Salesforce to HubSpot Migration Checklist: How to Move Without Losing Data
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If you're moving from Salesforce to HubSpot, the direct answer is: audit and clean your data before you export anything, map every custom field and object to its HubSpot equivalent ahead of the migration, run a small test import first, and reconcile record counts after the full import before you shut off Salesforce. Skipping the audit step is the single most common reason teams lose data or end up with a CRM nobody trusts.
The migration checklist
- Audit before you export. Pull a full field inventory from Salesforce (Setup → Object Manager → each object → Fields & Relationships). Flag unused fields, duplicate records, and any custom objects that don't have a clean HubSpot equivalent.
- Map fields and objects. Salesforce Accounts map to HubSpot Companies, Contacts to Contacts, Opportunities to Deals. Custom objects need either a HubSpot custom object or a decision to fold that data into properties instead.
- Clean before you move, not after. Dedupe contacts and companies, standardize picklist values (lead source, industry, deal stage names), and archive anything you don't need. It's dramatically easier to clean data in the system you're leaving than the one you're arriving in.
- Run a test import. Import a small segment (one team's contacts and deals, for example) into a HubSpot sandbox or a test list. Check that associations, owners, and stage history came across correctly before committing to the full migration.
- Migrate in the right order. Companies and Contacts first, then Deals with their associations, then historical activity (emails, notes, tasks) last, since that's the highest-volume and least urgent data.
- Reconcile counts. Compare record counts and a sample of key fields between Salesforce and HubSpot before decommissioning anything. Don't rely on "the import finished" as proof it's correct.
Common mistakes
The mistakes that cause the most damage are rarely technical failures — they're skipped steps. Teams import Salesforce picklist values as free text instead of mapping them to HubSpot properties, which breaks reporting and segmentation immediately. They migrate deal records without their stage history, so pipeline reporting has no historical baseline on day one. And they run the full migration in one pass with no test import, discovering association or ownership problems only after go-live, when hundreds of reps are already relying on the data.
When to bring in a pro
A straightforward migration with a few thousand records and no custom objects is doable in-house with care. It's worth bringing in a CRM consultant when you have custom Salesforce objects with no clean HubSpot equivalent, complex approval or territory logic built into Salesforce workflows, or a deadline that doesn't leave room for a proper test import and reconciliation pass. Talk to us about your migration if you want a second set of eyes before you move.
FAQ
Will my Salesforce reports carry over to HubSpot?
No — reports and dashboards need to be rebuilt in HubSpot's reporting tools. Historical data can migrate, but the report definitions themselves do not.
How long does a Salesforce to HubSpot migration take?
A clean migration for a small-to-midsize team typically runs 2-6 weeks, most of which is data audit and cleanup rather than the import itself.
Can I migrate just my contacts first and deals later?
Yes, and it's often a good idea — just make sure company and contact records are fully migrated and deduped before deals arrive, since deals need clean associations to land correctly.
What happens to my email and activity history?
It can be migrated, but it's the lowest-priority data and the most likely to have formatting quirks. Plan to migrate it last and spot-check a sample.
Written by John Hulina, founder of CRM Assist and leader of the Orange County HubSpot User Group. John is also a CRMmys awards judge and has guided CRM migrations for B2B revenue teams across Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
