SF-Admin Automation Practice Question
Cloud Kicks needs a process to automatically update the 'Account Status' field on all related Contacts to 'Inactive' whenever an Account's status is changed to 'Closed'. Which automation tool should the administrator use to achieve this with the least amount of maintenance?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose Apex triggers because they are familiar with coding. However, Salesforce best practices dictate using Record-Triggered Flows for cross-object updates whenever possible to reduce maintenance and complexity.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Record-Triggered Flow
Record-Triggered Flows are the recommended tool for cross-object field updates in Salesforce. They replace legacy workflows and process builders because they are more efficient and execute before or after database changes. By using an after-save flow, the administrator can easily traverse the Account-Contact relationship to perform bulk updates while ensuring the process remains declarative, scalable, and highly visible within the Flow Builder interface for future maintenance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Workflow Rules
Why it's wrong here
Workflow rules are a deprecated feature that does not support cross-object field updates for child records like Contacts. Salesforce recommends migrating all existing workflow logic to Flow as part of the ongoing transition to more robust, modern, and efficient declarative automation tools that offer superior debugging capabilities.
- ✗
Approval Process
Why it's wrong here
Approval processes are designed for multi-step organizational sign-off workflows rather than automated data synchronization. They require manual user intervention to trigger record updates, making them unsuitable for an automated background process that updates related Contact records whenever an Account status changes to a specific value.
- ✓
Record-Triggered Flow
Why this is correct
Record-Triggered Flows are the standard declarative tool for cross-object updates in modern Salesforce orgs. By utilizing an after-save flow, the administrator can efficiently update related child records, ensuring that the automation runs predictably and integrates natively with the Salesforce transaction model for better performance and error handling.
- ✗
Apex Trigger
Why it's wrong here
Apex triggers require custom code development and ongoing maintenance by a developer. Unless the business logic is too complex for Flow, administrative best practices dictate using declarative tools like Record-Triggered Flows to minimize technical debt and allow non-developers to manage the business logic without writing code.
About these practice questions
One of 202 original SF-Admin practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Salesforce exam blueprint
This SF-Admin practice question is part of Courseiva's free Salesforce certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SF-Admin exam.