How to create leads or cases in Salesforce with Flow Builder

Key Takeaways

• Bird’s Flow Builder allows seamless integration with Salesforce, enabling automated lead and case creation across multiple communication channels.

• The integration supports WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, WeChat, LINE, Messenger, Google Business Chat, Viber, and more.

• With Salesforce connectivity, businesses can enrich CRM records, centralize support conversations, and build automated end-to-end funnel logic.

• Key use cases include:

  • Creating Salesforce leads directly from messaging channels
  • Creating Salesforce cases for support teams
  • Routing, tagging, and enriching customer data in flows

• Integration requires:

  • A Bird administrator account
  • A Salesforce org with administrator access

• Setup begins by configuring a Salesforce Connected App with OAuth enabled, appropriate scopes, and relaxed permission settings.

• Required OAuth scopes include:

  • Access and manage your data (api)
  • Web access (web)
  • Refresh tokens (offline_access)

• After creating the Connected App, users must retrieve their Consumer Key and Consumer Secret for Flow Builder credentials.

• OAuth tokens are generated through Salesforce using a browser authorization step, followed by retrieving the access and refresh tokens via cURL or Postman.

• The refresh token ensures continuous authentication even when access tokens expire.

• A common integration error — “REST API is not enabled for this Organization” — can be resolved by enabling API access under a user profile’s administrative permissions.

• Once Salesforce credentials are configured, users can import a Flow Builder template to create leads or cases via WhatsApp, Viber, SMS, and other channels.

• API endpoints allow Flow Builder to push data into Salesforce objects such as Lead or Case using field mappings defined in Salesforce’s Object Manager.

• Users can customize flows to trigger Salesforce actions based on channel behavior, customer replies, tags, or funnel stages.

• The flow returns Salesforce record IDs (e.g., Case ID) for follow-up, reporting, or routing.

• After configuration, businesses can automatically generate Salesforce entries in real time from any supported Bird-powered channel.

Bird offers many direct integrations that allow you to plug your communications into the tools and platforms already used in your business.

Using Flow Builder's native integrations, custom connections via HTTP requests and webhooks, you can easily enrich customer profiles, enable rapid sales engagement and drive more qualified leads.

Today, we will discuss our integration with Salesforce. 

What this integration enables

With this integration you can:

• Add leads into Salesforce from different communication channels: WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, WeChat, LINE, Messenger, Google Business Chat, Viber, etc. When using WhatsApp for lead generation, implementing SMS fallbacks ensures no potential leads are lost due to delivery failures.
• Create cases in Salesforce to keep records, and store key data inside the cases from all your channels
• Implement flexibility and automation of lead/case creation at any point in your sales funnel

Salesforce integration capabilities at a glance

What you’ll build in this guide

In this guide, you will learn how to:

1. Set up your Salesforce properly
2. Connect Salesforce with Bird
3. Troubleshooting errors when connecting Salesforce
4. Create a flow in Flow Builder that will push data into Salesforce
5. Connect WhatsApp with Salesforce to send your leads
6. Connect Viber with Salesforce to send your cases

Requirements

Before you start building the logic in Flow Builder, you need to have the following requirements ready:

• A Bird account: Make sure you have access as administrator.
• A Salesforce Account: You need “Administrator access”

Prerequisites checklist

Step 1: Configure a Salesforce Connected App

To access the Connected Apps section in Salesforce (Lighting Experience), follow these steps:

1. Login to Salesforce as an administrator
2. Select Setup in the drop-down list of the account (in the upper-right corner)
3. On the left-hand pane, go to App Manager > New Connected App

Please note: if you face the viewing issue below, please click “Click here to open this page in Salesforce Classic.”

Create a Connected App

On the New Connected App page, fill the following required fields under Basic Information:

• Connected App Name, e.g. Bird Integration.
• API name, e.g. Bird_Integration
• Contact Email, e.g. xxx@contactemail.com

Configure OAuth settings

1. Go to API (Enable OAuth Settings), and select Enable OAuth Settings.
   • In the Callback URL field, enter https://login.salesforce.com/
   • In the Selected OAuth Scopes field, select Access and manage your data (api)
   • Provide access to your data via the Web (web)
   • Perform requests on your behalf at any time (refresh_token, offline_access)
   • Click Add

OAuth scopes explained

1. Click the Save button to save the new Connected App.

2. In the Connected Apps (Apps > App Manager) list, find the App that you just created, and then click Manage.

Update OAuth policies

1. On the page that opens, click the Edit button. 

   • Under OAuth policies, select All users may self-authorize in the Permitted Users list
   • In the IP Relaxation, select Relax IP restrictions 
   • In the Refresh Token Policy, click Refresh token is valid until revoked. Under Session Policies, Select Timeout value (24 hours), click the Save button

2. Go back to the Connected Apps (Apps > App Manager) list, and click the App that you just created, and then click on View.

Retrieve Consumer Key and Secret

1. Go to API (Enable OAuth Settings) and note down the Consumer Key and Consumer Secret. You need this key and secret for the configuration of credentials in MessageBird’s Salesforce integration.

Step 2: Obtaining tokens from Salesforce to authorize access

How Salesforce OAuth tokens work

In Salesforce, access tokens have a limited lifetime specified by the session timeout. If an application uses an expired access token, a “Session expired or invalid” error will be shown. 

