# Salesforce CRM Commercial Record Model

## Source Type

Product data model reference. Salesforce Account, Contact, Lead, and B2B relationship patterns.

## Domain

CRM, sales operations, commercial customer records, and B2B account hierarchies.

## Why This Source Matters

Salesforce **Account** is the archetypal **commercial record** in enterprise software:
a company or household you sell to, distinct from **Contact** (people) and **User**
(login). It operationalizes commercial identity separate from authentication.

## Key Concepts

- **Account**: company, household, or partner organization in CRM; core commercial record.
- **Contact**: person associated with accounts; human relationship endpoint.
- **Lead**: unqualified prospect before conversion to Account/Contact.
- **Opportunity**: potential revenue deal tied to Account.
- **Account hierarchy**: parent-child account relationships (global HQ → subsidiaries).
- **Account-Contact Relationship**: many-to-many person-to-account roles (ACR).
- **Person Account**: B2C pattern merging person and account for individual consumers.
- **Partner / Customer / Competitor**: account type labels for commercial role hints.
- **User (Salesforce)**: internal login for CRM operators, not customer identity.

## Relevant Terminology

| Term | Source meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Account | CRM commercial entity record. |
| Contact | Person linked to accounts. |
| Lead | Pre-qualification prospect. |
| ACR | Account-Contact Relationship with roles. |
| Account hierarchy | Parent/child commercial structure. |
| Person Account | B2C combined person+account pattern. |
| Customer account (informal) | Often means CRM Account object. |

## Modeling Assumptions

- **Commercial party (Account) ≠ login User**; sales data outlives individual logins.
- **Multiple contacts** represent people acting for commercial account (agency in practice).
- **Hierarchy models corporate structure** for roll-up revenue and ownership context.
- **Lead → Account conversion** is fluid-to-bound transition in commercial funnel.
- **Person Account** blurs person/account boundary for B2C — convenient but risky for canon purity.
- **Account type** hints customer/vendor/partner but is not authorization.

## Identity-Canon Implications

- Salesforce **Account** maps to **Commercial Record** linked to **Organization**
  (B2B) or **Natural Person** (person account).
- **Contact** maps to **Natural Person** + **Affiliation** or **Representation** to Organization.
- **ACR** maps to **Membership** or **Representation** with role metadata.
- **Account hierarchy** maps to Organization parent/child structural relationships.
- **Lead** maps to provisional Identity/Commercial prospect with weak evidence until conversion.
- **User** maps to internal **Account** (employee), not customer.
- Validates Commercial Record concept from Customer Account resolution work.

## Terminology Conflicts

- **Account (CRM)** vs. **Account (login)**: Salesforce naming collision.
- **Customer account** language vs. **Account object**: product uses Account for all.
- **Person Account** vs. **P2 separation**: B2C shortcut vs. canon layers.

## Candidate Canonical Mappings

| Salesforce concept | Candidate canonical concept |
| --- | --- |
| Account (B2B) | Commercial Record + Organization |
| Contact | Natural Person |
| Account-Contact Relationship | Affiliation / Representation |
| Account hierarchy | Organization structure Relationship |
| Lead | Prospective Commercial Record (weak) |
| Opportunity | Pipeline Pursuit (promotes to Commercial Commitment on binding trigger) |
| User | Account (internal operator) |
| Person Account | Commercial Record + Natural Person (combined projection) |

## Open Questions

*(none — settled in `commercial-identity-nuance-settlement.md`)*

## Settled

- Opportunity → **Pipeline Pursuit**; binding triggers and renewal/amendment rules.
- Person Account → split Natural Person + Commercial Record; adapter `projection_mode`
  only on export.

## References

- Salesforce Account object reference — https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_account.htm
- Shellblack, Leads vs Account and Contacts — https://www.shellblack.com/whiteboard/overview-of-leads-account-and-contacts-the-salesforce-data-model/
- SalesforceBen, Account best practices — https://www.salesforceben.com/best-practices-salesforce-account-object/