Adding a user in Salesforce is one of the most common admin tasks — and one where a small mistake can cause big headaches. Setting up the right Profile, Role, and License from the start saves hours of troubleshooting later.

🔐 Admin access required.Only users with the System Administrator profile (or a profile with "Manage Users" permission) can create new users.

Step 1 — Navigate to User Management

  1. Click the gear icon ⚙️ in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Setup.
  3. In the Quick Find search box, type Users.
  4. Click Users under the Manage Users section.

Step 2 — Create the New User

  1. Click the New User button.
  2. Fill in the required fields:
    • First Name / Last Name
    • Email — this is where Salesforce sends the activation link, and it becomes their login username by default.
    • Username— must be unique across all Salesforce orgs globally, formatted like an email (e.g. john.doe@yourcompany.com.prod). It doesn't have to be a real email address.
    • Alias — a short identifier (auto-generated, but you can edit it).
    • Nickname — used in Chatter and community features.
    • Title / Department — optional but useful for org clarity.

Step 3 — Assign a License, Profile, and Role

These three settings control what the user can access and do. Getting them right is critical.

User License

The license determines which features the user can access. Most standard users will use Salesforce (full CRM access). Other common licenses include:

  • Salesforce — full platform access (most common)
  • Salesforce Platform — custom apps only, no Sales/Service Cloud
  • Identity — SSO only, no CRM access

Profile

Profiles control object-level permissions — what records the user can create, read, edit, and delete. Common profiles:

  • System Administrator — full access to everything
  • Standard User — typical sales rep access
  • Read Only — can view records but not edit

Most orgs create custom profiles tailored to their specific team needs.

Role

Roles control record visibility— which other users' records this person can see, based on the org's role hierarchy. A manager in a higher role typically sees all records owned by people below them in the hierarchy. Roles are optional if your org uses a flat sharing model.

💡 Tip:When in doubt, start with a more restrictive profile and open up permissions as needed. It's much easier to grant access than to clean up data exposure after the fact.

Step 4 — Save and Activate

  1. Click Save.
  2. Salesforce automatically sends a welcome email to the user's email address with a link to set their password. The link expires in 24 hours — give the new user a heads up to check their inbox.
  3. If the link expires, you can resend it: go back to the User record and click Reset Password.

Deactivating a User

When someone leaves the company, never delete their Salesforce user account — this can cause data integrity issues. Instead, deactivate them:

  1. Open the user's record in Setup → Users.
  2. Uncheck the Active checkbox.
  3. Click Save.

Deactivated users free up a license for someone new, but all of their records and history remain intact.