Legacy data migration is a critical aspect of a Revenue Cloud implementation and certain considerations can indeed expand the project scope:

A. Fragmented and incomplete information will need to be aggregated and validated, otherwise the solution will yield unexpected results: Data quality is a key factor in any data migration project. If the legacy data is fragmented or incomplete, additional effort will be required to aggregate and validate the data before it can be migrated to the new system1.

B. Extracting from multiple sources takes additional resources and time to access and process: If the legacy data resides in multiple sources, it can increase the complexity of the data extraction process. This can require additional resources and time, thus expanding the projectscope1.

E. Large volumes of data take a longer time to load: The volume of data to be migrated can significantly impact the time required for the data load process. Large volumes of data can take a longer time to load, which can extend the project timeline2.

C. The creation of external objects will bypass the need for legacy data migration: While creating external objects can help integrate external data sources with Salesforce, it doesn’t necessarily bypass the need for data migration. The data still needs to be accessible and in a format that Salesforce can understand3.

D. The Amendments and Renewals process will be subject to customizations: While amendments and renewals are important aspects of the CPQ process, they are not directly related to the data migration process3.

To migrate legacy install base into Salesforce CPQ along with the contract, the Revenue Cloud Consultant needs to populate the Assets and Subscriptions objects. These objects store the information about the products and services that the customer has purchased and are associated with the contract. The Assets object tracks the physical products, such as hardware and software licenses, that have been delivered or activated for the customer. The Subscriptions object tracks the recurring products, such as software subscriptions or maintenance plans, that have a defined billing frequency and term. By populating these objects, the Revenue Cloud Consultant can preserve the history of the customer’s purchases and enable the features of Salesforce CPQ, such as renewals, amendments, and co-termination. References:

Migrate Legacy Data to Salesforce CPQ

[Assets]

[Subscriptions]

 Incorrect future invoicing for an amended order product might be caused by the following scenarios:

A. Not contracting the Amendment Order: If the amendment order is not contracted, the changes made in the amendment order will not be reflected in the future invoices. This is because the contract is the legal agreement that specifies the terms of the sale, including the products, quantities, and prices. If the amendment order is not contracted, the original terms of the sale remain in effect, which may result in incorrect future invoicing1.

B. Having a subscription on the Contract be linked to an Order Product with one or more unpaidinvoice lines: If there are unpaid invoice lines linked to the order product, it may cause discrepancies in the future invoices. This is because the unpaid invoice linesmay still be pending for payment, and if they are not resolved before the amendment order is contracted, thefuture invoices may not accurately reflect the changes made in the amendment order2.

C. Having a subscription on the Contract be linked to an OrderProduct with one or more invoice lines in draft: If there are invoice lines in draft status linked to the order product, it may cause inaccuracies in the future invoices. This is because the draft invoice lines have not yet been finalized and may still besubject to changes. If these changes are not finalized before the amendment order is contracted, the future invoices may not accurately reflect thechanges made in the amendment order2.

The three design examples that will negatively impact the scale and performance of the Revenue Cloud implementation are:

A. Multiple automation types (trigger/workflows,flows) on a single object: Having multiple automation types on a single object can lead to complex and inefficient processes. This can slow down the system and negatively impact the performance and scalability of the Revenue Cloud implementation1.

B. External API calls within the pricing sequence: Making external API calls within the pricing sequence can introduce latency and potential points of failure. This can slowdown the pricing process and negatively impact the performance and scalability of the Revenue Cloud implementation1.

C. Extensive use of quote line custom fields: Using a large number of custom fields can increase the complexity and size of the data model. This can slow down queries and negatively impact the performance and scalability of the Revenue Cloud implementation1.

In Salesforce Revenue Cloud, when a new release is being deployed, it’s important to test the implementation against the new release before it deploys to production. This can be achieved by:

Reviewing status.salesforce.com to determine refresh cutoff for the new release: Salesforce provides information about the refresh cutoff for the new release on status.salesforce.com. This allows you to know when the new release will be available in the sandbox for testing.

