Ultimate Salesforce Glossary for Professionals

Salesforce is the best CRM platform that offers multiple features and functionalities for its users. Whether you are a beginner or a Salesforce professional, understanding these Salesforce terms is essential for you to navigate this platform effectively. That’s why knowing about Salesforce glossary is important because it helps you to understand every term used in the Salesforce ecosystem.

A to Z List of Important Terms in Salesforce Glossary

A

Account?

It is the consumer, company or organization you track in Salesforce. For example – A competitor, partner or client.

Account Assignment Rule

This rule is important because it assigns the accounts to users or specific territories based on the defined conditions automatically.

Account Team?

Account team is the group of Salesforce users who work together on an account. For example – Project manager, dedicated support agent and executive sponsor.?

Activity?

An event, a task, a call you made, or any action you perform. You can associate an action with other records, such as an account, a lead, an opportunity, or a case. In an organization with Shared Activities enabled, you can associate an activity with many contacts. Salesforce administrators can also create tasks using workflow rules and approval processes.

Administrator?

Administrator is the user with special permissions to manage the Salesforce. Admins have to ensure that the platform must meet the company needs. They are responsible for handling security settings, customization of system and user setup.?

Advanced Function?

It is the formula function which is designed to use s-controls, links and custom buttons. For example, the advanced function named (INCLUDE) returns content from the s-control snippet.?

Advanced Search?

It is the search function within Salesforce that provides the search functionality and features. If you want to access it, you must click the (Advanced Search) in the sidebar.?

Add-On?

An add-on quote is for a current customer who wishes to add a license or product until the end of their current contract.

Age

In opportunity reporting, the Age of an open opportunity refers to the number of days since it was generated. For closed chances, Age is the number of days between the creation date and the closing date.

In case reports, the Age of an open case is the period elapsed between its creation and the present. A closed case’s age is the amount of time that has passed between its creation and closure. You can view the Age of a case in days, hours, or minutes.

Agent?

It is an important Salesforce terminology you must know. A Salesforce CRM Call Center user that manages incoming and outbound calls. An agent is frequently recognized by a four-digit number that acts as their ID in the accompanying computer telephony integration (CTI) system.

AJAX Toolkit

A JavaScript wrapper for the API that allows you to perform any API request and access any object you have access to from within JavaScript code. For further details, consult the AJAX Toolkit Developer Guide.

Apex

Apex is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language that enables developers to perform flow and transaction control instructions on the Lightning Platform server while also calling the Lightning Platform API. Apex allows developers to apply business logic to most system events, including as button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages, by using syntax that resembles Java and functions similarly to database processes. Web service requests and triggers on objects can both launch Apex code execution.

API Version

Salesforce’s API release number indicates the collection of features and capabilities available for integration at that version, ensuring compatibility and access to the most recent functions.

App

It is the short form used for the Salesforce basic terminology “application.” A set of components, such as tabs, reports, dashboards, and Visualforce pages, that answer a particular business need. Salesforce offers typical apps like Sales and Service. You can alter the standard apps to fit your workflow. You can also package an app and upload it to AppExchange, along with associated components like custom fields, custom tabs, and custom objects. You may then make the app available to other Salesforce users through AppExchange.

App Launcher

The App Launcher displays tiles that link to your linked and standard apps, all from a one spot in Salesforce. Every Lightning Experience user has access to the App Launcher. Salesforce Classic users must have the “Use Identity Features” permission enabled and the App Launcher option in their profile set to Visible. In Salesforce Classic, the App Launcher is listed as an app in the App Menu.

App Exchange

Salesforce’s AppExchange is a sharing platform that allows users to search and exchange Lightning Platform apps and services.

Asset

A customer owns a specific model or type of product. Depending on how your company uses assets, they can represent your items that the customer has purchased and installed, as well as your competitors’ products that the consumer uses.

Assignment

An assignment is a draft article that has been assigned to another user to edit. Assignments can include basic instructions and a due date.

ANI (Automatic Number Identification)

The number that appears when a caller dials in Salesforce CRM Call Center.

B

Batch Apex?

Batch Apex is the ability to perform the complex and long operations on multiple records using Apex at the scheduled time.

