In short
- Copy an existing user in the same job: profile, role, permission sets, dashboards and folders.
- Assign permission set licenses before the permission sets that need them.
- Set the manager, MFA or SSO, and the email address before the first login.
- Check it as the new user, then train them on your own process.
Before you create the Salesforce user
Ask one question first: who does the same job today? The easiest onboarding is parity with an existing user. Write down that person's setup and copy it.
- The license type the job needs. A person who only views reports may not need a full license; check with your Salesforce rep.
- The profile and role of the matching user.
- Their permission sets and permission set groups.
- Their manager, territory or location.
- The dashboards, report folders, list views and apps they work in.
1. Create the user and set access
User record
Name, email, username, license, profile, role, time zone and locale.
Manager
Set the Manager field, so approvals, reports by manager and role-based sharing work.
Permission set licenses
Assign any permission set licenses first. A permission set that needs a PSL will not assign without it.
Permission sets
Add the same permission sets or groups as the matching user, including any for connected tools like an EMR or maps.
Public groups and queues
Add the user to the groups and queues their team works from, so assignment rules can route leads to them.
2. Login: MFA or single sign-on
Salesforce requires MFA for logins to the user interface. Decide how this user will meet it before the welcome email goes out.
- MFA: the user sets up the Salesforce Authenticator app, or another authenticator, at first login.
- SSO: if your company logs in through an identity provider, MFA is handled there, and the user follows your SSO steps.
- Connected apps: tools like Salesforce Maps may need the user allowed in the connected app policy, or they get a login error.
Write the login steps down once, as a checklist, and send it with every welcome email.
3. Dashboards, report folders and list views
This is where new users feel the gap. Access is right, but the screens are empty.
- Clone the matching rep's dashboard, and set the running user or filters to the new rep.
- Share the report and dashboard folders they need, as a viewer or editor.
- Check list views: the rep should see the team's standard views, not every other rep's personal ones.
- Salesforce Maps: add the marker layers and territories the matching rep uses.
- Turn off the Guidance Center tips and prompts if your team finds them noisy.
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4. Picklists, assignment and email
- Add the rep to any picklists that name people, like a Lead Source or Referred By value, and remove reps who left.
- Add them to assignment rules or round robins that route new leads.
- Give their profile access to the org-wide email address the team sends from, and verify any new address.
- Connect their email and calendar if your org syncs them.
5. Log in as the user and check
Use Login As (an admin needs login access granted) and walk through the screens the rep will use.
- Open a lead, an opportunity and an account. Can they see and edit what they should?
- Open their home page and dashboard. Is there data?
- Open each connected tool from the record: maps, the EMR, call tracking.
- Create a test record and check it routes and reports correctly, then delete it.
6. Train on your process, not on Salesforce
New reps need to know how your team works in Salesforce: which fields to fill, when to move a stage, what the buttons do. Train from your own SOP and written steps, and keep that document current.
The other half: offboarding
- Freeze the user first if you need time, then deactivate.
- Reassign their open leads, opportunities and tasks.
- Move their dashboards and reports out of private folders.
- Remove them from picklists, queues and assignment rules.
- Free the license for the next hire.
We run this checklist for the Salesforce orgs we manage. If you want it handled for you, see our Salesforce managed services, or book a free call.
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