Automation: Go for a no-code solution that produces excellent results instead of costly development hours.
  5. Flexibility: Flow can automate processes that span different departments, offering flexibility for a range of use cases.

Salesforce Flow Main Concepts

Salesforce Flow main concepts: elements, resources, triggers, logic, and results for effective automation.
Salesforce Flow Main Concepts

Elements

Any Salesforce Flow’s heart is its elements. Consider them the acts or steps that your flow takes. For example, you might use an element to create a new record, update data, send an email, or make a decision based on specific criteria. With the Flow Builder, you can easily drag and drop elements to organize your process visually. These factors cause every action that your flow takes.

Resources

Resources are like containers or variables that hold data within your flow. This could be anything from a customer’s name to a product ID or even a date. You can use resources to pull in details from existing records, accept user input, or even generate new values on the fly. This flexibility makes your flow much more responsive to real-world situations.

Triggers

A trigger is what gets the flow started. It’s the event or condition that initiates the automation process. For instance, you could have a trigger based on a user updating a record, clicking a button, or even a time-based trigger that runs daily or weekly. Without a trigger, your flow just sits there. But once the trigger fires, the flow kicks into action, carrying out the sequence of steps you’ve designed.

Logic

Logic is where the flow’s “brain” comes in. It helps guide your flow through different paths depending on the situation. Salesforce Flow’s logic includes decision elements, loops, and assignments. With logic, you can ensure that your flow reacts appropriately to various inputs. For example, you can use logic to check if a customer is eligible for a discount before applying it or send a specific type of notification based on the status of an order.

Results

The result is what your flow ultimately accomplishes. It’s the endgame of your automation. This could be sending a thank-you email to a customer, updating a Salesforce record, or even generating a report. The ultimate output that reflects your flow’s objective is called the result. The result is what proves your flow achieved its goals, regardless of whether you’re automating a simple task or managing a more complex business process.

Types of Flows in Salesforce

Salesforce flow types: Screen, Autolaunched, Record-Triggered, Scheduled-Triggered, and Platform Event-Triggered.
Types of Flows in Salesforce

Flows in Salesforce come in various forms, all of which are intended to automate different tasks according to certain triggers and user requirements. There are 5 types of flows in Salesforce. Now, let’s understand the types of flows available and how they can simplify your workflows.

1. Screen Flow

Best for: Guiding users through a process with input screens.

Screen flow in Salesforce is all about interaction with users. Screen flows are very flexible because they may be started from several locations, such as Lightning Pages, Experience Cloud, or quick actions. You can use Screen Flows for processes like customer surveys, support case creation, or onboarding steps. It helps to collect user input while guiding them step-by-step.

Use Case: A company desires to automate the return of products. Customers can fill out a Screen flow that collects product details, reasons for return, and preferred actions (refund, exchange). The company’s system then stores this data and uses it to initiate the proper steps.

2. Autolaunched Flow

Best for: Background automation that doesn’t require user interaction.

Autolaunched flows run automatically behind the scenes, without requiring user input. These flows are perfect for automating tasks like updating records, sending notifications, or performing background calculations. These flows are executed in the background without any user interaction. An Autolaunched Flow can be started using REST APIs, Apex code, Process Builder, and other tools, making it a flexible choice for background automation.

Use Case: After a client purchases a subscription service, the flow can automatically update the account, and assign a support representative. As a result, the onboarding team is also assigned a task to follow up on.

3. Record-Triggered Flow

Best for: Automating processes based on record changes.

As the name suggests, a Record-triggered flow kicks off whenever a record is created, updated, or deleted. When you want things to happen right away after changes in your data, this kind of flow is really helpful. It’s an effective method of automating processes that are closely related to your data, reducing the need for human updates.

Use Case: When a sales opportunity reaches a specific stage, the flow can automatically send a discount offer email to the client, update the sales record, and notify the sales team—all without any manual intervention.

4. Scheduled-Triggered Flow

Best for: Automating tasks at set times or intervals.

Scheduled-triggered flows allow you to schedule actions at specific times or recurring intervals. You have the option to plan these flows to run on a daily, weekly, or custom basis. These flows can also be utilized for regular data updates or batch processing operations, which will relieve the burden on your team by executing repetitive tasks on schedule.

Use Case: A financial services company uses Scheduled-triggered flow to send out automated payment reminders three days before a payment is due. And even, you could send birthday emails to clients every year or generate monthly sales reports.

