Salesforce Data Recovery: How to Restore Deleted Records in Salesforce

1. Restore deleted Salesforce records from the Recycle Bin

1.1. Required editions and user permissions:

1.2. How to restore deleted records in Salesforce from the Recycle Bin

• Step 1: Access the Recycle Bin from the App Launcher.

• Step 2: Select the record(s) to be restored and click Restore.

1.3. Limitations of Salesforce data recovery using the Salesforce Recycle Bin

• Previous versions of the record cannot be restored. If a user accidentally overwrites the record prior to its deletion, you will only be able to restore the latest, modified version of the record. 

• Deleted data is only available for 15 days, beyond which it is permanently deleted.

• Reports, customizations, and other metadata cannot be recovered. They must be recreated from scratch in case of accidental deletion or modification.

• Not all object relationships are restored. Learn more

2. Salesforce data recovery using native data import/export tools

2.1. Import Salesforce data using Salesforce Data Import Wizard

2.1.1. Required editions and user permissions

2.1.2. How to import data into Salesforce using the Data Import Wizard

• Step 1: Go to Setup and search for Data Import Wizard in the Quick Find box.

• Step 2: Click Launch Wizard.

• Step 3: Choose the type of data that you need to import. To import accounts, contacts, leads, solutions, person accounts, or articles, click Standard Objects. To import custom objects, click Custom Objects.

• Step 4: Specify if you want to add new records to Salesforce, update existing records, or add and update records simultaneously.

• Step 5: Specify matching and other criteria as required. You can also specify whether to trigger workflow rules and processes when the imported records meet the criteria.

• Step 6: Upload the CSV file containing the data you need to import. (Learn how you can prepare your data for import.)

• Step 7: Choose a character encoding method for your file. (Typically, you do not change your character encoding.) Choose between comma or tab as a value separator. Click Next.

• Step 8: Map the CSV data fields to Salesforce data fields. The Data Import wizard maps as many of your data fields as possible to standard Salesforce data fields. But if there are any fields that cannot be mapped by the wizard, you must do it manually by clicking on Map to the left of each unmapped field. Click Next.

• Step 9: Review and start the import. You can view the import status on the Bulk Data Load Jobs page.

2.2. Import Salesforce data using Salesforce Data Loader

2.2.1. Required editions and user permissions

2.2.2. How to import records into Salesforce using Data Loader

• Step 1: Go to Setup and search for Data Loader in the Quick Find box. Download the Data Loader installation file and install the application. See detailed steps on how to install Data Loader on Windows or macOS.

• Step 2: Open the Data Loader. Click Insert. 

• Step 3: Enter your Salesforce username and password, and click Log in. When you are logged in, click Next.

• Step 4: Choose an object that you need to import. If your object name is not displayed in the default list, select Show all objects to see a complete list of the objects that you can access. The objects are listed by localized label name, with the developer name noted in parentheses.

• Step 5:To select your CSV file, click Browse. For example, if you are inserting Contact records, you could specify a CSV file called insertcontacts.csv containing a Name column for the names of the contacts to be added. Click Next. After the object and CSV file are initialized, click OK.

• Step 6: Define how the columns in your CSV file map to Salesforce fields. To select an existing field mapping, click Choose an Existing Map. To create or modify a map, click Create or Edit a Map. Here, you can drag the Salesforce fields down to the column mapping. Click Ok.Click Next.

• Step 7: Select the directory where your success and error files will be stored. The success file contains all the records that have been successfully inserted and the error file contains the records that have not been inserted along with the error descriptions. Click Finish, and then click Yes to confirm.

2.3. Import Salesforce data using dataloader.io

2.3.1 Required editions and user permissions

2.3.2. How to import data into Salesforce using dataloader.io

• Step 1: From Setup, enter Dataloader.io in the Quick Find box, then select Dataloader.io.

• Step 2: Click Launch dataloader.io.

• Step 3: Click Login with Salesforce. Uncheck the option I have a custom Salesforce domain and choose Production as the Environment. Check the option agree to the Terms and Conditions and click Login. Click Allow.

• Step 4: In the dataloader.io application, click NEW TASK -> IMPORT.

• Step 5: Click Insert if you want to import only deleted records into Salesforce. If your records have been overwritten and you wish to update it with new values, choose Update. Choose Upsert if you want to perform a combination of Insert and Update -if a record in your file matches an existing record, the existing record is updated with the values in your file. If no match is found, a new record is created.

• Step 6: Choose the object to which you need to insert records and click Next.

