10 Salesforce Roles and Profiles Best Practices

Salesforce Roles and Profiles are two of the most important features in Salesforce. They are used to control access to data and functionality within Salesforce.

Roles are used to control data access, while profiles are used to control functionality access. It is important to understand the difference between the two and how they work together to provide security in Salesforce.

In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for using Salesforce Roles and Profiles.

1. Profiles are a collection of permissions

If you have a profile that’s just a collection of permissions, it’s very easy to add or remove permissions from that profile. You can also easily duplicate that profile and create a new one with different permissions.

However, if you have a role that’s a collection of profiles, it’s much more difficult to add or remove permissions from that role. You would need to edit each profile individually, which is time-consuming and error-prone.

It’s also important to remember that roles are meant to be used for security purposes, while profiles are meant to be used for functionality purposes. So, if you’re using roles to control who has access to what data, and you’re using profiles to control what users can do with that data, you’re following best practices.

2. Roles determine what users can see in the org

If you have a user who needs to be able to see data in multiple objects, then you’ll need to create a role for that user. The role will allow the user to see data in all of the objects that are associated with the role.

Profiles, on the other hand, determine what users can do in the org. So, if you have a user who needs to be able to edit data in multiple objects, then you’ll need to create a profile for that user. The profile will allow the user to edit data in all of the objects that are associated with the profile.

3. Use profiles to control access to objects and fields

If you want to give a user access to an object, such as a custom object or standard object, you need to do two things. First, you need to add the object to their profile. Second, you need to add the appropriate field-level security (FLS) settings to their profile.

The reason you need to do both is because profiles control both object-level and field-level access. If you only add the object to their profile, they won’t be able to see any of the fields on that object. And if you only add the appropriate FLS settings, they won’t be able to see the object at all.

So, when you’re configuring roles and profiles, always remember to add both the object and the appropriate FLS settings to the profile.

4. Use roles to control data visibility

If you have a large organization with many users, it’s important to make sure that each user only has access to the data that they need. If users can see data that they’re not supposed to, it can lead to security issues and data breaches.

Roles are the best way to control data visibility in Salesforce. By using roles, you can ensure that each user only has access to the data that they need. You can also use roles to restrict access to certain features of Salesforce, such as the ability to create new records or delete existing records.

When creating roles, it’s important to keep in mind the principle of least privilege. This principle states that users should only have the minimum amount of access necessary to do their job. For example, if a user only needs to view data, they shouldn’t have the ability to edit or delete data.

Applying the principle of least privilege will help to reduce the risk of data breaches and other security issues.

5. Create custom profiles for each user type

When you create a custom profile, you can tailor the user’s permissions to match their job function. For example, if you have a sales rep who only needs to view data related to their own accounts, you can create a profile that only gives them access to the data they need. This ensures that users only have access to the data they need, which reduces the risk of data breaches and helps keep your Salesforce org organized.

Creating custom profiles also allows you to control what users can do within Salesforce. For example, you can prevent users from deleting data or creating new records. This is especially important in regulated industries where data integrity is critical.

Finally, custom profiles make it easier to troubleshoot issues because you can quickly identify which users have which permissions. This can save you a lot of time when you’re trying to track down the source of a problem.

6. Set up sharing rules based on role hierarchy

When you set up sharing rules based on role hierarchy, you are essentially giving users access to the data they need based on their position in the company. For example, a sales manager would have access to all of the data for the sales reps they manage, but not necessarily the data for other sales reps in the company.

This is a much more efficient way to give users access to data than setting up sharing rules manually, and it ensures that only the people who need to see certain data have access to it.

7. Use permission sets to grant additional permissions

If you need to grant a user additional permissions, it’s best to do so using a permission set. That way, you can easily add and remove the permissions as needed, without having to create a new profile or role.

Permission sets also make it easy to see which users have which permissions. This is helpful for auditing purposes, as well as for troubleshooting issues that may arise.

Finally, using permission sets helps keep your Salesforce environment clean and organized. By using permission sets instead of profiles or roles, you can avoid creating duplicate profiles or roles with slightly different permissions.

8. Use groups to share records with multiple people

When you share a record with an individual person, they have access to that record as long as their Salesforce account is active. However, if that person leaves the company or their position changes and they no longer need access to that record, you have to go in and manually remove their access.

With groups, you can add and remove people from the group as needed, so you don’t have to worry about revoking individual’s access to records. This is especially helpful for records that need to be shared with a large number of people, such as all members of a team.

9. Don’t use public groups for security

When you add a user to a public group, they automatically inherit the permissions of that group. This means that if you add a new user to a public group and then later change the permissions of that group, the new user will automatically have those changed permissions.

This can be a security risk because it means that you could accidentally give a user too much access by simply adding them to a public group. It’s much safer to use roles or permission sets to control what users can see and do in Salesforce.

10. Avoid using “All Internal Users” as an owner

When you use “All Internal Users” as an owner for a record, it means that any internal user in your Salesforce org will have access to that record. This can be a security risk because it means that any internal user could potentially view or edit sensitive data.

It’s much better to be specific about who should have access to a record by using a specific role or profile as the owner. That way, you can be sure that only the users who need to see the data will have access to it.