Salesforce CPQ Is End of Sale: What Are Your Options?

In a previous article,“Is Salesforce CPQ Really Dying?”, we explored how CPQ isn’t truly dying, but rather evolving to meet new business needs. However, with the recent announcement of the Salesforce CPQ managed package entering its end-of-sale phase, many organizations are now seeking modern alternatives that better address their complex revenue management requirements. 

As businesses face increasingly sophisticated sales processes and subscription models, it’s worth examining the landscape of CPQ alternatives and understanding why solutions like Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA) are gaining traction.

The Limitations of Traditional Salesforce CPQ

While Salesforce CPQ has been a cornerstone for sales automation, several challenges have emerged:

1. Limited revenue lifecycle coverage: Traditional CPQ primarily focuses on the quoting process, leaving gaps in billing, revenue recognition, and lifecycle management.
2. Manual intervention requirements: Complex configurations often require manual adjustments(i.e, Manual Price Overrides to reach edge cases), increasing the risk of errors and extending sales cycles.
3. Scalability challenges: As organizations grow, CPQ systems may struggle with large product catalogs and high transaction volumes.
4. Basic analytical capabilities: Limited insights into customer behavior and revenue trends hamper strategic decision-making.
5. Integration complexity: Separate modules for billing and revenue recognition create a fragmented experience requiring additional integration.

Top Alternatives to Salesforce CPQ

If you’re considering moving beyond the traditional Salesforce CPQ Managed Package, here are the leading alternatives:

1. Salesforce Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA)

RCA represents Salesforce’s next-generation approach to revenue management, offering a comprehensive solution that addresses many CPQ limitations.

Key advantages:

• Flexible pricing models, including usage-based, subscription, and tiered pricing, enable tailored revenue strategies across products and services.
• End-to-end revenue lifecycle management from quoting to revenue recognition.
•  API-first and Agentforce ready.
• Advanced analytics provides deep insights into customer behavior, such as identifying which product bundles drive the highest renewal rates or pinpointing when customers are most likely to upgrade plans.
• Modern, intuitive user interface that improves adoption rates.

Considerations:

• Learning curve: RCA introduces a modern architecture and new components that may require upskilling for existing Salesforce teams.
• Implementation complexity: Due to its end-to-end capabilities and enterprise-grade features, RCA implementations may require longer planning and configuration cycles.
• Licensing costs: As a premium solution, RCA may involve higher licensing and maintenance costs compared to lighter-weight CPQ tools.

2. Logik.io

Logik.io is a flexible, lightweight CPQ alternative focused on simplicity and ease of use. It has been recently acquired by ServiceNow and will be competing head-to-head with Salesforce.

Key advantages:

• Streamlined configuration experience.
• Faster implementation timeline.
• Strong integration capabilities.
• Simplified user experience.

Considerations:

• Limited feature depth: While Logik.io excels in speed and simplicity, it may lack some advanced CPQ or revenue recognition features found in more robust platforms like RCA.
• Standalone nature: Despite strong integration capabilities, Logik.io is not Salesforce-native, which may result in additional setup and ongoing integration effort.
• Post-acquisition uncertainty: Following the acquisition by ServiceNow, future product direction and roadmap alignment with Salesforce environments remain uncertain.

3. Nue.io

Nue.io is positioned as a flexible revenue management platform with modern architecture and strong Salesforce integration capabilities.

Capabilities:

• Salesforce-native integration: Nue.io seamlessly integrates within the Salesforce ecosystem, allowing Sales Cloud users real-time visibility into quotes and sales orders, thereby streamlining the quote-to-revenue process.
• Intuitive quote builder: Features a spreadsheet-like, drag-and-drop interface that simplifies the creation of complex, multi-variable quotes, including support for tiered pricing, discounts, and usage-based components.
• Automated workflows: Facilitates automation of approvals, renewals, and deal management processes, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Advanced pricing models: Supports a variety of pricing strategies such as subscriptions, usage-based charges, and bundled offerings, catering to diverse sales scenarios.
• Real-time data synchronization: Ensures that all data related to Opportunities, Products, and Quotes are consistently updated within Salesforce.
• Revenue insights: Provides dashboards and analytics tools for tracking quote performance and revenue metrics, aiding in strategic decision-making.

Considerations:

• Customization limitations: While user-friendly, Nue.io may offer less flexibility in customization compared to some other CPQ solutions, potentially limiting tailored configurations.
• Managed Lightning Web Components (LWCs): The platform utilizes managed LWCs, which might restrict the ability to customize certain UI components to meet specific business requirements.
• Integration maintenance: Although tightly integrated with Salesforce, Nue.io relies on maintaining real-time data syncs, which may require occasional monitoring or troubleshooting to ensure consistency.

4. Self-Service Solutions Within Salesforce

For companies with simpler product offerings, Salesforce offers self-service portal options with embedded CPQ-like functionality through Experience Cloud and Commerce Cloud.

Key advantages:

• Remains within the Salesforce ecosystem.
• Provides a seamless customer-facing experience.
• Enables customer self-service quoting and ordering.
• Reduces complexity for straightforward product catalogs.
• Leverages existing Salesforce investments.

Considerations:

• Feature limitations: Self-service portals are best suited for simpler use cases and may not support complex pricing, approvals, or deal structures.
• Maintenance overhead: Customizing and maintaining Experience Cloud or Commerce Cloud portals can require ongoing developer resources.
• User adoption: Shifting quoting responsibility to customers may require clear communication and onboarding to ensure a smooth user experience.

Why Revenue Cloud Advanced Stands Out

Among the alternatives, Salesforce Revenue Cloud Advanced provides the most comprehensive solution, particularly for organizations already in the Salesforce ecosystem. Let’s examine how RCA compares to the Salesforce CPQ managed package across key dimensions:

1. Revenue Lifecycle Coverage

2. Automation and AI Capabilities

3. Scalability and User Experience

4. Analytics and Strategic Insights

Making the Transition: Key Considerations

When evaluating alternatives to Salesforce CPQ, consider these factors:

1. Integration requirements: Assess how well the solution integrates with your existing technology stack, particularly if you’re heavily invested in Salesforce.
2. Implementation timeline and complexity: Consider the resources required for implementation and the expected time to value.
3. Total cost of ownership: Look beyond license costs to include implementation, maintenance, and ongoing optimization expenses.
4. Scalability: Ensure the solution can grow with your business and handle increasing complexity.
5. User adoption: Evaluate the user experience and training requirements to ensure successful adoption.

Final Thoughts: The Future of Revenue Management

While traditional Salesforce CPQ has served organizations well, the evolving landscape of revenue management demands more sophisticated solutions. Revenue Cloud Advanced represents a significant leap forward, offering comprehensive lifecycle management, AI-driven automation, and deep analytical capabilities.

For businesses already invested in the Salesforce ecosystem, RCA provides a natural evolution path with minimal disruption. For those open to other platforms, solutions like Logik.io and Nue.io offer compelling alternatives with specific strengths.

As sales processes increase in complexity and subscription-based models become more prevalent, the tools that manage these processes must evolve accordingly. The question isn’t just whether Salesforce CPQ is dead, but rather: is your revenue management solution equipped to handle the challenges of tomorrow’s sales landscape?