Salesforce Territory Management: Setup and Best Practices

Quick Summary

Salesforce Territory Management (Sales Territories) groups accounts into territories and gives each territory’s reps access. Three steps set it up.

• Enable Sales Territories in Territory Settings.
• Create a territory model and territory type.
• Build territories, add users and rules, then activate.

It doesn’t route leads or cases, so pair it with lead routing software.

What is Salesforce Territory Management?

Salesforce Territory Management groups accounts by region, industry or any other criteria that reflect how you sell. Instead of sharing accounts one by one, you organize them into territories and give the right reps access to each group.

It works on accounts and the opportunities under them, but it doesn’t route leads. That’s why many teams pair Salesforce territories with lead routing tools that assign new leads automatically.

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Enterprise Territory Management (ETM)

Enterprise Territory Management (ETM) is the official name of Salesforce’s built-in territory feature. It’s the tool you switch on in Setup to group accounts into territories and control which reps can see them.

You’ll also hear it called Territory Management 2.0, because it replaced the original territory management module that Salesforce retired in Summer ‘21.

Salesforce has since renamed it Sales Territories, so you’ll see both names across Setup and the help docs.

It’s included with Enterprise and Unlimited editions of Sales Cloud, plus Performance and Developer editions, so there’s no extra license to buy. The Professional Edition doesn’t include it.

Benefits of Salesforce Territory Management

• Access without changing ownership. One territory can contain several reps, and one account can sit in several territories, so overlay and specialist reps see the accounts they support.
• Reporting and forecasting by territory. You can filter reports and dashboards by territory, and Salesforce builds a territory forecast hierarchy from your model.
• Rules instead of one-by-one sharing. Active assignment rules place accounts in territories when they’re created or edited, based on fields like country or industry.
• Room to test a new structure. You can build a model in the Planning state and run its rules before it touches live access.
• Territories that match your strategy. You can design territories around named accounts, high-value clients or specific industries rather than geography alone.

How to Enable Enterprise Territory Management

Before you can use territories, you need to turn on the Enterprise Territory Management feature. It’s best to test it in a sandbox environment before deploying to production.

To turn it on, take two steps.

1. In Setup, search for “Territory Settings” in the Quick Find box and click the link.
2. Click Enable Sales Territories.

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How to Create Territories

Setting up territories takes five steps. Apart from territory types, every step below starts on the Territory Models page, which you’ll find by searching “Territory Models” in Setup’s Quick Find box.

Step 1. Create (or Clone) a Territory Model

1. Click the New Territory Model button.
2. Give your model a label.
3. Click Save.

To clone an existing model instead, click its label, click Clone, update the Label and Territory Model Name fields, and click Save.

Step 2. Define Your Territories

Territories are where you’ll assign users and accounts.

You’ll need at least one territory type before you can create a territory. In Setup, search for “Territory Types” in the Quick Find box, click New Territory Type, enter a Label, Territory Type Name and Priority, and click Save.

To create a territory, follow these steps.

1. Click the View Hierarchy link next to the territory model you created.
2. Use the dropdown menu in the top right corner to switch to Tree View.
3. Click Create Territory next to the territory model name to create the first territory.
4. Fill out the Territory Label, Territory Name, Territory Type, and Parent Territory.
5. Configure the access levels.
6. Click Save.
7. To add child territories, click Create Territory next to an existing territory and repeat the process.

Step 3. Assign Users to Each Territory

Assigning a user to a territory grants them the permissions set in the territory’s access levels.

1. Click View Hierarchy next to the territory model name.
2. Click the name of the territory you’d like to add members to.
3. Scroll down to the Assigned Users related list and click Manage Users.
4. Select the users you’d like to add from the Available Users table and click Add.
5. Click Save.

Step 4. Create Account Assignment Rules

You can create rules from the territory model, as below, or from a single territory’s record.

1. Click the View Rules link next to the territory model name.
2. Click New Rule.
3. Enter a Name and Unique Name (the API name) for your rule.
4. Define your selection criteria.
5. Check the Active checkbox if you want the rule to run automatically when a user creates or updates an account.
6. Click Save.

Active rules only fire when an account is created or edited. To place the accounts you already have, run the rules as shown in How to Run Territory Assignment Rules below.

Step 5. Activate Your Territory Model

Salesforce only allows one active territory model at a time.

1. Click View Hierarchy next to the territory model name.
2. Click the Activate button.
3. In the modal, click Activate.

Salesforce will display “Activating” while it processes your request. Watch for an email from Salesforce that confirms your model’s activation.