Determiningwhether your sandbox is on a preview or non-preview instance: Salesforce refreshes preview sandboxes a month before each major release. Regular, non-preview sandboxes are refreshed toward the end of the release cycle. Knowing whether your sandbox is on a preview or non-preview instance can help you plan your testing schedule accordingly.

It’s worth noting that while Salesforce ensures that all sandboxes are upgraded, the timing of the upgrade can vary depending on whether the sandbox is on a preview or non-preview instance. Submitting a ticket to support when you want your sandbox updated is not a standard practice for preparing for a new release.

References

Test New Releases in a Sandbox Unit | Salesforce Trailhead

Salesforce Introduces Revenue Cloud to Help Businesses Accelerate …

User acceptance testing (UAT) is a process of verifying that a software solution meets the business requirements and expectations of the end users. UAT is usually performedin a test environment by a representative group of users before the software is deployed to production. UAT is essential for ensuring the quality, usability, and functionality of the software, as well as the satisfaction and adoption of the users. To make UAT efficient, some of the planning strategies that should be taken are:

Define and agree on acceptance criteria with customer: Acceptance criteria are the specific and measurable conditions that the software must meet to be accepted by the customer. They are derived from the business requirements and user stories, and they serve as the basis for designing and executing the UAT test cases. Defining and agreeing on the acceptance criteria with the customer before the UAT phase ensures that both parties have a clear and common understanding of what constitutes a successful outcome, and reduces the risk of ambiguity, confusion, or disagreement during the testing process. 12

Train UAT testers on the new functionality: UAT testers are the end users who will evaluate the software and provide feedback on its performance, usability, and suitability for their needs. They should be familiar with the businessprocesses and workflows that the software supports, as well as the new features and enhancements that are being tested. Training the UAT testers on the new functionality before the UAT phase helps them to prepare for the testing activities, understand theexpected behavior and results of the software, and identify and report any issues or defects that they encounter. Training also increases the confidence and competence of the UAT testers, and improves the quality and efficiency of the testing process. 34

Finalize test plans before the build phase completes: Test plans are the documents that outline the scope, objectives, approach, resources, schedule, and deliverables of the UAT phase. They specify the test cases, scenarios, data, tools, and methods that will be used to verify the acceptance criteria of the software. Finalizing the test plans before the build phase completes ensures that the UAT phase is well-planned, organized, and ready to start as soon as the software is delivered to the test environment. It also allows for early detection and resolution of any gaps, risks, or dependencies that may affect the testing process. [5] [6]

 To implement the user story of rewarding loyal customers with bulk discounts based on previously purchased quantities, the design of the solution should include the following components:

Contracts, Subscriptions and Assets should be populated with historical data. This is necessary to track the customer’s purchase history and determine the appropriate discount tier for each product or service. Contracts, Subscriptions and Assets are the core objects of Revenue Cloud that store the information about the customer’s agreements, recurring charges, and entitlements. By migrating the historical data from the legacy system to these objects, the customer can leverage the Revenue Cloud features such as renewal management, usage-based pricing, and revenue recognition. 123

Discount schedules with Cross Orders checked. This is the feature that enables the bulk discounts based on previously purchased quantities. A discount schedule is a set of discount tiers that apply to a product or a product option based on the quantity or amount ordered. By checking the Cross Orders option, the discount schedule will consider the quantities from all the orders associated with the same account, contract, or subscription. This way, the customer can reward their loyal customers with lower prices for higher volumes. 45

The three common CPQ design mistakes to avoid while implementing CPQ for your customer are:

A. Using price book entries to handle attribute based variationsinstead of lookup price rules: Price book entries are not designed to handle attribute-based variations. Instead, lookup price rules should be used. These rules allow you to adjust pricing based on specific product attributes, providing more flexibility and accuracy1.

C. Creating process builders and flows to pass data between fields instead of using twin field mapping: Process builders and flows can be complex and difficult to maintain. Instead, twin field mapping should be used. This feature allows you to map fields between objects, ensuring data consistency and reducing the need for custom code1.

