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Mobile site search, investor relations, salesforce announces second quarter fiscal 2025 results.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the #1 AI CRM, today announced results for its second quarter fiscal 2025 ended July 31, 2024.

Second Quarter Highlights

• Second Quarter Revenue of $9.33 Billion, up 8% Year-Over-Year ("Y/Y"), up 9% in Constant Currency ("CC"), inclusive of Subscription & Support Revenue of $8.76 Billion, up 9% Y/Y, up 10% Y/Y in CC
• Second Quarter GAAP Operating Margin of 19.1% and non-GAAP Operating Margin of 33.7%
• Current Remaining Performance Obligation of $26.5 Billion, up 10% Y/Y, up 11% Y/Y in CC
• Second Quarter Operating Cash Flow of $0.89 Billion, up 10% Y/Y, and Free Cash Flow of $0.76 Billion, up 20% Y/Y
• Returned $4.3 Billion in the Form of Share Repurchases and $0.4 Billion in Dividend Payments to Stockholders

FY25 Guidance Highlights

• Initiates Third Quarter FY25 Revenue Guidance of $9.31 Billion to $9.36 Billion, up 7% Y/Y
• Maintains Full Year FY25 Revenue Guidance of $37.7 Billion to $38.0 Billion, up 8% - 9% Y/Y and Maintains Full Year FY25 Subscription & Support Revenue Growth Guidance of Slightly Below 10% Y/Y & Approximately 10% in CC
• Updates Full Year FY25 GAAP Operating Margin Guidance to 19.7% and Updates non-GAAP Operating Margin Guidance to 32.8%
• Raises Full Year FY25 Operating Cash Flow Growth Guidance to 23% to 25% Y/Y

“In Q2, we delivered strong performance across revenue, cash flow, margin and cRPO, and raised our fiscal year non-GAAP operating margin and cash flow growth guidance,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO, Salesforce. “With our new Agentforce AI platform, we’re reimagining enterprise software for a new world where humans with autonomous Agents drive customer success together. Salesforce is the only company with the leading apps, trusted data and agent-first platform to deliver this vision at scale and help companies realize the incredible benefits of AI.”

“We continue to deliver disciplined profitable growth and this quarter, operating margins closed at record highs with GAAP operating margin of 19.1%, up 190 basis points year-over-year, and Non-GAAP operating margin of 33.7%, up 210 basis points year-over year,” said Amy Weaver, President and CFO of Salesforce. “Our capital return program remains a priority and we now expect to more than fully offset our dilution from FY25 stock based compensation.”

Our guidance includes GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures.

The following is a reconciliation of GAAP operating margin guidance to non-GAAP operating margin guidance for the full year:

The following is a per share reconciliation of GAAP diluted EPS to non-GAAP diluted EPS guidance for the next quarter and the full year:

For additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures see the reconciliation of results and related explanations below.

Management will provide further commentary around these guidance assumptions on its earnings call.

Chief Financial Officer Transition

Amy Weaver has made the decision to step down from her role as President and Chief Financial Officer at Salesforce. She will remain CFO until a successor is appointed. After that time, Amy will be an advisor to the company.

“Amy has been an incredible executive at Salesforce, leading many of the company’s most important strategic and operational initiatives over the last decade. And, she has been an amazing partner to me personally,” said Benioff. “Among her many contributions, Amy oversaw our successful financial transformation over the past several years – which has resulted in unprecedented margin expansion, increased operational excellence, and financial discipline across our organization. We are grateful that Amy’s transition period will allow us to conduct a thoughtful search for our next CFO, and we expect this to be a seamless transition.”

“My time at Salesforce has been an amazing journey, and it’s been a privilege to work alongside such a talented, dedicated and compassionate team,” said Weaver. “I’m especially proud of our work to drive increased profitability and productivity and introduce an enhanced capital return program, all while keeping our customers and our values as our north star. I am confident that Salesforce is well-positioned to accelerate its success in this next chapter.”

Product Releases and Enhancements

Three times a year Salesforce delivers new product releases, services, or enhancements to current products and services. These releases are a result of significant research and development investments made over multiple years, designed to help customers drive cost savings, boost efficiency, and build trust.

To view our major product releases and other highlights as part of the Summer 2024 Product Release, visit: www.salesforce.com/products/summer-24-release .

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Strategy

To learn more about our latest initiatives and priorities, review our Stakeholder Impact Report: https://salesforce.com/stakeholder-impact-report .

Quarterly Conference Call

Salesforce plans to host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. (PT) / 5:00 p.m. (ET) to discuss its financial results with the investment community. A live webcast and replay details of the event will be available on the Salesforce Investor Relations website at www.salesforce.com/investor .

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, empowering companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way through the power of CRM + AI + Data + Trust on one unified platform: Einstein 1. For more information visit: www.salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).

"Safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements about the Company's financial and operating results and guidance, which include, but are not limited to, expected GAAP and non-GAAP financial and other operating and non-operating results, including revenue, net income, earnings per share, operating cash flow growth, operating margin, expected revenue growth, expected foreign currency exchange rate impact, expected current remaining performance obligation growth, expected tax rates or provisions, stock-based compensation expenses, amortization of purchased intangibles, shares outstanding, market growth, strategic investments, expected restructuring expense or charges and expected timing of product releases and enhancements. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the Company’s results or outcomes could differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include -- but are not limited to -- risks associated with:

• our ability to maintain sufficient security levels and service performance, avoid downtime and prevent, detect and remediate performance degradation and security breaches;
• our ability to secure sufficient data center capacity;
• our reliance on third-party infrastructure providers, including hardware, software and platform providers and the organizations responsible for the development and maintenance of the infrastructure of the Internet;
• uncertainties regarding AI technologies and their integration into our product offerings;
• our ability to achieve our aspirations, goals and projections related to our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives;
• the effect of evolving government regulations, including those related to our industry and providing services on or accessing the Internet, and those addressing ESG matters, data privacy, cybersecurity, cross-border data transfers, government contracting and procurement, and import and export controls;
• current and potential litigation and regulatory investigations involving us or our industry;
• our ability to successfully expand or introduce new services and product features, including related to AI and Agentforce;
• our ability to successfully complete, integrate and realize the benefits from acquisitions or other strategic transactions;
• uncertainties regarding the pace of change and innovation and our ability to compete in the markets in which we participate;
• our ability to successfully execute our business strategy and our business plans, including efforts to expand internationally and related risks;
• our ability to predict and meet expectations regarding our operating results and cash flows, including revenue and remaining performance obligation, including as a result of the seasonal nature of our sales cycle and the variability in our results arising from the accounting for term license revenue products and some complex transactions;
• our ability to predict and limit customer attrition and costs related to those efforts;
• the demands on our personnel and infrastructure resulting from significant growth in our customer base and operations, including as a result of acquisitions;
• our real estate and office facilities strategy and related costs and uncertainties;
• the performance of our strategic investment portfolio, including fluctuations in the fair value of our investments;
• our ability to protect our intellectual property rights;
• our ability to maintain and enhance our brands;
• uncertainties regarding the valuation and potential availability of certain tax assets;
• the impact of new accounting pronouncements and tax laws;
• uncertainties affecting our ability to estimate our tax rate, including our tax obligations in connection with potential jurisdictional transfer of intellectual property;
• uncertainties regarding the effect of geopolitical events, inflationary pressures, market and macroeconomic volatility, financial institution instability, changes in monetary policy, foreign currency exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, a potential shutdown of the U.S. federal government and climate change, natural disasters and actual or threatened public health emergencies on our workforce, business, and operating results;
• uncertainties regarding the impact of expensing stock options and other equity awards;
• the sufficiency of our capital resources, including our ability to execute our share repurchase program and declare future cash dividends;
• our ability to comply with our debt covenants and lease obligations; and
• uncertainties regarding impacts to our workforce and workplace culture, such as those arising from our current and future office environments or remote work policies or our ability to realize the expected benefits of the restructuring plan.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect the Company’s actual results or outcomes is included in the reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and in other filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Financials section of the Company’s website at http://investor.salesforce.com/financials/ .

Salesforce, Inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

© 2024 Salesforce, Inc. All rights reserved. Salesforce and other marks are trademarks of Salesforce, Inc. Other brands featured herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Salesforce, Inc. Additional Metrics (Unaudited)

Supplemental Revenue Analysis

Remaining Performance Obligation

Remaining performance obligation ("RPO") represents contracted revenue that has not yet been recognized, which includes unearned revenue and unbilled amounts that will be recognized as revenue in future periods. RPO is influenced by several factors, including seasonality, the timing of renewals, the timing of software license deliveries, average contract terms and foreign currency exchange rates. Remaining performance obligation is also impacted by acquisitions. Unbilled portions of RPO denominated in foreign currencies are revalued each period based on the period end exchange rates. The portion of RPO that is unbilled is not recorded on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

RPO consisted of the following (in billions):

Unearned Revenue

Unearned revenue represents amounts that have been invoiced in advance of revenue recognition and is recognized as revenue when transfer of control to customers has occurred or services have been provided. The change in unearned revenue was as follows (in millions):

Disaggregation of Revenue

Subscription and Support Revenue by the Company's service offerings

Subscription and support revenues consisted of the following (in millions):

Total Revenue by Geographic Locations

Revenues by geographical region consisted of the following (in millions):

Constant Currency Growth Rates

Subscription and support revenues constant currency growth rates by the Company's service offerings were as follows:

Revenue constant currency growth rates by geographical region were as follows:

Current remaining performance obligation constant currency growth rates were as follows:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes information about non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income per share, non-GAAP tax rates, free cash flow, constant currency revenue, constant currency subscription and support revenue growth rate and constant currency current remaining performance obligation growth rates (collectively the “non-GAAP financial measures”). These non-GAAP financial measures are measurements of financial performance that are not prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and computational methods may differ from those used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Management uses both GAAP and non-GAAP measures when planning, monitoring and evaluating the Company’s performance.

The primary purpose of using non-GAAP measures is to provide supplemental information that may prove useful to investors and to enable investors to evaluate the Company’s results in the same way management does. Management believes that supplementing GAAP disclosure with non-GAAP disclosure provides investors with a more complete view of the Company’s operational performance and allows for meaningful period-to-period comparisons and analysis of trends in the Company’s business. Further to the extent that other companies use similar methods in calculating non-GAAP measures, the provision of supplemental non-GAAP information can allow for a comparison of the Company’s relative performance against other companies that also report non-GAAP operating results.

Non-GAAP Operating Margin is the proportion of non-GAAP income from operations as a percentage of GAAP revenue. Non-GAAP income from operations excludes the impact of the following items: stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and charges associated with the Company's restructuring activities. Non-GAAP net income per share excludes, to the extent applicable, the impact of the following items: stock-based compensation expense, amortization of purchased intangibles, charges related to the Company's restructuring activities and income tax adjustments. These items are excluded because the decisions that give rise to them are not made to increase revenue in a particular period, but instead for the Company’s long-term benefit over multiple periods.

As described above, the Company excludes or adjusts for the following in its non-GAAP results and guidance:

• Stock-Based Compensation Expense: The Company’s compensation strategy includes the use of stock-based compensation expense to attract and retain employees and executives. It is principally aimed at aligning their interests with those of our stockholders and at long-term employee retention, rather than to motivate or reward operational performance for any particular period. Thus, stock-based compensation expense varies for reasons that are generally unrelated to operational decisions and performance in any particular period.
• Amortization of Purchased Intangibles: The Company views amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, such as the amortization of the cost associated with an acquired company’s research and development efforts, trade names, customer lists and customer relationships, and, in some cases, acquired lease intangibles, as items arising from pre-acquisition activities determined at the time of an acquisition. While these intangible assets are continually evaluated for impairment, amortization of the cost of purchased intangibles is a static expense, which is not typically affected by operations during any particular period. Although the Company excludes the amortization of purchased intangibles from these non-GAAP measures, management believes that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets were recorded as part of purchase accounting and contribute to revenue generation.
• Restructuring: Restructuring charges are costs associated with a formal restructuring plan and may include employee notice period costs and severance payments, lease or contract termination costs, asset impairments, accelerated depreciation and amortization and other related expenses. The Company excludes these restructuring charges because they are distinct from ongoing operational costs and it does not believe they are reflective of current and expected future business performance and operating results.
• Gains (Losses) on Strategic Investments, net: The Company records all fair value adjustments to its equity securities held within the strategic investment portfolio through the statement of operations. As it is not possible to forecast future gains and losses, the Company assumes no change to the value of its strategic investment portfolio in its GAAP and non-GAAP estimates for future periods, including its guidance. Gains (Losses) on Strategic Investments, net, are included in its GAAP financial statements.
• Income Tax Effects and Adjustments: The Company utilizes a fixed long-term projected non-GAAP tax rate in order to provide better consistency across the interim reporting periods by eliminating the effects of items such as changes in the tax valuation allowance and tax effects of acquisition-related costs, since each of these can vary in size and frequency. When projecting this long-term rate, the Company evaluated a three-year financial projection that excludes the direct impact of the following non-cash items: stock-based compensation expenses and the amortization of purchased intangibles. The projected rate also considers factors including the Company’s expected tax structure, its tax positions in various jurisdictions and key legislation in major jurisdictions where the Company operates. For fiscal 2024, the Company used a projected non-GAAP tax rate of 23.5%. For fiscal 2025, the Company uses a projected non-GAAP tax rate of 22.0%, which reflects currently available information, as well as other factors and assumptions. The non-GAAP tax rate could be subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in the Company’s geographic earnings mix due to acquisition activity or other changes to the Company’s strategy or business operations. The Company will re-evaluate its long-term rate as appropriate.