Territory Assignment Rules

Territory assignment rules decide which accounts belong in each territory by checking fields on the account record. When an account matches, Salesforce adds it to that territory, and the reps assigned there get access to it.

How Rules Evaluate Account Fields

Each territory assignment rule is a set of conditions on account fields, like “Shipping Country equals Canada” or “Industry equals Manufacturing.” You can use up to 10 fields in one rule.

If you need more, Salesforce suggests combining several fields into a single formula field.

Local Versus Inherited Rules

A local assignment rule belongs to one territory and only applies there. An inherited rule belongs to a parent territory with Apply to child territories selected, so every territory below it uses the same conditions.

You’ll only see that option when you create or edit the rule from the territory’s own record.

An account has to match every rule on a territory, both inherited and local, before Salesforce adds it there. If it matches several territories on the same branch of your hierarchy, it goes to the lowest one.

For example, say your United States Manufacturing territory has two inherited rules, Shipping Country equals United States and Industry equals Manufacturing. Its child, Oregon Manufacturing, only needs one local rule, Shipping State equals Oregon.

A Portland manufacturer matches all three rules and ends up in Oregon Manufacturing, while an Ohio manufacturer stays in the parent territory.

The Exclude From Territory Assignment Rules Checkbox

Sometimes you want an account kept out of the rules, like a strategic customer whose territories you assign by hand.

Tick the Exclude from Territory Assignment Rules checkbox on that account, and the rules stop evaluating it. Salesforce also drops it from any territory it gained through a rule, so add territories by hand from its Assigned Territories list.

How to Run Territory Assignment Rules

To run rules on accounts you already have, click View Hierarchy next to your model, then Run Rules next to a territory. For a model still in Planning, Run Assignment Rules at the top covers the whole model.

You can run the rules on every account or just a subset. Full runs can take a long time, so Salesforce suggests filtering the subset by last-modified date, and you’ll get an email when the run finishes.

Rules also run on models in the Planning state, so you can test a new model before you activate it.

Rules can also run when someone edits an account. For that, you’ll need the Evaluate this account against territory rules on save checkbox, which your admin can add to the account page layout.

Territory Assignment Rule Limits

Each territory can have up to 15 assignment rules and 1,950 assigned users, though Salesforce suggests staying around 300 users to avoid slow processing.

Every territory model starts with room for 1,000 territories, and Salesforce Support can raise that depending on your edition. Performance Edition can go up to 99,999 per model, though requests over 20,000 need approval.

Enterprise Edition gets two territory models, while Performance, Unlimited and Developer editions get four (Salesforce Help).

What Territory Rules Don’t Do

Territory rules stop at putting an account in the right territory. They don’t place new leads or cases, and they never change who owns a record. A new lead from Oregon won’t reach your Oregon rep on its own.

That’s the gap Kubaru’s territory management features fill. You define territories in Kubaru, inside Salesforce, by country, state, ZIP code or latitude and longitude. Kubaru then uses them to route new leads and assign cases to an owner.

If a territory has several reps, Kubaru shares the work by round robin or sends each record to the rep with the lightest workload.

Cases, contacts and opportunities can also follow their parent account’s territory, so support requests reach the team that already covers that customer. Sales ops can edit territories themselves, without waiting on a Salesforce admin.

How to Assign Leads Based on Territories

Territory assignment rules only evaluate accounts, so no rule will add a lead to a territory for you. You can add one by hand from the lead’s Assigned Territories list, but that doesn’t change who owns the lead.

Instead, you assign leads by using territory data as criteria in Lead Assignment Rules or automation.

To set it up, work through five steps.

1. Check your leads carry territory fields. Country, State/Province and Zip/Postal Code are standard lead fields, so you only need custom fields for values like Region. These fields become your territory markers, since Salesforce won’t apply territory rules to leads.
2. Build Assignment Rules Using Territory Criteria. In Setup, search for Lead Assignment Rules in the Quick Find box. Create rule entries that match your territory definitions, for example
   • State/Province equals CA, OR, WA → assign to the West Coast queue
   • Country equals UK → assign to the EMEA team
   • Zip/Postal Code starts with 9 → assign to a specific rep
3. Assign Leads to the Right Users or Queues. Territories often hold several reps, so many teams send leads to a queue per territory for reps to pull from. Assignment rules can’t rotate leads between reps, so round robin needs Flow or a routing tool.
4. Test Your Routing.
   • Create test leads for each region or segment.
   • Check that they land in the correct queue or with the right owner.
   • Change the rule entry order if Salesforce fires the wrong entry first.
5. Update Rules When Territories Change. Use lead reports to see how leads spread across your territories. When you redraw a territory, update the matching rule entries at the same time, or leads keep going to the old owner.

