IndustriesRatingSettings Metadata in SFDX

Architectural Overview#

The IndustriesRatingSettings metadata type represents organization-wide configuration switches for the Salesforce Industries rating and pricing calculation engines. In vertical industry clouds—including Communications Cloud, Media Cloud, Energy & Utilities Cloud, and Insurance Cloud—complex product modeling and dynamic pricing depend on rating procedures, decision matrices, and calculation procedures.

Architecturally, IndustriesRatingSettings dictates whether the runtime environment delegates rating calculations to the native Business Rules Engine (BRE), legacy calculation matrices, or high-throughput rating web services. Without activating these settings, downstream metadata deployments containing calculation procedures, pricing plans, and OmniStudio rating integration procedures fail during compilation.

Directory and File Conventions#

In Salesforce DX source format, IndustriesRatingSettings is a singleton settings type located within the settings directory:

Key Metadata Fields#

The XML representation of IndustriesRatingSettings provides declarative flags that toggle rating engines and caching infrastructure:

Declarative XML and Package Manifest Examples#

Source XML (IndustriesRating.settings-meta.xml)#

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<IndustriesRatingSettings xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <enableIndustriesRating>true</enableIndustriesRating>
    <enableRatingCache>true</enableRatingCache>
    <enableMatrixVersioning>true</enableMatrixVersioning>
</IndustriesRatingSettings>

Package Manifest (package.xml)#

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <types>
        <members>IndustriesRating</members>
        <name>Settings</name>
    </types>
    <version>68.0</version>
</Package>

Retrieval and Deployment#

To retrieve IndustriesRatingSettings using the Salesforce CLI:

# Retrieve settings directly using metadata type notation
sf project retrieve start --metadata Settings:IndustriesRating

# Retrieve using manifest
sf project retrieve start --manifest manifest/package.xml

To deploy IndustriesRatingSettings to a target sandbox or scratch org:

# Deploy to specified target environment
sf project deploy start \
  --metadata Settings:IndustriesRating \
  --target-org staging-sandbox \
  --wait 10

Senior Architect Deployment Best Practices and Gotchas#

Dependency Sequencing in CI/CD Pipelines#

Deploy IndustriesRating.settings-meta.xml in an early foundational phase of your CI/CD pipeline. Pricing matrices (CalculationMatrix), expression sets, and OmniStudio components often have an implicit dependency on the rating subsystem:

1. Phase 1: Org Settings (Settings:Industries, Settings:IndustriesRating).
2. Phase 2: Custom Objects, Standard Picklist Modifications, and Custom Metadata Types.
3. Phase 3: Calculation Matrices, Expression Sets, and Rating Procedures.
4. Phase 4: EPC Catalog, Products, and CPQ Rules.

Scratch Org Provisioning#

When creating scratch orgs for automated CI test runs, ensure your project-scratch-def.json includes the requisite industry features:

{
  "orgName": "Industries Rating Dev Org",
  "edition": "Enterprise",
  "features": ["IndustriesCPQ", "OmniStudioDesigner"],
  "settings": {
    "industriesRatingSettings": {
      "enableIndustriesRating": true,
      "enableRatingCache": true
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose of IndustriesRatingSettings in Salesforce?

It governs org-level switches for Industries rating procedures and calculation matrix engines used in Communications, Media, Energy, and Insurance Clouds.

Where is IndustriesRatingSettings stored in an SFDX project?

It is stored under force-app/main/default/settings as IndustriesRating.settings-meta.xml and retrieved as Settings:IndustriesRating.

What happens if IndustriesRatingSettings is missing in a scratch org?

Deployments of calculation matrices, rating procedures, or quotes relying on the rating engine fail with missing feature dependency errors.

Can IndustriesRatingSettings be deployed across sandboxes?

Yes, it can be deployed via Metadata API or SFDX CLI provided the target org has the appropriate Salesforce Industries license enabled.