In short
- An admin runs Salesforce day to day: users, fields, layouts, reports and flows.
- A consultant designs how Salesforce should work for your business, and plans the build.
- A developer writes code: Apex, Lightning Web Components and integrations.
- Your need decides it: keeping things running, changing how you work, or building something Salesforce does not do out of the box.
What a Salesforce administrator does
The admin keeps the org running and changes it in Setup, without code.
- Adds users, sets profiles, permission sets and roles.
- Creates fields, picklist values, page layouts and record types.
- Builds reports and dashboards.
- Builds automation in Flow, and validation rules.
- Keeps data clean: duplicate rules, imports and cleanup.
- Reviews Salesforce release updates and what they change in your org.
You need an admin when the work is a steady stream of requests: a new field here, a report there, a user who cannot see a record.
What a Salesforce consultant does
The consultant starts with your business, not with Setup. The job is to work out how Salesforce should fit the way you sell, serve and report.
- Runs discovery: how leads come in, how deals move, what each team needs to see.
- Designs the data model, stages, automation and integrations.
- Plans the build in phases, with a scope you approve.
- Leads the implementation, testing, training and go-live.
You need a consultant when you are starting Salesforce, moving from another system, or when the org no longer matches how the business works.
What a Salesforce developer does
The developer builds what clicks in Setup cannot. Salesforce can be changed in any way, and the developer is the one who writes it.
- Apex classes and triggers for complex logic.
- Lightning Web Components: custom screens and widgets on the record page.
- Integrations with other systems through the Salesforce APIs.
- Test classes, code coverage and deployments from sandbox to production.
You need a developer when a flow is not enough: a custom screen, a two-way sync with another system, or logic that has to run at volume.
Talk through your project
A free call about your integration, your CRM or whatever you are stuck on. Honest advice, even if you never hire us. No obligation.
Salesforce administrator vs consultant vs developer: which do you need?
Things work, requests pile up
You need admin time. A managed services plan covers the requests without a full-time hire.
Salesforce does not match how you work
You need a consultant to redesign it, then admin and developer time to build it.
You need something Salesforce does not do out of the box
You need a developer, with a consultant to scope it first.
You are starting from scratch
You need all three, in that order: design, build, then run.
Getting all three without hiring three people
A small or mid-size team may not need a full-time consultant or developer. It needs the right person for each piece of work.
That is how we work. As a Salesforce partner with 900+ integrations completed, our team covers consulting, admin work and development, across the 15 Salesforce orgs we manage. Teams cover US and overnight hours. We price by project, not by the hour. The first call is free, and you get a project quote after it.
Where to start
Write down the last ten things you wanted changed in Salesforce. If they are fields and reports, you need admin help. If they are about how the business works, you need a consultant. If they need code or another system, you need a developer.
Not sure? Book a free call. We will look at your list and tell you which kind of help fits.
Want help with this?
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