Our previous blog post in 2023 had already gone over the differences between Salesforce CPQ vs Revenue Cloud. So, what’s changed in the past 2 years?
Let’s Start with the Basics
What is Salesforce CPQ?
Salesforce CPQ (short for Configure, Price, Quote) is a focused tool built to help sales teams generate accurate, consistent quotes. It helps connect departments through product selection, pricing logic, and quote creation, which is especially helpful when dealing with complex offerings. In short, CPQ simplifies the sales process. It’s tailored for speed and accuracy, but it doesn’t handle the full revenue lifecycle.
Salesforce CPQ (and Billing) generally is viewed as the modern iteration of the original SteelBrick CPQ acquisition. It may not be as well known, but Salesforce Industries CPQ actually came about from a separate acquisition: Vlocity. This new CPQ brought with it things such as prebuilt, industry specific contract model frameworks and industry specific pricing. Each industry had its own preset options and integrations rather than building from scratch.
For simplicity, when we refer to Salesforce CPQ, we’re primarily talking about SteelBrick’s iteration. It’s under the belief that Vlocity’s CPQ iteration was incorporated into RLM’s framework.
If you’d like to know more about the when and how Salesforce ended up with two CPQ solutions in their packaged suites, check out our blog post about the history of CPQ and Revenue Cloud here.
What is Revenue Cloud?
To keep it short: CPQ and Billing were under the Revenue Cloud suite. Salesforce released RLM to be intended as the latest replacement for an aging Revenue Cloud.
Built off of the Einstein 1 (Lightning) Platform, RLM was made to handle the entire revenue lifecycle: quoting, ordering, billing, and revenue recognition, all within one unified system.
Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM) was then rebranded to Revenue Cloud.
Key Differences Between Salesforce CPQ vs Revenue Cloud
Here’s how they stack up:
Scope
- CPQ handles just product configuration, pricing, and quoting.
- Revenue Cloud includes CPQ plus Billing, revenue recognition, asset management, and more.
If CPQ is the engine, Revenue Cloud is the whole car.
Functionality
- CPQ ensures sales reps send accurate quotes that align with business rules.
- Revenue Cloud takes that quote and follows it all the way through billing and recognition, making it a full-service platform.
Complexity
- CPQ is relatively easier to implement and maintain.
- Revenue Cloud is more complex to set up and administer, especially with advanced features like Dynamic Revenue Orchestrator and Salesforce Pricing.
Cost
- CPQ is less expensive for teams that only need quoting capabilities. Unfortunately, Salesforce CPQ is now considered end- of sale meaning license purchasing no longer available
- Revenue Cloud adds functionality—and cost. It’s built for companies that want to scale and centralize their revenue operations.
Pros and Cons of Salesforce CPQ vs Revenue Cloud
Are Businesses required to integrate with AI?
You don’t have to use it.
Revenue Cloud includes optional AI-powered features like Salesforce Einstein for forecasting and automated insights. However, if your company prefers to keep things manual, you can simply choose not to enable them. Manual configuration is still supported, and Revenue Cloud remains fully customizable without AI.
Can Businesses with CPQ transition easily to Revenue Cloud?
Transitioning from Salesforce CPQ to Revenue Cloud requires careful planning, especially if your current setup is highly customized. Businesses need to assess their current CPQ configuration, migrate and validate data, re-implement customizations, and retrain users on new features.
Compared to starting fresh with Revenue Cloud, which offers a clean slate and less complexity, upgrading often involves more effort due to existing data and integrations.
In short: not easy. It’s doable, but success depends on how complex your CPQ setup is and how well you plan the move.
Salesforce CPQ vs Revenue Cloud: Final Thoughts
In the context of the Revenue Cloud package they’re like different stages of the same journey. While CPQ focuses on two or three trailheads, Revenue Cloud focuses on the entire trail. With the announcement . So where does that leave you?
- Stick with Salesforce CPQ if: you’re alright with just focusing on pricing/quoting accuracy and efficiency. There’s added value in the fact that CPQ has been around for quite a long time, allowing for more experts and more documentation.
- Choose Revenue Cloud if: you’re new to the Salesforce ecosystem, or, if you want the newest iteration of Salesforce and you’re comfortable with the complexities of transitioning your business’ data and integrations.
As with most things in Salesforce, the best option depends on your business goals, team size, and capital. In planning for the future, Revenue Cloud is likely the best choice to ensure your system continues to stay updated. However, if you’ve already/recently implemented Salesforce CPQ and don’t have the funding necessary to upgrade, it may be better to optimize your current build utilizing a competent consulting firm.
Still can’t decide between Salesforce CPQ vs Revenue Cloud? Let ITeq support you!
Are you a business that has CPQ and are looking to upgrade? Do you need a hands-on guided approach to the Revenue Cloud implementation process? Would you rather maximize your current CPQ package?
At ITeq, we prime businesses to make smart, scalable decisions about their Salesforce tools. Whether it’s Salesforce CPQ or Revenue Cloud, reach out—we’ll help you untangle the mess and get to what really matters: results.
