Salesforce setup guide

When to use this guide: Use this guide when you are onboarding OutboundSync or validating initial setup.

Here is every step required to connect your new OutboundSync account with Salesforce (SFDC) and start syncing data.

If sync or API errors appear after setup, use Troubleshooting and check OutboundSync logs before contacting support. If you disconnected Salesforce and need to reconnect, use Connect or Reconnect on the existing profile — do not Delete and Create a new one. See Re-authorize your Salesforce account. For API volume planning, see How many API calls does OutboundSync use?. Keep the authorizing Salesforce user (or a dedicated integration user) active — see Disconnect CRM after connecting to OutboundSync?.

This guide is broken into five major steps:

Create client app in Salesforce: Create an external client app in SFDC.
Connect app in OutboundSync: Connect your app.
Create webhook in OutboundSync: Create a webhook receiver.
Verify activity in Salesforce: Check your data synced and enable visibility.
Connect Sales Engagement Platform: Add your webhook URL to get data.

This is designed to be self-guided for users creating a test account. However if you are interested in getting help from our team, please contact service@outboundsync.com .

Create your OutboundSync account

If you do not have an account yet, follow Create your OutboundSync account first. OutboundSync uses passwordless email login at app.outboundsync.com — there is no separate sign-up page, and new accounts are created automatically on first successful login.

If coworkers need to see the same Salesforce-backed webhooks and logs after you connect, their own sign-up email is not enough on its own — see How teammates get OutboundSync account access. Agencies and consultants setting up a client org should also read Agency and consultant access handoff.

Create client app in Salesforce

Before beginning, please note: You must have System Platform User permissions. Read more about setting up permissions here .

Login to Salesforce.
Navigate to Setup Menu: Click the gear icon in the top right corner to access the Setup Menu. Click Setup
Navigate to App Manager: On the left sidebar, under Platform Tools, go to Apps > App Manager.

If you do not see the App Manager option, contact your Salesforce Admin. You must have System Platform User permissions. Read more about setting up permissions here .

If OutboundSync already exists in App Manager

Some orgs set up OutboundSync before Salesforce introduced External Client Apps and already have a Connected App named OutboundSync. You do not need to create a new app if one exists.

In App Manager, find OutboundSync in the list.
Open the dropdown on the right and select View.
Click Manage Consumer Key and Secret (you may need to verify your identity).
Copy the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret for the next step.

If you cannot view the Consumer Key or Consumer Secret, see Salesforce Consumer Key and Secret not visible.

Create a New Client App: Select New External Client App.

Enter the following basic information:
Connected App Name: OutboundSync
API Name: OutboundSync
Contact Email: Your preferred email (does this need to be your SFDC email address).
Enter the following API information:
Check the box for Enable OAuth.
Enter the following Callback URL: https://app.outboundsync.com/oauth/salesforce
Add the following OAuth Scopes:
Full Access (full)
Manage user data via APIs (api)
Perform requests at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
Uncheck the box for Require Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE) Extension for Supported Authorization Flows.
Click Save and then Continue.
Client App Settings
Go to Settings > OAuth Settings and click on Consumer Key and Secret
You will receive a verification code or 2FA, enter it to proceed.
Now you can view the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret.

If you are unable to view the Consumer Key or Consumer Secret, this guide will walk you through the permissions required: https://help.outboundsync.com/articles/702451-unable-to-view-consumer-key-consumer-secret-in-salesforce

Keep this information nearby, we will enter it into OutboundSync next.

Connect app in OutboundSync

Sign in to OutboundSync (or create an account on first login).
Navigate to Salesforce Account:
Go to Connected accounts → Salesforce.
Copy the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret from Salesforce and paste them into their respective fields in OutboundSync.
Find Your Salesforce Domain: In Salesforce, click your profile image in the top right corner and copy the Domain URL under your name.

Enter Domain URL in OutboundSync: Go back to OutboundSync and enter the Domain URL, adding https:// at the beginning.

For example: my.salesforce.com becomes https://my.salesforce.com

Create the Connection: Click Create when you’ve entered all the criteria.

Complete the Connection:
Log out of any tabs you have open for Salesforce.
Click Connect on the newly added Salesforce account in OutboundSync. This will prompt you to log in to Salesforce.

Select Allow on the list of permissions.

