Automations Worth Building: Saving Time with Salesforce Flows
- Peter, Ohana Focus Team
- Jan 18
- 4 min read
By Ohana Focus Team | January 15, 2025 | 21 min read
Your database admin spends hours weekly on repetitive tasks: updating Contact statuses, creating follow-up tasks, sending acknowledgment reminders, etc. Salesforce Flow can automate these workflows, freeing your team to focus on donors instead of data entry. But not every automation is worth building. Learn which Flows deliver the biggest time savings.
The Automation ROI Framework
Before building any automation, calculate whether it's worth the investment.
Calculating Time Savings
Example: Thank You Task Creation
• Manual process: Gift processor creates a Task for each gift
• Time per gift: 1 minute
• Gifts per month: 250
• Monthly time cost: 4.2 hours
Annual time savings: 50 hours = $1,500/year at $30/hour
Automation build time: 2-3 hours
ROI: Excellent—pays for itself in first month
Good vs. Bad Automation Candidates
Low Complexity, High ROI (Build These):
• Purely mechanical tasks (no judgment)
• Tasks done daily or weekly
• Simple if/then logic
• Stable processes
High Complexity, Low ROI (Skip These):
• Tasks requiring human judgment
• Processes with 10+ conditional branches
• Workflows still being defined
• Tasks done monthly or less
Ten High-Value Flows Every Nonprofit Should Consider
Automatic Thank You Task Creation
Time Saved: 50+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: When a gift is recorded, it automatically creates the task: 'Send thank you call'
Implementation:
• Trigger: Opportunity Stage = Closed Won
• Action: Create Task assigned to Opportunity Owner
• Due Date: Close Date + 3 days
Donor Status Updates Based on Giving
Time Saved: 30+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: Updates Contact 'Donor Status' based on Last Gift Date (Current, Lapsed, Former, Prospect)
Campaign Attribution from Opportunity
Time Saved: 25+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: When Campaign selected on an Opportunity and automatically adds the Contact as a Campaign Member
Major Gift Notification Alerts
Time Saved: 15+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: When a major gift ($5K+) is recorded, an email is sent to the Development Director and Executive Director
Overdue Task Reminders
Time Saved: 20+ hours/year | Complexity: Medium
What it does: Scheduled Flow runs daily, finds overdue Tasks, automatically sends reminder emails to owners
Acknowledgment Needed Flag
Time Saved: 30+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: If acknowledgment is not sent within 7 days, the checkbox updates to 'Acknowledgment Overdue'
Pledge Installment Generation
Time Saved: 40+ hours/year | Complexity: Medium-High
What it does: When a multi-year pledge is entered, installment Opportunities for each year are automatically created
Event Registration Status Updates
Time Saved: 15+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: When payment is received for an event, the Campaign Member Status updates from 'Registered' to 'Paid'
Data Quality - Missing Email Notifications
Time Saved: 10+ hours/year | Complexity: Simple
What it does: When Contact created without an email, a notification is sent to the database admin
Board Member Giving Tracking
Time Saved: 20+ hours/year | Complexity: Medium
What it does: Tracks whether board members gave during the fiscal year, updates the checkbox for reporting
Salesforce Automations to Avoid
Complex Multi-Object Updates
Too many moving parts, difficult to test, fragile. Better: Break into multiple focused Flows.
Automating Judgment Calls
Requires human nuance. Better: Flag items needing attention or that need a human decision.
Automating Unstable Processes
The process is still changing. Better: Stabilize manually for 3-6 months, then automate.
Building Your First Flow Step-by-Step
Let's build Thank You Task Creation Flow:
Step 1: Plan Before Building
WHEN: Opportunity Stage changes to Closed Won
DO: Create a Task assigned to the Opportunity Owner
Step 2: Navigate to Flow Builder
Setup → Flows → New Flow
Step 3: Select Flow Type
Choose 'Record-Triggered Flow'
Step 4: Configure Trigger
• Object: Opportunity
• Trigger: Record created or updated
• Entry Condition: Stage = Closed Won
Step 5: Add Create Records Element
• Object: Task
• Subject: 'Send thank-you call'
• Owner: Opportunity Owner
• Due Date: Close Date + 3 days
S
tep 6: Save and Activate
Step 7: Test in Sandbox First
CRITICAL: Never activate in production without sandbox testing.
Testing and Maintenance
Testing Checklist:
• Test happy path (perfect data)
• Test with missing data
• Test bulk scenarios (200 records)
• Test edge cases
• Verify no duplicate records created
Maintenance Schedule:
• Weekly (first month): Monitor Flow errors
• Monthly: Review execution statistics
• Quarterly: Audit all active Flows
• After releases: Test after Salesforce updates
Common Flow Mistakes
Infinite Loops: Flow updates the record and triggers itself repeatedly. Solution: Use 'ISCHANGED' criteria.
Bulk Operation Failures: Works for one record, crashes with 200. Solution: Design for bulk from the start.
Missing Error Handling: Flow crashes with unexpected data. Solution: Add Fault Paths.
Over-Complication: Single Flow handles everything. Solution: Build multiple simple Flows.
Partner with Ohana Focus
Expert Salesforce automation services. Schedule your free consultation today.
Ohana Focus builds Salesforce automations that save time without creating maintenance nightmares. We design Flows that are robust, well-tested, and aligned with your actual workflows. Our automation services include:
• Automation opportunity assessment
• ROI analysis
• Flow design and development
• Workflow Rule to Flow migration
• Testing and quality assurance
• Documentation
• Training for staff
• Ongoing maintenance
About Ohana Focus
Ohana Focus is a certified Salesforce consulting partner specializing in nonprofit automation and process improvement. We help organizations leverage Salesforce Flow to eliminate repetitive work while avoiding common pitfalls.
Our automation philosophy: automate the boring stuff so humans can focus on building relationships with donors. We identify high-value automation opportunities, build robust Flows that work in production and test thoroughly in addition to providing ongoing support.
Topics: Salesforce Flow, Process Automation, Workflow Rules, Time Savings, NPSP Automation, Nonprofit Efficiency, Salesforce Optimization
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