Discover the Anyleads suite | Find emails, verify emails, install a chatbot, grow your business and more!.
blog

What is the difference between process and flow in Salesforce?



What is the difference between process and flow in Salesforce?


Salesforce has been developing many tools to help you visualize your workflows with more efficiency. Recently they introduced two such tools – Flow Builder and Process Builder. Here we will explore what these tools do differently from each other and how it can benefit you as an admin or developer.

What is the difference between flow and process?

A flow is similar to a task in that it’s something that needs to be executed at some point of time. For example, if you're creating a simple automation where there's no input being taken from users but just outputting data into another system, then this would require a "flow". However, if instead of using a single record update action, you want to create multiple records based on user inputs like selecting fields from picklists, etc., then this requires a "process" (or procedure).

If you use any third party app integration which doesn't allow bulk updates, then you'll need a "bulk" operation, i.e. a process.

For instance, let's say you've written a code that creates new accounts when someone clicks on submit button from a form. In this case, clicking the submit button should trigger both the actions - one creation of account and second validation check. The first action is known as a flow whereas the second one is considered a process.

Processes can also contain several steps within them. A step could take a few minutes to execute while others can run instantaneously. This makes processes suitable for long running tasks because you don't necessarily need all steps to complete before moving onto subsequent ones.

Flows, however, only consist of one step and cannot include additional steps inside them. They usually end up having a lot fewer lines of code than their respective processes.

Let’s see why this matters: If you write complex logic in your application by making lots of calls to objects or services and make thousands of records get updated, chances are, you may not notice about it immediately due to huge amount of records involved. But once you go through all those records manually to find out the errors, most likely you won’t even find anything wrong. That's because updating so many records takes place over millions of API requests and that too without triggering any alerts.

The same thing applies when writing complex logic via flows. You might have created 50+ thousand records in total and now after executing your flow, you won't know whether everything went smooth until you open your email inbox hours later.

This is exactly why developers tend to look for ways to reduce number of database operations whenever possible. Sometimes reducing complexity means going down to lower layers like databases.

But sometimes you can accomplish things faster by breaking down big procedures into smaller chunks. These small chunks of code are easier to debug, maintain, test and understand. Hence, if you choose to break down large pieces of functionality into smaller units, you'll save yourself hours of debugging time.

In short, flows focus on simplicity and speed whilst processes are made for robustness and efficiency. So depending upon your requirements, try choosing either of these accordingly.

What is the difference between flows and process builder?

You probably already noticed the slight differences between the names of the above mentioned tools. Let me explain further:

While a flow allows you to build custom visualizations to automate repetitive tasks, it does not support building blocks. Therefore, you can't use prebuilt components like buttons, dropdowns, charts, images, forms, etc., within the flow itself. Instead, you'd have to develop those separately and integrate them into your flows.

On top of that, you can customize the behaviors of individual elements of a flow easily. With Process Builder, you can access and modify standard object attributes directly. Also, since it uses Apex Code rather than Visual Force pages, it provides better security.

Lastly, I'd like to mention here that you can actually combine both processes and flows together to create powerful applications. There are plenty of examples available online showing how to do so.



What is workflow and its process?

Workflow basically consists of a series of activities performed sequentially by sales force agents who follow certain rules. Workflows are often designed to perform specific types of business functions. Some common functionalities used in workflows are lead conversion, order entry, purchase orders, customer service inquiries/feedback, quote request, etc.

Think of a workflow as a group of related activities strung together to achieve a particular goal. While it does have similarities with the concept of a task, a workflow differs from a task in the following aspects:

1) Task vs. workflow - Tasks represent independent unit of work that can be scheduled independently. Whereas, workflows are composed of various activities that are dependent on each other. As a result, they need to be triggered simultaneously in order to start working automatically. Since a workflow performs a set of interrelated tasks, it's easy to track progress and status of a project. On the contrary, a separate task isn't linked to other subtasks.

2) Start date & duration - When you add a task to your calendar, you specify its start date and duration. Unlike workflows, you don't get to define a start date for a workflow since it runs indefinitely till it completes its assigned tasks. Its duration depends on the length of tasks themselves.