Create alone leaves Status as Not connected. After a successful OAuth redirect, expect a Salesforce account connected success message, Status Connected, the authorized Email filled in, and the action label Reconnect. If Status stays Not connected or the connection fails, fix the email/SSO match below and try Connect again — or see Re-authorize your Salesforce account.

The Salesforce user who signs in during Connect must be the same user logged into OutboundSync (same email address). Salesforce sets Created By and Last Modified By on synced records from that OAuth user.

Log into Salesforce as that user in the same browser session before clicking Connect. If you are logged into Salesforce as a different user, OAuth will fail or connect the wrong identity.

SSO and integration users: If your org routes Salesforce login through SSO (for example Okta), the integration user must be able to sign into Salesforce through that path. Resetting a password only in Salesforce may not work when SSO manages credentials. If SSO blocks the integration user, reconnect with a human admin user — Created By will reflect whoever completes Connect or Reconnect. See Identifying OutboundSync activity in Salesforce for how Created By differs from webhook owner.

Create webhook in OutboundSync

Create a Webhook receiver

In OutboundSync, go to the Webhook receiver tab.

Select account: Select your Salesforce account from the dropdown.
Select owner: The owner is the Salesforce user that newly created Leads, Contacts, Accounts, and Tasks are assigned to by default. This can be a person or an integration user created for OutboundSync. This is separate from Created By, which reflects whoever completed OAuth — see Identifying OutboundSync activity in Salesforce.
Custom Fields: Optionally, OutboundSync has the ability to create and write to a group of custom fields with metadata related to your campaigns. You can also select which objects you want to write those fields to (e.g. Contact, Lead, or Task). We highly recommend performing this action with System Administrator-level permissions.
Select Email Service. This is your Sales Engagement Platform (e.g. Smartlead, Instantly, EmailBison, Salesforge, or GetSales).
Select Salesforce Object. You can log activities as either Tasks or EmailMessages.
Task Object (Recommended): When writing to the Task Object , you can log data with a user-configurable subject line that can be used for Flows and Reports. While counterintuitive based on the name “tasks”, this is the method that most integrations use in Salesforce in general.
EmailMessage Object: This object is more intuitively named and for smaller organizations, it may be preferred. Note that when writing to the EmailMessage Object , it has fewer options when it comes to Flows and Reports. However the metadata provided by this object is also more clear to a user and in some cases—especially for EMAIL_SENT and EMAIL_REPLY - it is more intuitive that these be logged as emails.
Upsert or Update Only Salesforce Object: If you select Upsert, it means you want OutboundSync to search for Leads or Accounts/Contacts, and either update them if one is found or create a new one if one is not found. Update Only means that OutboundSync will search and will only update existing Leads or Accounts/Contacts.

If you select Upsert, OutboundSync will try to find Contact or Lead by ID, and then by email as a fallback, and ultimately create a new Lead or Contact if no results are found. If you select Update Only, OutboundSync will only search and update existing Leads or Contacts — it will not create unmatched Leads or Contacts, and it will not create an Account for a matched Contact that has none.

Select additional endpoints. This is built for Smartlead users due to constraints on the number of permitted webhooks. Read more about how additional endpoints work here .

Send a test webhook payload

Click here for a detailed guide on how the Testing Modal works.

We’ll see this in Salesforce later. But while we’re here in OutboundSync, click the Sync Test button to send a test webhook payload over to your Salesforce account.

OutboundSync webhook receiver with Sync Test opening the Testing Modal for Salesforce

Configure the payload if you want to modify it, or just scroll down and click Test Sync to send it.

OutboundSync Testing Modal ready to send a test sync to Salesforce

If Sync Test fails with transaction was rolled back or another operation in the same transaction failed, see Fixing Salesforce transaction rolled back errors.

Verify activity in Salesforce

First, go to Salesforce and search for the contact used in the test.

Next, open the contact in Salesforce and view their Activity to ensure everything synced correctly.

Connect Sales Engagement Platform

To finish the process, add the newly created OutboundSync webhook URL into your Sales Engagement Platform.

Find instructions on how to do with with the following supported platforms:

Salesforge beta and GetSales beta are also available right now as direct one-way integrations for email and social activity. Dedicated guides are coming later, so use the onboarding steps provided by the OutboundSync team for current setup.

It is vital that you properly add and configure your webhook in your Sales Engagement Platform. If you don’t do this, OutboundSync won’t receive data and your data will not show up in Salesforce.

This guide is the self-serve setup path. For optional guided onboarding on a paid rollout, contact support.

Next step

Run a webhook test payload