In the world of Salesforce, efficiency is everything. Automating your business processes is a necessity for staying competitive. For years, Salesforce administrators relied on a suite of tools like Workflow Rules and Process Builder to handle everything from simple email alerts to multi-step record updates. However, the game has changed. Salesforce is on a mission to consolidate all of its powerful automation capabilities into a single, unified tool: Salesforce Flow.
With the upcoming retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder, mastering Flows is a critical skill. But as powerful as Flow is, a poorly designed automation can create more problems than it solves, leading to performance issues, governor limit errors, and a tangled mess of logic.
This blog post will serve as your comprehensive guide to the world of Salesforce automation. We’ll break down the key differences between the automation tools of the past and present, and most importantly, we’ll share the top 5 tips for optimizing your Salesforce Flows to build a scalable, efficient, and future-proof instance.
The Salesforce Automation Toolbox: Flow vs. Workflow Rules vs. Process Builder
Before we dive into optimization, it’s crucial to understand the distinct roles each tool has played in the Salesforce ecosystem.
• Workflow Rules: The most basic of the three, Workflow Rules operate on a simple “if/then” logic. They are designed to automate simple, single-object actions, such as sending an email alert or updating a field on a specific record when a certain condition is met. While they are easy to use, their limitations are significant; they cannot update related records, handle complex logic, or interact with users.
• Process Builder: As a more advanced, visual-based tool, Process Builder represented a significant step up from Workflow Rules. It allowed administrators to create a flowchart-like process that could handle multiple criteria and actions. With Process Builder, you could update fields on related records, create new records, post to Chatter, and even launch a Flow. For a time, it was the go-to tool for medium-complexity automations. Some limitations of Process Builder include: linear top-down sequencing, limited branching capabilities, cannot delete records, cannot perform bulk operations, cannot update unrelated records.
• Salesforce Flow: This is the most robust and versatile declarative automation tool in Salesforce. Flow allows for complex, multi-step processes that can handle almost any business logic imaginable. Its power lies in its ability to:
○ Interact with Users: Screen Flows can create guided, interactive experiences for your users.
○ Work with Multiple Records: Flows can query, update, and create multiple records at once, a capability neither of the other tools possessed.
○ Connect to External Systems: With HTTP Callouts, Flows can integrate with external services and APIs without a single line of code.
As of Winter 2023, Salesforce officially announced the retirement of creating new Workflow Rules and Process Builders, with support for these ending December 31, 2025. While existing automations still function, the future is clear: Flow is the single home for all declarative automation. Now, let’s talk about how to make your Flows the best they can be.
Top 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Salesforce Flows
Building a Flow is one thing; building an optimized, high-performing Flow is another. Here are the top 5 strategies to ensure your automations are efficient, scalable, and easy to maintain.
Tip 1: Design Flows Based on Business Requirements
In the early days of Flow, Salesforce encouraged teams to consolidate automation into “one Flow per object.” However, this guidance is no longer accurate. As confirmed by Salesforce expert Jennifer Lee, the ideal number of Flows depends entirely on your organization’s size, complexity, and licensing constraints.
Today, it’s recommended to design Record-Triggered Flows using patterns that best fit your business processes. For some smaller organizations, a single before-save Flow, after-save Flow, and delete Flow. In larger or multi-business-unit orgs, forcing everything into one giant Flow can create more harm than good.
Instead of relying on a rigid rule, modern Flow design uses Trigger Order, Entry Criteria, and Flow Trigger Explorer to control execution order across multiple smaller Flows. This approach preserves clarity and modularity without sacrificing governance.
Tip 2: Bulkify Your Flows and Avoid DML in Loops
Salesforce has strict governor limits to ensure that one process doesn’t hog all the system resources. A common mistake that causes Flow failures is performing DML (Data Manipulation Language) operations, such as Create, Update, or Delete, inside a loop.
Think of it this way: if your Flow needs to update 150 contact records, performing a separate update operation for each record inside a loop will use 150 DML statements, quickly hitting your limits. The solution is to “bulkify” your Flow. Instead of updating records one by one, use a “Collection Variable” to gather all the records you need to update. After the loop is complete, perform a single “Update Records” element on the entire collection. This efficient method uses just one DML statement, regardless of how many records are in the collection, preventing governor limit errors and dramatically improving performance.
Tip 3: Master the Difference Between Before-Save and After-Save Flows
Not all record-triggered Flows are created equal. Salesforce offers two types that run on record changes:
• Before-Save Flows: These flows run before the record is saved to the database. They are incredibly fast because they don’t perform a separate database operation. Use Before-Save Flows for simple field updates on the same record that triggered the Flow. For example, if you need to update a contact’s “Status” field when their email changes, a Before-Save Flow is the most performant option.
• After-Save Flows: These flows run after the record is saved to the database. They are essential for any action that needs a record ID, such as creating a new record, updating a related record (e.g. updating a parent Account field based on a child Contact), or sending an email. After-Save Flows use a separate database transaction, which is why they are slower.
By choosing the right Flow type for the job, you can significantly reduce the processing time of your automations and improve your overall instance performance.
Tip 4: Create Reusable Components with Subflows and Invocable Actions
As your business processes grow, you’ll find yourself needing to perform the same actions in multiple places. Instead of duplicating logic, create modular, reusable components.
• Subflows: If you have a sequence of steps, like a specific task creation or a complex calculation, that is used in different master Flows, build it as a separate, reusable Subflow. You can then call this Subflow from any other Flow, making your automation more efficient and easier to maintain.
• Invocable Apex: For complex logic that cannot be handled declaratively in Flow, an Invocable Apex Action is your best friend. A developer can write a bulk-safe Apex class that performs a specific function, and you can then call this action directly from your Flow. This hybrid approach combines the power of code with the flexibility of a no-code Flow.
Tip 5: Plan, Document, and Test Like a Pro
Optimization starts long before you open Flow Builder.
• Plan: Before you start building, map out your process on a whiteboard or a diagramming tool. Define your objectives, identify the necessary data, and outline the steps and decisions. This planning phase prevents costly rework and ensures your Flow is well-structured from the beginning.
• Document: This is the key to long-term maintainability. Use clear and consistent naming conventions for your Flows and all of their elements. More importantly, use the “Description” field on every element to explain its purpose. This simple habit saves countless hours for anyone who needs to debug or modify your Flow in the future.
• Test: Never, ever deploy a Flow to a production environment without rigorous testing in a sandbox. Use the built-in Flow Debug tool to test different scenarios and ensure your logic works as expected. Simulate different user inputs, test for various record conditions, and validate both positive and negative paths. For complex Flows, consider using the “Failed and Paused Flow Interviews” log to pinpoint exactly where an error occurred.
By understanding the differences between the old and new tools and, more importantly, by adopting these five optimization tips, you can transform your Salesforce instance from a collection of fragmented automations into a well-oiled machine. A well-designed Flow is a powerful asset that reduces manual work, improves data accuracy, and allows your business to scale with grace.
Start your journey today by migrating your legacy automations, implementing these best practices, and building a more efficient and powerful Salesforce instance. If you aren’t able to meet your customization needs with the Salesforce tools, then Trajectory can support with custom automations and/or its suite of AI accelerators to help optimize your business processes via our Managed Services offering. Your users will thank you for it.
