Transforming Payment Operations with AppShark’s Custom Salesforce Solution

A California-based fintech company specializing in instant money movement solutions for modern financial services. Since its founding ,the company has become a key payment processor in the U.S., offering a single, unified API that powers real-time transactions across multiple networks and partners. As demand for faster, scalable, and compliant financial services grew, the company recognized the need for a more structured and automated CRM solution to support its internal operations, customer engagement, and cross-platform collaboration.

4 Critical Challenges in Payment Operations

Before implementation, the organization faced key operational hurdles that impacted visibility, efficiency, and coordination across teams. These challenges created roadblocks in managing customer accounts, tracking sales progress, and maintaining a seamless flow of data and communication between systems.

Fragmented Account Hierarchies and Relationships

The company lacked structured links between ISOs, Merchants, and Sponsors, which made it difficult to maintain accurate customer account visibility and relationships

Manual Sales and Compliance Tracking

Sales processes were not systematically validated or monitored. Teams like Compliance, Finance, and Legal weren’t automatically notified as opportunities progressed, leading to delays and missed pricing confirmations.

Integration Silos Across Platforms

Systems like Redshift, Slack, Teams, and Zendesk were not integrated with Salesforce, causing communication gaps and data inconsistencies across departments.

Limited Workflow Automation

Tasks such as updating records, sending notifications, and getting approvals,still had to be done manually, making work slower and causing delays in moving customers through the process.

How AppShark Solved These Challenges

AppShark delivered a customized Salesforce solution that addressed operational gaps through intelligent automation, structured account hierarchies, and seamless integrations. From lead capture to opportunity tracking and external system syncs, the solution centralized workflows, improved user experience, and enabled scalable, cross-functional collaboration.

Strengthening Account Management

AppShark introduced custom fields and record types for ISOs, Merchants, and Sponsors to reflect company's operational structure. Flows were configured to establish automated parent-child account hierarchies and hierarchy columns were enabled for better visual clarity.

Streamlining Lead and Contact Management

Web-to-Lead forms were deployed to automatically capture website leads into Salesforce. Custom fields and validation rules ensured data consistency, while automation flows assigned primary contacts and streamlined record updates.

Enhancing Opportunity Management

Salesforce was configured with custom Opportunity fields, validation rules, and a specialized "Substage" sales path. A custom LWC component was built to validate required fields and trigger bi-directional updates between Accounts and Opportunities. Notifications were set to alert Finance and other stakeholders at key stages like "Launched" or "Setup."

Customer Portal for Pricing Approvals

To improve transparency and speed during the pricing stage, AppShark developed a public-facing customer portal using LWC and Visualforce. Customers can now view proposals and accept or reject them within the platform, reducing back-and-forth communication.

Execution Overview

The solution was executed through a thoughtful and collaborative approach, ensuring each phase aligned with the organization’s goals. By focusing on process clarity, user adoption, and long-term scalability, the implementation delivered a seamless transition to a more efficient and connected system.

Lead Management Setup

Web-to-Lead forms were deployed to capture inbound leads from the Company’s website. Custom lead fields were added, and automated flows ensured data was captured and routed accurately through the funnel.

Account Hierarchy Configuration

Custom fields and record types were introduced for ISO, Merchant, and Sponsor accounts. Flows created parent-child relationships, and hierarchy columns enabled clear visual mapping of account structures.

Contact and Role Management

Custom fields were created to track contact-specific data. A Flow was developed to set a primary contact per account, while validation rules ensured accuracy and completeness.

Opportunity Automation

Custom layouts and sales paths were configured for the Opportunity object. A custom Lightning Web Component (LWC) was implemented to validate account data and show real-time error prompts during critical stages like “Boarding.” Additional flows automated field updates, triggered Finance notifications, and synchronized Account–Opportunity data.

Customer Portal Development

A public-facing portal (built with LWC inside a Visualforce page) allowed customers to review pricing proposals and accept/reject offers during the “Pricing/Proposal” stage, improving turnaround time.

Integration Layer Deployment

Bi-directional integrations were established with Zendesk (support tickets), Slack and Teams (internal collaboration), Redshift (customer data sync), DocuSign (e-signatures), Jira (issue tracking), and Dropbox (document management). Redshift data was synced regularly via S3, keeping ISO-MID mappings current and accurate.

Key Features and Benefits of the Solution

The solution introduced a set of powerful capabilities designed to streamline operations, enhance user experience, and strengthen collaboration across teams. With improved structure, smarter workflows, and better access to real-time information, the organization gained the tools needed to work more efficiently, make confident decisions, and support future growth with ease.

Custom LWC for Opportunity Stages

A dynamic, user-friendly Lightning Web Component guided users through each stage, validating critical fields and syncing updates between records.

Automated Notifications and Field Syncing

Flows and triggers ensured that Account and Opportunity fields updated in sync, with notifications alerting Finance, Compliance, and Operations at key transition points.

Structured Account Relationships

With ISO, Merchant, and Sponsor hierarchies clearly defined and visually represented, users could better manage account relationships and reporting.

Customer Self-Service via Portal

The custom portal enabled customers to view, accept, or reject proposals directly—eliminating delays and improving transparency.

Integrated Communication and Data Management

Slack, Teams, Zendesk, Jira, and Redshift integrations consolidated communication and record management, reducing system-switching and ensuring data consistency.

Drive Optimal Results with AppShark's Solution

AppShark’s tailored Salesforce implementation transformed how this company handles sales, account relationships, and support operations. With automated workflows, seamless integrations, and a scalable data structure, This company is now equipped with a high-performance CRM ecosystem that supports fast payments, real-time decisions, and collaborative service delivery.

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