Salesforce
Salesforce consulting: objects, opportunities, reports, and declarative automation
Salesforce consulting here is scoped configuration inside your own org: making the object model record what your business actually does, making opportunity stages and report types produce numbers people trust, and building declarative automation inside the limits of your edition and permissions. Custom development is quoted separately, and the licences stay yours.
Start with a CRM audit
Or describe the problem and we will say which scope fits it.
How Salesforce is built, and where the work lands
Salesforce is an object model with a security model above it and automation on top. Configuration work moves between those three layers, and the order matters: automation built over an unresolved model has to be rebuilt later.
Objects define what can be recorded at all
Standard objects — leads, accounts, contacts, opportunities, cases — plus any custom objects your org has added. Configuration starts by deciding which object owns a fact. A field living on the wrong object produces reports that cannot be joined and a team that keeps the real answer elsewhere.
Opportunities are shaped by record types and sales processes
Record types attach different layouts and picklists to the same object, and a sales process defines which stages a given record type may use. Where several record types exist, the question is whether the differences are real or historical — a record type created for one deal in a past quarter can cost more in maintenance than it returns.
Reports depend on report types and on access
The report type decides which objects can be joined and which fields are available. On top of that, field-level security and the sharing model decide what each person can see, so a report can be correct and still show different totals to two people. Dashboards inherit the problem: they subscribe to source reports, and a source report nobody trusts produces a dashboard nobody opens.
Declarative automation is subject to edition and access
Flows, validation rules, and approval processes can be built without code, but what you may build depends on the edition, the licences in the org, and who holds permission to deploy. We confirm that boundary before scoping. Where several automations touch the same object, the useful work is documenting the order they run in and removing the ones that contradict each other.
Custom work is scoped separately
Apex, Lightning components, integrations, additional custom objects, and data migrations sit outside the published ranges. They are quoted on their own after the requirement is written down, because their price depends on the org rather than on a standard scope.
The guide on reviewing report and folder access covers how to establish intent before any sharing is changed.
What we scope on Salesforce
01 · Audit
Salesforce audit
A read of the org as it stands: objects and record types, opportunity stages and sales processes, page layouts and required fields, validation rules, report types and the reports in use, the sharing model and field-level security, and duplicate records.
Deliverable: Written findings, ranked by impact and by what they depend on.
02 · Dashboards
Reports and dashboards
Source reports rebuilt so their totals hold, then dashboards by role: pipeline by stage and owner, opportunity ageing, forecast category, activity against target, and win and loss by stage. Where a report totals a number leadership disputes, the report type and the filters get checked before the dashboard is touched.
Deliverable: The rebuilt reports, the dashboards, and a definitions sheet.
03 · Automation
Declarative automation optimisation
Flows, validation rules, and approval processes configured within the edition and the permissions your org actually allows. The same work maps what runs in what order, removes rules that overlap or contradict each other, and documents the sequence so a change to one rule stops being a guess about the others.
Deliverable: An automation map and the configured changes.
04 · Administration
Ongoing Salesforce administration
An agreed monthly scope: fields, layouts, and picklist changes, permission set and profile requests, report and dashboard maintenance, import cleanup, and user onboarding or offboarding steps. Logged, so the org stays explainable to whoever inherits it.
Deliverable: A monthly admin log of what changed and what was deferred.
Pricing
The same four scopes and the same ranges as every CRM engagement. Custom development, integrations, and migrations are quoted separately.
| Scope | Billing | Investment | What moves it within the range |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRM audit | One-time | $199–$399 | How many pipelines and modules are in scope, how much duplicate and orphaned data the review has to work through, and whether the findings have to cover reporting as well as configuration. |
| Dashboard build | One-time | $299–$599 | How many dashboards, how many metrics each one carries, and how many sources have to be reconciled before the numbers agree. |
| Workflow and automation optimisation | One-time | $399–$999 | How many rules are involved, how much branching they contain, and whether overlapping or conflicting automation has to be untangled before new rules can be added. |
| Ongoing administration | Per month | $250–$750/month | The breadth of the monthly scope, how many users it covers, and how much configuration change a normal month brings. |
Terms that apply to every scope
- Every engagement is scoped consulting. The work and its boundaries are written down before it starts, and the price is fixed for that scope.
- A quote always comes before work. Nothing is configured, changed, or invoiced until you have approved the scope in writing.
