Experimental feature: Salesforce connector is currently in beta. We’re actively improving sync reliability and adding more features.
Prerequisites
- An active Salesforce account with necessary permissions to approve Uninstalled Connected Apps
- Salesforce Enterprise level account plan or higher, or purchased Salesforce API calls
- Access to view and sync the objects and fields you want to analyze
Connecting Salesforce
You can connect Salesforce in two ways: from the Sources page if you’re already using AstroBee, or during the onboarding process if you’re a new user.- During onboarding
- From Sources page
Start connection
A “Configure Connector” modal appears showing “Salesforce Not Connected”. Click the orange Connect button to begin setup.
Authorize with Fivetran
AstroBee uses Fivetran to securely connect to Salesforce. Review the security information and click Continue.
- Secure: Data transfer is encrypted end-to-end and your credentials are never exposed
- Private: Your data passes through without permanent storage
Authenticate with Salesforce
On the Fivetran setup page, click Authorize to log in through OAuth. You’ll be redirected to Salesforce to grant access.
- Log in with your Salesforce account
- Review the permissions Fivetran is requesting
- Approve the Uninstalled Connected App
- How to grant permission to Fivetran’s connected app
- Understanding Salesforce API limits
- Syncing custom objects and fields
- Sandbox vs production environment setup
Configure sync settings
After authentication succeeds, configure your sync settings:
Select tables to sync
Back in AstroBee, the “Configure Connector” modal shows your sync progress. Expand Sync Settings to select which tables to include.
- account: Company and organization records
- contact: Individual contact information
- opportunity: Sales opportunities and pipeline data
- lead: Lead and prospect information
- user: Salesforce users and team members
- task and event: Activities and scheduled events
Data layer building
A modal appears showing “Your data layer is building”. AstroBee is unifying, deduplicating, and resolving entities across your data.
Data syncing
The Sources page shows your sync progress. Your data source is syncing and the data layer will be generated automatically once syncing completes.
What happens next
After connecting Salesforce, AstroBee automatically generates a data layer from your synced tables. Once complete, you can start querying your CRM and sales data using natural language.Syncing data
Salesforce connections use manual sync - you control when data is refreshed. To sync your latest CRM data:- Navigate to the Sources page
- Find your Salesforce connection
- Click the sync button
Understanding Salesforce data
Salesforce syncs multiple related tables:- Standard objects: Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, Leads, Cases, and more
- Custom objects: Any custom objects you’ve created in Salesforce
- Activity data: Tasks, Events, Email messages, and call logs
- System data: Users, profiles, record types, and metadata
- Relationship data: Account hierarchies, opportunity line items, campaign members
Troubleshooting
For additional help, see Fivetran’s Salesforce troubleshooting guide.Authentication failed
Authentication failed
Issue: Unable to authorize access to Salesforce.Solution:
- Ensure you have permissions to approve Uninstalled Connected Apps
- Verify you’re signed in to the correct Salesforce organization
- Check that you’re not on a Salesforce trial or Professional edition (Enterprise or higher required)
- Try re-authorizing from the beginning
- Confirm your Salesforce organization is active and not suspended
API limit errors
API limit errors
Issue: Sync fails due to API limit errors.Solution:
- Verify you have a Salesforce Enterprise edition or higher (or purchased API calls)
- Check your API usage in Salesforce Setup → System Overview
- Reduce the number of objects being synced if approaching limits
- Consider upgrading your Salesforce edition for more API calls
- Schedule syncs during off-peak hours to conserve API calls
- Contact Salesforce support to purchase additional API calls if needed
No data syncing
No data syncing
Issue: Connection succeeds but no data appears in tables.Solution:
- Verify your Salesforce org has records in the objects you’re trying to sync
- Check that you have read permissions for the objects and fields
- Ensure object-level and field-level security settings allow access
- Wait for the initial sync to complete (can take 10+ minutes for large orgs)
- Trigger a manual sync to refresh data
Sync taking too long
Sync taking too long
Issue: Initial sync appears stuck or is taking longer than expected.Solution:
- Large Salesforce orgs with millions of records can take several hours to sync
- Check your internet connection
- Avoid making changes to the connection during sync
- Salesforce API rate limits may slow down large syncs
- Monitor API usage to ensure you’re not hitting limits
- If stuck for more than 3 hours, contact support at support@astrobee.ai
Missing objects or fields
Missing objects or fields
Issue: Some objects or fields don’t appear in synced data.Solution:
- Verify the objects and fields exist in your Salesforce org
- Check object-level security - ensure your user profile can view the objects
- Review field-level security - some fields may be hidden from your profile
- Ensure objects aren’t marked as deprecated or deleted
- Custom objects must be accessible to the integration user
- Trigger a new sync to pull the latest schema changes
Custom object sync issues
Custom object sync issues
Issue: Custom objects are not syncing properly.Solution:
- Verify custom objects are accessible to your Salesforce user
- Check that custom objects have been deployed (not in development)
- Ensure API names are correct and haven’t changed
- Review custom object permissions in your user profile
- Some custom objects may require specific Salesforce licenses
- Check if the custom object has any records to sync
Sandbox vs production confusion
Sandbox vs production confusion
Issue: Connected to wrong Salesforce environment.Solution:
- Verify you’re authenticating with the correct Salesforce URL
- Production: login.salesforce.com
- Sandbox: test.salesforce.com
- Check which environment you need for your use case
- Disconnect and reconnect with the correct environment URL
- Sandbox and production require separate connections
Permission denied errors
Permission denied errors
Issue: Connection fails with permission errors for specific objects.Solution:
- Review your Salesforce user profile permissions
- Ensure you have “View All” or “Modify All” for objects you want to sync
- Check that your profile allows API access
- Verify you’re not restricted by IP ranges or login hours
- Some objects require specific permission sets or licenses
- Contact your Salesforce administrator to adjust permissions
Historical backfill taking too long
Historical backfill taking too long
Issue: Status shows “Backfilling history” for many hours.Solution:
- Historical backfills for Salesforce can take 12+ hours for orgs with years of CRM data
- This is normal behavior, not a stuck sync
- You can safely close the browser and return later
- The sync continues in the background and your data layer will generate automatically when complete
- If backfill exceeds 72 hours with no progress, contact support at support@astrobee.ai
Data layer not generating
Data layer not generating
Issue: Sync completed but data layer shows an error or never finishes building.Solution:
- Check that at least one table was selected during setup
- Verify your synced tables contain actual data (not empty)
- Try refreshing the page to see updated status
- If the error persists, try disconnecting and reconnecting Salesforce
- Contact support at support@astrobee.ai with the error message if the issue continues