Process Flow - Auto Create Projects from Opportunities

You can make use of Salesforce's Process Builder to create a process flow that will automatically create new Projects from Opportunities. This help article will walk you through how to configure this automation.

Please Note:

Salesforce Process Builder has been retired and existing process builder rules will need to be migrated to Flows. If you require assistance, please reach out to customer.success@inspireplanner.com and a member of our team can provide options to assist.

Start with the video below:

Add a Custom Field on the Opportunity

In this section, we are going to walk through adding a new field on the Opportunity object called "Project Auto Created" which will be a checkbox.

We are going to use this checkbox to indicate whether a project has already been created by the process flow. We are also going to configure the process flow to check this field to determine whether a new project should be created from the opportunity when the opportunity is edited. This prevents the process flow from creating a new project every time the opportunity record is edited.

1. Click on the Gear Icon at the top right corner and go to Setup.
   
   
    
2. Go to Object Manager.
   
   
    
3. Enter "Opportunity" in the Quick Find box at the top right and click on Opportunity.
   
   
    
4. Go to Fields & Relationships in the menu on the left and click on New.
   
   
    
5. Select "Checkbox" as the field type and click on Next.
   
   
    
6. Populate the following information:
   
   Field Label - enter "Project Auto Created"
   Default Value - select "Unchecked"
   Field Name - will auto-populate from Field Label 
   Description (optional)
   Help Text (optional)
   
   Then click on Next.
   
   
    
7. Set the field to Visible for all profiles and click on Next.
   
   
    
8. Select the page layouts where the field needs to be added and click on Save.
   
   
    

Create Process Flow using Process Builder

In this section, we are going to go through how to create a process flow which will automatically create projects from Opportunities based on the criteria we specify.

1. While still in Setup, go to Home.
   
   
    
2. Enter "process builder" in the Quick Find box at the top left corner and click on Process Builder.
   
   
    
3. Next, click on New.
   
   
    
4. Enter a name for the process flow. The API Name will auto-populate from the Process Name you enter. You may also choose to provide a brief description about the process flow.
   
   For "The process starts when", select "a record changes". Then click on Save.
   
   
    
5. The page will refresh and take you to the process builder. Click on + Add Object.
   
   
    
6. Under Object, select Opportunity. Under "Start the process", select "when a record is created or edited".
   
   Leave the Recursion checkbox under Advanced unchecked. Then click on Save.
   
   
    
7. Next, click on + Add Criteria.
   
   
   
    
8. Enter a Criteria Name (we recommend entering a more descriptive criteria name so that you can easily identify the criteria being used).
   
   Under Criteria for Executing Actions, select "Conditions are met".
   
   Then under Set Conditions, you will add all the criteria for when a new project should be created. In this example, we are going to configure the process flow so that it creates a new project when the opportunity stage is changed to Closed Won. We are also going to check that the field "Project auto created" on the Opportunity is not checked (where it is not TRUE). 
   
   Set the following criteria under Set Conditions:
   
   Criteria #1: [Opportunity] Stage equals Closed Won
   Criteria #2: [Opportunity] Project Auto Created equals False
   
   
   
   Then under Conditions, select "All of the conditions are met (AND). Leave the checkbox under Advanced, unchecked.
   
   Then, click on Save.
   
   
    
9. Next, you will need to specify the action that would take place when the criteria you specified is met. Under IMMEDIATE ACTIONS, click on + Add Action.
   
   
    
10. Populate the following information:
    
    Action Type - select Create a Record
    Action Name - enter a name for the action (in the example below, we set the action name to "Create Project")
    Record Type - select Project
    
    
     
11. Then, you will need to set the Field Values for the new project when it is created by the process flow.
    
    Set the following field values:
    
    
    
    
    
    **You can choose to populate additional fields on the Project when it is created by setting the field values.
    
    Click on Save when finished.
    
     
12. Next, we will need to update the field on the Opportunity called "Project Auto Created" to TRUE after the process flows creates the new project. This is to prevent the process flow from creating a new project every time the Opportunity is edited.
    
    Under IMMEDIATE ACTIONS, click on + Add Action again. 
    
    
     
13. Set the following:
    
    Action Type - select Update Records
    Action Name - enter an action name. In this example, we set the action name to "Update Project Auto Created"
    Record Type - choose "Select the Opportunity record that started your process"
    
    
    
     
14. Then under Criteria for Updating Records, select "No criteria - just update the records!".
    
    
     
15. Then under the section called "Set new field values for the records you updated", select the following:
    
    Field - select Project Auto Created
    Type - Boolean
    Value - select TRUE
    
    Then click on Save.
    
    
     
16. Once you have added all of the different criteria and actions for the process flow, you would need to activate it. Click on Activate at the top right corner.
    
    Once you activate the process flow, you will no longer be able to edit it. If you need to make further adjustments, you would need to clone it and create a new version of the process.
    
    

Once the process flow is active, it will now auto create projects when the criteria you defined is met.