Prepare Your Google Account for Lightning Sync

The IT pro or Google administrator at your company can prepare your Google G Suite account to communicate with Salesforce. Google admins complete these steps by logging in to your company’s Google developer console, Google Cloud Platform, and the Google Admin console.

Required Editions

Available to sync records from: Salesforce Classic, Lightning Experience, and the Salesforce mobile app
Available to set up from: Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience
Available in: Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Lightning Platform
User Permissions Needed
To prepare your G Suite account to communicate with Salesforce: The Owner role on your company’s G Suite account, which gives you administrative permissions
Important
Important

Starting in Winter ‘21, Lightning Sync isn’t available to new Salesforce customers. Use Einstein Activity Capture to sync events, contacts, and emails between your connected account and Salesforce.

If you have Lightning Sync, use the migration tool to move to Einstein Activity Capture before Lightning Sync retires in 2027. Before you migrate, review Compare Einstein Activity Capture and Lightning Sync to understand what to expect when you migrate.

If your org is exempt from migration because of a licensing issue or if your org doesn’t support Einstein Activity Capture, you won’t see the migration tool in Lightning Sync.

For more support, refer to Google developer documentation.

  1. Log in to Google Cloud Platform (also known as Google Developer console). Create a Google project that is only intended for your Lightning Sync configuration.
    Note
    Note When you’re completing setup steps, make sure the Lightning Sync project is always selected on your dashboard. Otherwise, you change settings on your Google account that are unrelated to Lightning Sync.
  2. Enable APIs for contacts, events, or both.
    1. Go to the APIs & Services Dashboard, and make sure that your Lightning Sync project is selected. To set up reps to sync events, search for Google Calendar™ API and enable it.
    2. Return to the APIs & Services Dashboard. Make sure that your Lightning Sync project is selected. To set up reps to sync contacts, search for Google People API and enable it.
    Note
    Note Starting in Spring ’22, Lightning Sync syncs contacts using Google People API, and no longer uses legacy Google Contacts API. For customers who used Lightning Sync for Google before Spring ’22, verify which API Services are enabled, and enable Google People API if needed. See Google Contacts API Retirement: Details for Einstein Activity Capture and Lightning Sync Users.
  3. Create a service account for your Lightning Sync project.
    1. Return to the APIs & Services Dashboard. Make sure that your Lightning Sync project is selected. Create credentials for a service account with the role Project Owner and the key type JSON. A JSON private key for your service account is saved to your computer.
    2. Save the key securely and share it with your Salesforce admin. (But only your Salesforce admin.) Your admin needs the key to complete Lightning Sync setup in Salesforce. To download your key again later, do so from the APIs & Services Dashboard.
      Important
      Important People in possession of your private JSON key have access to your company’s Google account. Therefore, only share the key with team members who need it, and share it via secure pathways. For example, emailing your private key isn’t a good idea.
    3. Go to the IAM & Admin Dashboard and locate the service account for your Lightning Sync project. Copy the client ID (also known the as OAuth 2 Client ID or Unique ID). Keep your Client ID safe but handy, because you need it for the next step.
      Important
      Important Like your private key, keep the client ID for your Lightning Sync service account private and secure.
  4. Enable domain-wide delegation and give read-write authorization for contacts, events, or both.
    1. Go to the Google Admin console, navigate to the API controls page, and click Manage Domain-Wide Delegation.
    2. From the domain-wide delegation page, add an API client. In the Add a New Client window, paste the client ID that you copied from step 3. Then provide the scope of read-write access that you want your service account to have. To let users sync contacts, add the scopes https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts. To let users sync events, add https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.
    Note
    Note Starting in Spring ’22, Lightning Sync syncs contacts using Google People API, and no longer uses legacy Google Contacts API. For customers who used Lightning Sync for Google before Spring ’22, verify the scopes that you have set for read-write access, and update them if needed. See Google Contacts API Retirement: Details for Einstein Activity Capture and Lightning Sync Users.

When you’re finished, Salesforce admins can use the private key that you generated to set up Lightning Sync in Salesforce.