OnboardingDataObjectGroup Metadata Guide

Architectural Overview#

OnboardingDataObjectGroup is a foundational Industry Cloud metadata type (prominently used across Financial Services Cloud, Insurance, and Public Sector Solutions) that groups disparate data objects into a cohesive operational onboarding container.

Customer intake in regulated industries requires assembling multi-party entities: primary applicants, co-signers, corporate entities, beneficial owners, financial accounts, and identity documents. Rather than writing brittle custom code to manage multi-record transactions across these tables, OnboardingDataObjectGroup bundles the participant schemas into a single declaratively-managed onboarding structure.

Directory and File Conventions#

OnboardingDataObjectGroup records reside in the onboardingDataObjectGroups/ folder within modern SFDX source projects.

Key Metadata Fields#

The XML definition provides group identification and primary entity linkages:

Declarative XML and Package Manifest Examples#

An architectural definition configuring commercial banking onboarding:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<OnboardingDataObjectGroup xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <developerName>Commercial_Banking_Onboarding</developerName>
    <masterLabel>Commercial Banking Onboarding Group</masterLabel>
    <primaryObject>Account</primaryObject>
    <description>Bundles corporate account, authorized signers, beneficial ownership, and KYC artifacts.</description>
</OnboardingDataObjectGroup>

Package Manifest (package.xml)#

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

CLI Retrieval and Deployment Commands#

Manage onboarding group metadata using the Salesforce CLI:

# Retrieve all onboarding data object groups
sf project retrieve start --metadata OnboardingDataObjectGroup

# Deploy a specific onboarding data group
sf project deploy start --metadata OnboardingDataObjectGroup:Commercial_Banking_Onboarding

Architect Best Practices and Gotchas#

• Schema Dependencies: Ensure all constituent objects (e.g., custom applicant fields or industry standard objects) exist in the target org prior to deploying OnboardingDataObjectGroup.
• Atomic Rollback Strategy: Because onboarding workflows span multiple objects, design your orchestration flows or integration controllers with unit-of-work transaction management to rollback dirty writes if verification checks fail.
• Data Retention & Privacy (GDPR/CCPA): Onboarding data groups handle highly sensitive PII. Ensure fields included in these data groups are protected by Salesforce Shield Platform Encryption where appropriate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the core function of OnboardingDataObjectGroup?

It aggregates related onboarding entities such as applicants, financial accounts, and party records into unified orchestration units.

In which industries is OnboardingDataObjectGroup primarily used?

It is heavily utilized in Financial Services Cloud, commercial banking, wealth management, and insurance onboarding flows.

Where is OnboardingDataObjectGroup stored in SFDX repositories?

It is stored in force-app/main/default/onboardingDataObjectGroups/ with the .onboardingDataObjectGroup-meta.xml suffix.