Batch, Bulk API

In the Bulk API, a batch is a set of records represented in CSV, XML, or JSON format. To process a set of records, create a job with one or more batches. Each batch is processed individually by the server, regardless of the sequence in which it is received. See Job and Bulk API.

Best Case Amount

Revenue projection is a forecast that shows the total “possible” revenue for a certain month or quarter. For managers, it represents the total amount of money that they and their team might potentially earn.

Boolean Operators

In report filters, you can use Boolean operators to express the logical relationship between two data. For example, using the AND operator with two values produces search results that include both values. Similarly, the OR operator between two values returns search results that include either value.?

Briefcase

It is the data set that you can manage by using Connect offline.

Bucketing

It is the tool within the report builder that allows users to categorize the report records by the field without creating the custom field or formula.?

Bulk API 2.0

The REST-based Bulk API 2.0 is designed to handle enormous amounts of data. It allows you to query, insert, update, upsert, or remove a large number of records asynchronously by sending a job to Salesforce, which processes it in the background. See also: SOAP API.

Business Account?

It is the company or organization you wish to track in the Salesforce ecosystem.?

C

Call?

An interaction with a customer or prospect, often logged in Salesforce to track communications and follow-up actions.

Call Center

A central place where customer and prospect interactions are managed. Salesforce can integrate with call center systems for efficient handling of calls.

Campaign

A Salesforce CRM terminology or feature used to plan, manage, and track marketing efforts. Campaigns help in measuring the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)?

?A language used to style and format web pages. In Salesforce, CSS is used to customize the look and feel of Visualforce pages and Lightning components.

Case?

A record used to track and manage customer support issues, requests, or inquiries within Salesforce, ensuring efficient resolution.

Channel Manager?

A user responsible for managing indirect sales channels, including partners and resellers, to drive sales and expand market reach.

Chat Window

?An interface within Salesforce for real-time messaging with customers, enhancing customer service and support through immediate communication.

Chatter?

Salesforce’s enterprise social network for collaboration within the organization, allowing users to share information, files, and updates.

Checkout

?The process of completing a purchase transaction. In Salesforce, it often refers to the final steps in an e-commerce transaction within a Salesforce-integrated system.

Client App

It is the application that runs on a user’s device and interacts with Salesforce to perform specific functions or display data.

Clone?

To create a copy of an existing record in Salesforce, making it easier to duplicate information without re-entering data.

Cloud Computing

?The delivery of computing services, such as storage, databases, and software, over the internet. Salesforce operates as a cloud-based platform.

Code Coverage

It is the measure used in software testing to determine the percentage of code executed by tests, ensuring the quality and reliability of custom code in Salesforce.

Comment

?A note added to a record in Salesforce, often used in Chatter or on cases to provide additional information or context.

Community

It is the Salesforce feature that allows organizations to create branded online spaces for customers, partners, and employees to connect and collaborate.

Competitor

An entity that offers similar products or services and competes with the organization for market share, tracked in Salesforce for strategic planning.

Composite App

?An application that combines multiple functions or services into a single user interface, often integrating various Salesforce features.

CTI (Computer Telephony Integration)

Technology that integrates telephone systems with computer systems, enabling features like screen pops and click-to-dial within Salesforce.

Contact

A person associated with an account or opportunity in Salesforce, typically representing a customer, prospect, or stakeholder.

Contract

A legal agreement between two parties, tracked in Salesforce to manage terms, renewals, and compliance.

Controller Extension?

An Apex class used to extend the functionality of a Visualforce controller, allowing for more complex customizations and interactions.

Convert?

The process of changing a lead into an opportunity, account, and contact in Salesforce, moving it along the sales pipeline.

Cookie?

A small piece of data stored on a user’s device by a website, used to remember information and enhance the user experience in Salesforce integrations.

Custom view?

A personalized way to display and filter records in Salesforce, tailored to meet specific user needs and preferences.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A system for managing a company’s interactions with current and potential customers, with Salesforce being a leading CRM platform.

D

Dashboard

It shows the data from the source reports in the form of visual components like metrics, gauges, charts, tables and Visualforce pages. These components provide the performance indicators for your company. Every dashboard has upto 20 components.?

Dashboard Builder

It is the drag and drop interface to modify and create the dashboards.?

