Salesforce Administrator
Salesforce Administrator Cheat Sheet
Salesforce Admin Exam Tests Configuration Judgment — Not Click-by-Click Recall
The exam tests whether you choose the right feature for the business requirement — not whether you can navigate the Salesforce setup menu.
Check Your Readiness →
Among the harder certs
Avg: Approximately 63–68%
Pass: 750 / 1000
Most candidates understand Salesforce Administrator concepts — and still fail. This exam tests how you apply knowledge under pressure.
Core Framework
Salesforce Admin Decision Framework
Salesforce Admin (ADM-201) covers org setup, user management, security model, data model, automation, analytics, and AppExchange. The security model is the most complex and most heavily tested area — understand how profiles, permission sets, roles, and sharing rules interact.
-
01
User Management
— Profiles, permission sets, roles, and org-wide defaults
-
02
Data Model
— Objects, fields, relationships (lookup vs. master-detail)
-
03
Security Model
— Profiles + permission sets + role hierarchy + sharing rules
-
04
Automation
— Flows (preferred), workflow rules (legacy), process builder (legacy)
-
05
Reports & Dashboards
— Standard vs. custom, report types, dashboard components
-
06
Data Management
— Import wizard, data loader, data quality tools
Scenario Traps
Wrong instinct vs correct approach
Sales reps should see only their own opportunities but managers should see their team's
✕ Wrong instinct
Create separate profiles for reps and managers with different field visibility
✓ Correct approach
Set OWD for Opportunities to Private, then use Role Hierarchy to grant managers visibility into subordinate records — profiles control what users can do, not what records they can see
A business process requires sending an email and updating a field when a case is escalated
✕ Wrong instinct
Create a workflow rule for the email and a separate one for the field update
✓ Correct approach
Build a single Flow that handles both actions — Flow is the current automation standard; creating new workflow rules is a legacy approach that will require migration later
A user needs to perform a specific action not available in their profile
✕ Wrong instinct
Clone the profile and add the permission
✓ Correct approach
Create a permission set with the specific permission and assign it to the user — permission sets are the correct granular access tool; proliferating profiles creates maintenance overhead
Quick Rules
Know these cold
-
▸
OWD sets baseline visibility; Role hierarchy extends upward; Sharing rules extend further
-
▸
Profiles = required baseline access; Permission sets = additional targeted permissions
-
▸
Flow replaces workflow rules and process builder for all new automation
-
▸
Master-detail = tight coupling + cascade delete + roll-up summaries; Lookup = loose coupling
-
▸
Dashboard running user controls data visibility — configure carefully for compliance
-
▸
Data Loader for bulk operations (50k+); Import Wizard for smaller imports with less complexity
-
▸
Record types control picklist values and page layouts per profile
Self Check
Can you answer these without checking your notes?
In this scenario: "Sales reps should see only their own opportunities but managers should see their team's" — what should you do first?
Set OWD for Opportunities to Private, then use Role Hierarchy to grant managers visibility into subordinate records — profiles control what users can do, not what records they can see
In this scenario: "A business process requires sending an email and updating a field when a case is escalated" — what should you do first?
Build a single Flow that handles both actions — Flow is the current automation standard; creating new workflow rules is a legacy approach that will require migration later
In this scenario: "A user needs to perform a specific action not available in their profile" — what should you do first?
Create a permission set with the specific permission and assign it to the user — permission sets are the correct granular access tool; proliferating profiles creates maintenance overhead
Failure Patterns
Common Exam Mistakes — What candidates get wrong
Confusing profiles with permission sets
Profiles are required for every user and define minimum baseline permissions. Permission sets grant additional permissions on top of profiles. The least permissive profile + targeted permission sets is the correct access architecture — not multiple permission-heavy profiles.
Misidentifying org-wide defaults vs. role hierarchy access
Org-wide defaults (OWDs) set the baseline record visibility. Role hierarchy grants additional access upward (managers see subordinate records). Sharing rules extend access beyond the role hierarchy. These work in layers — candidates confuse which layer grants which access.
Applying workflow rules when Flow is the correct tool
Salesforce has deprecated workflow rules in favor of Flow. Flow can do everything workflow can do and more (multi-step, update related records, interact with external systems). Choosing workflow over Flow for new requirements is wrong.
Confusing lookup vs. master-detail relationships
Master-detail creates a tight parent-child relationship (cascade delete, required parent, roll-up summary fields possible). Lookup is a loose relationship (optional, no cascade delete, no roll-up summaries). The relationship type determines what features are available.
Ignoring data security implications of report and dashboard access
Reports and dashboards reflect the running user's data access. Dashboards can be set to run as a specific user — exposing data beyond what the viewer's profile should allow. Candidates miss data security implications of dashboard configuration.
Salesforce Admin rewards architecture thinking over feature memorization. Test whether your security model understanding is solid.