Person Accounts synchronization¶
Introduction¶
If your organization uses Salesforce Person Accounts, RG Email Sidebar and Sync Engine allows you to sync them with your Microsoft 365 account. With this integration, you can manage individual customer data directly within your email client, without switching between platforms.
This guide explains how Person Accounts synchronization works and how to enable it, helping you save time and focus on revenue-generating tasks instead of manual data management.
What Person Accounts are¶
Person Accounts in Salesforce are a combination of Accounts and Contacts, designed for scenarios where a single individual represents both a customer and the primary contact. Unlike standard Accounts, which typically represent businesses or organizations, Person Accounts are tailored to manage information about individuals, such as private clients or sole owners, within the same record.
For more information, see Person Accounts.
Person Accounts sync overview¶
Once Person Accounts sync is enabled, RG Email Sidebar performs the following actions during the initial sync session:
- Creates a dedicated Salesforce Person Accounts folder in your Microsoft 365 account.
- Mirrors all Salesforce Person Accounts you own into this folder as Outlook Contacts.
After the initial sync, synchronization runs regularly based on the adaptive sync schedule. If you want changes to sync faster than the scheduled interval, you can manually trigger a sync in your Sync settings.
To stay synced, Contacts must remain in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder. Any updates made on either side will be mirrored in the other.
Personal Contacts stored in the default Contacts folder or other folders will not sync to Salesforce. Only Contacts created in or moved to the Salesforce Person Accounts folder will sync.
Person Accounts synchronization can be configured at the tenant, profile, or user level.
Sync Scenarios¶
Creating Person Accounts¶
- In Outlook: Creating a new Contact in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder, or moving an existing Contact there, will create a corresponding Person Account in Salesforce during the next sync.
- In Salesforce: Creating a new Person Account in Salesforce will result in a corresponding Contact being created in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder in Outlook after the sync.
Updating Person Accounts¶
- In Outlook: Updating a Contact in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder will update the corresponding Person Account in Salesforce during the next sync.
- In Salesforce: Updating a Person Account in Salesforce will mirror the changes in the corresponding Contact in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder in Outlook.
Deleting Person Accounts¶
- In Outlook:
- Deleting a Contact from the Salesforce Person Accounts folder will delete the corresponding Person Account in Salesforce.
- Moving a Contact out of the Salesforce Person Accounts folder will delete the corresponding Person Account in Salesforce.
- Deleting the Salesforce Person Accounts folder itself will result in it being restored during the next sync, along with its contents.
- In Salesforce:
- Deleting a Person Account in Salesforce will delete the corresponding Contact in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder in Outlook.
Prerequisites¶
Before enabling Person Accounts synchronization, ensure the following configurations and compatibility criteria are met:
- Salesforce Configuration: Person Accounts are enabled for your organization.
- RG Email Sidebar and Sync Configuration: Contacts synchronization is enabled.
- Microsoft API: Mail server access is provided via the Microsoft Graph API.
- Microsoft Outlook Versions: Your email client is Outlook Classic or Outlook on the Web (“New Contacts” is disabled).
Enabling Person Accounts Sync¶
Person Accounts sync is disabled by default. To enable it, the RG profile admin should send a request to our support team.
Syncing Contact as Person Account¶
Contacts in your email client will not sync to Salesforce automatically unless you select them to be synced. To save a Contact as a Person Account, you must either:
- Create the Contact directly in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder.
- Move the Contact to the Salesforce Person Accounts folder.
Creating Contact in Salesforce Person Accounts folder¶
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Go to the People page, select the Salesforce Person Accounts folder and click New Contact on the ribbon.
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Fill in the required details and click Create to save the Contact in the folder.
The new Contact will appear in the folder and will sync to Salesforce as a Person Account during the next sync.
Moving Contact to Salesforce Person Accounts folder¶
- Open the folder containing the Contact you want to move.
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Right-click the Contact and select Move to from the menu.
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Select Salesforce Person Accounts.
The Contact will be moved to the folder and will sync to Salesforce as a Person Account during the next sync.
FAQs¶
If I already saved a contact in Salesforce, can I make it a Person Account?
Yes, you can. Move the Contact from the Salesforce Contacts folder to the Salesforce Person Accounts folder, and it will sync to Salesforce as a Person Account.
What happens if I delete a Contact from the Salesforce Person Accounts folder?
Deleting a Contact from the Salesforce Person Accounts folder will also delete the corresponding Person Account in Salesforce during the next sync.
What happens if I delete the Salesforce Person Accounts folder in Outlook?
The folder will automatically be restored during the next sync, along with all its contents.
Can I copy a Contact to the Salesforce Person Accounts folder to save it as a Person Account?
No, copying a Contact to the folder will not save it as a Person Account. Only Contacts created in or moved to the folder will sync.
Does “Forbid to remove” prevent deleting Contacts in the Salesforce Person Accounts folder?
No, the Forbid to remove setting only applies to regular Contact sync and does not affect Person Accounts sync. Deleted Contacts in the folder will still be removed from Salesforce after the next sync.