From CPQ to Revenue Cloud Advanced: Why the real question is when, not if
By Casper Drukier
In 2024, Salesforce launched Revenue Cloud Advanced (RCA), marking a decisive evolution in how it approaches revenue lifecycle management. Simultaneously, it announced the end-of-sale for its legacy CPQ product. For existing users, there’s no forced migration – yet. But the direction is clear: all future innovation, scale, and investment is now happening in RCA.
So the question facing most organisations isn’t whether to move. It’s when.
And more importantly: how ready are you to extract value from the transition?
Beyond quoting: A broader, integrated platform
At first glance, RCA might seem like a rebrand. But this is more than a facelift. It’s an architectural shift toward a unified platform that connects quoting, pricing, contracting, billing, and subscription- and usage-based revenue models in a single revenue engine.
Where CPQ focused largely on the configuration and quoting phase, RCA enables:
Compatibility with AI-driven quoting (via Agentforce) and guided selling
Unified product catalogue
Pricing that can be applied consistently across channels
Contract lifecycle management
Flexible billing and renewals for usage-based and hybrid models
Revenue forecasting with embedded analytics
As Salesforce itself puts it: "Create quotes and orders on one revenue platform... across any channel, with any revenue model."*
This broader scope is no accident. As sales models become more hybrid, pricing more complex, and customer expectations more fluid, RCA offers the infrastructure to stay commercially agile.
From product decision to strategic move
Many companies initially see the transition as a tooling upgrade. But RCA demands a strategic lens.
That includes:
Aligning sales, finance, and operations on a common data model
Automating handoffs between quoting, fulfilment, and invoicing
Enabling new commercial models like subscriptions, usage, hybrid, and omnichannel selling
Salesforce’s latest releases reinforce this approach, offering seven integrated components from product catalogue and quoting to billing, analytics, and revenue orchestration.*
Are you ready? Key signals it’s time to act
While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, here are some clear signals that suggest your business is ready to prepare for RCA:
You operate in multiple markets or channels with varying pricing models
You’re adding subscriptions, usage, or service-based revenue to your product sales
You experience friction or rework between quote, order, and invoice processes
Your CPQ instance is highly customised and difficult to scale
You are planning to leverage AI in your pricing strategy
If you’re seeing diminishing returns from CPQ customisations, or if your pricing model is evolving faster than your system can adapt – that’s your signal.
If you’re not ready to move, get ready anyway
For companies staying with CPQ in the near term, the goal isn’t to delay. It’s to prepare.
That means:
Cleaning and consolidating your product and pricing catalogue
Reducing CPQ customisations that create upgrade risk
Documenting your end-to-end quote-to-cash flow
Establishing ownership for cross-functional commercial processes
This work not only extends the life of your current tools – it accelerates your readiness for RCA when the time is right.
“This isn’t just about replacing CPQ. It’s a chance to rethink your revenue processes end-to-end. The value doesn’t come from feature parity. It comes from unifying what was previously fragmented.”
Plan the transition like a transformation
I advise companies to treat the move not as a tech implementation, but as a commercial reinvention. Bring business and IT together early. Map the full revenue process. And define what you want to unlock – not just what you want to replicate.
Salesforce’s own roadmap supports this approach. With features like Dynamic Revenue Orchestration and AI-driven quoting agents already live, RCA is built to flex and scale with your revenue ambition.*
To make it work:
Anchor your design in business outcomes, not just system parity
Involve cross-functional teams from day one
Don’t underestimate change management – RCA is as much a mindset shift as a system one
The decade-defining revenue decision
In the years ahead, businesses will increasingly differentiate not just on what they sell, but on how they monetise, deliver, and grow customer relationships.
RCA represents Salesforce’s clearest signal yet that the future of revenue is integrated, intelligent, and insight-driven. The move from CPQ is no longer a matter of preference. It’s a question of timing.
And the most strategic companies won’t wait to be forced. They’ll prepare now – and use the transition to leap ahead.
* Source: Salesforce Revenue Cloud official site and Salesforce Blog, accessed 2024/25
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