The Company presents constant currency information to provide a framework for assessing how the Company's underlying business performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present constant currency revenue growth rates, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are converted into United States dollars at the weighted average exchange rate for the quarter being compared to rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during that period. To present current remaining performance obligation growth rates on a constant currency basis, current remaining performance obligation balances in local currencies in previous comparable periods are converted using the United States dollar currency exchange rate as of the most recent balance sheet date.

The Company defines the non-GAAP measure free cash flow as GAAP net cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures.

Mike Spencer Salesforce Investor Relations [email protected]

Carolyn Guss Salesforce Public Relations 415-536-4966 [email protected]

Questions? We’ll put you on the right path.

Send any questions and requests our way.

Or, connect with Investor Relations at 1-415-536-6250

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Salesforce Flowsome!

An Easy Flow Guide For Admins

Flow: How To Use “Assignment”

Assignment is the equal sign of flow (As you see in the icon). If you want to change the value of your variables, you will have to do it through Assignments.

Some important notes before we dive into the details of Assignments:

1. Assignment Cannot Update Data Directly

If you have read my introduction of flow , you should know that Assignment is a logic element, so it does not have direct impact of your records. If you want to interact with your records, make sure you use a data element (Get, Create, Update, Delete).

2. Sometimes Assignment Can Be Skipped

Assignment is usually used for more complex operations (ex. in a loop or as a switch). If you simply want to change record fields, an Update Records element should be sufficient.

There are three main fields – Variable, Operator, and Value.

Assignment Fields

Assignment Operators

Check Out How Assignment Can Be Used In Real Cases !

Flow: How To Use In / Not In Operators

Use Case: Connect Files to Multiple Records in Flow

Flow: How To De-duplicate Collection In 3 Ways

Use Case: Use Flow To Auto Close The Spam Case

Official Salesforce Help Article On Assignment

• ← Flow: How To Use Record Id
• Flow: How To Use “Delete Records” →

I am building out a record triggered task flow that uses a formula to update a field on the task. In the formula, I am using some lead record fields and used a get record element. I am trying to then populate that same value from the formula task to the lead. I came across your blog after trying to understand what I was doing wrong, currently I am using an assignment element to try to map the value from the formula to the lead field. Although, it works when I debug it doesn’t actually save the value on the record. Based on “1. Assignment Cannot Update Data Directly” on your blog I learned this is not possible, the introduction of flow link is not working for me, is that information available?

I want to assign a text variable to wo.serviceTerritory.SeriveResource. Can you please suggest me how can I do it with the Assignment component in flow ?Thanks

Hi, so is the field you want to update already exist in the Flow? If so, you can simply find that field and use the Equal operator. If not, you can use Update Records element to find the field and use Equal operator

Just want to say thank you so much Melody for putting these valuable information here, really easy to understand! There’s so much of effort that you’ve put into this blog. I really appreciate that you put the time and effort together to share your knowledge.

• Partner With Venn
• Schedule A Consult

Salesforce Flow Basics Pt. 1: Data Elements, Decision, and Assignment

Written by Jonathan Davis

The goal of this four-part series is to provide foundational knowledge on how to use Flows in Salesforce . Flows are a powerful tool for automating processes in Salesforce and are something that every Salesforce Administrator or Consultant should be familiar with.

At a high level, a flow involves a few basic concepts:

• Elements - The pieces used to build the flow. Each type of element performs a different function. 
• Resources - These are created and exist inside a specific flow (as opposed to records that exist in the database) to perform logic and store values when the flow runs.
• Trigger - The event that tells the flow to begin and usually provides the flow with some starting information, such as a Salesforce record. 
• Logic - The flow uses logic that you configure in the flow to decide what to do within the flow.
• Result - The flow does one or more actions, such as creating or updating a record in Salesforce, displaying information to a user, sending an email to a customer, or some combination of those actions, and then ends.

Salesforce Flows are declarative, which means they do not require writing code to set them up. This makes them readily accessible to Administrators and Consultants who have not learned how to write code. Salesforce continuously adds features to Flow Builder , so it can do many things that were once impossible without code. 

Flows are built with a series of elements connected to one another. When a flow is triggered to run, it works its way through the elements one at a time and performs different logic and actions based on which element is used and the way it is configured. 

In this series, we will discuss all of the elements available to work with in the Flow Builder.

Jump to a section:

• Data Elements (Create, Update, Get, and Delete) • Assignment Element • Decision Element • Tips and Tricks

Data Elements (Create, Update, Get, and Delete)

In Flow Builder, there are three groups of elements: Interaction, Logic, and Data . 

The Data Elements reach out from the flow instance and interact with Salesforce data, allowing the flow to retrieve information from or make changes to records in the database. 

Create Records

The Create Records element allows you to create new records in your Salesforce org’s database. It can be used to create one or multiple records. 

When creating one record, the simplest way is to select “Use separate resources, and literal values.” Choose the type of object you want to create a record for, and assign the field values you want the new record to have. 

Once the record is created this way, you also can reference the newly created Record ID in other flow elements. 

In this example, we created a new Account Record for Venn Technology:

You can also reference a record variable or collection of records used previously in the flow and create a new record using the values that were set previously. This is the only way to create multiple records with one Create Records element.

Update Records

The Update Records element is very similar to the Create Records element, except that it makes changes to existing records instead of creating new ones. 

It is also similar to the Get Records element in that you are able to filter for the records you want to update when you use the “Use separate resources, and literal values” option. When filtering records this way, be aware that the Update element will revise all records in the database that meet the criteria, so it’s a good idea to be as specific as possible with your filters.

Alternatively, you can select “Use the IDs and all fields from a record or record collection” to update a record that was previously stored in the flow, such as one from a Get Records element. In this case, to make changes to the values on that record, you should have done so previously in the flow using the Assignment element.

