The Zendesk for Salesforce integration provides one-way data sync from Salesforce to Zendesk Support. This article describes how to set up two types of data sync:
- Salesforce accounts to Zendesk organizations — Zendesk organizations in Support are automatically created and updated when Salesforce Accounts are created or modified.
- Salesforce Contacts or Leads to Zendesk users — Zendesk users in Support are automatically created and updated when Salesforce Contacts or Leads are created or modified.
Related articles:
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 attempts to establish whether a new record in Support should be created, or if an existing record should be updated. 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 record and the Support record are linked. This means that subsequent updates to the record in Salesforce doesn't use matching criteria, but instead updates the linked record in Support.
If more than one matching result is found, the sync is unable to determine which record needs to be updated. Because this is a background process, the ongoing sync won't update any of the 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 one-for-one sync, and by default uses account name to organization name for matching records. However, not all Salesforce implementations adhere to this rule. So if you have duplicate account names, you can change this to another account field that is unique. This might not be the suitable feature if you don’t have unique account fields.
This data sync has the following limitation:
- 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 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 if this feature is suitable for 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
Setting up a data sync
Setting up a data sync requires performing several tasks in Salesforce and the 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 / or 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 > Profile.
- 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 > Profile.
- 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.
- In Salesforce, click Configure.
- Click the Data Sync side tab, and 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: The Salesforce integration only writes the Zendesk ID into the synced organization mapping field on the first successful sync. Any existing data in that field will be overwritten. 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. By default, this
is mapped 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.
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.
- In Salesforce, click Configure.
- Click the Data Sync side tab, and 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/Lead field. This one-way sync is useful for displaying a Zendesk
user linked to a Salesforce Contact or Lead.Note: The Salesforce integration only writes the Zendesk user ID into the mapped contact/lead field on the first successful sync. Any existing data in that field will be overwritten. 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. By default, this
is mapped 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.
- 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 apply a filter to choose 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 of the 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 of the conditions in this section must be met to include the Salesforce record in the sync.
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 sync filter, the value must be the API name of the pick list options
- The Account Record Type field in Salesforce is not supported
- When a checkbox type field is used as a condition, enter a value of "true'" or
"false"
The following Salesforce fields are not supported for filtering:
- Formula field
- Lookup field
- Long text area field
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 criteria is supported. Adding multiple matching criteria will be available in the future.
- 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 any records, and logs an unsuccessful sync event.
Understanding field mapping
The field mapping sections enable Salesforce fields to be mapped to Zendesk fields. Every field for a Salesforce Account, Contact, or Lead should be mapped to a standard or custom Zendesk field. The mapped fields are updated during the sync.
When a multi-picklist Salesforce field is selected for mapping, a Mapped values link is displayed. The link opens a window to map multiple Saleforce 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 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 fields 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 |
✓ | |||||
✓ |
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 fields 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 |
✓ | |||||
✓ |
Checking your data sync setup
Use the following checklist to help check your data sync is setup correctly:
- Check you have the right Salesforce API settings requirements when setting up the integration.
- Confirm you have only connected one Salesforce account to one Zendesk account.
- Sync filter: Confirm you are not using any unsupported Saleforce fields such as Formula Field and Lookup field.
- Sync filter : Confirm you are using the correct syntax in the sync filter values. These are case sensitive and must exactly match the Salesforce field value. If you are 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.
- 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.
48 Comments
HeyO William Grote
In terms of tickets synced to SFDC to create Cases and the setting mentioned above for "create requester if no match" - that's an all-or-nothing for any ticket sent to salesforce its requester will try to create a contact/lead if no match is found.
That having been said, it is possible to be a bit more selective about which tickets get sent over to SFDC by modifying the trigger used to send those - by adding conditions to the trigger to only send certain types of tickets, this may be a way to tackle this.
I've also seen customers handle this on the SFDC side with some custom logic therein. They wanted to send over all their tickets, but only create the contact when certain things were true. They basically handled the contact-creation via a custom flow/workflow process, executing based on certain conditions related to case-fields. I'm afraid I'm not sufficiently well-versed in SFDC to give more specifics than that, but I know it's possible.
As for the error message you're seeing, that sounds like a good reason to contact our support team directly so they can take a closer look.
We have made an important enhancement to the Salesforce Integration Contact sync feature, for syncing to multiple organization memberships.
We now support the ability to sync both primary and secondary relationships to Zendesk organization memberships. In Salesforce you can have a Contact belong to multiple accounts (a primary account and multiple secondary accounts). These relationships can now both be reflected in Zendesk as Organization memberships.
We are rolling this out gradually over the next few weeks. If you are interested, please reach out to Zendesk Support to get access.
Hi,
THis article needs to be validated.
The menu items in Salesforce have changed and it is difficult to follow the setup
HeyO Yoram,
I'd be happy to flag this article for checking by our documentation team, but I'd like to be sure we tackle the known issues as soon as possible. Was there a specific menu item that's called out which you know has changed? Thanks!