Data Cloud?

It is a real-time data platform that gathers business data from various sources and consolidates it into a single source of truth, enabling businesses to gain a deeper understanding of their customers.

Data Encryption

It is the process of applying a cryptographic function to data to produce ciphertext. Salesforce encrypts the field-level data and files using symmetric key encryption, a 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm with CBC mode, PKCS5 padding, and a randomized 128-bit initialization vector (IV). Data encryption and decryption happen on the application servers.

Data Encryption Keys

Shield Platform Encryption employs data encryption keys to encrypt and decrypt data. Data encryption keys are generated on a key derivation server using keying material consisting of a per-release master secret and an organization-specific tenant secret that is encrypted in the database as part of your organization. The 256-bit derived keys remain in memory until they are evicted from the cache.

Data Loader

Data Loader is the tool of the Lightning platform which is used to export and import data from the Salesforce organization.?

Data Manipulation Language

It is an Apex operation or method that inserts, deletes or updates the record.

Database

A collection of organized information. It is the basic architecture of Lightning platform that includes the database where data gets stored.?

Data State

It is the structure of data in the object at a specific point of time.?

Decimal Place?

Parameter for number, money, and percentage custom fields that shows the total amount of digits you can input to the right of a decimal point, such as 4.98 for a value of 2. The algorithm rounds the decimal numbers you enter as needed. For example, if you enter 4.986 into a field with two decimal places, the number will be rounded to 4.99. Salesforce employs the half-up rounding technique. Halfway values are always rounded up. For example, 1.45 is rounded to 1.5, whereas -1.45 is rounded to -1.5.

Delegated Administration

It is the security model in which a non-administrator group users perform the administrative tasks.?

Demote?

If you dislike a concept, click demote to deduct 10 points from its overall score, lowering the idea’s popularity ranking. You cannot demote the same thought more than once, and once demoted, an idea cannot be promoted. If more users demote an idea than encourage it, it may receive a negative overall score.

Dependency?

A relationship in which one object’s existence is dependent on another’s. There are several types of dependencies, including necessary fields, dependent objects (parent-child), file inclusion (linked images, for example), and ordering dependencies.

Deploy?

To bring functionality from an inactive state to active. For example, when creating new features in the Salesforce user interface, you must pick the “Deployed” option to make them available to other users.

The process of moving a program or capability from development to production.

Move metadata components from a local file system to a Salesforce organization.

For installed apps, deployment makes any custom objects available to users within your organization. Before a custom object is deployed, it is only accessible to administrators and users with the “Customize Application” permission.

Detail

A page that displays data for a single object record. The detail page of a record displays the information, whereas the edit page allows you to change it.

A phrase used in reports to differentiate between summary information and all column data for all information in a report. The Show Details/Hide Details button can be used to display and hide report detail information.

Developer Edition?

A free, fully working Salesforce organization that allows developers to expand, integrate, and create using the Lightning Platform. Developer Edition accounts are accessible at developer.salesforce.com .

Developer Sandbox

Developer sandboxes copy customization (metadata), but not production data, to a different environment for coding and testing.

Developer Pro Sandbox?

Developer Pro sandboxes copy customization (metadata) but not production data to a different environment for coding and testing. Developer Pro has more storage than the Developer Sandbox. It contains a variety of Developer sandboxes, based on the edition of your production organization.

DaaS (Developer as a Service)

An application development model in which all development occurs on the web. Even source code, compilation, and development environments exist as Web-based services rather than on local workstations.

E

Encrypted Data at Rest?

Salesforce stores encrypted data, assuring its secrecy and security even when it is not actively utilized or accessed.

Encryption Key?

A code for encrypting and decrypting data in Salesforce, ensuring that sensitive information is secure and only available to authorized users.

Enterprise Application?

A large-scale software application intended to fulfill the demands of a complete enterprise, frequently coupled with Salesforce to expedite business processes.

Enterprise Edition

A Salesforce edition tailored to larger enterprises, with advanced customization, integration options, and administrative features to meet complicated needs.

Enterprise WSDL?

A Salesforce Web Services Description Language file that describes accessible operations and data types in depth, specifically for enterprise-level integrations.