3) Team member visibility - By default, everyone in the team can view the tasks associated with a given workflow. But when you assign tasks to members of a team, you give them permission to edit the owner field of the task. Only people who own the workflow permissions can change the owner attribute of a task.

4) Subtasks - Each activity within a workflow contains subtasks. To manage these subtasks, you'll need to assign owners, deadlines, dependencies, reminders, comments, priority levels, etc.

5) History tracking - During execution, you can keep tabs on every activity within a workflow. Just like tasks, you can enable history tracking feature for workflow items. Whenever changes occur during execution, you'll receive notifications.

6) Versioning - Every item within a workflow gets unique version numbers. All versions of an item retain information regarding modifications done to the original file.

7) Shareable links - Once you publish a workflow, anyone with proper permissions can share the link with others. Anyone who receives the link can run it straightaway without requiring approval.

8) Reporting features - Workflows come with reporting capabilities built right in. At times, you might want to monitor performance metrics of your employees. Or maybe you want to analyze overall productivity of sales reps across teams. Whatever reason may be, you can generate reports for these purposes.

9) Security - Workflows are secured by design. Even though admins can grant permission to non-privileged users, they must log in with their superuser credentials to activate the workflow.

As you can tell, workflow management covers much broader ground than simply automating tasks. And hence, it serves well as a platform to build solutions for businesses looking to leverage modern technologies like mobile devices, social media channels, cloud computing, etc.

What are the different process flows?

Now that you have a fair idea of the basic differences between processes and flows, let's dig deeper into what constitutes actual process flows themselves. Below is a list of all the process flows provided by Salesforce.

Quote Request

Opportunity Stage Changes

Lead Conversion

Create Contact Record

Edit Contact Detail

Add Customer Account

Customer Service Inquiry

Order Entry

Product Addition

Purchase Order Processing

Contact Approval

Approve Opportunity Change

Opportunity Close

Close Sale

Invoice Creation

Credit Memo

Batch Create Accounts

How do I decide which type of solution suits my needs best?

It really comes down to knowing what kind of functionality you want to incorporate in your workflow. Is it for internal company usage only or external client interactions? Do you need to send emails back and forth between clients and your backend systems? Are you concerned about maintaining data integrity? Knowing these answers helps you identify which type of technology to employ.

To wrap up, here's a brief overview of the key points discussed above:

Flows: Simple visualizations consisting of interactive triggers and actions. They're ideal for quick implementations and testing. Often used for one off events.

Processes: Robust and efficient way to handle complex scenarios involving hundreds or thousands of records. Most commonly used by enterprises.

Workflow: Conceptual representation of a sequence of tasks carried out by individuals over a period of time. Used primarily to streamline routine tasks. Suitable for companies with lesser resources.

So next time you're designing a workflow for your organization, ask yourself these questions: What am I trying to achieve? How will I evaluate the success of my efforts? Which platforms should I consider using? Using the correct technology stack for your enterprise solves numerous problems ranging from development challenges to scalability issues.

Salesforce has been on the growth path over past few years with an increasing number of customers using its platform to work more efficiently. The company recently announced that it will be launching a brand new product – Flow. But what exactly is this new feature all about? And how does it differ from Workflow or Apex processes? Read ahead as we attempt to answer these questions.

Let’s first understand what are flows in general terms. A flow consists of multiple steps where each step can initiate another action. For example, you might want to send out emails after completing certain actions like adding tasks/entries into your task list or updating records in your database. This type of functionality allows users to build complex logic within one single screen without having any coding knowledge. These types of flows are commonly used by many companies including banks, airlines, hospitals etc.

In addition to building flows, there are other tools available at the moment which allow developers to create custom applications or apps based on their unique needs. One such tool is Workflows. Another similar tool is Processes. Both of them provide very similar functionalities but they also come with different features depending upon their use cases. So let's see what makes them so different from each other.

Is workflow and flow same in Salesforce?

As mentioned above, both Workflows and Processes offer similar functionalities. In fact, they are often confused with each other when talking about sales cloud development services. However, going through some key differences would help us better understand their functions and uses. Let's take a look at some of those major differences.

How do I know if my current app is built on Workflow or Processes?