In this example, we use the Update Records element to update the MailingState field of all contacts in the system that have an AccountID field value of “0014T000008zal9QAA.” If we only wanted to update a single contact, we would need to add more filters, such as the Contact ID, or FirstName and LastName fields.

Get Records

The Get Records element is used to “get” one or more records from the database based on filter criteria set in the component. Getting a record stores its values within the flow, as well as the values of records it looks up to (such as a Contact record looking up to an Account record in its AccountID field), allowing you to reference it in other flow elements and resources. 

The filter criteria is based on values found on the specific record you’re getting, such as the ID or name of an account. Multiple criteria can be used, and the condition requirements can be set using “and,” “or,” or custom logic. When getting your criteria, the filter logic should be as specific as possible (such as an ID value), so that you only get the records you want to work with. 

Get Records can be set to retrieve either the first record that meets the criteria, or all of the records that meet the criteria. Multiple records are stored together in a collection.

In the example below, this Get Record is retrieving the first account with a value of “Venn Technology” in the Name field and storing it for use in the flow.

Delete Records

The Delete Records element is used to delete records from the database. Similar to the Update Records element, you can either delete records stored in variables defined earlier in the flow, or specify the object and filter criteria needed to find the records you wish to delete. Similar to the Update Records element, the Delete Records element will delete all records that meet the filter criteria—make sure to be specific.

In this example, we use the Delete Records element to delete an account with the Id of “0014T000008zal9QAA.” By using the Id field in the filter, we ensure that only this specific account record is deleted.

Assignment Element

The Assignment element is one of the Logic elements, which means that it does not directly affect the contents of the Salesforce database. Instead, it is used to interact with records and resources within the flow by changing, adding, or subtracting the values of variables and fields. This is very useful for setting or changing record values before creating or updating them, and for using variables to perform logical functions.

Below, we use the Assignment element to change the StageName field of an opportunity to Closed Won and set the CloseDate field to today’s date with {!$Flow.CurrentDate}. This does not update the Account field in the database yet, but does set the values in preparation for the Data elements.

Decision Element

The Decision element is one of the most important elements in the Flow Builder, as it allows for the creation of multiple paths based on various criteria, allowing a single flow to output different results based on decision criteria.

When creating a Decision element, set the name and criteria for one or more outcomes. If the criteria is met in the flow, then the flow will follow the path for that outcome. If none of the criteria for the created outcomes are met, the “Default Outcome” is followed.

In this example, we create a Decision element that checks if the Opportunity record’s StageName field value is Closed Won.

If the Opportunity is Closed Won, the flow follows the “Yes, Opportunity is Closed Won” path to Create Contract. If the Opportunity is not Closed Won, the flow follows the Default Outcome and sends an email to the sales representative.

Tips and Tricks

Now that you know how to use the Data, Assignment, and Decision elements, here are some tips and tricks when using them.

Using a Decision after a Get Element

The Get Records element will not error out if it does not find anything with the filter criteria provided, but if later elements in the flow attempt to reference the record when there is not one, those elements may cause an error. 

For this reason, unless you can ensure that your Get Records elements will find a record, it is a good idea to create a Decision element after your Get Records element to see if it found anything. Do this by checking if the variable from the Get Records element is not null, as shown below.

If the variable is null then the record was not found—the default path is followed and the flow ends. If records are found, the flow continues. 

In this example, the flow checks for Opportunity Products, updates them if the flow finds any, and if none are found, the flow ends:

There may also be times when the requirements of your automation may change depending on if there is an existing record or not and, in those cases, you may want to check if the record is present. If the record is not present, check to see if there is an existing contract for an account. Update the contract if there is one and, if there isn’t, choose “Create Contract” instead.

Using Decision results later in the flow

The outcome of a Decision element is stored in the flow as a boolean (true/false) value that can be referenced later on in the flow by other decisions or formula resources. 

This can be useful in various situations where a decision was made previously in the flow that you want to reference later.

Below you can see:

• The first decision checks the size of the account • The second decision determines if a new contract is needed • The third decision checks if a new contract was just created for a large account, thereby sending an email to a Sales Representative if it was

For more information on Salesforce Flows, check out our next blog post: Flow Element Basics Pt. 2 – Variables, Collections, and Formulas.

About the Author

Jonathan davis, subscribe for updates, filter by tags.

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Salesforce Flow Fast Field Update (before triggered) and same record updates assignment vs update element

A coworker had an assignment to rework workflows/process builders to flows. The fast field update flows (before triggered) all have the "Update Triggering Record" for all kind of changes and I'm worried this causes another update (re-running all validations, automations etc) and perform much slower instead of just using the "Assignment" element, that I know just alters the current DML.

So my question is really if there is any difference between the "Update Triggering Record" and "Assignment" element when doing same record updates in flow in terms of resources?

Also, what happens if there are multiple "Update Triggering Record" in one flow instead of multiple assignments? Will there be one update for each "update-element" or are they combined into one/no extra update?

• visual-workflow
• before-save-flow

2 Answers 2

Before Save Flows operate the same as before insert/update Apex triggers. They modify the record after standard validations but before the first save noted in Triggers and Order of Execution . Unlike the After Save triggers, they do not cause another round of validation/flow/trigger execution, and are therefore very efficient at updating the triggering record (very nearly as fast as a before insert/update Apex trigger).

You can, and should, use Before Save Flows whenever possible, as they do not trigger a recursive DML operation. Note that in a After Save flow, an Assignment is not sufficient to update the record. You must also use an Update Record element to actually save any changes, which is also what causes the second round of validations and triggers to execute. Using multiple Update Record elements will result in even further DML operations being executed, so we must take care to combine all such updates into a single Flow and a single Update Records element, if possible.

Note that flows are bulkified , in the sense that multiple records being processed at once will execute the flows essentially "in parallel", but only in the sense that each Update Records element will act as a blocker, and then be bulkified from there. If you have a conditional decision that ends up going to two different Update Records elements, either because another blocking element is on a decision path, or because you used different elements, multiple updates may be triggered. Always try to minimize the number of blocking paths to take full advantage of this feature.

• Thank you for your detailed answer. Specifically in a "before save flow", is it ok to use the "Update Triggering Record" and also to use multiple "Update Triggering Record" instead of assignment then if Before Save Flows do not trigger recursive DML operations? I'm contemplating whether to rebuild all the before trigger flows to use only assignments instead of update elements. –  Andegosu Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 13:27
• 2 @Andegosu There is a limit to the number of elements a flow can execute, so you should minimize how many Update Triggering Record elements you use, but they don't otherwise use DML limits or cause recursive DML operations. I don't think it matters which you use here. –  sfdcfox ♦ Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 13:53

There is very little difference. You can use either the Update element or the Assignment element. The key is that triggers and validations are NOT recursively kicked off in before-save Flows as they are in after-save Flows (as sfdcfox mentioned). This means the performance is almost the same whether you use the Update or the Assignment element.