5. Platform Event-Triggered Flow

Best for: Reacting to platform events from external systems.

Platform event-triggered flows launch when Salesforce receives a platform event message. This type of flow is particularly useful for integrating Salesforce with other systems. Platform Event Flows are highly useful in scenarios where you need real-time responses to system events or external triggers.

Use Case: When a consumer makes a payment, a third-party payment system notifies Salesforce via a platform event. A Platform Event-Triggered Flow can then update the customer’s payment status and notify the accounting department.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating a Flow in Salesforce

Steps to create a flow in Salesforce, from opening Flow Builder to activating and distributing it.
Types of Flows in Salesforce

You can automate tasks and simplify complex business processes by building a flow in Salesforce. Don’t worry, it’s easier than you might think. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Open Flow Builder

First things first, you need to access the Flow Builder in Salesforce.

  • In Salesforce, type “Flows” in the Quick Find box.
Open flow builder
  • Click on “Flows” and then hit the “New Flow” button.
New Flow button
After clicking on New flow
  • Once you’re in, pick the flow type that best fits your needs—whether it’s Record-Triggered, Screen Flow, or another type—then click “Create.”
Select the Flow type

Step 2: Understand the Flow Context

Understanding how your flow will work is important before you start building.

  • Different flows offer different capabilities. For example, using the $Record global variable, Record-Triggered Flows automatically gathers information from the triggering record.
  • If you’re working with an Autolaunched Flow, you may need to manually set up input variables to pass data between components.

Step 3: Set Up Inputs

Now that you’ve picked your flow type, it’s time to arrange your inputs.

  • Consider the information you must gather or work with. As you handle data updates or gather user input, make sure the variables are defined correctly.
  • For your flow to function properly, these inputs must be configured correctly from the beginning.

Step 4: Add Elements to the Flow

This is where the magic happens! You’ll start adding elements—essentially, the building blocks of your flow.

  • After the start element, click the ‘+’ button to add actions like creating records, updating fields, or displaying screens.
Add Elements to the Flow
  • Each element represents a task, such as reading or writing data, showing information to users, or running some logic. Drag and drop the elements into place to map out your flow’s steps.

Step 5: Save Your Flow

You’ve done a lot of work, so make sure to save as you go.

  • Click “Save” frequently to avoid losing your progress. You can even rename your flow if you want to stay organized.
  • Think of it as hitting “Ctrl+S” when you’re working on a document—always a good habit!

Step 6: Test Your Flow

Before activating your flow, it’s crucial to ensure everything works as expected.

  • To see how the flow will work with actual data, run a few test cases.
  • If you hit a snag, don’t stress—Salesforce provides debugging tools to help you figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

Step 7: Activate and Distribute

Once you’ve tested and everything looks good, it’s time to go live!

  • Click “Activate” to make your flow operational.
  • Finally, distribute the flow to the appropriate users. Depending on the goal of the flow, you can distribute it to other users, internal team members, or even third parties.

Enroll in our Salesforce Admin online training with Salesforce AI to learn more about Salesforce Flows!

Salesforce Flow Best Practices

Salesforce Flow best practices: planning, avoiding hardcoding, limiting DML in loops, and testing extensively.
Salesforce Flow Best Practices
  1. Plan Before Building: Plan out your workflow before using Flow Builder. Acknowledge the data you need and the desired result.
  2. Avoid Hardcoding: Instead of hardcoding values (like specific record IDs), use dynamic variables or lookups to make your flow more flexible.
  3. Limit DML Operations in Loops: Don’t place Data Manipulation Language (DML) operations within loops. Rather, gather all records at once and perform DML outside of the loop to improve performance.
  4. Test Extensively: Thoroughly test your flow in a sandbox environment before deploying it to production. This ensures you catch any errors early.
  5. Use Subflows: Divide your flow into more manageable, reusable subflows for larger, more complex tasks. As a result, your automation becomes easier to maintain and more modular.
  6. Monitor Flow Limits: Salesforce imposes limits on flows, such as the number of elements per transaction. Be mindful of these limits when designing your flow.

Salesforce Flow vs Apex

Criteria

Salesforce Flow

Apex

Ease of Use

Extremely user-friendly with a drag-and-drop interface. Ideal for admins with no coding skills.

Requires coding expertise and is more complex to implement. Suitable for developers familiar with programming.

