Salesforce ends support for Workflow Rules and Process Builder on December 31, 2025. But here's what most articles miss: this isn't just a migration deadline. It's your best opportunity to audit, consolidate, and optimize your automation architecture. Don't just move technical debt from one tool to another.
What's Happening
Salesforce has been signaling this change for years. They've already restricted creation of new Workflow Rules and Process Builders in recent releases, and most orgs can no longer create new ones. The official end-of-support date is now set:
- December 31, 2025: End of support for Workflow Rules and Process Builder
- What "end of support" means: Your existing automations will continue running, and you can still edit, activate, or deactivate them. But Salesforce won't provide support or bug fixes for these legacy tools
- The risk: Future platform changes may impact unsupported automations, and any issues that arise are yours to solve
Why You Shouldn't Just "Migrate to Flow"
Salesforce provides a "Migrate to Flow" tool that can automatically convert your Workflow Rules and Process Builders into Flows. While convenient, this approach has significant limitations:
- 1:1 conversion isn't optimization: The tool recreates your existing logic in Flow format, but doesn't consolidate or improve it
- Complex patterns require manual rework: Certain scheduled actions, multi-criteria scenarios, and cross-object patterns may not migrate cleanly and require manual reconfiguration
- Performance considerations ignored: Some automations are better suited for Apex, especially high-volume or complex logic scenarios
- Technical debt carries forward: Years of accumulated automation sprawl gets migrated as-is, missing an opportunity to clean house
The real question isn't "how do I migrate?" but rather "what should my automation architecture look like?"
The Strategic Evaluation Framework
Before migrating anything, every Workflow Rule and Process Builder should be evaluated against these criteria:
1. Is This Automation Still Needed?
You'd be surprised how many legacy automations exist for processes that have changed or been abandoned. Before migrating, ask:
- Does this automation still serve a business purpose?
- Is there duplicate logic elsewhere (another WFR, PB, Flow, or Apex trigger)?
- Has the business process it supports been modified or retired?
2. Flow or Apex?
Not every automation belongs in Flow. Here's a decision framework:
Choose Flow when:
- The logic is straightforward and admin-maintainable
- Business users may need to modify the automation
- The automation handles moderate data volumes
- Visual representation of the logic adds clarity
Choose Apex when:
- Complex orchestration that Flow can't handle cleanly
- Integration with external systems requiring precise control
- Specialized error handling and transaction control requirements
- Profiling shows Flow hitting governor limits in high-volume scenarios
- Complex data transformations or conditional logic
3. Can Automations Be Consolidated?
Many orgs have accumulated multiple Workflow Rules and Process Builders on the same object over the years. Migration is the perfect opportunity to consolidate:
- Combine related automations into single, well-organized Flows
- Eliminate redundant logic that may have been created by different admins
- Establish clear naming conventions and documentation
- Reduce order-of-execution complexity
Common Migration Pitfalls
Order of Execution Issues
Record-triggered Flows sit at a different point in the order of execution than Workflow Rules and Process Builders. When migrating, you may encounter unexpected behavior if other automations depend on specific execution order. Use Flow Trigger Order to explicitly control sequencing among record-triggered flows.
Governor Limit Violations
Flows converted from Process Builders can be more resource-intensive. What worked as a Process Builder might hit CPU time limits or SOQL query limits as a Flow, especially in bulk scenarios.
Testing Gaps
Many legacy automations were created before robust testing was standard practice. Migration is the time to implement proper test coverage, which Apex inherently requires but Flow does not.
A Smarter Migration Approach
Rather than a "big bang" migration, take it in stages:
- Audit: Inventory all Workflow Rules and Process Builders, map dependencies, identify what's still needed vs. what can be retired
- Design: Plan your target architecture, decide Flow vs. Apex for each automation, establish naming conventions
- Execute: Migrate in logical groups, test thoroughly in sandbox, validate with stakeholders
- Cleanup: Deactivate legacy automations, monitor, then delete after a validation period
How Lovalto Can Help
This isn't just a technical migration. It's an opportunity to modernize your automation architecture and reduce technical debt. Our approach includes:
- Comprehensive automation audit: We inventory and assess every Workflow Rule and Process Builder in your org (see our Health Check service)
- Strategic recommendations: Flow vs. Apex decisions based on your specific use cases and volumes
- Architecture design: A scalable automation framework, not just a 1:1 conversion (explore our Core Salesforce capabilities)
- Migration execution: Phased rollout with thorough testing and validation
- Knowledge transfer: Your team understands the new architecture and can maintain it going forward
With deep Salesforce experience and expertise in automation architecture, we've helped organizations navigate platform changes strategically rather than reactively.
With the December 31st deadline just weeks away, now is the time to act. If you haven't started your migration, a strategic approach is still possible, but every day counts. Don't scramble to migrate at the last minute and carry forward years of technical debt.
Get in touch for a complimentary automation assessment. We'll review your current state and provide a realistic roadmap for strategic migration.