Entitlement

Entitlements assist you evaluate whether your clients are entitled for customer care, allowing you to generate cases for them. A customer may be eligible for support based on a specific asset, account, or service contract.

Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

Salesforce uses a visual depiction of data entities and their relationships to help designers and users understand data models and database structure.

Event

A Salesforce record that represents a scheduled activity, such as a meeting or phone call, allowing users to more effectively manage their time and interactions.

External User

These are the users with partner portal licenses, customer portal and community.?

F

Facet

It is said to be the child of another visual force component that allow to override the area of rendered parent with face contents.?

Feature License

A feature license allows a user to access an additional function that is not included in their user license, such as Marketing or WDC. Users may be allocated any number of feature licenses.

Field

A component of an object that stores a specific piece of data, such as text or monetary value.

Field Update

A field update is an action that automatically updates a field with a new value.

File Collaborator

Users with the “collaborator” permission can read, download, share, modify permissions, edit files, and upload new versions in Chatter.

File Owner

When you upload a file to Chatter, link it to a Chatter feed, or upload it to Salesforce CRM Content, you become the owner of that file.

Flag

A marker in Salesforce is used to indicate a specific status or condition of a record, helping users quickly identify important information.

Flow

Flow is a visual tool in Salesforce that automates complex business processes by creating logic flows without the need for coding.

Folder?

Folders are used to organize and manage reports, dashboards, documents, and email templates within Salesforce, ensuring easy access and management.

Follow

This feature allows users to receive updates about specific records or activities, enhancing collaboration and awareness within Salesforce.?

Forecasts

Sales forecasting provides predictive data on future sales based on current opportunities, helping sales teams plan and strategize effectively.

Forecast Amount

It is the total amount of opportunities expected to close within a certain period, aiding in sales planning and goal setting.

Forecast Category

It is the classification of opportunities based on their likelihood of closing, used to refine sales forecasting.

Forecast User

A forecast user is responsible for managing and submitting sales forecasts within Salesforce, ensuring accurate predictions and planning.

Foreign Key

It is the field that creates a relationship between two database tables, linking related data across the Salesforce platform.

Formula Field

Formula is a custom field that automatically calculates values based on other fields, providing dynamic and up-to-date data.

Full Sandbox

Sandbox is a complete copy of a Salesforce production environment used for testing and development, ensuring a risk-free environment for changes.

Function?

Function is used to perform a specific task, often used in reports, formulas, or custom fields to enhance data processing.

G

Generate Orders

The Generate Orders package consists of flow templates that you install and adapt to assist your sales teams in creating orders with order products from opportunities or quotes. These templates also allow sales representatives to create contracts and link orders to those contracts.

Global Search

Salesforce’s header search box allows you to search for more records and fields. Global search tracks the objects you use and how frequently you use them, then organizes the search results accordingly. The search results for the objects you use the most frequently are at the top of the list.

Governor Limits

Apex execution restrictions keep developers who write inefficient code from monopolizing the resources of other Salesforce customers.

Group

A group is a collection of users. Individual users, other groups, or individuals assigned to a role can all be included in groups. Groups can be used to define data sharing access or to indicate which data should be synchronized in Salesforce for Outlook or Lightning Sync settings.

Group Edition

A product intended for small organizations and workgroups with a restricted number of users.

Guest User

Guest users can view public Site.com and Salesforce sites, as well as public pages in Communities, using the Guest User license assigned to each site or community.The Guest User profile’s public access settings control guest users’ access to objects and data.

H

Half Life

The half-life parameter controls how rapidly old ideas drop in popularity on the Popular Ideas subtab, making way for ideas with more recent votes. A shorter half-life pushes older ideas down the page faster than a longer half-life. This setting applies to all zones in your company.

Hardware Security Model

Used to handle cryptography and manage keys for authentication. Shield Platform Encryption uses HSMs to generate and store secret information, as well as to execute the function that generates data encryption keys, which the encryption service utilizes to encrypt and decrypt data.

Highlights Panel

A customizable table with up to four columns and two rows that appears at the top of each major tab in the Salesforce dashboard. It displays crucial information regarding records at a glance.

Hierarchy Custom Settings

Settings that allow for configuration at many levels within an organization, such as the user, profile, or organizational level.

