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How to Export Data from Salesforce to Excel: The Complete Guide

Even though Salesforce now offers quite good reporting capabilities, it is still primarily a CRM tool. Consequently, its data reporting and visualization features are not as comprehensive and refined when compared to business intelligence (BI) tools and spreadsheet software. This step-by-step guide shows you how to export data from Salesforce to Excel and provides a few free Salesforce dashboard templates for instant data visualization. Let’s go!

What are the ways to connect Salesforce to Excel?

For this type of data connection, consider the following methods:

Note: There’s also a more advanced way to connect using the Salesforce REST API. We’ll not cover it here, as it requires an advanced understanding of APIs and the ability to write API request code. If you’re interested anyway, you’ll find more information on how to create a connected app and get an access token in our guide on Export Salesforce reports. The blog post on how to connect API to Excel can also be useful in this regard. 

Check out the subsequent sections to learn the details and see which method works the best for you and your needs.

The easiest & fully automated approach to export Salesforce data to Excel: Coupler.io

Use Coupler.io to automate data transfers from Salesforce to Microsoft Excel, no complex configuration or coding required. It only takes three simple steps to set up the connection.

Step #1: Collect data from Salesforce

You’ll be offered to sign up for Coupler.io for free (no credit card required).

Coupler.io allows you to create multi- and cross-channel reports where you can combine data from Salesforce with data from other apps and sources. Just choose an additional source under Add a few more sources and configure it as needed:

When you’re done with the sources, proceed to the next step.

Step #2: Transform your data

Coupler.io loads data for preview. Users can organize their dataset using the following transformation options:

You can access the transformation options using the toolbar just above the table with your source data.

The blending options for multiple data sources offer the following functionality:

When your data looks how you like, configure your data destination. 

Step #3: Load data to Excel and schedule refresh

Note: In addition to Excel, Coupler.io also allows you to connect Salesforce to Google Sheets.

  1. Hit Save and run, and you’re done—the Salesforce data will now flow to your selected Excel workbook. All the transformations will be taken into account as well!

So, when you now open the Excel workbook, the Salesforce data will be there. With automatic data refresh enabled, the workbook will be automatically updated at a set interval (which can be as little as 15 minutes), once any change is made in Salesforce.

Use Coupler.io add-in in Excel to speed up your work even more

In addition to the Coupler.io web app, which is your usual go-to place to manage your data flows, there’s a dedicated Coupler.io add-in for Microsoft Excel. You can download it from Microsoft AppSource, the official Microsoft marketplace for approved add-in publishers. Alternatively, you can install the add-in directly in Excel, using the Add-ins option on the ribbon:

One more thing to know, the add-in supports the following Microsoft Excel versions:

Once you finally have the add-in in Excel, sign in with your Coupler.io credentials and configure the dataflow from Salesforce to Excel as follows:

With the dataflow ready, you’ll be able to use the add-in to perform the following actions right from your Excel worksheet with Salesforce data:

As you can see, the add-in complements the Coupler.io web app experience quite nicely, letting you manage your data refreshes and data flows directly from an Excel spreadsheet, thus speeding up your workflow.

Native methods to export Salesforce data to Excel

Coupler.io provides a one-stop-shop for Salesforce data export, allowing you to freely select objects, reports, or custom SOQL data range. On the other hand, each native method has been designed for different data export purposes:

Keep in mind that the export operations might require a specific Salesforce edition and/or user permission. For details, refer to the relevant subsection below.

Salesforce Reports

The Reports feature may be the best native option for exporting data related to specific object types, such as leads, accounts, and campaigns. It also provides a workaround for exporting Salesforce lists to Excel (by the way, a long-awaited feature among Salesforce users). You just need to recreate a desired list view using the filters available in Reports.

Note: The following restrictions apply to running exports with the Reports feature:

Follow the steps below to export desired data with the Reports feature. The steps differ for Lightning and Classic experiences, so be sure to refer to the section that’s for yours.

Salesforce report export in Lightning Experience

Export Salesforce report to Excel using Salesforce Classic

That’s it. Below you can see a Microsoft Excel view of a report exported using Printable View—note that it looks different than when exported in Lightning Experience (the Formatted Report option):

Salesforce Data Export Service

This method is more of a data backup option, as it allows you to export all your company’s data from Salesforce. The resulting files are CSVs, so you can readily import these to Microsoft Excel without any intermediaries.

Note: The following restrictions apply to the Data Export Service:

To start exporting data from Salesforce, complete the steps below—these apply regardless of whether you’re using the Lightning or Classic experience:

Note: Depending on your Salesforce edition, you can run an export only once a week or a month. If Export Now is unavailable, it means not enough time has passed from the last time you or someone else in your organization ran an export.

Note: This will increase the size of your export and export data processing time.

Once the export is complete, you’ll get an email with a link to the exported data. Alternatively, you can go to the Data Export page (see this step), where the link will also be available. Be sure to download the export data within 48 hours, as after this time, the file or files will be deleted.

