How this integration works
Databook builds its integrations on Ampersand, a managed integration platform purpose-built for connecting SaaS products to customer systems like Salesforce. For you as the administrator, that means:
Standard Salesforce authentication. The connection uses Salesforce's OAuth flow through an External Client App. No passwords or API keys are exchanged, and you can revoke access from Salesforce at any time.
Explicitly scoped access. Every object and field Databook reads or writes is declared up front, and you confirm them yourself during installation. Combined with the profile or permission set you configure, the access you grant is the ceiling on what Databook can see — nothing is discovered or accessed implicitly.
Built for API limits. Requests are rate-limited and retried automatically, with incremental reads so Databook isn't repeatedly pulling data that hasn't changed.
Nothing to host or maintain. There's no middleware to run in your environment. Once the steps below are complete, the integration is managed on Databook's side.
The rest of this guide covers preparing your org, granting exactly the permissions the integration needs, and completing the installation.
Before you begin
Complete these checks before installing or connecting Databook. If any of them fail, the connection won't work.
Confirm your Salesforce edition has API access
Your Salesforce edition must include API access. Without it, the integration cannot connect. Check Salesforce's API access by edition. If your edition does not include API access, contact your Salesforce account representative to upgrade.
A quick glossary
A few Salesforce terms come up throughout this guide:
License — Purchased from Salesforce; sets the maximum permissions a user can receive. Which license you need depends on who's connecting Databook — see Prepare Salesforce access below.
Profile — Controls object, field, and feature access. Each user has exactly one profile (standard or custom), tied to one license. System Administrator is a profile, not a license.
Permission set — Extra permissions layered on top of a profile. Users can have multiple permission sets, and each set is tied to a license.
Prepare Salesforce access
Do this before starting the installation. The user you configure here is the user you'll authorize with, and the fields visible to that user are the only fields that will appear in the mapping step later.
Pick one of the two options below for connecting Databook, then grant the required permissions.
Required system permissions (enable these on the profile or permission set you configure):
API Enabled
If your Databook setup includes real-time Subscribe Actions, also enable the Subscribe Action permissions (listed at the end of this guide)
If you want quota optimization enabled, also enable the Quota optimization permissions (listed at the end of this guide)
See this article for a list of the required Salesforce permissions.
Option A: Human user
Use one of the following:
System Administrator — Already on a supported license (System Administrator is a profile on the Salesforce license). You'll still need to grant the correct object and field permissions, since they aren't always included by default.
Sales team member or other human user — Must have the Salesforce User License. The Salesforce Platform User License is not sufficient. This user can have a standard profile (such as Standard User) or a custom profile.
1. Configure system permissions
In Setup, search for Profiles in the Quick Find box and open it.
Select the profile you'd like to view and edit.
Click Edit at the top of the page.
Ensure the checkboxes for the required system permissions (listed above) are checked.
Click Save.
2a. Field permissions for a standard profile
If the user has a standard profile (such as Standard User):
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Setup.
In the left-hand search bar, type Object Manager and open it.
Choose the object Databook needs (for example, Account), then select Fields & Relationships from the left navbar.
Find the field you want to adjust and click it.
Click Set Field-Level Security.
Ensure Visible is selected for the profile. If the profile isn't in the list, it doesn't have access to the object, and that can't be changed here.
Repeat steps 4–6 for every field Databook needs to read, especially custom fields.
2b. Object and field permissions for a custom profile
If the user has a custom profile:
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Setup.
In the left-hand search bar, type Object Manager and open it.
Choose the object Databook needs (for example, Account) and go to Object Access in the left navbar. Select the Profiles tab, click Edit, and grant the necessary permissions for your custom profile.
If the integration needs to read data, ensure Read, View All Records, and View All Fields are checked.
If the integration needs to write data, ensure all boxes are checked.
Option B: Salesforce Integration user
Use a Salesforce Integration user when you want an API-only identity with no Salesforce UI access. Create the user with the Salesforce Integration license (steps below).
1. Create a new user
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Setup.
In the left-hand search bar, type Users and open it.
Create a new user
For User License, select Salesforce Integration.
For Profile, select Minimum Access - API Only Integrations.
2. Create a permission set
Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Setup.
In the left-hand search bar, type Permission Sets and open it.
Click New.
Create the permission set:
Name it something general (for example, "Integration User Permission Set") or describe the access (for example, "Account and Contact Access").