This article is very helpful: https://metillium.com/2021/07/before-save-assignment-vs-update-records-performance-benchmark/

The change happened in the Summer '21 release: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=release-notes.rn_automate_flow_builder_record_triggered_flows_update_records.htm&type=5&release=232

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Here are the best Salesforce Flow practices I regularly follow when developing my flows. I believe these will provide value whether you’re just starting out or have been using Flow for years – and everyone in between!

1. Always Test Your Flows

2. Consider Using Subflows

3. Never Perform DML Statements in Loops

4. Document Your Flows

5. never hard code ids (use constants if you must).

6. Plan for Faults (and Handle Them)

7. Utilize Before-Save Flows for Same Record Updates

8. Make Use of Schedule-Triggered Flow and Asynchronous Paths

9. Flow Isn’t Always the Best Idea

10. If You Get Stuck, Ask the Trailblazer Community!

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Home » Video » Automate This! — How to Use Loops in Flow

• Automate This! — How to Use Loops in Flow

Welcome to another “Automate This!” In this live-streamed video series, we cover all things automation, from use cases and best practices to showcasing solutions built by #AwesomeAdmin Trailblazers like you. With automation, you can remove manual tasks, drive efficiency, and eliminate friction and redundancy. In this episode, let’s see how Salesforce.org Senior Solution Developer Jessie Rymph uses loops in Flow.

Salesforce Admins and Developers use flow loops to create, update, and delete a whole bunch of records at once. They can use these loops in screen flows, record-triggered flows, autolaunched flows, and more.

Some examples of using flow loops to update records include:

• A record-triggered flow that fires when a user is deactivated and reassigns ownership of all their records
• A screen flow that asks for an email address, finds all contacts with that email address, and checks the “Email Opt Out” box on each contact
• An autolaunched flow run just once by the admin to change the Region field on western states when two regions are combined

Every flow loop that updates records uses the same five elements in the same order.

Five elements of flow loops

Update Records

• Get Records: Get the records you want to loop through. They are automatically added to a collection, Collection 1.
• Loop: Tell the flow to loop through Collection 1, one record at a time.
• Assignment 1: Draft changes to fields on the first record.
• Assignment 2: Add the record currently in the loop to a second collection, Collection 2. (Start loop again.)
• Update records: Finalize update to database.

In the rest of this post, we’ll go over the five flow loop elements in more detail and, in parallel, I’ll tell you a story about two 12-year-old girls named Data and Flow. Their story reiterates key concepts about flow loops. At the end, play a matching game to test your comprehension.

My goal is to help you understand and remember these key concepts. For a step-by-step tutorial on how to build this flow, please watch the video above for an in-depth conversation between me and Admin Evangelist Jennifer Lee. You can download the flow now from the AppExchange and walk through it yourself as you read.

Let’s get started

Flow use case: A button on an account record that quickly closes all open opportunities at once.

Meet Data and Flow!

At the beginning of 7th grade, Data wrote down the names of all the friends she planned to have that year. Now that it’s almost time for 8th grade, she wants her friend Flow to help her update her list. She tells Flow to be brutally honest—if the friendship didn’t happen, say so.

[This will make more sense soon. Just stick with me, and look for key concepts in bold.]

How to pass info to the flow

When the user launches a flow from a button on a record, the flow receives the ID of the current record. It’s passed to the flow inside a variable called recordId . This is a text variable that can only hold letters, numbers, and symbols, and it has been marked inside the flow as “ available for input ”, meaning it can receive information from outside the flow.

In English class, Data looks to see if Flow looks willing to receive her note , and she passes her a piece of paper so small that it can only hold a bit of writing .

[Do you get it? The text variable is the piece of paper and Flow is “available to input” or willing to receive the note.]

Flow element 1: Get Records

The flow starts out receiving this 18-digit ID and that’s it. It doesn’t have any other data.

Let’s talk through adding elements to the flow so it can do something with that ID. The first element to add to the canvas is Get Records so that the flow can look up opportunities attached to the account. You give it specific criteria : Find opportunities where accountID = recordId (that was passed into the flow) AND IsClosed = False.

This will find you all the opportunities on this account that are still open.

Flow doesn’t know what to do with the little piece of paper she has received. She knows Data wanted to update her list of friends, but she can’t do anything with this. She decides to ask for more information and sends back a note that says, “Give me your list of wannabe friends for the 7th grade.”

When using Get Records, you can specify that the flow retrieves multiple records at a time from the database. It will automatically store all those records in a record collection variable , a container specifically used to hold the values of all the fields of all the records brought into the flow.

Data makes sure the teacher isn’t looking and hands a little notebook to Flow in which she wrote about all the friendships she hoped to make that year. On each page, Data wrote everything she knew about one potential friend.

Flow element 2: Loop

Next, add a Loop element to your canvas and tell it to go through each record in the collection you just made, one at a time.

Connect Get Records to the Loop.

Flow is ready to look at the list, but she wants to see each name one at a time . She rips out the first page on which Data had written about George and the one time they made eye contact. Across the bottom, it says in curly handwriting, “definitely maybe”.

Flow element 3: Assignment 1

Add an Assignment element to your canvas after the Loop. Here, you tell the flow that you want to change the opportunity stage to Closed Lost. You aren’t actually making the change yet, you’re just giving the flow a heads up about your plans. The Assignment says take the item currently in the loop (using the loop variable ) and plan to change the status to Closed Lost . The flow will actually update the records all at once AFTER the loop. In Flow, it’s important to limit the number of times data is changed because of governor limits.

Connect Assignment 1 to the Loop.

Flow takes the first page and, using her pencil, erases the second part of “definitely maybe” and changes it to “definitely not” . She isn’t ready to hand this back to Data just yet. It’s risky to pass notes back and forth! She should make all her updates THEN send them back together.

Flow element 4: Assignment 2

Add a second Assignment element after the first one. Now that the flow has updated this first opportunity, where should it go? You need to add it to a second record collection variable . Inside your Assignment, you create a resource that is a variable that can hold multiple records. The Assignment element is used to add the item currently in the loop to this new collection. We use the collection to update all the records at once in the next step. I’ll explain why.

Connect Assignment 2 back to the Loop element. This tells the flow to restart the loop with the next record after these two Assignments.