Home Tab

Starting page from which users can access sidebar shortcuts and options, view current tasks and activities, or switch to another tab.

HTTP Debugger

An application for identifying and inspecting SOAP requests sent from the AJAX Toolkit. They operate as proxy servers on your local PC, allowing you to inspect and author specific requests.

I

ID

A unique identifier for Salesforce records that allows each record to be easily identified and referenced.

Idea Exchange

Salesforce’s always-on feedback portal connects the Trailblazer Community to Salesforce product managers. It’s the go-to location for posting ideas and providing input on how to improve products and experiences.

Inbound Call

A call from another party in the Salesforce CRM Call Center.

Initialization Vector

A random sequence combined with a key to encrypt data.

Installed Product

An installed product is one that was purchased through Checkout and has been installed in your organization.

Instance

A collection of software and hardware represented as a single logical server that stores an organization’s data and performs its applications. The Lightning Platform runs in several instances, but data for each organization is always kept on a single instance.

IDE (Integration Development Environment)

A software application that offers a source code editor, testing and debugging tools, and interface with source code control systems.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response)

The hardware and software that asks a Salesforce CRM Call Center caller to enter certain digits, such as a menu option or an account number. IVR is also called a Voice Response Unit (VRU).

Invoice

An invoice is a printable statement in Checkout that displays all of the products and charges associated with an order.

ISO Code

The International Organization for Standardization country code, which symbolizes each country with two letters.

J

Java Script Object Notation (JSON)

A simple data interchange format that humans can read and write and machines can parse and generate.

Junction Object

A customized object with two master-detail relationships. You can use a custom junction object to represent a “many-to-many” link between two items. For example, you might develop a custom object called “Bug” that is tied to the standard case object, so that a bug can be associated with numerous cases, and a case can be associated with several bugs.

K

Key Derivation Function (KDF)

To generate keys, a pseudorandom number generator is used, along with input such as a password. Shield Platform Encryption employs PBKDF2 (Password-based Key Derivation Function 2) alongside HMAC-SHA-256.

Knowledge Sidebar

A Salesforce console sidebar that displays the titles of Salesforce Knowledge articles that can help you with your current case. It searches and retrieves articles from your knowledge base that match any of the words you type into a case’s Subject field. The sidebar is only visible to Salesforce Knowledge users if administrators enable it.

L

Lead?

A lead is a sales prospect who has shown an interest in your product or company.

Letterhead

Determines the fundamental characteristics of an HTML email template. Users can design letterhead using properties such as background color, logo, font size, and font color.

License Management Application (LMA)

A free AppExchange tool that lets you track sales leads and accounts for each user that downloads your managed package (app).

List Price

The cost of a product in a bespoke pricing book.

Long Text Area

The custom field data type allows for the insertion of up to 32,000 characters on separate lines.

Lookup Field

A field containing a value that can be linked to another record. Lookup fields can be displayed on page layouts in which an object has a lookup or master-detail relationship with another object. Cases, for example, have a lookup link with assets, allowing users to select an asset from the case edit page and then click the item’s name on the case detail page.

Lookup Relationship

A relationship between two records allows you to associate them with one another. For example, cases have a lookup relationship with assets, allowing you to associate a specific asset with a case. On one side of the connection, a lookup field allows users to click a lookup symbol to select another record from a list. On the associated record, you may see a related list of all the records that have been linked to it. If a lookup field refers to a deleted record, Salesforce will automatically wipe the field. Alternatively, you can keep records from being removed if they are in a lookup relationship.

LWC (Lightning Web Component)?

A modern framework for creating reusable Salesforce components with standard web technologies.

M

Major Release?

A noteworthy release of a package. During these releases, a package version’s major and minor numbers are increased to whatever value specified.

Managed Package

A set of application components published as a unit on AppExchange and connected with a namespace and, perhaps, a License Management Organization.To enable upgrades, a package must be controlled. An organization can generate a single managed package that can be downloaded and installed by numerous other organizations. Managed packages differ from unmanaged packages in that they contain some locked components, which allow the managed package to be upgraded later. Unmanaged packages do not include locked components and cannot be upgraded. Furthermore, managed packages conceal specific components (such as Apex) on subscribing businesses in order to safeguard the developer’s IP.

