Mastering Salesforce Flow Elements: Screens, Decisions, Loops, and Best Practices

Want to tap into the power of automation for your business? Want to free your team’s time and energy from repetitive tasks? Want to achieve all this without the hassle of coding?

Salesforce Flow could be the answer. 

Flows in Salesforce allow you to automate complex business processes through clicks, not code. From sending emails, and doing mass updates to chatting, a lot can be done with Flows. It allows you to build a ‘flow’ of events based on certain triggers. 

In this blog, we’ll discuss the various elements of Salesforce Flows and the best practices you can follow to get the most out of it. The elements in Salesforce Flows can be broadly categorized into three. 

The first category is Interaction Elements, including Screen, Action, and Subflow. The second is Logic Elements which include Decisions, Assignments, and Loops. The third is Data Elements which include Create Record, Update Record, Get Record, and Delete Record.

What Are Salesforce Flow Elements?

Elements are the components that come together to create Salesforce Flow. Each element performs a specific and different function. From creating and editing records to assigning value to variables and displaying information, elements play a crucial role in performing a variety of functions. By utilizing the power of elements, you can automate workflows seamlessly.

Interaction Elements in Salesforce Flow

1. Screen

Want to get some information from the user? Wish to share instructions on what to do next? This is where the Screen element comes into play. It enables one user to display a screen to another. As the name suggests, you can use it only in a Screen Flow.

Some of its common use cases involve:-

• Collecting the details of a user in a registration process.
• Displaying company norms and policies.
• Enabling the users to schedule appointments by selecting the date and time.

2. Action

You can use the action element when you want to initiate a standard or a custom action.

For example, it can be used to

• Send welcome emails to new joiners in the company.
• Create notifications to update customers regarding their parcel.
• Share a follow-up task with the Sales manager after a lead conversion.

3. Subflow

With the Subflow element, you can use your current Flow to call another Flow. How is this helpful? You can reuse the Flow without having to repeat all the steps you used to create it.

Here are some major benefits of Subflows:-

Easy management: They allow you to break down complex Flows into small pieces that can be easily managed.

Cuts down on repetition: It saves time and effort and allows you to be consistent across multiple Flows.

Easy to modify: Using Subflows makes it easier to update the Flows that use it. You just have to make edits in the Subflow.

Logic Elements in Salesforce Flow

1. Decisions

By utilizing the decision element, you can get different results based on specific decision criteria. It follows the if/then system.

For example, if the project request is coming from California, assign it to the US sales team and if it’s coming from Mumbai, assign it to the sales team in India.

2. Assignments

The assignment element allows you to set values for variables, simplifying dynamic processes. You can do this by adding the assignment element to your Flow. Then, mention the variable’s API name, an operator, and a value you wish to use.

Want to do this for multiple variables? Click Add Assignment, then mention the variable, the operator, and the value for every row.

3. Loops

Want to do a particular action more than once? You can use Loops to iterate through a number of items using collections.

For example, if you have multiple records and you want to assign them to a specific person, you can use loops to change the assignee name in these multiple records. You don’t have to manually look into each and make the edit.

Data Elements in Salesforce Flow

1. Create Record

The ‘Create Record’ is one of the data elements that allows you to create one or multiple new records.

You can use it to create records dynamically. Some of the use cases can be:

• Create a new record whenever a new lead is converted.
• Create a new record when website visitors fill in the inquiry form.
• Create a new record whenever a customer renews their subscription.

2. Update Record

Use this element to update or modify records.

For example, you can

• Update the contact details of users based on their input.
• Update the case status from pending to closed.
• Update the number of follow-up emails section in case of lead generation.

3. Get Record

You can easily get a specific record using this element.

Some common instances of using this can be to:-

• Retrieve data where the order value is more than $1000.
• Fetch data where there has been no activity in the last 60 days.
• Get data where the query has not been seen in the last 48

4. Delete Record

This element allows you to delete records. This is particularly helpful when cleaning up data. For example, you can use it to:-

• Delete old records that are more than 2 years old.
• Delete duplicate leads.
• Delete temporary records that were created as a piece of a workflow that is no longer required.

Conclusion

Salesforce Flow is a powerful tool that can change the way an organization works. Its various elements enable users to automate complicated tasks, saving time, cost, and effort.

Whether you want to use the Screen element to collect user details, leverage the Assignment element to assign certain values to variables, or retrieve and edit records, there are a wide variety of possibilities to explore.

Leverage the various elements of Salesforce Flow to transform your workflows and supercharge productivity without the hassle of coding. Want to become a pro at Salesforce Flows? Check out Top Tools and Resources to Master Salesforce Flows Like a Pro.