Flow is holding the piece of paper about George and isn’t sure where to put it. She can’t put it back in the book. She grabs an empty folder from her backpack and sticks the piece of paper in there .

Flow element 5: Update Records

After the loop has gone through all records in the first collection, one at a time, it has a new collection of records ready to be updated. Drag an Update Records element onto the canvas and tell it to update that second collection. You don’t need to specify which changes to make; you’ve already told the flow what updates you want to make back in Assignment 1. The Update Records element will make all the updates at once, saving valuable shared resources and respecting governor limits. Up until this point, the changes were just drafts inside the flow and were not reflected in your actual data.

Flow rips out seven pages of friendships that didn’t materialize for Data and changes them. She puts them in the folder and passes it over to Data, who finalizes all those changes by summarizing them in pen at the end of her notebook.

Now, it’s time to test your comprehension.

Watch the video conversation between me and Jennifer Lee in which I walk through how to build this flow out in depth, without all the 12-year-old girl stuff.

You’ll also learn how to create a list of all the open opportunities to show the sales rep before they close them out.

You can also install this flow now from the AppExchange and learn by playing around with it.

• Salesforce Admins Blog: 5 New Videos to Help You Understand Tricky Flow Concepts
• External Site: YouTube: Creating a Salesforce Loop Part 2
• External Site: Sunshine and Other Unhandled Exceptions: 10 Steps to Get Started with Salesforce Flow
• Trailhead: Flow Builder

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Jessie rymph.

Jessie Rymph loves teaching people how to use Salesforce Flow and supporting Salesforce's nonprofit and education customers. Check out her personal blog (mostly about Flow) at www.unhandledsunshine.com. She enjoys riding bikes with her family in Seattle and reading historical fiction (not at the same time).

• 5 New Videos to Help You Understand Tricky Flow Concepts

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Record-Triggered Flow: Before Save vs After Save

February 4, 2022 Yumi Ibrahimzade Automation , Flow 6

Salesforce Flow allows you to build complex business automation using clicks instead of code. It is the most powerful tool that Salesforce admins have. When you create a new Flow, you’re prompted to select the type of flow you wish to create. Depending on your needs, you have to select the right one from the five main flow types. These available flow types are screen flow, autolaunched flow, record-triggered flow, schedule-triggered flow, and platform event-triggered flow.

Read this post to learn more about the flow types.

Record Triggered Flow

Record-triggered flow can be considered as the main flow type. It is the only flow type that contains the triggering event (create, update, or delete). It means that it runs automatically when a record is created, updated, or deleted. Record-triggered flow does not need to be called from anything. The $Record global variable contains the values from the record that triggers the flow to run. Therefore, there is no need to add a Get Records element to bring the record data.

As you know, Workflow Rules and Process Builder will be deprecated soon and Flow will be the one and only automation tool. Salesforce recommends you to convert your existing Workflow Rules and Process Builder into Flows. Record-triggered flow is the flow type that you will need to choose to accomplish this. That is why it can be considered as the main flow type. Unlike Process Builder and Triggers, there is no recommendation to have only one record-triggered flow per object. You can create many flows with right entry criteria.

Depending on what you want to perform, you can choose the flow to run before or after the record is saved. They have big differences but before that, it is important to know how to select before or after save. Where are these options?

Before the Winter '22 Release, the configuration of the start element used to look like this. As you can see, there were "before the record is saved" and "after the record is saved" options.

However, in the Winter '22 Release, Salesforce changed the UI of this configuration. They don't call them before or after anymore. To make it more clear for people that aren't familiar with terms before and save, they changed the labels. "Fast Field Updates" option means before save and "Actions and Related Records" means after save.

Before Save (Fast Field Updates)

If you just need to update fields on the record that triggers the flow, this is the right option. It can be triggered when the record is created, created or updated, updated, or deleted. Before save flow runs much faster (10 times) than the after save flow. However, it is important to understand what you can do with this type of flow.

First of all, the only thing that you can perform is to update the record that triggers the flow. As you can see, there are no options to create or delete records, or any interaction elements like calling a subflow, or performing an action (for example, sending an email). However, you can still get any record from the system and perform any logic that you want.

As it was mentioned before, there is no option to update any other record.

If you are familiar with Apex triggers, then you probably know that you don't need to call update to modify the record. Since you are working on the record before it even goes into the database, you just need to set the field values you want and that's it. The logic is the same in before save flow as well. In order to update the record, you can use the assignment element even without the Update Records. However, to make it more clear, Salesforce added another option to update the record: Update Records element.

Both of these elements will update Blocked_For_Service__c checkbox to true. You can use either Assignment or Update Records.

Another important point is that before save flows run immediately. It is not possible to add a scheduled path to take time-based actions. Since before save record-triggered flow runs even before the record is saved to the database, it is not possible to access field values that are set only after the record is saved. For example, you cannot reach the last modified date or a formula field value. On the other hand, you cannot access the record Id when you run the flow on create.

Even though you can just update some fields of the record (and yes this is really the only option), you can perform cool workarounds as well. For example, you can build complex validation rules . It is also important to mention that although you are updating fields, it doesn't consume from the DML limits. As you can see from the debug log below, number of DML statements and DML rows are 0.

Read this article to learn more about before save record-triggered flow.

There is one exception that if the flow is working before delete, then all the data elements like create, update, delete are available. Just like the after save flows.

After Save (Actions and Related Records)

If you need to update any other record or perform actions like sending emails or calling subflows, this is the right option. It can be triggered when the record is created, created or updated, or updated. Unlike before save flows, it cannot be triggered on the delete event. However, there are many more things that you can accomplish using after save record-triggered flows.

As you can see, there are many elements that are available in the toolbox. You can create, update, or delete any record, call a subflow, or perform any action like sending custom notifications. At the end, after save record-triggered flows have the capability to replace all of your Process Builder. Actually, Process Builder is also an after save record-triggered flow, but it has a different UI.

There is one important thing to mention about the subflow action. Unlike Process Builder, you cannot call a flow (using subflow) that has pause element. Just because of this, you may not be able to convert some of your Process Builders to Flow.

Unlike before save flow, in order to update a record, you must use the Update Records element. Assignment element will not update the record. All the DML operations (create, update, delete) consume from the DML limits.

After save record-triggered flow supports three path types. Use immediate path to perform actions immediately (this is the most used path type). Use a scheduled path if you want the flow to run some time after the update of the triggering record. You can base the scheduled time on the update date/time or on a field value in the record. A separate flow interview runs for each scheduled path. Use an asynchronous path to access an external system after the original transaction for the triggering record is successfully committed.

