Configuring data sync from Salesforce to Zendesk

Understanding the data sync process

A data sync is triggered when a mapped field is updated in an existing Salesforce record, or a new record is created. Any unmapped fields that are updated do not trigger the sync.

When a Salesforce record is created or changed, the syncing process determines whether to create a new record or update an existing record in Zendesk Support. This is done by comparing field values based on the defined criteria.

Once a successful match of existing records has been made, or a new record has been created in Support, the Salesforce and Support records are linked. This means that subsequent updates to the record in Salesforce don't use matching criteria but instead update the linked record in Support.

If more than one matching result is found, the sync cannot determine which record needs to be updated. Because this is a background process, the ongoing sync won't update records and logs an unsuccessful sync event.

If a Salesforce user updates a mapped field indirectly through a Salesforce flow, sales process, or Apex trigger, the field may not sync to Zendesk if the user who triggered the indirect update does not have edit permission to the mapped field.

A sync is triggered to Zendesk when records are created or updated to a mapped field using the Salesforce API.

Because data syncing is one-way, any changes applied in Zendesk are not reflected in Salesforce.

Salesforce accounts to Zendesk Organizations sync

The Salesforce account to Zendesk organization sync is a one-for-one sync that uses account name to organization name for matching records by default. However, not all Salesforce implementations adhere to this rule. If you have duplicate account names, you can change this to another unique account field. This might not be a suitable feature if you don't have unique account fields.

This data sync has the following limitations:

Data sync consumes Salesforce streaming API governor limits. For example, if you have a large amount of data to be synced, this exceeds the governor limit, and data may not sync.
Salesforce Person accounts are imported as Zendesk Organizations. If you'd prefer a Salesforce Person account to be added as a Zendesk user, you can perform a bulk import of users or use the Create user API with Salesforce-specific information.

Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users sync

The sync from Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users is one-for-one, based on unique email addresses. However, not all Salesforce implementations adhere to these rules, so consider whether this feature suits your needs.

This data sync has the following limitations:

For security reasons, data sync will not sync a Salesforce contact to a Zendesk user if the Zendesk user is an agent or admin.
Data sync consumes Salesforce streaming API governor limits. For example, if you have a large amount of data to be synced, this exceeds the governor limit, and data may not sync.

Note: If you have multiple Salesforce contacts with the same email address belonging to different accounts and want to sync to a user in Zendesk, use the multiple organizations feature in Support. See Using the multiple organizations feature in the Salesforce integration.

Setting up a data sync

Setting up a data sync requires several tasks in Salesforce and Zendesk Admin Center.

To set up data sync for your integration

Set up the Zendesk for Salesforce integration.
Configure Salesforce API settings and permissions for syncing.
In Admin Center, configure sync settings for Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organizations and Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users.

Configuring your Salesforce API settings and permissions

Before setting up a data sync, some Salesforce APIs settings and permissions must be enabled for data sync to be successful. The information in the following procedures is described for the Salesforce Lightning edition.

To enable the Salesforce API

On the Salesforce Setup page, select Administration > Users > Profiles.
Select System Administrator or the authenticated user's profile.
Click System Permissions and select the API enabled checkbox.

To set streaming API channel permissions

On the Salesforce Setup page, select Administration > Users > Profiles.
Select the user profile of the admin setting up the integration.
Click Object Settings > Streaming Channels, and under Object Permissions, select the Read checkbox.

To set PushTopic permissions

On the Salesforce Setup page in the left sidebar, select Administration > Users > Profiles.
Select the user profile of the admin setting up the integration.
Click Object Settings > Push Topic, and click Edit.
Under Object Permissions, select the Read checkbox, and click Save.

To enable Streaming API

On the Salesforce Setup page in the left sidebar, select Platform tools > User Interface > User Interface.
Under Setup, select the Enable Streaming API checkbox.

Configuring Salesforce accounts to Zendesk Organizations sync

The following procedure explains setting up a sync so Zendesk organizations in Support are automatically created and updated when Salesforce accounts are created or modified.

Important: This is an advanced feature. Once data is synced from Salesforce to Zendesk, it is not reversible. We highly recommend that you test this feature first.

