Stop Reinventing the Wheel: Best Practices for Reusing Salesforce Solutions

Salesforce is one of the most flexible platforms in the world, empowering businesses to design solutions tailored to their unique needs. However, this flexibility often leads to inefficiency when teams constantly recreate solutions that already exist. How many times have you built a Flow, an Apex class, or a report for one department, only to discover that a similar solution was created elsewhere in the organization?

The reality is that reinventing the wheel wastes time, increases technical debt, and creates inconsistencies across your Salesforce environment. By prioritizing reusability, organizations can save resources, improve scalability, and deliver better results. In this article, we’ll explore the best practices for maximizing the reusability of Salesforce solutions.

Standardize Your Processes

The foundation of reusability starts with standardization. When processes vary significantly across teams or departments, it becomes nearly impossible to create reusable solutions. For example, if one team uses a custom object for managing cases while another relies on native Salesforce functionality, the opportunities for reusability diminish.

Establish organizational standards for how objects, fields, workflows, and automations are structured. When everyone operates from the same playbook, solutions can be built once and used across multiple teams.

Document and Share Your Assets

Reusable solutions are only effective if your team knows they exist. Create a central repository or library of Salesforce assets, such as Flows, Apex classes, reports, and templates. Tools like Salesforce Knowledge or an external system (e.g., Confluence) can house this repository and make it accessible to your team.

Documentation should include a description of the asset, its use case, and instructions for implementation or adaptation. This ensures that reusable solutions can be quickly deployed by other teams without unnecessary guesswork.

Design for Scalability and Flexibility

Reusable solutions must be scalable and adaptable. When designing automations, for example, use custom metadata types or custom settings to make workflows dynamic and applicable across multiple scenarios. Similarly, when writing Apex code, use generic triggers or handler classes to avoid hardcoding logic for specific objects or processes.

This level of foresight ensures that your solutions can grow with your organization rather than requiring frequent rework.

Adopt a Modular Approach

A modular approach to development focuses on building smaller, reusable components rather than monolithic solutions. For example, instead of creating one massive Flow to manage multiple processes, break it down into smaller, reusable Flows or sub-Flows that can be leveraged by different teams.

This approach not only promotes reusability but also simplifies troubleshooting and maintenance.

Encourage Collaboration Across Teams

One of the biggest obstacles to reusing Salesforce solutions is a lack of collaboration between teams. Regular cross-functional meetings or reviews can help identify opportunities to reuse existing assets. For example, a solution developed by the sales team may also benefit the customer service team with minor adaptations.

Collaboration fosters a culture of sharing, where teams proactively look for opportunities to leverage existing solutions rather than starting from scratch.

Monitor and Optimize Reused Solutions

Reusability doesn’t end once a solution is implemented. It’s important to monitor the performance of reused assets to ensure they continue to meet business needs. Regularly review and optimize these solutions as processes evolve. This iterative approach ensures your reusable assets remain relevant and effective over time.

Closing Thoughts

Reusability is the key to efficiency and scalability in Salesforce. By standardizing processes, documenting assets, and designing for flexibility, you can significantly reduce redundancies, streamline workflows, and maximize the value of your Salesforce investment.

The best Salesforce teams work smarter, not harder. Instead of reinventing the wheel, focus on building a culture that values collaboration, foresight, and continuous improvement.

What strategies have you used to promote reusability in Salesforce? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below!