According the order of execution, before save record triggered flows are executed, then before save triggers, then after save triggers, and then after save record triggered flows.

To sum up, record-triggered flows will replace your Workflow Rules and Process Builder. If you just need to update fields on the triggering record, you should use a before save flow since it is 10 times faster. However, in order to update other records or perform many other actions, you have to use an after save flow. If you use the new Migrate to Flow tool to convert your existing Workflow Rules to Flows, you will see that it creates a new flow for each Workflow Rule. Try to merge them, so that you will have less flows and better understanding of the steps and actions.

Here is a comparison chart of before save and after save record-triggered flows.

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About 25 mins

Learning Objectives

Manipulate data with the assignment element, calculate changes automatically with formulas.

• Challenge +500 points

Calculate Values in Variables and Formulas

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Concatenate two text values in a flow.
• Add and subtract numerical and date values in a flow.
• Create a formula to calculate dynamic values in a flow.
• Explain why you might use a formula in a flow.

This badge is one stop along the way to Flow Builder proficiency. From start to finish, the Build Flows with Flow Builder trail guides you through learning all about Flow Builder. Follow this recommended sequence of badges to build strong process automation skills and become a Flow Builder expert.

The Assignment element can also change existing variable data instead of fully replacing it.

Combine Text

When the data type of a variable is text, you can select Add as the Assignment element’s operator. The Add operator lets you add text to the end of the current value.

The Set Shipping Address flow is working pretty well, but now Flo wants to know how current the shipping address is. In the Copy Address assignment element, let’s add a row that appends a note to the account’s Description field, indicating the date when the shipping address was added to the account. We don’t want to replace what’s already in the Description field, just add a note to the end. However, keep in mind that Salesforce can’t combine text variables with non-text resources, such as date variables or number fields. To add non-text data, create a formula that uses the TEXT() function to convert the non-text value to text.

First, let’s create a formula that contains the added text.

• Click New Resource .
• For Resource Type, select Formula .
• For API Name, enter frmChangeDateNote .
• For Data Type, select Text . (Even though we’re adding a date, the end result has to be the Text data type so we can add it to a text field.)
• Enter this text in the Formula field: " Shipping Address added on " & TEXT()
• Place the cursor within the parentheses ( ).
• In the Insert a resource… field, select $Flow > Current Date .

• Click Done .

Before we move on to the next step, let’s pause and take a look at a few things in that formula. 

" Shipping Address added on " & TEXT({!$Flow.CurrentDate})

• Notice the spaces at the beginning and end of the phrase in quotation marks. The spaces separate the new phrase from text that’s already in the Description field and from the date that follows. For example, without a space at the end, the flow would set the description to “Shipping Address added on03-02-2023 ” .
• The & tells the formula to combine the text before and after, similar to what we’re doing with the assignment’s Add operator.
• The TEXT() function converts what’s inside it to text so that it can be used in a text field.

Next, add the text addition line to the Copy Billing Address assignment.

• Click the Copy Billing Address element and select Edit Element .
• Click + Add Assignment .
• In the Variable field, select Account from Get_Account_Data , then select Description . We set the account variable’s Description field here because it’s the variable that’s changing.
• In the Operator field, select Add .

• Save the flow.

Now, when the Update Records element updates the account, the update includes the altered Description.

If you’re using an assignment just to combine two texts without any conversion, you don’t need a formula to add a space between the old and new text. You can manually add a space before the new text in the Value field. For example, with a variable named “Answer”, you can enter “  {!Answer} ” directly in the Value field.

Perform Simple Calculations

You can also use the Add operator to add to a variable with the number or currency data type. However, this performs actual math; if you combine the number values 4 and 2, you get 6, not 42. You can also use the Subtract operator to subtract from number and currency variable values.

For example, this Assignment element subtracts a discount from an opportunity’s amount. The opportunity variable’s Amount goes in the Variable field, because that’s the value that’s changing. The Operator is set to Subtract . Finally, the variable with the discount amount goes in the Value field.

But check out that second line: it’s adding to a date field. You can also use the Add and Subtract   operators to add or subtract days from a date value. This Assignment element adds 2 days to the opportunity’s close date.

When you created the frmChangeDateNote formula, the & symbol combined two texts, functioning the same way the Add operator works in an assignment. So why didn’t we use the & symbol to attach the date directly to the Description field? The & symbol works only in formulas, and Description is a long text field. In flow formulas, Salesforce doesn’t allow long text fields because they can easily exceed the calculation limit for a formula.

This restriction is an example of the limits and complications with formulas in flows. Flow formulas have limited calculation time and a limited number of characters, which makes complex formulas inherently risky. Plus, unlike variables, formulas can’t be changed mid-flow. So when is it a good idea to use a formula?

Think of formulas like those other screwdrivers that come with your toolkit, the ones with the tips in shapes you’ve never seen before. You may not use them much, but when you actually encounter a screw with one of those tips, you’re glad you have that special tool! In other words, as a general rule, you should use a formula when you’re in a situation that only a formula can resolve.

The frmChangeDateNote formula is a great example that follows that rule. We can’t use just an Assignment element to attach the date to the description because the date has to be converted to a text value first. We need the formula’s TEXT() function to do the conversion.

• Trailhead:  Formulas and Validations (Use Formula Fields)
• Salesforce Help:  Flow Formula Considerations
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Flow Question - Assignment Element vs Update Records Element?

Hey all, picking up and learning Flows in SFDC - what is the difference between an Update Records Element and Assignment Element if i'm trying to update specific field(s) on an object? Is there any reason why I would want to use one over the other?

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• Dec 10, 2023

What is Assignment in Salesforce Flow – Detailed Guide

Salesforce is a rapidly growing customer relationship management platform that reshapes how businesses engage with their clients. It provides numerous features that assist in transforming your business's income by handling customer service, sales, marketing, and more.

At the heart of this transformation lies Salesforce Flow. It is an automation tool that helps users to create smooth workflows and improve operational efficiency. Now you must be thinking: what is Assignment in Salesforce Flow?

Don’t worry. We’ve you covered! In this blog, we’ll discuss a necessary component of the Salesforce system – Assignments in Salesforce Flow. Nowadays, every company wants to make its processes easier within the Salesforce ecosystem. It’s where Salesforce Flow Assignments come in.

This blog will provide all the necessary information to help understand Assignments in Salesforce Flow. So, let’s start!

Introduction to Salesforce Flow

Salesforce Flow is an automation tool within the Salesforce platform designed to simplify and automate complicated business procedures. It allows users to design, create, and manage workflows that guide users via a series of screens and collect data to perform specific actions.

