Set Up Contacts to Multiple Accounts in Salesforce
Contacts to Multiple Accounts lets you relate a single Contact record to more than one Account so you can accurately track relationships between people and the businesses they work with. This is especially useful when a contact works with multiple organizations, subsidiaries, partners, or affiliated accounts. Salesforce+1
Enable the Feature (Admin)
Go to Setup
Enter Account Settings in Quick Find and select it
In the Contacts to Multiple Accounts section, check Allow users to relate a contact to multiple accounts
Save your changes Salesforce
Add and Manage Account-Contact Relationships
After enabling the feature:
On an Account record, find the Related Contacts list and click Add Relationship to link an existing contact to that account.
To edit an existing relationship, select View Relationship then Edit Relationship and update the role or other fields.
To remove a relationship, use Remove Relationship. Removed relationships cannot be restored from the Recycle Bin. Salesforce
You can also manage relationships from the Contact record using the Related Accounts list in a similar way. Salesforce
Important Notes
The primary account on a contact remains the direct relationship and is driven by the Account Name field on the contact record. All other accounts related to the contact are indirect relationships. Salesforce
If you disable the feature, all indirect account–contact relationships are deleted automatically. Salesforce
When syncing with external systems (for example Outlook), only the primary account relationship will sync. Salesforce
Rather than layering new functionality on top of older features, Salesforce streamlined the data model by retiring the legacy Account Contact Roles feature and introducing Account Contact Relationships.
Account Contact Relationships provides the same core capability as the retired Account Contact Roles, which is defining the role a contact plays in relation to an account, while adding important enhancements.
How Admins Can Update Account Contact Role Labels
1. Understand What Can Be Customized
Standard Account Contact Role values are stored in a picklist on the Account Contact Relationship object. While you cannot change the API name of the standard object, you can customize the picklist values used to define contact roles.
2. Update Role Picklist Values
To update or rename the values users see when selecting a role:
Go to Setup
In Quick Find, type Object Manager
Open Account Contact Relationship
Select Fields & Relationships
Open the Role field
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Edit existing values to rename them
You can also add new values, reorder values, or replace old values
Save your changes
This updates the labels users see in the UI without changing the underlying API values.
3. Map Custom Labels Back to Standard Roles
To align your role values with Salesforce standard terminology:
Rename picklist values to match standard role names such as Decision Maker or Influencer
Use the Replace option when editing picklist values to reassign existing records to the updated role value
Remove outdated or legacy role names once records have been reassigned
This approach preserves existing data while standardizing role labels across the organization.
4. Rename Field Labels in the UI (Optional)
If you want to change the field label that appears in the Salesforce UI:
Go to Setup
Search for Rename Tabs and Labels
Select Rename Tabs and Labels
Choose the Account Contact Relationship object
Update the Role field label
Save your changes
This updates the label displayed to users across related lists and record pages without affecting integrations or automation.
Notes and Best Practices
Changes to role picklist values apply to all records that use the Role field
Renaming field labels does not change API names
Review existing data before replacing or deleting role values to avoid unintended data changes
For more information please visit: Salesforce's help article HERE