If you’re tired of fighting with spreadsheets and copy-pasting customer records between Salesforce and your B2B commerce platform, this guide’s for you. Here’s a straightforward walkthrough for connecting Salesforce with Rb2b—one of the more popular B2B solutions—so you can finally get your sales, order, and customer info syncing without the drama. This is meant for admins, IT folks, or anyone who’s been “voluntold” to make the data flow. No vendor fluff, no big promises—just the nuts and bolts.
Why bother syncing Salesforce with Rb2b?
You probably already know the answer: your sales team lives in Salesforce, but your orders, products, and customer accounts are managed in Rb2b. When these two systems don’t talk, everything slows down. Orders get missed, data gets messy, and your team wastes hours fixing it. Syncing them up means:
- No more double-entry or conflicting records
- Sales reps see real customer buying history in Salesforce
- Customer support has instant answers (instead of “let me check…”)
- You can finally trust your reports
If that sounds good, let’s get into how you actually make it happen.
Step 1: Get Clear on What Needs to Sync
Don’t just connect everything “because you can.” Figure out what matters.
Typical data to sync: - Accounts (companies) - Contacts - Products and price lists - Orders and order status - Inventory levels (sometimes)
Questions to ask your team: - Who owns the data—Salesforce, Rb2b, or both? - Is it one-way or two-way sync? (Hint: two-way gets complicated fast) - How often does data need to sync? (Real-time is overrated unless you truly need it) - Are there any custom fields or objects in either system?
Pro tip: Start with just what you need now. You can always add more data types later.
Step 2: Pick Your Integration Approach
You’ve got three main options:
-
Native connectors/add-ons
Some platforms offer plug-and-play connectors. They’re fast to set up and don’t require much code, but they’re limited. If both Salesforce and Rb2b offer a native connector, it’s worth testing—but don’t expect miracles. -
iPaaS tools (Integration Platform as a Service)
Think MuleSoft, Zapier (for simple cases), Workato, or Tray.io. These handle the plumbing for you. They’re good for point-and-click setups with some logic, but monthly costs can add up and you still need to know your data. -
Custom API integration
Both Salesforce and Rb2b have APIs. Custom integration gives you total control. But it’s also more work (and more things to break). Only go this route if you really need it or nothing else works.
What works:
Native connectors are easiest, but only if your requirements are basic. iPaaS is flexible and often “good enough” for most companies. Custom integration is last resort territory for most.
What to ignore:
Don’t get distracted by vendor promises of “one-click” integrations. They rarely exist, especially when you have custom fields or workflows.
Step 3: Prep Salesforce and Rb2b for Integration
A little prep saves a lot of pain later.
On the Salesforce side: - Make sure you have admin access (or someone who does). - Clean up your objects and fields—no point syncing junk. - Document custom fields and any validation rules that might block data updates.
On the Rb2b side: - Check that you have API access (most paid tiers include this). - Inventory your key data objects—customers, products, orders. - Note any required fields or weird data types.
General advice: - Back up your data before you start. - If you have a sandbox or test environment, use it.
Step 4: Set Up the Integration (Example: Using an iPaaS Tool)
Let’s assume you’re using an iPaaS tool. This is the most common scenario and works for most teams without deep coding chops.
4.1 Connect Both Apps
- Authenticate Salesforce (usually with OAuth, needs admin permissions).
- Authenticate Rb2b (API key or OAuth; follow their docs).
- Test both connections—if there are errors, fix them now.
4.2 Map Your Data
- For each object (e.g., Account in Salesforce = Company in Rb2b), map the fields.
- Watch for field mismatches—Salesforce’s “Account Name” might be “Company Name” in Rb2b.
- Set up transformations if the data format is different (e.g., date formats, dropdown values).
Gotchas: - Watch out for required fields—if your mapping skips one, the sync will fail. - Null values or blanks are handled differently by different platforms.
4.3 Set Sync Frequency
- Real-time sounds nice, but scheduled (every 15 minutes or hourly) is safer and uses fewer API credits.
- Start slow—run manual syncs first, then automate.
4.4 Test with Real Data
- Pick a small set of records (not your entire database).
- Run the sync both ways if you’re doing two-way integration.
- Check for errors, duplicates, or missing info.
Pro tip: If it’s possible, keep the sync one-way at first. Two-way syncs are infamous for creating duplicates and “data ping-pong” if you’re not careful.
4.5 Set Up Error Handling and Alerts
- Build in notifications for failed syncs—email, Slack, whatever your team uses.
- Log errors somewhere you’ll actually check.
- Decide what to do with failures—auto-retry, send to a queue, or manual review.
Step 5: Handle Edge Cases and Custom Fields
No integration is ever “done” out of the box. You’ll hit weird cases.
- Custom fields: Make sure every custom field you care about is mapped and tested.
- Data types: Salesforce sometimes uses picklists or formulas that don’t play well with other systems.
- Ownership and permissions: If your sync tries to write to a record the user doesn’t own, it’ll fail.
What works:
Documenting every custom field and testing with real, messy data—not just perfect demo records.
What to ignore:
Don’t bother syncing fields no one actually uses. You can always add them later if needed.
Step 6: Monitor, Maintain, and Iterate
Congrats, you’ve got data moving. Now keep it that way.
- Set up regular audits—monthly is enough for most.
- Monitor API usage—both Salesforce and Rb2b will throttle you if you go wild.
- As your data model changes (it always does), update your mappings.
- Don’t be afraid to turn things off if they’re causing more trouble than they’re worth.
Pro tip:
Write down how your integration works. Future you (or your replacement) will thank you.
Honest Pitfalls and Real-World Warnings
- Two-way sync is tricky. Duplicates, overwrite loops, and conflicts are common. If you don’t absolutely need it, stick to one-way.
- APIs change. Keep an eye on API version updates—especially Salesforce, which loves to deprecate things.
- Customizations bite back. The more you’ve customized Salesforce or Rb2b, the more likely something weird will break.
- People forget about integrations. New fields get added, data models change, and suddenly nothing works. Don’t “set and forget.”
- Cost creep. iPaaS tools can get expensive fast, especially as you add more workflows.
Wrapping Up
Syncing Salesforce with Rb2b isn’t magic, but it’s doable with a little planning and patience. Start small. Only sync what you need. Expect some trial and error—nobody gets it perfect on the first try. Keep things simple, write down what you did, and don’t hesitate to pull the plug on a sync that’s more trouble than it’s worth. Iterate as your business changes. You’ll save your team hours of grunt work and finally get the data where it belongs.