If your application was developed before March 2016 then you're probably working on Workflows.

After March 2016 onwards, most likely your app works on Processes.

The reason behind this change is due to the introduction of Flow Builder. If you haven't started developing your own custom solution yet, chances are that your existing system relies on either Workflows (before March 2016) or Processes (after March 2016).

So now you must be wondering what is new in Flow Builder? What sets it apart from previous solutions? Well, here's what's new...

What is difference between process flow and flow builder?

Flows in Salesforce consist of a series of user journeys, while Processes typically include individual business transactions. While the former focuses heavily on the end result whereas latter concentrates mainly on creating data structures and models. Therefore, the two platforms vary significantly in their approaches and focus.

A brief overview of main differences between the two products follows below...

Flow vs. Process - Features

Most notably, the primary difference lies in the way they handle data processing. As discussed earlier, Flows tend to be focused around providing a set of prebuilt user journeys for common scenarios. On the contrary, Processes tend to facilitate advanced customization options, enabling organizations to adapt them according to their specific requirements.

Another crucial factor affecting the decision making process is whether you choose to opt for the standard package or pay extra for additional perks offered by Salesforce. Some of the notable differences are listed below...

Standard Package Vs Premium Package

Both packages support almost identical capabilities. They contain everything needed for basic CRM operations along with numerous integrations. The only significant variation exists in the pricing model. Standard package costs $12 per month, while premium package comes at $20 monthly. With the latter, you get access to several enterprise-level features like bulk API calls, multi-region replication, unlimited objects & fields, third party integration, scheduled automation, and real time reporting.

Advanced APIs

While the standard package supports limited REST API requests, advanced package enables you to make up to 100 simultaneous requests at once. You'll also gain full control over managing your object state changes via transaction logs. Additionally, you can perform batch updates and retrieve large datasets with ease.

Process Automation

Similar to Workflows, Processes too enable users to run automated activities. However, unlike Workflows, they don't require developer intervention during execution. Instead, administrators need to authorize the relevant permissions prior to running a particular action.

Now that we've understood the basics, let's go onto explore what exactly is Salesforce Flow.

What is Salesforce flow?

Salesforce introduced a completely new interface for designing and editing Flows in late 2017. Unlike traditional ways of interacting with Flows, Flow Builder gives users a graphical representation of their entire journey.

It doesn't matter whether you're just starting out with the concept or already familiar with the design principles, Flow Builder provides you with intuitive drag and drop controls. Moreover, you get complete visibility regarding every aspect within the Flow.

Here are some important things to note about Flows in Salesforce.

1. Customizable Views

Unlike Processes, Flows give admins total freedom to customize views as per their preferences. Also, since they lack code dependencies, you can easily add, modify, or remove components whenever required.

2. Dynamic Logic

They aren't static entities. Rather than relying on predefined rules, Flows respond dynamically to changing conditions. Hence, they're ideal for handling dynamic situations.

3. Visualization

Like regular objects, Flows also comprise various attributes and information related to metadata. Users can view and edit these details effortlessly with the help of visual representations.

4. Database Queries

Flows can utilize queries to fetch data from databases directly or indirectly. Like normal objects, they can update themselves automatically based on incoming events.

5. Data Accessibility

Since Flows are designed primarily to enhance productivity rather than limiting users' abilities, they have direct access to external systems. Thus, they can read, write, delete, and even query data stored elsewhere.

6. Visually Appealing Graphical Interface

Considering the nature of Flows, it's no surprise that they display a visually appealing layout. Their screens are filled with colorful icons representing all possible elements present within the Flow.

7. Real Time Reporting

Users can find out various metrics within seconds after initiating a Flow. Apart from getting detailed reports, they can also monitor progress made toward completion.

8. Third Party Integration

Similarly, Flows are equipped with native connectors that allow them to integrate seamlessly with popular web services. Allowing users to avoid writing lengthy codes or manually integrating third parties.

9. Bulk Operation Support

Flows can be triggered simultaneously from thousands of sources. Since they operate independently, they retain the ability to receive input from remote locations. This facilitates quick responses to unexpected events.

