Stack Platform Licenses
Summary
Salesforce Platform Starter licenses offer an affordable way to onboard users with limited custom object access of ten objects. To support users needing access to more custom objects without paying for pricier Platform Plus or full Sales Cloud licenses, you can "stack" multiple Platform Starter licenses for a single user, effectively increasing their custom object access while saving costs. This strategy requires deliberate planning, clear communication with your Salesforce Account Executive, and thorough documentation to manage and comply with license policies. It’s a practical architectural approach to optimize licensing cost-efficiency, especially for nonprofits and program management teams using the Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP).
Takeaways
- Use Platform Starter licenses to reduce Salesforce licensing costs.
- Stack multiple Platform Starter licenses to allow access to more custom objects.
- Communicate license stacking plans clearly with your Salesforce Account Executive.
- Document license stacking thoroughly to manage compliance and audits.
- Consider license stacking especially for nonprofit and program management scenarios.
One of the best ways to save on the cost of your Salesforce licenses is to have users on Platform Starter licenses. At $25/user/month list price (and just $6/user/month for nonprofits) they're a pretty inexpensive way to get your colleagues into the system. (Remind yourself about login pricing at the Crowdsourced Salesforce.org Pricing Guide .) There are limitations on logins though platform licenses, so you have to think carefully about what those users are going to do in the system and potentially make architecture choices to account for having users log in that way. But I bet you didn't know that you could stack platform licenses. That's a neat trick I learned about relatively recently. With some careful planning, design, and documentation this could be a way to save your org money year after year.