Both can set the lead owner. Trouble starts when both do. Pick one to own the owner field.
Assignment rule: strengths and limits
- Entries are checked in order, and the first match wins.
- It assigns to a user or a queue, and sends the notification email.
- Only one rule per object can be active. Admins can read it at a glance.
- It cannot take turns, look up another record or use a counter.
Flow: strengths and limits
- It can look up an account owner, a custom table or the next person in a rotation.
- It can route on several objects and call other steps.
- It has no built-in order of entries. You build the order with decisions.
- Errors can be silent. See flows that fail silently.
| Assignment rule | Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Objects | Leads and cases. Check Setup | Any object |
| When it runs | On create, or when something asks for it | When its trigger fires |
| Owner email | The entry sends its template | A flow that sets the owner sends none |
| Order | Runs after a before-save flow | An after-save flow runs after the rule and wins |
When both run
An after-save flow runs after the assignment rule. If it sets the owner, it wins. A before-save flow runs first, so the rule can overwrite it. Which one decides depends on this order, not on which you prefer.
How to choose
- Plain rules by region, source or size: use the assignment rule.
- Turns, capacity, account matching or tiers: use a flow, and switch the rule entries that set an owner off.
- Write down which one owns the owner. Name it in the flow description and the rule.
Check it yourself
Open the active rule and list every active Lead flow that has an owner step. If both exist, test one lead from each entry point. See how to test an assignment rule.
The free scan checks your export for:
- more than one system setting the Lead owner
- flows that set the owner on every edit
- decisions with no default path
A decision table
Use this when you are about to add routing logic. It draws only on the differences listed above. See a flow overriding the rule if you already have both.
| If you need | Use | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Region or source to a person | Assignment rule | Keep flows off the owner |
| Turns between people | Flow | Switch off rule entries that set an owner |
| The owner emailed by template | Assignment rule | A flow sends none |
| Owner copied from the account | Flow | Name it as the one owner step |
A made-up audit
Start from the rule test plan. A made-up org has one active rule and three lead flows. Two of the flows hold an owner step.
That is two writers after the rule. List each flow, what triggers it, and the order it runs in. Keep one owner step. Move the other into a note field or remove it.
Questions
Can a flow run the assignment rule?
Usually only with code that sets the assignment rule option on the save. A flow that updates the fields the rule reads does not ask the rule to run again.
Have it checked every night instead.
Routing Forensics connects as a read-only user and checks this, and the rest of your routing, against your real leads. Three design partners get a free health report on their own CRM, free for 90 days: what is leaking, where, and what it is worth. Apply for a place.
Or check it now. The free scan reads your Salesforce export in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.