10. Scheduling

You don't have to worry about missing critical deadlines anymore. Flows can be initiated at specified times or dates, thus allowing admin to organize their schedules accordingly.

11. Code Repository

Thanks to their flexible structure, Flows allow developers to store their source files locally. Alternatively, they can upload them to SFDC servers for further modification. To prevent errors, users can check their code beforehand.

12. Security Checks

To ensure maximum security, Flows undergo strict testing procedures. Whenever you submit a request for approval, the system checks against a list of known vulnerabilities. Only approved versions pass through the gateways.

13. Seamless Updates

One of the best aspects of Flows is that they always reflect latest developments. Even though they were formerly dependent on Processes, they can now detect any necessary modifications made to underlying infrastructure.

14. User Experience

Due to their interactive nature, Flows improve overall UX dramatically. By giving users the opportunity to visualize their ideas, they become empowered to execute them efficiently.

15. Multi-Language Capabilities

Although initially released in English, Flows are capable of supporting dozens of languages worldwide. Considering the growing popularity of other dialects, it wouldn't be surprising to hear people speaking Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Thai, and Urdu.

16. Easily Manageable From Mobile Devices

Using mobile devices, anyone can quickly enter, track, and manage Flows. Similarly, they could also keep tabs on their team members' performance metrics.

17. No Need For Developer Intervention

Compared to Processes, Flows are less complicated. Although they may seem confusing at the beginning, setting up Flows isn't a technical challenge. Using an easy UI, non-technical individuals can also learn how to navigate them smoothly.

18. Easy Migration Of Existing Applications To New Platform

When migrating to a newer version, you should consider upgrading your existing processes instead of rewriting them from scratch. Likewise, moving to a new platform shouldn't disrupt ongoing projects. Luckily, Flows follow the same philosophy and allow seamless migration without requiring much effort.

19. Integrate Multiple Systems Within Single Organs

If you currently rely on multiple internal or external systems, merging them with Salesforce becomes hassle free. Thanks to their versatile properties, Flows can connect with hundreds of widely accepted technologies.

20. Cost Effective Pricing Model

Pricing plans provided by Salesforce usually cost anywhere between $20-$30 per month. Compared to other providers offering enterprise level solutions, they offer comparable capabilities at affordable prices.

21. Less Complex Structure

Processes are often thought of as linear—that’s why they're so useful to manage projects or tasks. But what if you want something nonlinear? What if there's more than one path through your task list? That's where flows come into play. Here we'll discuss how processes are different from flows, and how both can help automate repetitive tasks on Salesforce Lightning Platform.

What is process flow in Salesforce?

Processes in cloud computing usually follow some sort of sequence that may involve many steps. This makes them sequential in nature. A good example would be when someone submits an online form with multiple fields, then validates it before sending it to another department. These types of activities can easily get automated using automation tools like Workflows (previously known as "Cloudflow").

A workflow consists of several actions or states that take place sequentially. Each state has input parameters associated with it which trigger its transition to subsequent ones. In other words, each action in a workflow takes inputs and produces outputs, making it dynamic by nature. An automator will create workflows based upon these rules, and define conditions under which certain events occur. The result is that any given activity becomes repeatable and easy to maintain.

For instance, let's say I'm creating a simple workflow to send out welcome emails after users sign up for our service. We might start off with a user who signs up via email, followed by an auto-generated thank you message sent straight back. Then, we could add additional information about their subscription such as first name, last name, company name, etc., depending on whether or not they choose to share this information at registration time.

Once all of those pieces are put together, it creates a nice little loop within sales force automation that allows us to automatically generate messages for every step of the onboarding process. Now, imagine if instead of having to go through each step manually, we created a single action to do everything for us. Instead of going through 10 steps just to find out a basic piece of information, we only need to go through 1.

This type of functionality is exactly why we use workflows today. They allow us to move data around without much manual intervention, which saves us countless hours per week. And since workflows aren't limited to just moving data around, but also include conditional logic, loops, and triggers, they provide an excellent solution for even complex business problems.

