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Moving to a new CRM often feels like a bigger project than it needs to be. With the right preparation you can move contacts, companies, deals and history to HubSpot without losing anything important, and get a cleaner CRM in the process. Here is how.
In short: Plan which data to bring, export from your current system, clean out duplicates and old data, set up properties and pipeline in HubSpot and import in the right order: companies, contacts, deals and finally activities. Test with a sample first and never run two systems in parallel longer than necessary.
Which data can be moved to HubSpot?
Pretty much everything that is structured:
- Contacts and companies with properties.
- Deals with amount, stage and owner.
- Activities such as notes, calls, meetings and tasks.
- Tickets from a support system.
- Products and quotes.
- Associations between objects, for example which contacts belong to which company and deal.
What is harder to move is automation, reports and custom logic. Those need to be rebuilt in HubSpot, and that is often an advantage.
Step 1: Decide what to bring
Not all data needs to move. Contacts who have not been active for years, deals lost long ago and fields that are never used only make the new system messier. Set a cutoff, for example active customers plus contacts with activity in the last two or three years. Also think about GDPR: if you have no basis for keeping a contact, the move is a good opportunity to clean up.
Step 2: Export and clean
- Export each object separately to CSV or Excel.
- Remove duplicates, ideally using email address and company registration number or domain as the key.
- Standardize values such as country, industry and job title so you can filter on them.
- Keep the old IDs in a separate column. It makes it easy to connect objects and troubleshoot.
Step 3: Prepare HubSpot
Before you import, the structure needs to be in place: custom properties, dropdown values, a pipeline with stages, users and teams. Map every column in the export file to a property in HubSpot. Do not create new properties for everything. Think about what you will actually use.
Step 4: Import in the right order
- Companies first, with domain as the unique key.
- Contacts, associated with companies through domain or company ID.
- Deals, associated with companies and contacts.
- Activities and notes last.
Always test with 50 to 100 records first. Check that properties, associations and owners are correct before you run the full import.
From Excel to HubSpot
If you are coming from Excel, most of the work is getting the columns in order. Make sure each row is one contact or company, that email addresses are correct and that you have separate columns for first name, last name, company and phone. HubSpot's import tool handles the rest.
From Pipedrive, Salesforce or another CRM
For several common CRMs there are ready made migration tools and integrations that move data including associations and history. For larger migrations, or when you want activity history and custom objects, a partner or a migration tool usually saves a lot of time. Also read our comparisons HubSpot vs Pipedrive and HubSpot vs Salesforce.
Step 5: Verify, close and train
Go through a number of records manually, compare totals between the systems and let a few reps test their own customers. Then set a date when the old system becomes read only. Running two systems in parallel for months is the surest way to get a half finished migration.
Frequently asked questions about moving to HubSpot
How long does it take to move to HubSpot?
A simple move from Excel can be done in a few days. A migration from another CRM with history, activities and integrations usually takes two to six weeks including planning and testing.
Can you import Excel files into HubSpot?
Yes. HubSpot imports both CSV and Excel files. Each column is mapped to a property, and you can import several objects in the same file if they belong together.
Does email history come along to HubSpot?
It depends on the source system and method. Notes, activities and logged emails can often be migrated. If you also connect your inboxes to HubSpot, new communication is logged automatically from day one.
How do you avoid duplicates when importing?
Use email address as the unique key for contacts and domain for companies. HubSpot then updates existing records instead of creating new ones. Also run HubSpot's duplicate management after the import.
What happens to our automation when we switch CRM?
Workflows, rules and reports do not move automatically and need to be rebuilt in HubSpot. See it as an opportunity to simplify and only build what is actually used.
Summary
A successful move to HubSpot comes down to preparation: decide what to bring, clean thoroughly, import in the right order and test before you shut down the old system. Then you get a CRM that is cleaner than the one you left.
Want help with the migration? Get in touch with LeadLabs and we will plan the move together.
