In this guide, we'll answer common questions about our Productboard <> Salesforce integration. For security-related questions, please see Salesforce - Security FAQ.
In this article:
- Which custom fields should I import from Salesforce to use the dynamic segmentation feature?
- Can I automatically import Salesforce company data without a CSV file?
- Which fields are not supported with the Salesforce Integration?
- How does the Salesforce integration handle duplicate companies?
- When mapping Salesforce fields to Productboard's custom fields, am I able to grab data via lookup relationships across objects?
- How frequently does the Salesforce integration poll the API in a 24 hour window?
- If an Account is deleted in SalesForce, will the account be deleted from Productboard?
- Can I set up a sandbox instance to test the Salesforce integration?
- Why am I receiving an "OAUTH_APP_ACCESS_DENIED" error message when I try to set up my integration?
- Why aren't my accounts or opportunities auto-importing?
Which custom fields should I import from Salesforce to use the dynamic segmentation feature?
That depends on how you segment your customer base! By bringing in custom fields from SalesForce, you can create segments in Productboard which represent the customer cohorts that are most meaningful for your business.
Another way to approach this question is to ask, "What do I want to learn about my customer segments?"
For example, if you wanted to answer the question, "What features have been requested by UK companies in the SaaS industry with MRR >$500?" you'd need to create three custom fields: "Country", "Industry" and "MRR".
If you wanted to answer the question, "What problems have my Enterprise customers been mentioning?" you'd have to define which customers are considered Enterprise. Is "Enterprise" based on the number of employees at that company? The number of seats they're paying for? Their ARR? Whatever fields you use to define your Enterprise segment, you'd create those custom fields in Productboard.
Once you create the appropriate custom fields in Productboard, you're ready to create your dynamic segments.
P.S. Looking for ideas about which segments to build? We have some suggestions.
Can I automatically import Salesforce company data without a CSV file?
Yes. Makers can use the Salesforce integration to import company-level data (called accounts in Salesforce) into Productboard.
Automatic account import is available and can be toggled on in the integration’s Accounts settings. To enable it, navigate to Settings > Integrations > Salesforce, then locate the option to import new Accounts automatically and turn it on.
If you prefer to update data manually, you can still do so on demand in the Update accounts import section and clicking on Update now.
Which fields are not supported with the Salesforce Integration?
Currently, there are a number of Salesforce fields that we do not support with the integration.
The following fields are not supported:
- Lookup fields - For example, we would not be able to grab data from other objects like Opportunities.
- RecordType object fields - Some of our customers use these fields to specify Account type (e.g. Prospect, Customer, Partner).
- Multi picklist field type - Only able to use the "is", "is not" or "has any value" operators, not possible to choose a few values of a certain field e.g. "Contains: trials; customer," as the contains function is not supported.
- Reference fields (except Account name and Opportunity owner), location, and encrypted fields are not supported.
- Text area and long text area fields - This does not include "textbox" fields which are supported.
- Checkboxes and radio buttons.
How does the Salesforce integration handle duplicate companies?
Productboard doesn’t merge companies. Even if the companies' names and websites are matching Productboard creates separate entities for them. This way, you will get a similar company list as your Salesforce accounts list you decided to import.
If you would like to avoid importing duplicate companies in Productboard you can use the filters for the import process to filter out unnecessary data. It's essential to identify the correct filters because, at present, there is no automatic process in place that allows you to delete or merge those duplicated companies.
When mapping Salesforce fields to Productboard's custom fields, am I able to grab data via lookup relationships across objects?
We currently do not support Lookup fields. For example, we would not be able to grab data from other objects like Opportunities.
We currently do not support RecordType object fields. Some of our customers use these fields to specify Account type (e.g. Prospect, Customer, Partner).
How frequently does the Salesforce integration poll the API in a 24 hour window?
This depends on the number of accounts that need to be imported. We use 1 API call per batch of 5000 accounts, and we poll the status of the job created by Bulk API every 5 seconds.
Also, we use API calls to the REST API to fetch the metadata about the available fields for the Account object and the count of the Account records for configuration purposes.
If an Account is deleted in SalesForce, will the account be deleted from Productboard?
No. Currently, when a Salesforce Account is deleted, the company remains in Productboard.
Can I set up a sandbox instance to test the Salesforce integration?
Yes, the Salesforce <> Productboard integration supports connection to Salesforce Sandbox environments where you can test the integration.
- Set up your Salesforce integration.
- Check the I’m connecting a Sandbox environment checkbox
Why am I receiving an "OAUTH_APP_ACCESS_DENIED" error message when I try to set up my integration?
Encountering this error when setting up your Salesforce integration?
This issue occurs when a connected app is created, but the API user is not authorized to access it. Due to the way the connected app was set up, all users that want to authenticate themselves through the app need to be approved by an admin.
To solve this issue, you can follow these simple steps:
1. From Setup, type 'Connected Apps' in the Quick Find box, then select Manage Connected Apps.
2. Click Edit next to the connected app for which you are configuring access.
3. Under OAuth Policies, click the Permitted Users dropdown menu and select All users may self-authorize, which allows all users in the org to authorize the app after successfully signing in. Users must approve the app the first time they access it.
Now you can try the authorization again.
If you are still having problems after completing this process, please check this Salesforce help page for more information.
Why aren't my accounts or opportunities auto-importing?
The auto-importer is built on Salesforce Platform Events—the platform’s real-time, publish/subscribe event bus that lets apps inside or outside Salesforce exchange data instantly. (For a deeper dive, see Salesforce’s Platform Events Developer Guide.)
Here are the instructions you need to follow to correctly configure and troubleshoot the auto-import function.
- In Salesforce, go to Setup > Permission Sets > New. Name your new permission set something descriptive, like "Auto-Import".
- Within the new permission set, open System > System Permissions, then click Edit
- Enable the following permissions:
- API Enabled
- Customize Application
- Manage Platform Events
- Modify Metadata Through Metadata API Functions
- View Setup and Configuration
- Save the permission set.
- Click Manage Assignments > Add Assignments and select the user who will authorize the integration.
- In Productboard, from the bottom of the Main menu, click Settings > Integrations > Salesforce.
- Click on the Salesforce integration you wish to configure. (If you haven't set up an integration yet, do so now before continuing.)
- Scroll down to the bottom of the configuration page and, under Your Salesforce account, click Re-authorize. (If you just set up a new integration in step 7, you don't need to re-authorize.)
- Within the configuration page, switch on Auto-Import for opportunities and/or accounts.
If the auto-import still fails:
PlatformEventChannel is handled via the Metadata API. Although Salesforce says “Modify Metadata Through Metadata API Functions” + “Customize Application” should suffice, in practice the call often returns INSUFFICIENT_ACCESS until Modify All Data is granted. This permission supersedes the others and reliably clears the error.
- Return to Salesforce.
- In the custom Permission Set, add the following permission:
- Modify All Data
- Back in Productboard, authorize (or re-authorize) the integration again and enable auto-import for opportunities and/or accounts.
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