# Standard objects and how they relate

*Platform Foundations Study Guide · Data Model · Last updated October 16, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-foundations/data-model/standard-objects-and-how-they-relate*

How accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, cases and activities fit together: what each record stores, what lead conversion creates, how contacts relate to more than one account, and the difference between lookup and master-detail relationships.

- Certification: Salesforce Platform Foundations
- Exam section: Data Model
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-foundations

**Official exam objective:**

> Explain the relationship between the core standard objects (account, contact, lead, opportunity, case).

## What the exam expects

- Pick the right object for a company, a person, an unqualified prospect, a deal or a customer issue.
- Explain what lead conversion creates, what happens to the lead afterwards, and how to avoid a duplicate account.
- Relate contacts to accounts, cases to customers, contacts to deals (contact roles) and accounts to parent accounts.
- Recognize when a contact needs Contacts to Multiple Accounts and when a customer is a person account.
- Tell lookup from master-detail by how the records depend on each other.

Key terms:
- **Account:** a company you do business with, or one individual (person account).
- **Contact:** a person who works at an account.
- **Lead:** a prospect who has shown interest but is not yet a customer.
- **Opportunity:** a qualified, viable deal with a stage, close date and probability.
- **Case:** a customer's question, feedback or issue.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Account to Contact | Standard one-to-many lookup: one account, many contacts | [Create Object Relationships](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data_modeling/object_relationships) |
| Contact with no account | Private contact, visible only to its owner and system administrators | [Manage Business Accounts and Contacts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/accounts-and-contacts-lightning) |
| Person account | One individual; works like a business account but has no contacts of its own | [Manage Business Accounts and Contacts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/accounts-and-contacts-lightning) |
| Lead conversion output | Account and contact, plus an opportunity if the rep creates one | [Convert Qualified Leads](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.leads_convert.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| After conversion | Can't be reversed; the lead isn't searchable without View and Edit Converted Leads | [Convert Qualified Leads](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.leads_convert.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Lead with no company, person accounts on | Converts into a person account and an opportunity | [Create and Convert Leads as Potential Customers](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/leads_opportunities_lightning_experience/create-and-convert-leads-lightning) |
| Contacts to Multiple Accounts | Primary account is direct; extra accounts are indirect | [Contacts to Multiple Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.shared_contacts_overview.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Account hierarchy | Built from each account's Parent Account field | [Establish Contact and Account Relationships](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/understand-account-and-contact-relationships-lightning) |
| Deleting a master record | Also deletes its detail records | [Object Relationships Overview](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.overview_of_custom_object_relationships.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why should every business contact have an account?
- When does lead conversion create a person account?
- Why does Trailhead recommend one account per office over a single global account?
- Which relationship type deletes child records when the parent is deleted?

## Sources

- [Manage Business Accounts and Contacts](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/accounts-and-contacts-lightning)
- [Establish Contact and Account Relationships](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/understand-account-and-contact-relationships-lightning)
- [Create and Convert Leads as Potential Customers](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/leads_opportunities_lightning_experience/create-and-convert-leads-lightning)
- [Convert Qualified Leads](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.leads_convert.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Work Your Opportunities](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/leads_opportunities_lightning_experience/work-your-opportunities)
- [What's a Case?](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.cases_def.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Contacts to Multiple Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.shared_contacts_overview.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.account_person.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Create Object Relationships](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data_modeling/object_relationships)
- [Object Relationships Overview](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.overview_of_custom_object_relationships.htm&language=en_US&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 13 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Platform Foundations pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams