If you’re stuck toggling between Affinity and Salesforce, you’re not alone. Most teams cobble together spreadsheets, copy-paste data, and cross their fingers that nothing falls through the cracks. It doesn’t have to be that way. This guide is for admins, ops folks, and anyone tired of duplicate data and messy handoffs. I’ll walk you through the nuts and bolts of connecting Affinity to Salesforce, what actually works, what to skip, and how to keep things from blowing up.
Let’s get into it.
Why bother integrating Affinity with Salesforce?
Let’s be honest: you’re not doing this for fun. People integrate these two because:
- Sales wants visibility. They live in Salesforce. If your deals or contacts live in Affinity, they’re invisible.
- Ops hates duplicate entry. No one wants to update two systems every time a deal moves.
- You want a source of truth. Chasing down data in Slack threads and email is the worst.
But it’s not magic. A good integration saves time, but a bad one just creates more headaches. So let’s set you up for the first and avoid the second.
Step 1: Decide What Actually Needs Syncing
Before you touch any settings, answer this one honestly: What do you really need to sync?
What works:
- Contacts and companies: Most teams want these synced so everyone’s talking about the same people.
- Opportunities/deals: Essential if you track pipeline in both systems.
- Notes and activity: Nice to have, but syncing every note can get messy fast.
What doesn’t:
- Every field in both systems: It’s tempting, but syncing everything turns into a maintenance nightmare.
- Attachments and emails: These are often best left out, unless there’s a clear business case.
Pro tip: Start small. You can always add more fields later. Over-syncing is how you end up with broken automations and angry users.
Step 2: Check Your Affinity and Salesforce Plans
Not every plan includes integration features.
- Affinity: You’ll need a Premium plan (or sometimes Enterprise) for API access and integrations. If you don’t see integration options, you probably need to upgrade or talk to their support.
- Salesforce: Most editions are fine, but if you’re on something ancient or a sandbox, check API access.
If you’re not sure, ask both support teams before you waste hours poking around menus that don’t exist.
Step 3: Pick Your Integration Method
There’s no “one-click” button here. You’ve got three real options:
1. Native Integration (If Available)
- As of early 2024, Affinity offers a Salesforce integration, but it’s not always included and may require extra setup.
- Pros: Less maintenance, built for purpose.
- Cons: Can be limited in what fields sync, and sometimes only one-way.
2. Third-Party Tools
- Think Zapier, Tray.io, Workato, or similar tools.
- Pros: Flexible, you can build more complex workflows.
- Cons: Monthly fees, more things to break, sometimes slow.
3. Custom API Integration
- If your use case is weird or you want total control, you can build something using Affinity’s and Salesforce’s APIs.
- Pros: Anything is possible.
- Cons: You need actual developers, and you’ll have to maintain it.
Honest take: Start with the native integration or Zapier. Only go custom if you have a really good reason.
Step 4: Set Up the Integration
If Using Affinity’s Native Salesforce Integration
- Go to Settings in Affinity.
- Find “Integrations” or “Connected Apps.” (If you don’t see Salesforce, reach out to their support.)
- Click "Connect" next to Salesforce.
- Log in with your Salesforce admin account. Grant permissions when prompted.
- Choose which lists, pipelines, or fields to sync. Don’t go wild—start with the basics.
- Set up sync direction:
- One-way (Affinity → Salesforce): Good if Affinity is your main source.
- Two-way: Useful if both teams update data, but watch out for conflicting edits.
- Test with a few records before syncing everything.
Heads up: There’s usually a delay between syncing—don’t expect instant updates.
If Using Zapier (or Similar)
- Sign up for Zapier. Connect both your Affinity and Salesforce accounts.
- Build a “Zap” (automation) for each thing you want to sync:
- Example: “When a new contact is added in Affinity, create contact in Salesforce.”
- Example: “When a deal stage changes in Salesforce, update the deal in Affinity.”
- Map fields carefully. If the field names don’t match, Zapier will get confused.
- Test each Zap with sample data.
- Turn on your Zap and watch for errors.
What to watch out for: Zapier can get expensive if you’re syncing lots of records. Triggers aren’t always instant. And if you change a field name later, your Zaps might break.
If Building Custom
- Get API credentials from both platforms.
- Set up authentication (OAuth for Salesforce, API keys or OAuth for Affinity).
- Use webhooks (if available) to listen for changes instead of polling.
- Write scripts to:
- Pull data from one system
- Transform it as needed
- Push it to the other system
- Log everything. Seriously, you’ll want logs when things go sideways.
- Plan for error handling and retries.
Unless you’re technical, don’t go this route. Custom means you’re on the hook for every weird edge case.
Step 5: Map Your Fields (Don’t Just Click “Sync All”)
Here’s where most people mess up. You need to tell the integration exactly which fields in Affinity map to which ones in Salesforce.
Do:
- Map only what’s essential: Name, company, email, deal stage, etc.
- Make sure data types match (e.g., dates to dates, not to text).
- Set up rules for things like picklists or dropdowns (or you’ll get weird errors).
Don’t:
- Sync system fields (like record IDs) unless you’re sure you need them.
- Try to sync formula fields or calculated values—they usually don’t play nice.
Pro tip: Write down your field mappings somewhere outside the system. You’ll need it when something inevitably breaks and you have to debug.
Step 6: Test—Then Test Again
Don’t trust that it works because the setup wizard said “Success.”
- Add a test contact or deal in Affinity. See if it shows up in Salesforce.
- Change a field in Salesforce. Did it sync back?
- Try deleting or merging records. Do they sync as expected or do you get duplicates?
- If you’re using Zapier or APIs, check the logs for errors.
What to ignore: Don’t bother testing with your entire database right away. Pick a handful of records and work through the weird cases first.
Step 7: Roll It Out to Your Team (Slowly)
Once you’ve tested, roll it out to a few users first.
- Tell them what’s changing and what not to do (“Don’t edit deals in both systems at once!”).
- Ask for feedback—did something break? Is data missing?
- Fix bugs before going company-wide.
Real talk: People will get confused the first few days. Be ready for questions.
Step 8: Keep an Eye on It
Integrations aren’t “set and forget.” Review things every few weeks.
- Check for sync errors or failed records.
- Make sure no one changed field names or deleted mapped fields.
- Update your field mapping doc if you change anything.
Tip: Most problems are caught early if someone’s actually looking at the data. Don’t skip this.
What to Ignore
- Fancy dashboards promising “AI-powered sync.” If it sounds magical, it probably isn’t.
- Over-engineering. Keep it simple. The more complex your integration, the more ways it can break.
- “One-time imports” as a solution. These get outdated fast and cause more manual work.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Connecting Affinity and Salesforce isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start by syncing just the basics, document your setup, and test as you go. Don’t try to automate everything on day one. The best integrations are the ones you barely notice—because they just work.
If you run into issues, don’t be afraid to reach out to support or ask other ops folks what actually worked for them. And remember: simple beats fancy every time.