Besides, with Salesforce Flow, you can automate repetitious tasks and integrate with external systems without extensive coding. You can use flow for various purposes, such as updating records, creating records, sending emails, and more.

In short, Salesforce flow provides a flexible and dynamic way to automate business processes, making it more effortless for organizations to adjust and optimize their workflows within the Salesforce environment.

For more details, visit How to Export Flow Salesforce.

What is Assignment in Salesforce Flow?

Understanding the Assignment element in Salesforce Flow seems a bit tricky at first, but there is nothing to worry about. We’ve created this guide in an easy-to-grasp way to help you understand quickly.

In Salesforce Flow, an "Assignment" is a fundamental building block that helps you manage and manipulate data and allows you to assign values to variables. Variables store and organize data within a flow, and Assignments enable you to control and modify these values as the flow progresses. It's like giving instructions to the flow on how to handle data.

In other words, Assignments are valuable when you need to perform calculations, update variables based on user interactions, or make decisions that dynamically affect the flow of your processes.

To simplify, imagine you're guiding a conversation in your flow, and Assignments are like the instructions you give to the system about what values variables should take on. This versatility allows you to create responsive flows, whether dealing with numbers, picklists, checkboxes, or text fields.

Benefits of Using Assignments in Salesforce Flow

Using Assignments in Salesforce Flow offers several benefits, such as:

Data Manipulation

Assignments allow you to manipulate data by changing the values of variables during the flow. It is especially beneficial for performing calculations or updating information based on specific conditions.

Dynamic Decision-Making

You can use Assignments to control the flow of your process dynamically. Depending on user inputs or other conditions, Assignments help set variables to different values to enable you to tailor the flow based on specific scenarios.

User Interaction Handling

In Visual Flows, Assignments are valuable for responding to user selections. You can adjust variables based on the user's choices within the flow by providing a more personalized and interactive experience.

Record Updates

Assignments are often used to update records. By assigning new values to fields in records, you can ensure that your Salesforce database stays up-to-date as your flow progresses.

Calculation Support

When dealing with numeric variables, Assignments excel in performing calculations. Whether it's summing up amounts from a query or applying mathematical operations, Assignments make complex calculations manageable.

Flexibility Across Field Types

Assignments aren't limited to numeric fields – you can use them with various field types, including checkboxes, picklists, and text fields. This versatility allows you to handle a wide range of data scenarios.

Customization and Adaptability

Knowing how to use Assignments effectively enhances the overall customization and adaptability of your Salesforce Flow. It allows you to create vibrant, responsive, tailored automation that aligns precisely with your business operations.

Basic Information About Assignments

What assignments do.

The Assignment element executes mathematical operations and transfers data between variables.

What Assignments don’t do?

They don't assess criteria to generate True/False results.

Assignments operate from the right to the left side.

Adding 1 to “Variable1” will increase the value of “Variable1.”

Setting “Variable1” to Equal “Variable2” transfers the value of “Variable2” to “Variable1.”

Assignment Fields

Variable [Place the variable you want to modify (change in value), whether it's an existing resource or one you intend to create.]

Operator (Specify how the variable changes based on the value. Remember, the available operators depend on the type of variable you are using.)

Value (It can be an existent resource or manually typed-in values.)

Popular Operators

Add (Available Variable Type: Number, Text, Date, Currency, Picklist, Collection.)

Subtract (Available Variable Type: Date, Number, Currency.)

Equals (Available Variable Type: Text, Number, Picklist, Date, Date/Time, Currency, Collection.)

Add Item (Multiselect Picklist)

Popular Collection Operations

Add At Start [Text Collections]

Remove After First [Text Collections]

Remove Uncommon

Equals Count

Essential Tips

If you want to run one assignment after another, employ two consecutive assignment elements.

Construct formula resources for complicated statements.

Utilize functions by incorporating them into a formula resource instead of using them directly.

Overall, the “Assignment” element is a necessary part of Salesforce Flow that enables users to change the value of variables and fields within a flow. It is a logic element that does not directly affect the contents of the Salesforce database but is used to interact with records and resources within the flow.

Additionally, the Assignment element helps set or change record values before creating or updating them and for using variables to perform logical functions. Besides, it’s important to note that Assignments cannot update data directly, and sometimes you can skip it if you can use a simple element like Update Records instead.

So, by understanding how to use the Assignment element, you can create more efficient and effective flows to automate your processes in Salesforce.

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Assignment or Update

Assignment or update element in flows.

An issue I frequently encounter involves confusion between using the assignment element and the update element in record-triggered flows. It’s essential to understand that you can use an assignment element instead of an update element in a before-save flow to update the field values on the record that triggered the flow. However, this approach does not work when running your record-triggered flow in after-save mode.

Before-Save vs. After-Save

Before-save flows in Salesforce offer a powerful way to make changes to records before they are saved to the database. This feature automates pre-commit tasks like data validation or field updates. Executing before save, it cuts down DML operations, boosting Salesforce efficiency. It ensures accurate data storage, streamlines workflows, and upholds data integrity with little impact on performance.

After-save flows, on the other hand, are triggered after a record has been saved to the database. This flow type suits actions needing a completely saved record, like sending emails, creating records, or complex logic. It depends on the record’s saved state for execution. After-save flows allow for the handling of tasks that are not directly related to the data validation or immediate updates of the record being saved. They offer a robust solution for extending functionality beyond the save operation, enabling more comprehensive automation and interaction within the Salesforce ecosystem.

Understanding the nuanced differences between the assignment and update elements in Salesforce’s record-triggered flows is fundamental for any administrator or developer aiming to optimize their automation processes. The assignment element provides a streamlined, efficient way to modify records before saving. The update element is crucial for after-save modifications, ensuring robust automation aligned with Salesforce’s best practices.Embracing this distinction not only enhances your flows’ effectiveness but also prevents potential issues that could arise from improper element usage.

I am sure you know by now; before-save is labeled as Fast Field Updates, and after-save is labeled as Actions and Related Records in the record-triggered flow start element configurator.

This distinction is critical for designing efficient and effective flows. To sidestep potential confusion and ensure smooth transitions between before-save and after-save contexts, my advice is to consistently use the update element in record-triggered flows for modifying field values on the trigger record. This practice fosters clarity and maintains the integrity of your flow’s logic across different execution contexts.

It is also important to note that a developer needs to build a before-save flow over an after-save flow whenever possible to benefit from the speed and efficiency of fast field updates.

For benchmark performance results, please refer to this Salesforce Architect page: https://architect.salesforce.com/decision-guides/trigger-automation

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