Manual Sharing

Record-level access rules enable record owners to provide read and edit permissions to other users who do not have access to the record in another way.

Marketing User

One or more members of your organization who can manage campaigns. Administrators can designate someone as a Marketing User by checking the Marketing User box in the user’s personal details.

Only marketing users have the ability to create, update, and remove campaigns, as well as define sophisticated campaign settings.

Marketing users with additional rights can utilize the Data Import Wizard to add and update campaign participants’ statuses.

Master HSM

The master HSM consists of a USB device that generates safe, random secrets with each Salesforce release. The master HSM is “air-gapped” from Salesforce’s production network and kept secure in a bank safety deposit box.

Matrix Report

Matrix reports are similar to summary reports, but they allow you to categorize and summarize data by row and column. They might serve as the source report for dashboard components. Use this type to compare related totals, especially if you have a big quantity of data to summarize and need to compare values from multiple fields, or if you want to look at data by date as well as product, person, or region.

Meta Data

Information regarding the structure, appearance, and functionality of an organization and its constituent pieces. The Lightning Platform describes metadata using XML.

Migration

The process of transferring metadata from one organization to another, typically between two development environments.?

Mobile Configuration

A set of parameters that governs what data Salesforce sends to users’ mobile devices and who receives that data on those devices. Organizations can develop several mobile setups to meet the needs of a variety of mobile users.

Multitenancy

An application approach in which all users and applications use the same infrastructure and code base

MVC (Model View Controller)

A design paradigm that divides programs into three components: data representation (the model), user interface display (the view), and business logic manipulation (the controller).

N

Name Space

In packaging, a one- to 15-character alphanumeric identification that differentiates your package and its contents from those of other developers on AppExchange, akin to a domain name. Salesforce automatically adds your namespace prefix, followed by two underscores (“__”), to all unique component names in your Salesforce organization.

Native App

An app created entirely with setup (metadata) configuration on Lightning Platform. Native apps do not require any additional services or infrastructure.

Navigation Tab

A window that has a dropdown button in the Salesforce Classic console that allows you to select and view object home pages.

Nickname

A nickname is a name that identifies a user inside a community. Up to 40 alphanumeric characters are permitted. Standard users have the ability to edit this field.

Notes

Miscellaneous information related to a certain record.

O

Object

An object allows you to save data in your Salesforce organization. The object defines the type of information being stored. For example, the case object allows you to record information on client requests. For each object, your organization maintains many records that provide information about individual instances of that type of data. For example, you may keep one case record for Joe Smith’s training question, and another for Mary Johnson’s configuration issue.

OData Producer

An OData producer is a distant information service that makes use of the Open Data Protocol (OData) to expose data held on another server. The Salesforce Connect feature allows you to define external data sources that connect Salesforce to OData producers, as well as external objects that map to the external data.

Omni Channel

Omni-Channel is a complete customer care solution that allows your call center to route any incoming work item, such as cases, chats, or leads, to the most qualified and available agents in your business.

Open CTI

An application programming interface that allows developers to create CTI (computer-telephony integration) systems that work with Salesforce without the need for CTI adapters or client applications.

Order

An order is an exchange in which you agree to acquire specific Salesforce products and services. An order may be for a seat, a training session, or professional services.

Organic Search Lead

Organic search leads are particular lead sources that show that the lead was generated when a user arrived at your website via an unpaid (organic) listing on a major search engine and completed the Web-to-Lead form, which included the Salesforce tracking code. Each organic lead’s search engine and search phrase are included in the lead source data.

Org

An org is an acronym for organization when it refers to a Salesforce deployment with a specific set of permitted users. An org is the virtual environment that Salesforce provides to each individual customer. Your org contains all of your data and applications and is distinct from all other organizations.

Outbound Call

Salesforce CRM Call Center records any call made by a user to a number other than a call center.

Overlay

When you hold your mouse over specific user interface elements, an overlay appears that provides further information. Depending on the overlay, you can close it by moving your mouse away, clicking outside of it, or clicking a close button.

Owner

Individual user to whom a record (such as a contact or case) is allocated.

Want to dive deeper into the world of Salesforce Glossary? Visit our blog to read the full article and expand your knowledge Read more