Set Up Your New Salesforce Org in 5 Steps

Editor’s note: This is one of our most popular posts, so we’ve re-published it here it with the latest information and resources.

What are the first few things your should do when setting up a new Salesforce org? Thanks to the generosity of the Salesforce Community, I’ve gathered best practices from real-life Admins to help you get setup for success.

Before you log in to your new org, there are a few things you should do to prepare:

• Define a clear vision for using Salesforce. Why is your company using Salesforce? How does it align with the overall company mission statement?
• Document all the things! Make sure that any changes you make are documented from Day 1 so that you can easily go back and review, share, or replicate processes with stakeholders.
• Learn with Trailhead. Get up to speed with everything from CRM Basics to Change Management with the fun way to learn Salesforce.

Now that you’ve prepared, let’s get into the org and start working!

Step 1: Add Your Company Logo

Make Salesforce look like yours by adding your company logo in the upper left-hand corner of the application. This makes it clear to users that Salesforce is theirs to use. In order to do this, you need to create a custom App. An App is a way to organize your tabs and allows you to change the logo. You can then use Profiles to set the App as default for your users.

Create a logo file (JPG or PNG) with size 253px × 55px. Set up a new folder in Documents labeled “Logo” and set it to “accessible by all users.”

Upload your logo file as a Document in this new Logo folder and check the “Externally Available Image” checkbox.

Now let’s create the custom App. In Setup, go to Apps, Create New.

Add your logo image from the Logo documents folder you created.

Make the custom App visible or default to the appropriate profiles, then save. Switch to your custom app, and there is your logo!

For more details, check this out this article.

Step 2: Enter Your Company Info

Next, you’ll want to update your company profile with your company’s default time zone, fiscal year, and primary contact information.

In Setup, search for Company Profile and click through all the sections to update.

Step 3: Set Security Policies

Now that you’ve got the basics set up, you need to make sure your Salesforce org is secure. The new Health Check feature is a great tool to guide you through best practices for password policies, network settings, and session settings.

In Setup, search for “Health Check” and edit each section.

Step 4: Set Up a Sandbox

Before you do anything else in your Production org, set up a Sandbox! Sandbox orgs are replicas of your Production org where it is safe to experiment with new customizations and features without affecting your company’s real-time data. Once you’ve tested your customizations in Sandbox, you can seamlessly push them into your Production org when you are ready. Best practice is to never make changes directly in your Production org.

Check out these step-by-step instructions.

Step 5: Add Power of One & Case Safe ID Fields

In your Sandbox, adding these two fields on Standard & Custom Objects will help you be a reporting master.

Power of One is a simple formula that enables your to summarize data quickly in reports. It’s also an easy way to write your first formula.

In Setup, select Customize, any object (I chose Accounts for this demo), then Fields. Choose Formula.

Label the new field “Power of 1”, select Number, and 0 decimals.

Enter the formula: “1” and click next to set field-level security.

For more on this awesome tip, read: “The Power of One” the Greatest Formula Ever Written

Case Safe ID is another simple formula that enables you to manipulate record IDs in other reporting tools (i.e. Excel) that do not recognize case-sensitivity. This formula field will display the 18 character alpha-numeric (not case-sensitive) record ID instead of the 15 character case-sensitive record ID. This helps prevent incorrect field mapping for importing & exporting your data.

In Setup click Customize, select an object (I chose Accounts for this demo), then Fields. Choose Formula.

Label the new field CaseSafeID, select Text value, and then use the Advanced Formula Editor to select CASESAFE(ID) and click next to set field-level security.

For more details about Case Safe ID, check out this great article.

Now you’re ready to rock! Spend some time customizing objects, fields, page layouts in your Sandbox and define Profiles and Permission Sets for user access. Explore the great apps available in the AppExchange that you can install in your Sandbox with just a few clicks, like community favorites Draggin’ Role, Chatter Blacklist, Adoption Dashboards, Field Trip,and The Permissioner. And, of course, don’t forget to document all the things!

To find out more tips for success, and to ask answers from the very experts who shared these tips, get on the Success Community today.

Huge thanks to the 80+ suggestions I received via Twitter & the Success Community for this post. Keep ‘em coming!

Honorable mentions:

Enable Chatter! Before anyone can tell you not too 😉 – Steve Williams

Set everyone’s profile pic to the dog they most resemble. – Matt Bertuzzi

Enable Chatter, Feed Layouts, Salesforce Topics, Quick Actions, Salesforce1 Mobile, Notes, Salesforce for Outlook, State & Country Picklists, Duplicates – Jodie Miners

Allow collapse sidebar. – Mary Tagler

Put Taylor Swift’s 1989 on repeat – Brian Zehnle