7 Salesforce Technical Debt Problems You Shouldn't Carry Into 2027

Some Salesforce problems have a surprisingly long shelf life.

A temporary fix from three years ago is still doing its job. Nobody remembers why a certain process exists. And changing one small thing somehow involves five other things.

That's Salesforce technical debt at work. Every shortcut, outdated setup, and unfinished cleanup adds to the work your team has to deal with later.

And 2027 doesn't need to inherit all of it.

Here are seven Salesforce technical debt problems worth sorting out, why they matter, and what you can do about them.

7 Salesforce Technical Debt Problems to Address Before 2027

Some Salesforce technical debt comes with a deadline. Other problems become obvious when your team tries to make a change, pull a report, or serve a customer. Here are seven areas worth reviewing before 2027.

1. Outdated Workflow Rules and Process Builder

That old Process Builder might still be sending reminders, updating customer records, or assigning tasks. And because it's working, nobody has really thought about replacing it.

But Salesforce ended support for Workflow Rules and Process Builder on December 31, 2025. Existing processes can still run, but Salesforce no longer provides support or bug fixes.

Now imagine your service team wants to change how customer complaints are escalated. What sounds like a simple update could mean figuring out how the old process works and rebuilding parts of it in Salesforce Flow.

How to address it

• Find what's running: Check your existing Workflow Rules and Process Builders to see what they do and what depends on them.
• Keep what's useful: Remove processes you no longer need instead of moving everything to Flow.
• Move to Flow: Use Salesforce's Migrate to Flow tool where possible. Some processes may need to be rebuilt manually.
• Test the changes: Make sure the new Flows work correctly, including any scheduled actions, before switching off the old ones.

Start with the older automations your teams rely on every day.

2. Overlapping Salesforce Flows

You moved to Salesforce Flow Builder, but somehow your team is still dealing with automation problems.

Say one Flow creates a task for your customer success team when a deal closes. A few months later, someone builds another Flow that does the same thing.

Now you've got two tasks for one customer, and someone has to figure out why.

This happens when new Flows are added without checking what's already there. The same thing can happen with customer updates, email notifications, and other everyday tasks.

How to address it

• See what's running: Use Flow Trigger Explorer to find Flows working on the same records.
• Check when they run: Make sure each Flow starts only when it's actually needed.
• Remove duplicate work: If two Flows are doing the same job, review whether they can be combined or simplified.
• Test them together: Check what happens when records are created or updated, especially when many records are processed at once.

Having several Flows isn't necessarily a problem. The trouble starts when they're doing the same work without anyone noticing.

3. Apex Code That's Difficult to Maintain

Apex code written for an earlier business requirement can become difficult to change as the Salesforce org grows.

For example, a trigger might handle individual orders correctly but fail when hundreds are imported together. Or changing one Apex class might affect several other processes because the code has too many dependencies.

These issues can delay releases, interrupt data processing, and increase the development effort required for routine business changes.

Salesforce requires at least 75% Apex code coverage for relevant production deployments. However, coverage alone doesn't establish whether the code handles real business scenarios correctly.

How to address it

• Prioritize critical code: Review classes and triggers supporting sales, billing, customer service, and integrations.
• Identify inefficient logic: Use Salesforce Code Analyzer and code reviews to find repeated logic, SOQL queries inside loops, and potential governor limit issues.
• Improve test quality: Test bulk updates, invalid inputs, different user permissions, and expected business outcomes.
• Document dependencies: Identify related classes, triggers, Flows, and integrations before modifying critical code.

Focus remediation on code that frequently fails, delays releases, or requires excessive effort to maintain.

4. Integrations Running on Old API Versions

Your Salesforce integrations might have been working fine for years. Orders reach your ERP, customer details stay updated, and nobody thinks much about how it all works.

But older connections can become a problem when Salesforce stops supporting them.

According to Salesforce's API policy, API versions 31.0–40.0 lose support in Summer '27 and are scheduled for retirement in Summer '28. Salesforce also plans to retire SOAP API login() in Summer '27, although versions 62.0–64.0 have specific support periods.

If an affected connection stops working, orders, reports, or customer information could get stuck between systems.

How to address it

• Check your connections: List the applications connected to Salesforce and who manages them.
• Find older versions: Use Salesforce's API Total Usage logs to identify integrations that need attention.
• Plan the updates: Review SOAP API login() usage and move affected connections to supported OAuth authentication.
• Test everything: Make sure information moves correctly between systems, including when something goes wrong.

Don't forget third-party integrations. Even if another company manages the connection, your business still depends on it.

5. Users With More Access Than They Need

A manager receives additional Salesforce permissions for a temporary project. Months later, the project ends, but the access remains.