D. Writing customizations for product selection or validation instead of using option constraints, product rules, and bundles: Customizations can be time-consuming and costly to implement and maintain. Instead, Salesforce CPQ provides built-in features like option constraints, product rules, and bundles that can handle product selection and validation. These features are designed to enforce business rules and ensure that only valid product combinations are selected1.

Order Product: The status of the Order Product is updated when the corresponding Invoice Line is posted. The fields such as ‘InvoiceRun Processing Status’, ‘Next Billing Date’, ‘Next Charge Date’, and ‘Last Charge To Date’ are updated for the next period1.

Invoice Line: The Invoice Line objectis updated when an invoice is posted. This includes locking the Invoice Line from further changes and finalizing the agreement represented by the invoice2.

Invoice: The Invoice object itself is updated when an invoice is posted. This includes changing the status of the invoice from ‘Draft’ to ‘Posted’, which locks the invoice from further changes and makes it ready for revenue recognition reporting2.

It’s important to note that posting an invoice finalizes the agreement and prevents deletion of the invoice or any of its invoice lines. This ensures that your organization always has a record for legal and bookkeeping purposes2.

The benefits of having trained customer CPQ admins participate in the planning, design,and build phases include:

A. Facilitates a more efficient test phase: Trained CPQ admins can leverage their understanding of both the platform's capabilities and the company's specificrequirements to craft more effective tests and more quickly identify potential issues.

E. Customer is better equipped to scale and maintain functionality post-go-live: With deep involvement in the project phases, CPQ admins gain a thorough understanding of the setup and customization, which empowers them to manage, scale, and adapt the system as business needs evolve without always relying on external support.

These benefits highlight the importance of involving knowledgeable internal team members in significant project phases to ensure long-term success and operationalefficiency.

Cross object formula fields are fields that reference data from related objects using lookup or master-detail relationships. They can be useful to display information from parent or child objects without creating custom code or workflows. However, using too many cross object formula fields in a Revenue Cloud project can pose some risks, such as:

Formula field data is not always available during CPQ quote calculation. This means that the formula fields may not reflect the latest values from the related objects when the quote is being generated or updated. This can cause inaccuratepricing, discounts, or taxes. To avoid this, it is recommended to use CPQ fields or custom fields instead of cross object formula fields for quote calculation. 12

They are computationally expensive. This means that the formula fields require more processing power and time to evaluate and display thedata from the related objects. This can affect the performance and responsiveness of the application, especially if there are multiple formula fields on the same object or page layout. To avoid this, it is recommended to limit the number and complexity ofcross object formula fields, and use filters or conditions to reduce the number of records that need to be evaluated. 34

They can easily exceed limits if not carefully designed and tested. This means that the formula fields can cause errors or warnings if they exceed the maximum length, number, or level of relationships allowed by Salesforce. For example, a formula field can only reference up to 10 unique relationships and span up to five levels of relationships. If these limits are exceeded, the formula field will not save or display correctly. To avoid this, it is recommended to review the formula field limits and best practices, and test the formula fields in different scenarios and environments. 

Salesforce Revenue Cloud, part of the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform, unites Configure, Price, and Quote (CPQ), Billing, Partner Relationship Management, and B2B Commerce functionality1. It aims to help businesses better manage their revenue streams, enhance forecasting capabilities, improve efficiencies, and accelerate growth across all sales channels1.

In the context of the user story, the company wants toreward loyal customers by including previously purchased quantities in pricing calculations on the quote. This can be achieved by using discount schedules with cross orders checked2.

Discount schedules in Salesforce Revenue Cloud allow businesses to implement dynamic pricingstrategies with rules that trigger changes when specified products are on a quote2. By checking cross orders,the system can consider the quantities of a product that a customer has purchased across multiple orders when applying bulk discounts2. This way, the more a customer purchases over time, the greater the discounts they can receive, thereby rewarding their loyalty2.

References

Salesforce Revenue Cloud

Understanding Salesforce Revenue Cloud