Salesforce Flow Best Practices: The Complete Guide for 2024

Salesforce Flow is the most powerful declarative automation tool in the platform. But with great power comes great responsibility—and the potential for performance issues, maintenance nightmares, and frustrated users.

This guide covers the essential best practices that top Salesforce teams follow to build maintainable, scalable, and reliable flows.

1. Naming Conventions

Consistent naming is the foundation of maintainable flows.

Flow Names

Use a structured naming pattern:

[Object]_[Trigger/Type]_[Action]_[Version]

Examples:

• Account_AfterUpdate_SyncToERP_v2
• Case_ScreenFlow_EscalationWizard
• Lead_Scheduled_QualificationCheck

Element Names

• Decision elements: Start with "Check" or "Is"
• Check_RequiredFieldsComplete
• Is_HighValueAccount

• Action elements: Use verb_noun format
• Update_ContactStatus
• Create_FollowUpTask
• Send_NotificationEmail

• Variables: Use camelCase with type prefix
• varAccountId
• colRelatedContacts
• recCurrentLead

2. Error Handling

Never deploy a flow without proper error handling.

Add Fault Paths

Every element that can fail should have a fault connector:

• Record Create/Update/Delete
• Apex Actions
• External Service Calls
• Subflows

Create Reusable Error Handlers

Build a subflow for consistent error handling:

1. Log the error to a custom object
2. Send notification to admins
3. Show user-friendly message (for screen flows)
4. Optionally retry or rollback

Implement Try-Catch Pattern

For complex operations:

1. Wrap critical operations in a transaction
2. Catch failures at each step
3. Rollback if any step fails
4. Provide meaningful error context

3. Performance Optimization

Flows can hit governor limits. Here's how to avoid them.

Bulkify Your Flows

Record-triggered flows run per batch, not per record:

• Use $Record for single record context
• Use Get Records with proper filtering for related data
• Avoid loops that query inside

Minimize SOQL Queries

Each Get Records element = 1 SOQL query

• Combine related queries where possible
• Filter properly in the element, not in decisions
• Use formula fields instead of querying related data

Avoid DML in Loops

Never put record operations inside loops:

• Collect records to update in a collection variable
• Perform single DML outside the loop
• Use the "When to Run" conditions to filter early

Entry Conditions

Use entry conditions to prevent unnecessary runs:

Run flow only when:
  - Specific fields change
  - Record meets criteria
  - Recursion hasn't occurred

4. Documentation

Documentation isn't optional—it's essential.

Use Description Fields

Every flow and element has a description field:

• Flow description: Purpose, owner, dependencies
• Element description: Why this step exists
• Decision label: What the condition checks

Maintain External Documentation

For complex flows, maintain:

• Visual diagrams
• Business requirements link
• Change history
• Known issues

Pro Tip: Use FlowDocs to automatically generate and maintain documentation for all your flows.

5. Testing

Thorough testing prevents production issues.

Coverage Requirements

• Test all decision paths
• Test with single and bulk records
• Test positive and negative scenarios
• Test with different user profiles

Debug Mode

Use Debug mode to:

• Step through flow execution
• Verify variable values
• Confirm decision outcomes
• Catch issues before deployment

Test in Sandboxes

Never develop in production. Use:

1. Developer sandbox for building
2. Partial sandbox for testing
3. Full sandbox for UAT

6. Version Control

Track changes systematically.

Use Versions

• Increment version number in flow name
• Keep previous versions temporarily
• Delete obsolete versions after confirming new one works

Change Log

Maintain a change log documenting:

• What changed
• Why it changed
• Who approved it
• When it was deployed

Salesforce DevOps

Consider using:

• Salesforce CLI for metadata management
• Git for version control
• CI/CD pipelines for deployment

7. Security

Build secure flows from the start.

Run in System Context (with Caution)

• Default: Run in User Context
• System Context: Only when necessary
• Always validate user permissions in screen flows

Validate Input

For screen flows:

• Validate all user inputs
• Prevent injection attacks
• Check field-level security

Sensitive Data

• Never expose sensitive data in debug logs
• Mask credentials in error messages
• Use Named Credentials for external calls

8. Maintenance

Flows require ongoing care.

Regular Reviews

Schedule periodic reviews:

• Remove unused flows
• Update deprecated patterns
• Optimize performance bottlenecks

Monitor Health

Track flow performance:

• Execution time
• Error rates
• Governor limit usage

Stay Updated

Keep current with Salesforce releases:

• New Flow features
• Deprecated functionality
• Performance improvements

Checklist Summary

Conclusion

Following these best practices will help you build flows that are:

• Maintainable: Easy for any admin to understand
• Scalable: Perform well with large data volumes
• Reliable: Handle errors gracefully
• Documented: Clear for future reference

Remember: The best flow is one that works correctly AND can be understood by the next person who looks at it.

Related Articles:

• How to Document Salesforce Flows Automatically
• Understanding Salesforce Flow Governor Limits
• Salesforce Flow Naming Conventions: A Complete Guide