- Software is excluded. Zoho, HubSpot, and Salesforce subscription, licence, and edition costs are billed to you by the vendor, not by us.
- Work beyond the agreed scope is quoted separately. It begins only after you approve that separate quote.
- No unlimited support. Administration is an agreed monthly scope with an agreed support cadence; anything outside that scope is quoted separately and agreed in writing before it starts.
The published ranges are prices for defined scopes, not hourly estimates for open-ended assistance. The monthly administration scope is the only recurring option.
Request a CRM audit, or talk the setup through first
An audit starts with what your account already contains. If you are not sure an audit is the right first step, describe the problem instead and we will say which of the four scopes fits it.
Problems that bring Salesforce orgs here
The situations below are illustrative and hypothetical composites of patterns this scope is built to address. They are not client orgs and no outcome is promised.
Where this fits, and where it does not
A fit when
- Two reports quote different pipeline numbers and nobody can say which is right.
- Record types and sales processes have accumulated without a decision about which are still real.
- The team does not trust the dashboards, so the real reporting happens in a spreadsheet.
- You want administration handled as an agreed monthly scope with a written log.
Not the right scope when
- You are choosing a platform or considering a re-implementation — a separate programme.
- You need Apex development, a Lightning build, or a system integration. Those are quoted separately.
- Your org does not permit external configuration access and has no internal administrator to work with.
- You want an open support queue rather than a scoped monthly block.
How an engagement runs
01 · Discovery
Discovery
Which objects hold the truth, how an opportunity becomes an opportunity, who needs to see what, and which reports people act on.
02 · Scope
Scope
A written scope naming objects, record types, automations, and reports, with the price, the exclusions, and any access prerequisite.
03 · Configure
Configure
Changes made in your org in the sequence the scope sets, either by us with the access you grant or through your own administrator.
04 · Validate
Validate
Automation tested on records, reports reconciled to source counts, and dashboards opened as each role that will use them, not only as the administrator.
05 · Handoff
Handoff
Notes on what changed, what now runs in what order, what was blocked by edition or permission limits, and what was left out.
Other platforms and related reading
- CRM consulting overviewThe four scopes, the pricing, and how they fit together.Read more
- Zoho CRM consultingLeads, deals, ownership, and workflow rules.Read more
- HubSpot consultingContacts, companies, deals, and lifecycle versus deal stage.Read more
- What a fractional sales leader doesRole ownership, the signals that you need one, and the difference between advice and accountability.Read more
- How to build a repeatable sales processStages, exit criteria, and ownership — the process a CRM is supposed to reflect.Read more
- How to diagnose a weak pipelineThe failure modes worth checking before you change stage names or buy another tool.Read more
Salesforce: common questions
Do you need administrator access to my Salesforce org?
The work needs configuration access, but not necessarily direct administrator access for an outside party. Where your organisation does not allow external administrators, we work through your own administrator or deliver the configuration as written instructions and check the result with you. The scope states which approach it will use, so there are no surprises about access.
Why does a report show a different number than the team expects?
Usually one of three things: the report type decides which records can be included, field-level security hides a field from the person running the report, or the filters encode a definition nobody wrote down. Two people can run the same report and see different totals for the same reason. That is checked before any dashboard is rebuilt on top of it.
Is the automation you build dependent on my Salesforce edition?
Yes. Flows, approval processes, and some validation capabilities depend on the edition, on the licences in the org, and on which user permissions are available. We confirm those limits before writing a scope, and the quote names anything that would require a licence or edition change rather than assuming it.
What is not included in the published ranges?
Custom development and integration work: Apex, Lightning components, third-party integrations, custom objects beyond an agreed list, and data migrations. Those are scoped and quoted separately once the requirement is written down.
What does Salesforce consulting cost?
Audits are $199–$399 one-time, dashboards and reports $299–$599 one-time, declarative automation optimisation $399–$999 one-time, and ongoing administration $250–$750 per month. The same ranges apply across Zoho, HubSpot, and Salesforce. Your figure is confirmed in a written quote before work begins.
Is the Salesforce subscription included?
No. Salesforce subscription, licence, and edition costs are billed to you by Salesforce. Any edition or permission change needed to reach a scope is stated as your decision and your cost.
Do you provide unlimited support?
No. Administration is an agreed monthly scope with an agreed support cadence, and requests beyond that scope are quoted separately.
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Read resourceStart the Conversation
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