In the License dropdown, select Salesforce API Integration.
3. Configure object permissions
Click Object Settings.
For each object Databook needs (for example, Accounts), open it.
Check the relevant boxes under Object Permissions and Field Permissions, then click Save.
Repeat for every object Databook needs to access.
4. Configure system permissions
Select System Permissions.
Ensure the required system permissions (listed at the start of this section) are selected, then click Save.
5. Assign the permission set to the integration user
Click Manage Assignments.
Click Add Assignment.
Select the integration user you created in step 1.
Set Expires On to Never Expires, then click Assign.
Installing the integration
The installation is driven from the Databook Admin site. You'll be sent to Salesforce twice — once to install the package, once to authorize — and returned to Databook each time.
1. Open the Salesforce integration in Databook Admin
Go to admin.databook.com, select Config in the left navigation, then click the Salesforce tile under Core Operational Systems.
2. Install the Salesforce package
On the Connect step, click Install Salesforce Package. This opens Salesforce in a new tab — you'll need Salesforce admin access. Installation is one time per Salesforce org.
In Salesforce, select Install for All Users, check the acknowledgement box, and click Install.
You'll see a progress screen while the installation completes.
Once complete, you should see a confirmation screen.
To verify, go to Setup, search for Installed Packages, and confirm the package appears in the list.
3. Configure the External Client App OAuth policies
Still in Salesforce, configure the OAuth policies so the integration can authorize and maintain a stable connection. Do this before returning to Databook.
Go to Setup.
In the Quick Find box, search for External Client App Manager.
Click the name of the installed External Client App.
Go to the Policies tab and click Edit.
Under OAuth Policies, set Permitted Users to All users may self-authorize.
Under App Authorization:
Set Refresh Token Policy to Refresh token is valid until revoked.
Set IP Relaxation to Relax IP restrictions.
Click Save.
4. Return to Databook and start authorization
Back in the Databook tab, click Already installed? Skip to authorization → at the bottom of the Connect card.
5. Enter your Salesforce subdomain
Enter your Salesforce subdomain — the portion of your org's login URL before .my.salesforce.com — and click Next.
6. Allow access in Salesforce
A Salesforce authorization window appears. Salesforce shows a standard security warning on this screen for every connected app; it is expected here. Confirm the username shown is the account you configured permissions for, then click Allow.
You can revoke this authorization at any time from Salesforce.
Once the window closes, Databook confirms the connection. Click Next.
7. Select the objects to sync
Choose which Salesforce objects Databook will read. If you're unsure which objects your organization needs, check with your Databook business stakeholder before continuing — this determines what Databook can see.
8. Map the fields for each object
Each selected object has a tab. For every Databook field marked with a red asterisk, choose the corresponding field from your Salesforce org. Work through each tab in turn.
If an expected Salesforce field isn't in the dropdown, the connected user most likely doesn't have field-level visibility to it — see Prepare Salesforce access above. See also List of default fields to sync.
9. Review and complete
The final step summarizes every object and field mapping. Review it, then click Complete Installation.
You'll see a confirmation that the integration is active. Mappings can be changed later via Edit Configuration.
Reference: Subscribe Action permissions
If your Databook setup includes Subscribe Actions, enable these permissions on the profile (Option A) or permission set (Option B) you configured earlier.
Explicitly enable:
Modify Metadata Through Metadata API Functions — configures event channels and memberships through the Metadata API
Customize Application — configures artifacts like Named Credentials so Databook can connect to event channels securely
Salesforce auto-enables these dependent permissions when you enable the ones above:
View Setup and Configuration — access to setup configuration to create webhook subscription settings
View Roles and Role Hierarchy — gives correct visibility context so Salesforce can deliver events (without this, events may be generated but not delivered)
Manage Custom Permissions — create and manage dedicated event channels and channel memberships for the installation
Enable these on the profile (Option A, step 1) or permission set (Option B, step 4).
Reference: Quota optimization permissions
Quota optimization requires these permissions in addition to the Subscribe Action permissions above, enabled on the same profile or permission set:
Author Apex — required to write and deploy an Apex trigger used by the optimization
Manage Profiles and Permission Sets and Assign Permission Sets — required so Databook can create a dedicated permission set to manage field access and field-level security for a custom checkbox field
Enable these on the profile (Option A, step 1) or permission set (Option B, step 4).