Salesforce Flow: Why to Use Flows and What are the Different Types?

Managing complex business solutions is one of the biggest challenges for any organization, and can also result in poor operational efficiency. Salesforce flow empowers organizations to seamlessly build and automate complex business processes using clicks, and not code. It enables the Salesforce Admin to handle a wide range of business requirements, automate, and improve operational efficiency without the need for a Salesforce developer.

In this guide, we will help you understand what is flow in Salesforce and why to use it.

What is Salesforce Flows?

Salesforce Flow is an intuitive and declarative tool that allows organizations to automate complex procedures for every portal, app, or experience you offer. They help capture business-critical data and perform necessary actions to simplify processes and datasets in the system. An advantage is that flows are easy to maintain and anyone with knowledge of this tool can comprehend what you built.

Salesforce flow

Whether your customers are paying bills online, purchasing movie tickets, or scheduling restaurant reservations, they expect a personalized and seamless experience. Salesforce Flow, now known as Flow Builder, provides a declarative process with point-and-click automation. It is used to create code-like logic without having to use a programming language.

Salesforce Flows can be accessed through the Setup menu. In the Quick Find box, enter ‘Flows’ and start creating new flows right away. There are three primary elements of any Flow:

  • Elements: These are individual building blocks that perform various types of logical actions like decisions, assignments, and loops. These also include data elements that are responsible for recording changes and querying the database.
  • Resources: These are individual data variables used in a Flow. Resources can be numbers, strings of text, collections, formulae, or records.
  • Connectors: These help to determine which elements will lead to which.

When and Why You Should Use a Flow?

There are various instances when it is ideal to use a Salesforce Flow. 

  • Create user-guided experiences that do not come with a complexity threshold for Apex Code
  • Set up automated business processes
  • Modify existing processes built using workflow or Process Builder
  • Perform updates in bulk across various unrelated records
  • Execute complex logic into different opportunity conversions

Flows in Salesforce allow you to create, delete, and edit records. They also help show valuable data sets, collect inputs from users, send emails, and drive outbound messages.

However, there are certain circumstances when you should not use Flows.

what is Salesforce flow

Suppose there is a complex logic that works best with Apex Code. In such cases, it can be intimidating to debug a program if any error exists in the flow logic. Additionally, it makes managing and documenting the flow cumbersome.

Types of Salesforce Flows

A Salesforce Flow typically falls under five categories:

  • Screen Flows: These come with a UI element and need user input. The flows can be embedded as an element on the Lightening page or launched as an action.
  • Auto-launched Flows: Like software solutions that aid in automation, auto-launched flows allow you to run automated tasks seamlessly. You can create these flows from within Apex classes, a sub flow, process builder, record changes, platform events, or set schedules.
  • Schedule-triggered Flows: These Salesforce flows launch at a particular frequency and time for every record in a batch. These types of flows typically run in the background.
  • Platform Event-triggered Flows: These types of auto-launched flows will work in the background when you receive a platform event message.
  • Record-triggered Flows: This type of flow works in the background before or after a record is saved when you create, delete, or update a record.

How to Create a Salesforce Flow?

It is simple and quick to build a Flow. Described here are the key steps:

1. Open Flow Builder in Salesforce. Go to Setup, then Quick Find box. Now, enter Flows, choose Flows, and click New Flow.

2. Once you choose the right flow type, click Next.

3. Include the elements you plan to add to the canvas.

4. If you are building flows in free form, you can connect these elements to identify the order of execution. However, if you are building flows in auto-layout, connectors get created automatically on the canvas.

5. Save your flow.

how to use Salesforce flow

Conclusion

This guide will help you understand what a Salesforce flow is, its types, and when to use it for automating business processes. Make sure you choose the right Salesforce partner who can help grow your business.

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