Similar exceptions can accumulate as employees change roles, departments restructure, and integrations are added.

Over time, users may retain access to customer records, financial information, or administrative functions they no longer need. This increases security exposure and makes permission reviews more complicated.

How to address it

• Review privileged accounts: Identify users with System Administrator, Modify All Data, View All Data, and other powerful permissions.
• Check role changes: Compare assigned permissions with employees' current responsibilities.
• Restrict integration access: Use dedicated integration users and grant permissions based on the data and actions each connection requires.
• Trace permission sources: Use Salesforce's User Access Summary and Access Granted By features to understand where access originates.

Involve business owners before removing permissions so legitimate processes aren't interrupted.

6. Unused Custom Fields and Poor Data Quality

A field created for an old campaign remains in Salesforce. Another department adds a similar field for its own reporting. Meanwhile, duplicate customer records contain different contact details and service histories.

Now a sales rep, support agent, and marketing specialist may be working with different information about the same customer.

This technical debt affects reporting, customer communication, and automation. Inconsistent records can also cause problems in connected systems that depend on Salesforce data.

How to address it

• Audit custom fields: Identify unused, duplicate, or outdated fields. Check their dependencies in reports, Flows, and integrations before removing them.
• Review duplicate records: Examine Accounts, Contacts, and Leads for repeated or conflicting information.
• Apply data standards: Standardize important picklist values, required fields, and data entry rules across teams.
• Configure duplicate controls: Use Salesforce Matching Rules and Duplicate Rules to identify potential duplicates and manage new entries.

Assign clear ownership for important customer data. Without agreed rules for creating and updating records, cleanup becomes a recurring task.

7. Weak Testing, Monitoring, and Release Management

A Salesforce deployment succeeds, but a few days later, the sales team discovers that leads aren't being assigned correctly.

The change was deployed successfully. Its effect on the complete business process wasn't properly tested.

When testing focuses only on individual components, teams can miss problems involving connected Flows, Apex code, permissions, or integrations.

Weak monitoring adds another challenge. Failed jobs and automation errors may remain unresolved until employees or customers report an issue.

How to address it

• Test business processes: Validate complete scenarios, such as lead capture through assignment and follow-up, including failure cases.
• Track release changes: Use sandboxes, version control, and Salesforce DevOps Center where appropriate to document deployments and testing.
• Monitor recurring failures: Review failed Flow interviews, Apex exceptions, scheduled jobs, and integration errors. Configure fault paths where needed.
• Validate production releases: Check critical processes after deployment and maintain recovery or rollback procedures for significant changes.

Look for recurring failure patterns. If the same Flow or integration fails repeatedly, investigate its underlying cause rather than repeatedly handling individual errors.

How to Prioritize Salesforce Technical Debt Before 2027

An unused field and a failing order integration are both technical debt. But one can wait, while the other could leave customers wondering where their orders are.

So, rather than trying to fix everything, start with three questions:

• Who is affected? Is the problem slowing down employees, affecting customers, or interrupting sales?
• How urgent is it? Is something already failing, creating a security risk, or approaching a Salesforce deadline?
• How much work is needed? Can your admin handle it, or will it need developers and outside vendors?

Use the answers to sort your technical debt into three groups.

Remember, the impact decides the priority. Even a small Apex issue belongs at the top if it's stopping customer orders.

What Should You Do Before 2027?

Salesforce has some important changes coming up, so here's a practical timeline.

• By December 1, 2026: Review integrations using SOAP API login(). Salesforce's Winter '27 guidance introduces a Use Any API Auth permission requirement from this date.
• By December 31, 2026: Aim to finish your technical debt audit. Identify the biggest issues, assign owners, and decide what needs attention first.
• During Q1 2027: Start resolving high-priority issues, especially older integrations, and test the changes before going live.
• Before Summer '27: Prepare for the API support changes and the planned SOAP API login() retirement, checking the applicable timelines for your versions.

The December 31 audit target and Q1 work plan are suggested milestones, not Salesforce deadlines.

Keep a simple record of what needs fixing, who's responsible, and when it should be done.

You don't need to clear every piece of Salesforce technical debt before 2027. But you should know what you're carrying into the new year and have a plan to deal with it.

Conclusion

Salesforce technical debt doesn't get a fresh start on January 1. The old automations, unreliable integrations, and forgotten customizations are coming into 2027 with you.

Before adding more to Salesforce, it's worth checking what's already making work harder for your teams and customers. Start with the issues that carry the biggest risk.

At MIDCAI, we help businesses assess their Salesforce orgs, identify technical debt, and plan improvements that make sense for their operations.

Planning your Salesforce roadmap for 2027? Let's find out what's worth fixing first.