If you've ever used any kind of software development platform like Microsoft.Net, Java, C++, PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, etc., you know that building custom applications isn't always the easiest thing to do. That's because most platforms don't offer native support for defining application behavior. However, most popular frameworks like Django, Rails, ExpressJS, React, AngularJS, Backbone, Ember, etc., make developing web apps really quick and painless. So, why wouldn't you build a mobile app using the same principles? This concept works great for designing workflows too! You simply write code once, run it everywhere, and customize it however you'd like. And unlike standard programming languages, you won't end up being overwhelmed trying to figure out syntax and semantics. Once you learn the basics of coding, creating a few lines of code should feel pretty intuitive. If you plan on learning more specifically about workflows, check out my article here.



What is difference between flow and process in Salesforce?

The main purpose of both processes and flows are to streamline operations, save time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. While processes are typically defined by people, flows are designed by machines. Although both perform similar functions, processes generally require human involvement while flows are automatic. Think of processes as big chunks of work done by humans, whereas flows are smaller chunks of work done by computers.

In addition, processes are meant to solve recurring problems, whereas flows are meant to handle repetitive tasks. For example, consider a simple situation where two teams must collaborate on a project. One team handles design decisions, while the second team executes product creation. Both teams' roles are important, yet they each do things slightly differently. When it comes down to executing these tasks over and over again, it would benefit greatly from a system that does the heavy lifting for them. On top of that, it would further increase productivity if this process were streamlined, saving valuable resources for other parts of the organization.

Flows accomplish this exact same goal by allowing developers to apply prebuilt blocks to their needs. Imagine you're working on a website redesign and need to update hundreds of pages across dozens of objects. Rather than doing it yourself, you can leverage the power of workflows to achieve the same results automatically. Since Workflows are built directly onto the Salesforce platform, they give you access to advanced features like security controls, conditional statements, declarative updates, database lookup filters, etc. Using Workflows gives you full control of your entire experience, helping you stay focused on your goals without having to worry about mundane details like formatting.

One final note regarding the differences between processes and flows: although both are equally effective at solving common business challenges, they tend to be implemented in very distinct ways. Typically, larger organizations employ dedicated staff members for setting up processes to ensure that they remain organized and efficient. Whereas, small businesses prefer to implement workflows due to their simplicity. Because of this, it's crucial to understand your specific requirements prior to choosing either option. Know what problem you wish to address and decide accordingly.

What is Salesforce lightning flow?

As mentioned above, flows are essentially tiny programs designed to execute particular behaviors. Unlike traditional forms, flows are lightweight enough to fit anywhere in your org chart. Most importantly, flows are highly flexible and scalable, meaning they scale according to your changing needs. To show you how this works, let me explain how flows utilize the power of the Salesforce API to pull real live data from third party services. Suppose you wanted to display recent blog posts on a sidebar menu on your site, but only for logged in customers. Well, thanks to the magic of APIs, you can now filter customer records based on current login status and retrieve relevant content.

Here's how it works: whenever a visitor logs in, they receive a unique identifier that identifies their profile uniquely. With this ID, we can track customer sessions and associate them with individual profiles. Whenever that session expires, we can delete it altogether. Furthermore, we can store this information in a secure location so that we never lose a single lead. As you can see, this provides immense value to companies looking to gain insight into their visitors and clients. Again, this happens seamlessly behind the scenes, taking care of the tedious bits for you. Now imagine if we had to manually copy and paste this data from external sources into our CRM dashboard. Not fun right? So think of flows as smart assistants that connect disparate systems in order to bring seamless integration to your whole operation.


Author

Anyleads

San Francisco

We are the leading marketing automation platform serving more than 100,000 businesses daily. We operate in 3 countries, based in San Francisco, New York, Paris & London.

Join Anyleads to generate leads

Error! Impossible to register please verify the fields or the account already exists.. Error, domain not allowed. Error, use a business email. Welcome to the Anyleads experience!
More than +200 features to generate leads
Register to start generating leads

Create your account and start your 7 day free trial!

Error! Impossible to register please verify the fields or the account already exists.. Error, domain not allowed. Error, use a business email. Welcome to the Anyleads experience! By registering you agree to the Terms and conditions agreement.
More than +200 features to generate leads

We offer multiple products for your lead generation, discover them below!

>> Unlimited access to all products with one single licensecheck our pricing.