Limitations of Salesforce Territory Management

Sales Territories controls who can see accounts. That leaves a few gaps for teams that also need routing.

• Rules only evaluate accounts. You can only add leads to a territory by hand, and cases get territory access through the account they belong to.
• No owner assignment. Territories grant access based on membership, but they never set the owner of a lead or account. To automate ownership, you’ll need Flow, Apex or a third-party app.
• Admin-heavy setup. Most territory work needs the Manage Territories permission. Salesforce now lets you name teammates to administer specific territories, but each one needs the Administer Territory Operations permission, set up by an admin.
• Edition-based limits. Salesforce caps territories, models and rules by edition, as covered in Territory Assignment Rule Limits above.
• Apex for opportunity assignment. Automatically assigning territories to opportunities runs on an Apex class. Salesforce provides sample code, but someone still has to deploy and maintain it.

How Kubaru Enhances Salesforce Territory Management

Kubaru is a native Salesforce app that sets the owner on each record, which territories can’t do. Here’s what it adds.

• Ownership on any object. Kubaru assigns leads, accounts, cases, opportunities and custom objects, without custom Flow or Apex.
• Workload balancing. Records go to the available rep with the lowest active workload, and weights send more to reps with more capacity.
• Rule-based routing. You can route on combinations of record fields, or match records to reps by skill.
• Reassignment for unworked records. If a rep doesn’t act in time, Kubaru can reassign the record to another user or a queue, never back to the same rep.
• Assignment logs. Every assignment is logged, so you can check who received each record and when.
• Business-user admin. Sales ops and RevOps can change routing without Salesforce admin privileges.

Best Practices for Salesforce Territory Management

Plan Your Territories Around Reliable Fields

Rules can only check what’s on the account, with up to 10 fields per rule. Build territories on fields your team fills in consistently, like Billing Country, rather than ones that are often blank.

Use Hierarchies Strategically

Put shared conditions on the parent territory and select Apply to child territories. Each child then needs only the one rule that makes it different, like Shipping State equals Oregon. That keeps the hierarchy readable and the reports clean.

Automate Where Possible

Mark your assignment rules Active, so new and edited accounts land in the right territory without anyone sharing them by hand. For leads and cases, which territory rules never touch, use a routing tool.

Regularly Review Coverage

After each territory change, run reports on territories without assigned accounts and users without a territory. Salesforce doesn’t ship these, so have your admin build the two custom report types once. They flag empty territories and uncovered reps early.

Test New Models Before You Activate Them

Build the new structure as a Planning model and run its rules there. Enterprise Edition gives you two models, so you can test one while the other stays active without disrupting your sales team.

Document Processes

Keep a record of each rule’s criteria, your access levels, and every account marked Exclude from Territory Assignment Rules. Otherwise, new admins will struggle to work out why an account sits where it does.

Territory Management Terms to Know

Territory Management FAQs

What is the best software for sales territory planning?

If your team works in Salesforce, the native choice is Territory Planning. It comes with Salesforce’s paid Sales Planning add-on, listed at $75 per user per month billed annually, and helps you carve out and optimize territories.

Planning only draws the lines, though. To get new leads and cases to the right rep in each territory, you’ll need a routing tool like Kubaru’s territory routers.

What are the different types of territories in Salesforce?

Salesforce doesn’t come with fixed territory types. You create your own under Territory Types in Setup, so they match how your team sells. Salesforce’s setup screen suggests geography, named accounts, or industry and vertical as starting points.

What is the territory hierarchy in Salesforce?

The territory hierarchy is the parent-and-child structure of territories inside a territory model, with the model’s name at the top. You open it by clicking View Hierarchy on a model, and it’s where you manage territories.

What is the best mapping software for sales territories?

For teams on Salesforce, Salesforce Maps is usually the closest fit. It’s a paid add-on that plots your Salesforce data on interactive maps for route planning and territory balancing. Salesforce lists it from $75 per user per month, billed annually.

Which editions of Salesforce include territory management?

Sales Territories, still called Enterprise Territory Management in much of Setup, comes with the Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance and Developer editions of Sales Cloud. Professional Edition doesn’t include it, so teams there need a routing app or custom automation.

How do I reassign a territory to a new owner?

Add the new rep to the territory from its Assigned Users list and remove the rep who’s leaving, then run the territory’s rules again so account access refreshes. Record ownership doesn’t change, since territories only control who can see an account.

Route Leads and Cases by Territory With Kubaru

Salesforce territories decide who can see an account. Kubaru decides who owns each new lead, case or account, using territories you can edit without an admin.

You can schedule a demo or start a 30-day free trial on the AppExchange.