Use a refresh token during the authorization process to get a new access token. Using a new token will ensure that the access token is always live.

Salesforce OAuth artifacts

Get your instance URL

1. Send the following curl request to obtain the instance URL. 

• client_id = Consumer Key
• client_secret = Consumer Secret
• username = Salesforce login username
• password = Salesforce login password

If you are not familiar with curl you can use Postman to send the request. Follow these steps:

Authorize the app and retrieve the code

1. Get your code. Use your favorite browser, then enter the following request URL in a new tab to get the code. 

• <CONSUMER_KEY> should be replaced with the obtained Consumer Key in the above step
• <YOUR_INSTANCE> should be replaced with your instance name

Next, enter your request URL in the browser. Allow access if any alerts popup. You will then see the browser redirected to a URL like the one below. You can obtain the code using that same URL.

• https://login.salesforce.com/?code=XXXX

Exchange code for access and refresh tokens

1. Get access token & refresh token: Send the following curl request to obtain the tokens. 

• should be replaced with the code you obtained in the above step. 
• <CONSUMER_KEY>
• <CONSUMER_SECRET> should be replaced with obtained keys with the created Connected App

You can obtain the access_token and refresh_token from the response.

Alternative: using Postman

If you are not familiar with curl you can use Postman to send the request. Follow these steps:

Troubleshooting your Salesforce connection

The most common error encountered when integrating Salesforce with Bird and how to fix it:

“REST API is not enabled for this Organization”

When you are trying to send a request to the salesforce API using the above credentials, sometimes you will get this error.

• REST API is not enabled for this Organization.

You can resolve this error by following the below steps.

Click on Setup in the right top corner.

Go to ADMINISTRATION > Manage Users and click on Profiles.

Click Edit on the specific profile you want to update.

Scroll down and go to Administrative Permissions and check the API Enabled checkbox.

Don't forget to go down the page and click Save.

Step 3: Create a new flow in Flow Builder to create leads or cases

Import and publish the Salesforce flow template

The configuration of Salesforce is done. Now, let’s start a new flow. This template will help you connect your favorite communication channel with Salesforce and push new leads or cases for your team to follow up:

1. Log in to your Bird Dashboard and go to Flow Builder. 
2. Download the sample flow that you will be using.
3. Import the flow with the import function. 

Attach the channels you want to use to create leads/cases into Salesforce. Then, you can publish this flow.

Use Salesforce with WhatsApp and Viber

This template flow will allow you to connect your favorite channels (WhatsApp, Viber, SMS, etc.) with Salesforce. The following examples, will show how to connect Salesforce to create leads on:

Channel to Salesforce object mapping

Keep in mind that you can change the channel or use case depending on your needs.

You should be able to see your flow on your screen.

Prepare authentication for channel flows

Fetch your access token before activating your flow. 

API endpoint is as follows:

• client_id = Consumer Key
• client_secret = Consumer Secret, 
• For the refresh_token, please refer to step 2.3.

Create a Lead in Salesforce with WhatsApp

Replace https://XXXX.my.salesforce.com with your instance URL. Phone, LastName, Company, LeadSource, Description are the field names from Salesforce. 

You can find them under Setup > Object manager > Lead > Fields & Relationship. 

Create a Case in Salesforce with Viber

Replace https://XXXX.my.salesforce.com with your instance URL. Phone, LastName, Company, LeadSource, Description are the field names from Salesforce. You can find them from Setup > Object manager > Lead > Fields & Relationship.

The output variable ID is the case ID returned from Salesforce.  

Congratulations! 

You have just successfully connected Salesforce with WhatsApp and/or Viber to create leads and cases for your team to enable faster engagement and drive more qualified leads.

If you have any questions about your new flow or our Salesforce integration, please reach out to us at our support email.

Q&A

What does the Salesforce integration with Flow Builder allow you to do?

It enables automatic creation of leads and cases in Salesforce from any supported communication channel connected to Bird.

Which channels can push data into Salesforce?

WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, WeChat, LINE, Messenger, Google Business Chat, Viber, SMS and more.

What are the main use cases?

Creating Salesforce leads, creating support cases, enriching profiles, and building automated CRM-connected sales funnels.

What Salesforce permissions are required?

Administrator access, along with a Connected App configured with OAuth, API access, and relaxed IP/token restrictions.

Which OAuth scopes must be added?

API access, web access, and refresh_token/offline_access.

What credentials does Bird need to authenticate with Salesforce?

The Connected App’s Consumer Key and Consumer Secret, plus an access token and refresh token.

Why is a refresh token required?

Because Salesforce access tokens expire, and the refresh token is used to obtain new ones automatically.

What causes the error “REST API is not enabled for this Organization”?

API access is disabled in the user’s Salesforce profile. Enabling API Enabled resolves it.

How are Salesforce objects like Lead or Case mapped in Flow Builder?

By referencing field names from Salesforce’s Object Manager (e.g., LastName, Phone, Company).

Can you use WhatsApp to create Salesforce leads?

Yes — WhatsApp can feed structured data into Salesforce Lead fields through Flow Builder.

Can Viber be used to create Salesforce cases?

Yes — Viber messages can trigger case creation with details sent via Salesforce APIs.

Does the flow return Salesforce IDs?

Yes — Salesforce responds with object IDs (e.g., Case ID), which can be stored or used in further automation.