Tips for a clean Salesforce instance

"Oops... I don't know what this field is for!" "Why do I always have to fill in the same data in different places?" "Where can I find this information again?" If you're asking yourself these questions, be sure to read on.

Data structure is the foundation of a good, personalised Salesforce CRM system. It should be implemented according to a well-thought-out plan, not blindly. Here is a summary of a data structure that will enable you to work successfully and efficiently.

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#1. Relationships between objects

You know you need a few standard objects and a few custom objects. But how exactly should they all fit together? Just like building a Lego house, you can't just stick all the blocks together and hope it fits in the end. They all need to be perfectly linked to each other to create a sturdy structure.

It's the same with Salesforce. Which object should the invoice object be linked to? Does it even make sense to link it to multiple objects? Should it be visible to every employee or not? All these points need to be critically examined, as there are several types of links and rules that cannot simply be ignored. And it's best to do this at the beginning. Subsequent adjustments can result in data loss. That costs time and money.

As a Salesforce consulting partner, we discuss your processes with you and translate them into Salesforce language: What type of mapping would be best for your company? We always proceed in small iterations so that we can quickly and easily adapt and refine the processes. Expansion is only possible once the house is stable and cannot collapse.

#2. Naming

First of all, it is good to know that there are always two names in Salesforce: the name on the overview and the technical name that is referenced for automation. First, we focus on the overview.

The names at the overview level should be clear and consistent for pure usability reasons. Let's take a simple example: An object has two fields with the same name: ‘Number’. But one field is the invoice number and the other is the customer number. How are employees supposed to know where to store the right information? This distorts reporting, automated document creation, data migration... and much more.

Second example: It causes a lot of confusion when the same information is repeatedly named differently in different places (invoice number, invoice ID, invoice reference...), but the same information is actually required. Employees don't know what is meant, and the risk of them entering the wrong data is higher.

Now let's move on to technical names. Here, it is also particularly important to be consistent because these names are referenced in the code. If you write the name in English once and in German once, you will waste a lot of time trying to find it in the system afterwards. The same applies if the technical name differs completely from the overview name. It is best to define the wording right at the beginning, because changing these names means changing all references in the code and in other fields...

#3. Repetitions

Salesforce is an efficient system. But not if you make it inefficient. That's why we recommend keeping repetitions in object names to a minimum. Let's go back to our invoice example. The invoice, linked and assigned to the opportunity object, lists all the products sold. Is that really relevant? We don't think so. Especially since fields on other objects can also be taken into account in document creation.

If you do need some important information, instead of retyping and filling in everything, you can use formula fields and rollup summary fields. This also guarantees the accuracy of the data. With these types of fields, you can visualise values from selection lists or even images according to defined criteria. They are automatically ‘calculated’ when a record is created and changed. Sounds much more practical, doesn't it?

#4. Overview

Do you have to scroll past empty, unused fields forever? Do you have buttons in your overview and no idea what they are for? Then just get rid of them! Anything you don't use, i.e. fields, buttons, links, should be removed from the overview. And for long records, we recommend inserting sections to sort the data.

This gives you a clean record where you can immediately see what you need – and what you still need to enter!

#5. Clean data

Data migration is an important part of implementation. It goes without saying that you want all your current customers and processes – including your history – in your Salesforce system. But before you import all your data into Salesforce, please clean everything up first. Your migration should contain all the information you need.

Here are a few things to keep in mind: Values from selection lists should be exactly the same as those in the system; currency fields should have the same format... otherwise, you may easily find yourself having to change your daily schedule to bring clarity back to your data.

If you've paid attention, your data has now been successfully and correctly imported. But how can you keep the data in your organisation clean?Through duplicate management: avoiding duplicate records. Rules can be set to prevent duplicate records from being created. You can display a tool in the overview that shows possible duplicates, or you can create reports that give you an overview of all potential duplicates. Of course, you can merge the duplicate records from there.

Always have the most important information at your fingertips: Does a field always have to be filled in? No problem, the record will not be saved if the information is not provided. Want the potential sales value to be filled in when the status jumps from ‘Lead’ to ‘In contact’? No problem! With validation rules, anything is possible. You decide what is important to you and set your own criteria.