To configure Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organization sync

In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Integrations > Integrations.
On the Integrations page, click Salesforce.
Click the Data sync tab.
In Accounts to Organizations sync, click Configure.
Select the Enable syncing checkbox, and configure the settings for which accounts and account fields are synced to Zendesk.
In Sync filtering, configure conditional filters to define which Salesforce accounts are synced to Zendesk. For more information, see Understanding sync filtering.
In Matching criteria, set the criteria for matching Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organizations. For more information, see Understanding matching criteria.
In Field mapping, map which Salesforce account fields you want to populate with the Zendesk organization field. For more information, see Understanding field mapping.
In Synced organization mapping, you can choose to map the Zendesk organization to a Salesforce account. Select any standard or custom Salesforce account field. This one-way sync is useful for displaying a Zendesk user linked to a Salesforce account.
Note: This mapping field is a place for Zendesk to send the Organization ID. Choose a field where you'd want to see this data written. It will overwrite any information that might have been there previously. The Salesforce integration only writes the Organization ID into the synced organization mapping field on the first successful sync. Subsequent syncs do not populate this field within Salesforce.
In Zendesk external ID, select the checkbox if you want the external ID to populate the Zendesk organization external ID field. This can only be set to the Salesforce Account ID.
Note: Any existing external ID values are overridden and cannot be reverted. This may impact other applications that rely on this field. This change is only applied when you click Save.
Click Save to save your configuration. Confirmation of saved settings is displayed.

Configuring Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users sync

The following procedure explains configuring a sync so Zendesk users in Support are automatically created and updated when Salesforce contacts or leads are created or modified.

Note: For Zendesk user records to be automatically mapped to their corresponding organizations upon a users sync, both Contacts/Leads to Users sync and Accounts to Organizations sync must be enabled.

To configure Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk user sync settings

In Admin Center, click Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Integrations > Integrations.
On the Integrations page, click Salesforce.
Click the Data Sync tab.
In Contacts/Leads to User sync, click Configure.
Select the Enable syncing checkbox, and configure the settings for which contacts or leads and associated fields are synced to Zendesk.
In Sync Type, select if you want Zendesk users to be created based on Salesforce contacts or leads. Note that you can only select one.
In Sync Filtering, configure conditional filters to choose which Salesforce contacts or leads accounts are synced to Zendesk. For more information, see Understanding sync filtering.
In Matching criteria, set the criteria for matching Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users. For more information, see Understanding matching criteria.
In Field mapping, map which Salesforce contact or lead fields you want to populate with Zendesk organization field. For more information, see Understanding field mapping.
In Synced user mapping, you can choose to map the Zendesk user to a Salesforce contact or lead. Select any standard or custom Salesforce contact or lead field. This one-way sync is useful for displaying a Zendesk user linked to a Salesforce contact or lead.
Note: This mapping field is a place for Zendesk to send the User ID. Choose a field where you'd want to see this data written. It will overwrite any information that might have been there previously. The Salesforce integration only writes the User ID into the synced user mapping field on the first successful sync. Subsequent syncs do not populate this field within Salesforce.
In Zendesk external ID, select the checkbox if you want the external ID to populate the Zendesk user external ID field. This can only be set to the Salesforce Contact ID.
Note: Any existing external ID values are overridden and cannot be reverted. This may impact other applications that rely on this field. This change is only applied when you click Save.
In General options, select the Send welcome email checkbox to send a welcome email to new users in Support. For more information, see Customizing the welcome email and the account verification email.
Click Save to save your configuration. Confirmation of saved settings is displayed.

Understanding sync filtering

In the Data Sync > Sync Filtering section, you can filter which Salesforce accounts are synced to Zendesk or choose which Salesforce contacts or leads accounts are synced to Zendesk. You can control the sync by building conditional statements. If no filters are set, all accounts are in scope for syncing.

To create a sync filter condition, specify the field, the operator, and the value:

Meet ALL of the following conditions: All conditions added to this section must be met to include the Salesforce record in the sync.
Meet ANY of the following conditions: One or more conditions in this section must be met to include the Salesforce record in the sync.

Note: You are limited to three ALL and three ANY conditions due to Salesforce PushTopic limitations.

Sync filtering has the following rules:

All values are case-sensitive.
Multiple values in a condition can be separated by a comma with no spaces.
When using a Salesforce picklist field in the sync filter, the value must be the API name of the picklist options.
The Account Record Type field in Salesforce is not supported.
When a checkbox type field is used as a condition, enter a true or false value.

The following Salesforce fields are not supported for filtering:

Formula field
Lookup field
Long text area field
Currency fields

Understanding matching criteria

In the Data sync > Matching criteria section, the criteria is set for matching Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organizations, or Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users. When a record in Salesforce is created or changed, the syncing process checks whether a new organization or user record in Support should be created, or an existing organization or user record should be updated. This is done by comparing the values set in the matching criteria that you set. When a match is found, the corresponding fields are updated according to your field mapping settings.

