---
schema_version: "1"
id: 4ca8d1034f9587bdeffbdaa84cf02c9d44a0e40a1a0b6b6a34940d382f19e16b
title: Automate Your Business Routines
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/essentials_automate.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.essentials_automate.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 532e09b1028818fdb27c7f10a49528622a61abd6a0ef06e41a252e3c3281b4ff
description: Save time by automating your business practices. Rules, Process Builder, and Flows turn your repetitive workload into automated actions that do work for you.
products:
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Automate Your Business Routines

Save time by automating your business practices. Rules, Process Builder, and Flows turn your repetitive workload into automated actions that do work for you.

Choosing the right tool depends on your goal.

Assignment, Escalation, and Auto-Response Rules are pre-defined. These rules work with the lead or case records. Specifically:

- Lead assignment rules automatically route a new lead to the right user.
- Web-to-lead and case auto-response rules automate your first reply to a lead or customer.
- Case escalation rules let you automatically route a case to the right user.

If you want to do something outside the narrow scope of rules, check out Process Builder. A Process is a simple if/then statement: If certain criteria are met, then take an action.

![Example](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-xcloud-essentials-264-0-0-production-enus/e0001bec-929a-481e-9d65-d13539e5cfe8/images/icon_example.png)

Example **If** the VIP field is checked on a Contact record, **then** send an email to all VIP contacts.

Use Process Builder to automate record creation, record updates, emails, and more.

Flow Builder is your backup plan when you want to do something Process Builder can’t. For example, you want to automate record deletion. Or you want to base your criteria on more than one kind of record. Flows help you automate such edge cases.

Our Support Coaches compiled a list of recipes for common business processes you can automate.

- **[Create a Round Robin Lead Assignment Rule](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.essentials_round_robin_lead_assignment.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Keep your team's workload even by auto-assigning new leads to each user.
- **[Reach Out to Customers After Winning an Opportunity](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.essentials_task_when_won.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Our process builder recipe can automate your communication with a contact or customer from whom you won an opportunity. After winning an opportunity, you often have a reason to reach out to the contact or customer. For example, you want to thank them. Or you want to send them a survey to rate customer satisfaction. Maybe that follow-up is even an opportunity to cross-sell.
- **[Remind Your Sales Team When a Renewal Comes Due](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.essentials_subscription_renewal_recipe.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Create a Process to remind users when a customer's recurring subscription comes due. Reduce churn by nurturing your recurring revenue.
- **[Allow Customers to Opt Out of Emails](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.Essentials_unsubscribe.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Give customers the choice to opt out of marketing emails. Flow builder logs a lead or customer's unsubscribe request in Salesforce. Process Builder launches the Flow when there’s a new unsubscribe request.

#### See Also

- [Assignment Rules](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.customize_leadrules.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Set Up Auto-Response Rules](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.creating_auto-response_rules.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Set Up Escalation Rules](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.rules_escalation_create.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Process Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.process_overview.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Flow Builder](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.process_which_tool.htm&type=5&language=en_US)
- [Choosing Which Salesforce Flow Feature to Use](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.process_which_tool.htm&type=5&language=en_US)