5 Salesforce Validation Rules Every SMB Should Have

If your Salesforce org has been around for more than six months, you've probably seen it: phone numbers with dashes in some records and none in others, opportunities sitting at 90% for six months with no close date, or contacts with no email address at all. It's not a people problem — it's a process problem. Validation rules are the fix.

Here are five you should set up today.

1. Require a Close Date on Opportunities Above a Certain Stage

Once an opportunity moves past the discovery phase, it needs a close date. Without one, your pipeline reports are meaningless.

Rule logic:

AND(
  NOT(ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Prospecting")),
  NOT(ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Qualification")),
  ISBLANK(CloseDate)
)

Error message: "Please enter a close date before moving this opportunity forward."

2. Phone Number Format Consistency

Mixed formats make it impossible to deduplicate records or run calling campaigns cleanly.

Rule logic:

AND(
  NOT(ISBLANK(Phone)),
  NOT(REGEX(Phone, "\\+?1?[\\s.-]?\\(?[0-9]{3}\\)?[\\s.-]?[0-9]{3}[\\s.-]?[0-9]{4}"))
)

Error message: "Please enter a valid phone number (e.g. 555-867-5309)."

3. Don't Allow Negative Opportunity Amounts

Amount < 0

Error message: "Opportunity amount cannot be negative."

4. Require a Primary Contact on Closed-Won Opportunities

AND(
  ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Won"),
  ISBLANK(ContactId)
)

Error message: "Please attach at least one contact before closing this opportunity."

5. Block Past Close Dates on Open Opportunities

AND(
  NOT(ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Won")),
  NOT(ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Lost")),
  CloseDate < TODAY()
)

Error message: "Close date is in the past. Please update the date or close this opportunity."

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How to Set These Up

1. Go to Setup → Object Manager → [Object] → Validation Rules
2. Click New
3. Paste the formula, write a clear error message, and activate

Start with one or two — don't dump all five on your team at once. Give them a week to adjust, then add more.

If you want help setting these up, get in touch — this is exactly the kind of thing we can sort out in a single session.