In a before-save or after-save flow, an unhandled fault can fail the save. A web-to-lead submission can be lost. Test this in a sandbox. In a scheduled or async path, the lead is saved and keeps its default owner. The only trace is an error email that went to someone who may not read it.
Where the failures hide
- No fault path. A step that fails with no fault path ends the flow in error. Add a fault path that records what went wrong.
- Errors emailed to one person. Check in Setup, under process automation settings, who receives flow error emails. If it is someone who left, or a shared inbox nobody reads, failures are invisible.
- Scheduled paths and asynchronous steps. These run after the save, so the person who created the lead never sees the error.
- A lookup that finds nothing. The flow looks for an owner, finds none, and carries on with an empty value. The lead keeps its default owner. Handle the empty case as well as the error.
How to find the leads it left behind
Look for leads created in the period the flow was failing. The ones still with the default owner or a catch-all queue. Or with no owner change after creation. Compare them with the leads the flow did route. A gap with a start date often matches a flow edit or field rename that day.
See also a flow overriding the assignment rule, the opposite fault. A flow that works and still gives the wrong answer.
The free scan checks your export for:
- owner updates with no fault path
- decisions with no default path
- owner Ids hard-coded in flows
Test the failure path on purpose
- In a sandbox, copy the flow.
- Make one lookup find nothing, for example by using a value that no user has.
- Create a test lead and watch where it ends up.
- Check that the fault path ran and left a record someone will read.
- Check who received the error email, if one was sent.
If the lead ends up with the default owner and no trace, the flow fails silently. Fix that before production. To decide who should own the owner field, read assignment rules or Flow.
What to keep when a flow fails
| Record | Why |
|---|---|
| The lead Id | So the lead can be found and reassigned |
| The flow name and step | So the cause can be found |
| The time | So the start of the gap can be dated |
Use the time to find leads from the gap. See finding lost leads.
If your routing is in HubSpot
HubSpot keeps workflow action logs for 90 days and enrolment history for 6 months. Source: HubSpot knowledge base, create workflows, read on 19 October 2026, page dated 16 October 2026. Look for a gap before the log ages out. See a workflow not updating the owner.
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.