External ID's

USING EXTERNAL ID’S

 

Most companies have multiple databases that they use for different aspects of the company. One of the most common is an ERP system for accounting along with a CRM system for Sales and Support. Managing multiple databases is hard enough, trying to keep the data synced up between the 2 can also be a challenge. This document will outline how to setup 4 basic objects in Salesforce to be ready to be synced up with a separate database. While we will be focusing on an ERP to Salesforce solution, this method applies to any database sync to Salesforce, whether manual or via a programmed synchronization method.
We will do this with a Fake Company Setup “Universal Containers”. This company has an ERP system which accounting uses to manage Sales Orders and Invoices. The Sales and Support Teams work in Salesforce. Both teams need to be able to see all Accounts, Contacts, Sales Orders, and Invoices however they work in separate systems.
For this exercise, we will setup a sample setup of data to be imported into SF from the ERP system using the record ID’s from the ERP system.
The first step is to review the data and make sure Salesforce is ready to accept all the data coming from the ERP system.
At this point we will take a look at the sample data from the ERP system.





Check the following things are done before trying to import any data
·         Make sure your data has usable external ID’s.
·         Make sure the data is in a format that is usable by the Data Loader
·         Create the External ID fields in Salesforce
o   Create a text field on each object your working with
o   Mark it as External
o   Check the “unique” requirement from your other database and mark your field accordingly
·         Make sure corresponding objects have the proper ID’s to make the correct links
o   Things like, Opps has Account ID listed
§  Accounts and Opps and Invoices have Sales Rep ID
Start Uploading your Data in the following order:
·         User External ID’s
·         Accounts
·         Contacts
·         Opportunities
·         Invoices (Or other objects)

During the Data Loading you will be mapping your ID’s to the Custom External ID fields.
If using Dataloader.io, Map the field for ID’s and check the box to use an External ID, Use the drop down to select the correct field.
If using the Salesforce Data Loader, you will be prompted during the setup steps to select the ID fields you want to use.

It’s important to remember that working with data from multiple systems can always be a tricky issue. It’s important to keep the data updated and correct between the two systems, but you always want to make sure your connecting your records. By using the process described above, you will be sure to avoid many headaches, trust me.



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