We were recently struck by the idea of #NoCodeNovember after reading the post 5 Reasons to Go #NoCodeNovember on the ButtonClick Admin blog. While many use code to configure Salesforce, often features that require no code go overlooked. Keeping with that theme, the Cloud for Good team has pulled together a list of our top 11 features in Salesforce that require no coding!

1. Hiding Reports from End Users

A simple one that is often over-looked, is hiding report types from end-users. End-users are often overwhelmed the first time they build a Salesforce report because of the sheer number of report types. Many nonprofit customers have no use for "Contracts and Orders" or "Price Books, Products and Assets" or other categories. By whittling down the list, using Reports becomes much more user- friendly. Entire folders or individual report types can be hidden to improve the user experience.

Recommended by Stephanie Adams, Director of Professional Services

2. Process Builder

Who doesn’t love Process Builder? It allows admins to automate record creation and updates to related records. A trigger is no longer needed to do either of those actions with Process Builder, meaning an admin can now automate declaratively, without code!

Recommended by Kestryl Lowrey, Senior Cloud Consultant

3. The AppExchange

One great feature of Salesforce is the AppExchange — There’s a reason it is touted as the #1 Business App Marketplace! The ability to purchase an app means not having to “build” certain functionality within your Salesforce platform, making an admin’s life so much easier!

Recommended by Aiden Martin, Senior Configuration Specialist

4. Good, Old Fashioned Work Flow

Workflow lets an admin update fields, send an email, and/or add a task. While it doesn’t do everything Visual Workflow does, it’s much easier to use. Who doesn’t love a feature that is easy and doesn’t require code?!

Recommended by Kelly Hardebeck, Director of Professional Services

5. Reporting Snapshots

Are you using reporting snapshots (previously named Analytic Snapshots)? This feature provides the ability to report on trends in your data over time. This feature allows you to locate this information for managers quickly and easily.

Recommended by Stacey Chale, Senior Cloud Consultant

6. Scheduled Reports

Does your management team need reports on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly basis? Automate the process by scheduling reports to run at the times they are needed. Take it a step further and have the report automatically emailed to those who need it. All of this can be accomplished within the Salesforce interface without typing a single line of code.

Recommended by Laura Maker, Cloud Consultant

7. List Views

You can create list views to see specific set of records that are kept in Salesforce. Do you want a sales rep to see a list of all their leads or accounts in a particular state? Create a list view! Do you want to be able to quickly look your campaigns? List view! List views are easy to set up and you can make them public or assign them to a particular group within your organization.

Recommended by Laura Maker, Cloud Consultant

8. Flows

Flows are able to accomplish complex things as they have the ability to access and update records from nearly any object that is kept in your Salesforce platform. They’re almost like programming, but without code! Want to bring your business processes into Salesforce? Add a flow! No code necessary.

Recommended by Benjamin Washam, Cloud Consultant

9. Reports

Your Salesforce platform holds a lot of data! Pulling that data is very easy in Salesforce. There are many reports already populated for your use. If you can’t find the report you need, create one using the drag and drop features that are already installed.

Recommended by Aiden Martin, Senior Configuration Specialist

10. Schema Builder

Schema Builder allows an Admin to add new custom objects, custom fields, and relationships in Salesforce, eliminating the need to click through multiple pages to find the details of a master-detail relationship. The drag-and-drop interface lets you easily add a custom object or new field, and saves the layout any time you move an object. Another awesome feature that doesn’t require any coding!

Recommended by Rachel Natik, Cloud Consultant

11. Native Mass Email

Do you need to send a mass email to a group of contacts,prospects, and/or constituents to let them know about an event in their area? Use the Native Mass Email functionality in Salesforce. You have the ability to create a completed activity within Salesforce attached to the contact record, letting your users know that an email was sent.

Recommended by Rachel Natik, Cloud Consultant

Do you have a favorite feature in Salesforce? Use it to embrace #NoCodeNovember!

About the Author

Janna Rawls is the Marketing Coordinator at Cloud for Good, a Salesforce Foundation Strategic Partner that works with nonprofit organizations to implement strategic Salesforce solutions.  She has been using Salesforce for over nine years and loves sharing information about this platform. Janna is passionate about improving internal processes and working with the nonprofit community.

Get ready for a new kind of customer success with Salesforce. Learn more about the customer success platform by downloading the free e-book.