Data Loader: The export/import tool from Salesforce

Data Loader is a client application that you can use to bulk export data from Salesforce into a CSV file and then open it in Excel. The tool features an easy wizard-based user interface with drag-n-drop support for field mappings. Command line is also available for more advanced users (Windows only).

Note: The following restrictions apply to using the Data Loader tool:

Before you begin, install the tool from the Salesforce Developers website. It’s compatible with Windows 10 and later as well as macOS 13.x and later. Installing Java Runtime dependency might be required too.

When you’re ready, complete these steps:

If you need more details on using Data Loader, simply consult its user’s manual.

Connect Salesforce using Power Query in Excel

Here, we’ll show you how to use the data transformation engine called Power Query in Excel to connect to your org’s Salesforce, select the required data, and load it. Later, you’ll be able to transform and adapt the data according to your needs.

Note: The following restrictions apply to this method:

Coming back to Power Query, follow the instructions below to import the desired dataset from Salesforce:

Turn your Salesforce data into visual insights with ready-made and attractive dashboard templates

Tweaking and visualizing the data in Excel is, of course, possible, but it takes some time. The time that you could easily be spending on something more beneficial, like deeply analyzing the exported Salesforce data or effectively presenting it to your co-workers.

But you know what? You can actually have it all, in no time! Just try our prebuilt professional dashboard templates, which we’ve prepared for you for free. First of all, thanks to interactive charts, tables, and more, the templates will make your Salesforce data much easier to understand for anybody. But more importantly, they’ll provide you and your colleagues with highly valuable insights to boost your sales analytics and let you make truly data-driven decisions.

Note that the templates shown below are designed for use in Looker Studio and Google Sheets. These are perfect alternatives to Excel that let you make the most of your Salesforce data.

Salesforce dashboard

The Salesforce dashboard is the easiest way to get the core Salesforce sales analytics data in one place to understand your sales activities, work on opportunities, etc.

With this dashboard, you can, for example:

The dashboard allows you to visualize Salesforce data in Looker Studio. It features a Coupler.io connector to fully automate your dataflow. To configure the dashboard, see instructions on the Readme tab.

Salesforce CRM dashboard

Try this dashboard to get diverse data and assess your sales pipeline both from the perspective of your team and your customers. See how your team members perform, learn which accounts are the most prospective ones, and much more.

With the Salesforce CRM dashboard, you can, for example:

This dashboard is available for both Looker Studio and Google Sheets data destinations. Thanks to the bundled Coupler.io data connector, you can enjoy fully automated flow of your Salesforce data. Click a button below to get this dashboard. Learn how to implement it, reading the instructions on the Readme tab.

Salesforce Win Loss analysis dashboard

This dashboard template is based on a simple dichotomy but can be a powerful tool for insightful win-loss analysis. With its help, you can easily identify areas that work and the ones that require some reworking.

Use this template to:

You can use this dashboard template in Looker Studio. With the Coupler.io connector included, you’ll be able to fully benefit from automated data flow. Click the button below and go to the Readme tab to get easy setup instructions.

Salesforce sales team performance dashboard

This dashboard template is the most straightforward and efficient way to analyze the performance of each and every member of your sales team. It lets you focus both on won/lost opportunities as well as see who’s managing their tasks most effectively.

The dashboard lets you, for example:

Use this dashboard template either in Looker Studio or Google Sheets. Enjoy a 100% automated flow of data from Salesforce thanks to the included Coupler.io data connector. Choose the destination that suits you the best and implement the template, using the instructions on the Readme tab.

Why actually export data from Salesforce to Excel?

We’ve briefly discussed the primary reason for moving Salesforce data to Excel, the more advanced and customized reporting capabilities, at the beginning. Let’s look deeper at this and other aspects that make people connect the two services.

As you can see, there might be multiple reasons why you would want to get your Salesforce data into Excel. It’s also quite possible that the list above is not exhaustive, so you can develop your own use cases that fit your organization’s very needs.

Which method to Export Salesforce to Excel should I choose?

There are multiple reasons and ways to move Salesforce data into Microsoft Excel.

Most approaches require manually initiating the export process and then opening XLSX, XLS, or CSV files in the target application. This process is not automated, and the same is true for handling data updates. After updating data in Salesforce, you must manually update it on the other side as well. Not a particularly elegant or convenient way of doing things, is it? Even the Power Query based method doesn’t offer a true auto-syncing solution, but requires Power BI or an ODBC as an intermediary. We don’t need to mention that it makes the entire setup much more complex.

To make the process seamless, pleasant, and hassle-free, you can go with Coupler.io’s in-built intuitive wizard. With it, you’ll be able to set up an automated Salesforce-to-Excel dataflow, quickly configure necessary transformations, and schedule auto data syncs at intervals as short as 15 minutes. Even better, look at our free salesforce report templates to save more time and become a true data presentation expert.

Automate Salesforce data exports for custom reporting with Coupler.io

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