Why UK Charities Are Redesigning Their Salesforce Layouts — And How to Do It Right
Salesforce has been around for a long time. And for many charities, that means they're working with a system that was set up years ago — by someone who has since moved on — and gradually patched, added to, and quietly dreaded by the staff who use it every day.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. One of the most common things we hear from charities who come to us is some version of: 'Salesforce is technically doing what we need, but it's a bit of a mess, and nobody really enjoys using it.'
The good news is that redesigning your Salesforce layouts and processes doesn't mean starting from scratch. Often, a focused piece of work can completely transform the user experience — without losing any of your data or history.
Why layouts matter more than people realise
When Salesforce is set up without much thought for the user experience, you end up with record pages that show 40 fields when staff only ever need 8, information buried under tabs that nobody clicks, and processes that require five steps when two would do.
This isn't just an annoyance. It leads to real problems:
Staff enter data inconsistently because the form doesn't guide them
Important information gets missed or skipped
People resort to spreadsheets or paper because Salesforce feels like more effort than it's worth
Reports become unreliable because the underlying data is patchy
When layouts are redesigned thoughtfully — to reflect how staff actually work — you see adoption go up, data quality improve, and reporting become genuinely useful.
What a layout redesign typically involves
A good Salesforce layout redesign starts with listening. Before touching a single field, we talk to the people who use the system every day: what do they need to see at a glance? What's confusing? What do they always have to scroll past?
From there, a typical project might include:
Reviewing and rationalising custom fields — removing what's no longer needed and adding what's missing
Redesigning page layouts using Salesforce's Lightning App Builder — putting the right information in the right place for each type of user
Simplifying or automating processes using Flow — reducing manual steps and prompting staff at the right moments
Setting up meaningful views, list views, and dashboards — so people can see what they need without running reports every time
Reviewing profiles and permissions — making sure each team member sees a Salesforce that's relevant to their role
When your strategy changes, your CRM should too
Many charities find they need a layout redesign not because Salesforce was badly set up originally, but because their organisation has evolved. A new strategy, a new programme, a restructured team — all of these mean the old setup no longer fits.
If you're heading into a new strategic period, it's worth reviewing your Salesforce setup at the same time. Aligning your CRM with your new direction from the start means you build the right habits and capture the right data — rather than retrofitting later.
It doesn't have to be a big project
One thing we always tell charities: you don't have to redesign everything at once. Sometimes the highest-impact change is just fixing the three things that frustrate people most. Start there, build confidence in the system, and expand from that foundation.
A phased approach also means your team isn't overwhelmed. Change management matters with any system — people need time to adjust and adopt.
Ready to get started? Get in touch with the team at Salesforce4sme — we'd love to learn about your organisation and explore how we can help. Contact us today at salesforce4sme