The options in the Zendesk field drop-down vary according to the type of field you select in the Salesforce drop-down. Standard and custom fields are supported for matching.

Note:

Only one matching criterion is supported.
If more than one matching result is found, the sync won't be successful since it can't determine which record needs to be updated. In this case, ongoing sync won't update records and logs an unsuccessful sync event.

Understanding field mapping

The field mapping sections enable Salesforce fields to be mapped to Zendesk fields. Every Salesforce account, contact, or lead field should be mapped to a standard or custom Zendesk field. Mapped fields are updated during the sync.

The Salesforce data is the "source of truth" for mapped fields. If a mapped Zendesk field contains data upon sync, it is overwritten with the Salesforce data. If you don't want to overwrite data in Zendesk, don't map the field. The Tags, Email, and Phone fields are exceptions. These fields are appended with Salesforce values upon sync. Salesforce email addresses added to Zendesk during sync are added as secondary addresses.

When a multi-picklist Salesforce field is selected for mapping, a Mapped values link is displayed. The link opens a window to map multiple Salesforce fields to Zendesk fields.

In this instance, avoid mapping multiple Salesforce fields to a single field in Zendesk. Otherwise, only the last Salesforce field mapped will be synced.

The following Salesforce fields are not supported for mapping:

Text area (long)
Text area (rich)
Text area (encrypted)
Lookup field — Salesforce lookup fields cannot be mapped to Zendesk because the lookup fields values are stored in a related Salesforce object
Record type ID

Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organizations field mapping

In Data Sync > Accounts to Organizations sync, the Field mapping section maps the Salesforce account fields you want to populate with Zendesk organization fields. This controls which field in the Salesforce account record is synced as its related organization name. By default, this is set to Account Name to Organization Name.

The drop-down options in the Zendesk field vary according to the type of field you select in the Salesforce drop-down. The following table shows which Salesforce field types can be mapped to Zendesk field types.

Salesforce field type	Text	Drop-down	Decimal	Checkbox	Date	Numeric
ID	✓
String	✓
Phone	✓
Picklist	✓	✓
Currency	✓		✓
Boolean	✓			✓
Checkbox				✓
Date/Time	✓				✓
Number	✓					✓
Double	✓		✓
Date	✓				✓
Multi picklist	✓
Email	✓

Salesforce contacts or leads to Zendesk users field mapping

In Data Sync > Contacts/Leads to users sync, the Field mapping section maps Salesforce contact or lead fields you want to populate with Zendesk user fields. This identifies which field in the Salesforce contact or lead account record is synced as its related user. By default, field mapping is set to Email to Email.

The drop-down options in the Zendesk field vary according to the type of field you select in the Salesforce drop-down. The following table shows which Salesforce field types can be mapped to Zendesk field types.

Salesforce field type	Text	Drop-down	Decimal	Checkbox	Date	Numeric
ID	✓
String	✓
Phone	✓
Picklist	✓	✓
Currency	✓		✓
Boolean	✓			✓
Checkbox				✓
Date/Time	✓				✓
Number	✓					✓
Double	✓		✓
Date	✓				✓
Multi picklist	✓
Email	✓

Checking your data sync setup

Use the following checklist to help check your data sync is setup correctly:

Ensure you have the correct Salesforce API settings requirements for the integration.
Confirm you have only connected one Salesforce account to one Zendesk account.
Sync filter: Confirm you aren't using unsupported Saleforce fields such as Formula Field and Lookup field.
Sync filter: Confirm you're using the correct syntax in the sync filter values. These are case-sensitive and must exactly match the Salesforce field value. If you're using a Salesforce picklist field for filtering, the value is the API name.
Sync field mapping: Check the field mapping includes Name to Name. This is mandatory because organizations can't be created in Zendesk without a name.
Sync field mapping: If you added or removed Zendesk dropdown field options or Salesforce picklist options, you may need to remove and remap the field to resolve sync errors or add new options.
When testing the sync, did you make updates to the Salesforce fields that are mapped to Zendesk? Sync is only triggered when a mapped field is updated.
If you have Validate user phone numbers enabled on the End users page in Admin Center, Zendesk verifies that all phone numbers synced from Salesforce use a valid international E.164 format. To avoid phone number validation errors in Zendesk Support, format phone numbers using the E.164 format in Salesforce, which includes the plus sign (+). For more information, see Why do phone numbers synced from Salesforce lose their country code?