Hi Dwight,
In `general, all of the articles related to the integration should be validated, this is not the only article relating to SFDC that needs to be fixed.
For example, in this article,
"https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828539290?page=2#:~:text=Under%20Object%20Permissions%2C%20select%20the%20Read%20checkbox%2C%20and%20click%20Save."
This is now under "Administrative Permissions"
THis is also wrong:
https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828539290?page=2#:~:text=Under%20Object%20Permissions%2C%20select%20the%20Read%20checkbox%2C%20and%20click%20Save. and it is under "Standard Object Permissions"
Basically, SFDC changed the naming of their categories.
I remember having some issues also with the other related SFDC integration articles, so I suggest validating them all.
Thanks
Yoram
Will the new Zendesk Lookup fields be available for mapping with Salesforce in the near future?
heyO Elisabeth Cleveland
I don't know for certain, but I doubt that Zendesk lookup fields will be made available to map (in the near or long-term), as the records they're looking up wouldn't have the same values as the records from Salesforce (the fields themselves would store a relationship with a Zendesk record-id that wouldn't be known in Salesforce).
If that's a feature that would be of major use to you, I recommend posting that request in our Product Feedback forum so that other users could vote in support of it
Dwight Bussman

How to mapping the Salesforce field with custom ZD field?
I've create field "Employee" on Salesforce And "No of employee" on ZD.
but I can't see the custom field ZD to map with.
Kittipoom Wong
If you created "No. of employee" field as a User field in Zendesk, I would expect it to show up there. You may have to refresh the Admin Center page before it will appear. If you're still having difficulties, please contact our support team to look into that more closely.
In the Organizations Sync filtering settings, I am only able to add 3 different "Meet ANY of the following conditions: " . I can't find anywhere that this is a default limitation. If possible, I would like to add a bunch more of those "meet any" conditions to our integration settings. Any idea how I can realise this? Thanks.
Dwight Bussman hoping you might have an answer/solution to this? :)
heyO Robbin Daniels - you're correct that this is a limitation. I will reach out to our documentation team to make that clear.
The reason for this decision came up a few years ago when our team was designing the sync which is built using Salesforce PushTopics. The filter conditions and the fields being synced make up the PushTopic query. There is currently a limitation of 1300 characters for the entire PushTopic query If one attempts to map sufficiently many fields that would exceed the query length limit, the page will throw an error because the PushTopic cannot be saved. Our team opted to avoid this by placing a firm limit on the number of conditions in favor of having more flexibility in the number of fields that could be mapped.
While I realize this isn't the answer you're looking for, hopefully it at least gives some context as to why that limit exists.
By way of a workaround, I've seen customers create a custom checkbox field called "sync this record" - and have a workflow process (now flow) that sets the field to true/false depending on a more complex set of conditions. They then leveraged the single checkbox condition within their sync settings. Perhaps something similar could work for you.
Hello,
I followed the instructions above, yet on Salesforce on ZenDesk_Ticket_View_Account all accounts are blank. Sync, matching, mapping are all in, but still not a single account in SF shows a single ticket.
Can anyone advise?
HeyO Georgina Tsioutsiouli
It sounds like you're asking about the Ticket View feature which is documented here. This feature is configured in a separate area than the Data Sync feature on which you've commented. I recommend checking your Ticket View settings to confirm that they're matching based on the field you'd expect.
Here's how they're set by default:
Note that this relies on the Zendesk Organization name matching the SFDC Account name. If that's not the case for your instance you'll want to change it to a more suitable field. If things are currently set to a field-value for which you'd expect to see results, I recommend contacting support to look into that more closely.
HeyO Kevin O'Brien
This can happen if the Contact syncs before the corresponding Account has synced. I suspect if you were to sync an Account (to ensure it had successfully synced at least once), and then sync one of its Contacts, that relationship should be maintained within Zendesk.
If you're seeing examples where this still fails to put the Zendesk User into the corresponding Organization, please contact support so that we can take a closer look.
I'm also going to reach out to our team to add some documentation around this "order-of-operations" requirement.
Hey Dwight thanks for the speedy response.
This makes sense, but further to order of operations challenges here:
I have organization sync on BUT I added all the organizations in manually via csv.
This is because Zendesk only syncs account when it's changed. In my case my filter is when an account becomes a Customer it syncs to Zendesk.
But all my relevant current accounts for Zendesk in Salesforce are already marked as Customer, and for reasons that I can't affect our sales team, I can't change those accounts from
This was how I interpreted the salesforce sync documentation as the correct way to do things here, not sure how else I could/should've done this.
Seems like a bit of a chicken/egg situation but lemme know any additional ideas you have.
I'd recommend looking into a workflow like this https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834863386 which would allow you to "update" many account records at once without needing to make a change that should have any significant workflow impact. I'd recommend testing with a small subset of Accounts to insure that this works as you'd expect before running it on a large batch. Once those have successfully synced, subsequent updates to contacts within those accounts should place the users in Zendesk into the correct organization.
Ok thanks Dwight I'll give it a shot.
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