Customization

Provides basic customization options for standard automations.

Offers deep customization, enabling complex business logic and functionality through code.

Scalability

Good for moderate scaling, supporting typical business growth.

Highly scalable, making it suitable for large organizations with complex and expanding needs.

Implementation Time

Fast implementation with minimal setup. You can deploy quickly without needing extensive development.

Longer implementation due to the need for custom code and testing. It requires more time to build and deploy.

Cost

Cost-effective and perfect for businesses with budget constraints, especially those using out-of-the-box features.

Higher cost due to the need for custom development and maintenance of complex logic.

Learning Curve

Easy to learn for admins and beginners, with little to no coding knowledge required.

A steep learning curve, as it demands coding skills and knowledge of Salesforce development tools.

Advanced Features

Includes standard features for basic business process automation.

Equipped with advanced features that allow for intricate logic and heavy data processing.

Testing Capabilities

Flow Tests allow you to test simple automations, but they have some limitations.

Test classes in Apex offer comprehensive testing options, ensuring code quality and reliability.

API Callouts

Can handle API callouts but has limitations in complex scenarios.

Apex is preferred for robust and complex API integrations in enterprise environments.

Ideal For

Ideal for small to mid-sized businesses needing simple automation.

Ideal for mid-sized to large businesses that require custom, scalable solutions and advanced functionality.

Salesforce Flow Limits: A Quick Guide

Per Flow Interview Limits

  • Executed elements: You can execute up to 2,000 elements per flow interview.

General Flow Limits

  • Versions: Each flow can have a maximum of 50 versions.
  • Active flows: The number of active flows you can have depends on your Salesforce edition:
    • Professional Edition: 5 active flows per flow type
    • All other editions: 2000 active flows per flow type
  • Total flows: Similar to active flows, the total number of flows you can have depends on your edition:
    • Professional Edition: 5 total flows per flow type
    • All other editions: 4000 total flows per flow type

Per-Transaction Flow Limits

  • SOQL queries: You can issue a maximum of 100 SOQL queries per transaction.
  • Records retrieved: The total number of records retrieved through SOQL queries is limited to 50,000 per transaction.
  • DML statements: You can issue up to 150 DML statements per transaction.
  • Records processed: The total number of records processed through DML statements is limited to 10,000 per transaction.

Flow Usage-Based Entitlements

Click here!

Einstein for Flow: Your AI-Powered Automation Assistant

This advanced AI tool takes your workflows to a whole new level, making automation easier than ever.

What’s Einstein for Flow?

Think of Einstein for Flow as your AI-powered workflow assistant. Forget spending hours building workflows from scratch. Now, you can describe your workflow idea, and Einstein will generate a draft version for you. It’s like having a personal assistant that turns complex tasks into simple steps, allowing you to create Salesforce Flows just by using natural language prompts. Best of all, it’s available as a beta service that brings the power of generative AI right into your hands.

How Does Einstein for Flow Work?

Creating draft flows is a breeze with Einstein. All you have to do is ask questions or describe what you need in regular, everyday language. Einstein can handle almost anything—from standard objects to custom objects—turning your words into draft flows ready for tweaking.

Who Should Use It?

Einstein for Flow is perfect for Salesforce admins who want to build functional Flows without needing any programming experience. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced admin, this tool simplifies the entire flow creation process.

How to Enable Einstein for Flow

Ready to give it a try? Here’s how you can activate Einstein for Flow:

  1. Go to Setup and turn on Einstein generative AI.
  2. Select Einstein for Flow.
  3. Activate it, and you’re good to go!

Einstein for Flow is available with Salesforce Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and all Einstein 1 Editions.

Key Features of Einstein for Flow

  • Edit a Prompt: If the first draft isn’t quite right, no worries. You can tweak the wording of your prompt to generate an improved flow.
  • Summarize Existing Flows: Need a quick overview of an existing flow in your organization? Einstein can summarize it for you, saving time and helping you understand complex workflows at a glance.

Conclusion

To sum up, Salesforce Flow is a game-changer for process automation and increasing the productivity of your business. It’s more than just a tool. Whether you’re new to Salesforce or trying to make your current workflows better, Flow can help you save time and simplify chores. Indeed, developing flows may seem a little difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. And if you’re not ready to get into the details yourself, you may always have someone set it up for you. 

The power to streamline your operations is right at your fingertips!