• Step 7: Upload the CSV file containing the records to be inserted and click Next.

• Step 8: Ensure the data is mapping correctly to the existing data. Click Next > Save & Run. 

2.4. Limitations of Salesforce data recovery using native import/export tools

• Tedious and time-consuming, since the import and export have to be set up manually 

• Native Salesforce import/export options do not provide metadata backup and restore, which is critical to rebuild custom settings and relationships. 

• To restore data from your exports, you will have to compare the data before and after the data loss incident so that you can identify what data has been lost or modified and what has not, which is a difficult and time-consuming process. It is also difficult to restore records with object relationships intact.

• Restoration from the exported data requires manual effort, deduplication, and the use of spreadsheets, all of which takes up a lot of time. To perform a manual restore, you must know exactly what data needs to be restored, where it needs to be restored, and in what order, so that object relationships are preserved. Failure to do this can result in incomplete restores or even data corruption.

• You will not have access to data that has been modified/deleted since the last export.

• The CSV files to be imported will be stored on laptops or other less secure media that can create potential IT security risks.

3. Salesforce data recovery using native Backup and Restore

3.1. Limitations of native Salesforce Backup and Restore tool

• Having a backup and restore solution built within the platform is risky. Even though Salesforce segregates the storage of backup data from production data, your point of data access is still the same - the Salesforce platform.

• Using a native backup solution means you will not be able to access your backups in the event of a Salesforce outage.

• Having the backup copy on the same platform also means a malicious user with access to the data in your Salesforce org can easily access your backup data as well.

• Backup centers are also regionally co located, so an outage in that region will disable both the backup and production data.

4. Recover deleted Salesforce data using Salesforce Data Recovery Service

4.1. Limitations of using Salesforce Data Recovery Service to restore deleted Salesforce data

• Salesforce Data Recovery Service is a paid service that costs $10,000 per recovery.

• The recovery process is time-consuming; it can take up to six to eight weeks to complete after you raise the restore request.

• The service does not cover metadata restoration.

• As the recovered data will be in CSV files, you will have to manually upload the data into Salesforce (after resolving import errors).

• Data deleted more than three months cannot be recovered through the data recovery service.

• If Salesforce has an outage, so does its recovery service.

• Salesforce does not guarantee that the service will successfully restore 100% of your data.

5. Salesforce data recovery using third-party cloud backup tools

5.1. How to recover deleted records in Salesforce using SysCloud

• Step 1: Log in to SysCloud using your admin credentials.   

• Step 2: Click Archives and select Salesforce from the Backup and Restore drop down. 

• Step 3: Click on the organization you want to restore the record(s) from. 

• Step 4: Click on the object you want to restore the record(s) from.

• Step 5: Choose the required backup snapshot. Select the record(s) you want to restore by clicking the checkbox next to the record name and click Restore.   

• Step 6: In the restore pop-up, choose one of the three restore options under “Restore options” depending on how you want the data to be restored.

• Step 7: Select the checkbox next to Restore all levels of child records if you want to restore all the child records associated with the record. If this is left unchecked, only the selected record(s) and the other mandatory record(s) associated with it (if any) will be restored. 

• Step 8: Add comments (if any) to be shown in the restore report and click Next to preview the records that will be restored. 

• Step 9: This page allows more granular control over Salesforce data recovery. Here, you will be able to preview the records and can choose exactly what records to restore. Note that you will not be able to deselect a record that has a mandatory relationship with the record being restored.  

5.2. How to restore Salesforce metadata using SysCloud

• Step 1: Log in to SysCloud using your admin credentials.   

• Step 2: Click Archives and select Salesforce from the Backup and Restore drop down. 

• Step 3: Click on the organization you want to restore the metadata from. 

• Step 4: Navigate to the Metadata tab. Select the metadata type that you need to restore. Choose the required backup snapshot. Select the metadata type member by checking the box next to it and click Restore.

5.3. How to restore deleted objects in Salesforce using SysCloud

• Step 1: Log in to SysCloud using your admin credentials.   

• Step 2: Click Archives and select Salesforce from the Backup and Restore drop down. 

• Step 3: Click on the organization you want to restore the record(s) from. 

• Step 4: Select the object you want to restore by checking the box next to it and click Restore.

• Step 5:   In the restore pop-up, choose the required backup snapshot. Select the checkbox next to Restore all levels of child records if you want to restore all the child records associated with the record.

• Step 6: Chooseone of the three restore options under “Restore options” depending on how you want the data to be restored.

• Step 7: Add comments (if any) to be shown in the restore report and click Restore.