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The turn of the year is the perfect time to give your HubSpot portal a fresh start. New goals need to go in, old deals need to be closed and reports need to show the right year. With a little preparation in December, you start January with a CRM ready to support the year's growth.
In short: Before a new year: add new goals and quotas, clean up pipeline and contacts, update reports and dashboards, review seats, credits and contacts, update Context Home with new offerings and plan the year's first campaigns. Do it in December so January can be spent selling.
1. Goals and quotas
- Add sales goals per rep and team for the new year.
- Set goals for marketing, such as new MQLs and pipeline per quarter.
- Update the forecasting tool with the new periods.
2. Clean up the pipeline
- Close deals that are no longer alive, with a closed lost reason.
- Update close dates on deals moving to next year.
- Review deal stages and probabilities based on this year's results.
3. Clean up contacts
- Merge duplicates.
- Set inactive contacts as non marketing contacts or remove them according to your GDPR routines.
- Check the fill rate on important fields. Read data quality in HubSpot.
4. Reports and dashboards
- Update date filters so dashboards show the new year.
- Build a year over year comparison showing progress against last year.
- Remove reports nobody has used during the year.
5. Seats and costs
- Review which users need paid seats.
- Check the number of contacts against your edition.
- Go through credit usage for AI features.
- Plan any upgrades ahead of renewal. Read how much HubSpot costs.
6. Context for AI
- Update Context Home with new products, prices and positioning.
- Review ICP and personas based on the customers you won this year.
- Evaluate the AI agents you have tested and decide on next steps.
7. Plan the year's first campaigns
- Create campaigns in HubSpot for the first quarter with goals and budget.
- Prepare content and nurture flows.
- Update audiences for LinkedIn and Google Ads.
8. Run a quick audit
Go through our HubSpot audit checklist and note what should be prioritized during the year.
Frequently asked questions about preparing HubSpot for a new year
How do you add new sales goals in HubSpot?
Go to goals or the forecasting tool, choose a template such as revenue, pick a period and add goals per rep or team.
Should you close old deals at year end?
Yes, deals that are no longer alive should be closed as lost with a reason. That gives you an honest pipeline and better input for analysis.
How do you save money on HubSpot before a new year?
Review paid seats, clean out unused marketing contacts and check credit usage. Plan upgrades well ahead of renewal.
What is Context Home and why should it be updated?
Context Home is the place in HubSpot where knowledge about your company, your customers and your tone of voice is stored. All AI features read from it, so it needs to reflect current offerings and audiences.
When should you start planning for a new year in HubSpot?
Ideally in early December, so goals, reports and campaigns are in place when January begins.
Summary
A few hours in December give you a HubSpot ready for the new year: the right goals, clean data, current reports and a plan for the first campaigns. It is one of the best investments of the year.
Want help preparing HubSpot for 2027? Get in touch with LeadLabs and we will go through it together.