Key takeaways
- Companies usually move to Salesforce for deeper customization, complex processes, scale or ecosystem needs.
- Contacts, companies, deals and tickets map naturally to Salesforce objects; activities, files and custom properties need more planning.
- Workflows, sequences and reports must be redesigned in Salesforce rather than copied.
- Decide early whether HubSpot marketing stays in place with an integration or is replaced.
HubSpot is an excellent CRM for many growing businesses. As processes become more complex, with custom objects, intricate approvals, multiple business units or heavy integrations, some companies move their CRM to Salesforce. The migration is very manageable with a plan.
Why companies make the move
- Complex sales processes, quoting or approvals that need deep customization.
- Custom data models and relationships beyond standard objects.
- Integration with ERP and other enterprise systems.
- Service operations that need advanced case management or field service.
- Access to the Salesforce ecosystem of apps and specialists.
How objects map
| HubSpot | Salesforce | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Leads and Contacts | Decide which HubSpot lifecycle stages become leads versus contacts |
| Companies | Accounts | Deduplicate before migrating |
| Deals | Opportunities | Map pipelines and stages, including closed reasons |
| Tickets | Cases | Map pipelines to case status and record types |
| Products and line items | Products, price books and opportunity products | Set up price books first |
| Engagements (calls, emails, meetings, notes) | Tasks, events and notes | Plan volume and how much history to keep |
| Custom objects | Custom objects | Recreate the data model before loading |
What does not migrate automatically
- Workflows and sequences, which must be rebuilt as Flows or in a sales engagement tool.
- Reports and dashboards, which should be redesigned around Salesforce report types.
- Email templates and snippets.
- Marketing assets, if marketing also moves off HubSpot.
- Integrations, which must be reconnected to Salesforce.
Marketing: stay or move?
Many companies keep HubSpot for marketing and connect it to Salesforce with HubSpot’s native Salesforce integration, so marketing workflows continue while sales and service move. Others move marketing to Salesforce’s own tools. Decide this before migration, because it changes which data must stay in sync and how lead hand-off works.
Step-by-step plan
- Inventory HubSpot objects, properties, pipelines, workflows, integrations and users.
- Design the Salesforce data model, stages and automation.
- Clean and deduplicate data in HubSpot, and export it.
- Map every property to a Salesforce field, including picklist values and owners.
- Load data in dependency order with external IDs, then activities and files.
- Rebuild automation, reports and integrations, and test with users.
- Freeze HubSpot changes, run a final delta load and go live.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Migrating years of low-value email activity that bloats storage.
- Losing owner assignments because users were not created first.
- Copying every HubSpot property, including unused ones.
- Forgetting to update website forms and integrations that still point to HubSpot.
Our data migration team handles CRM moves with mapping, cleansing and validated loads.
Validating the migration
- Compare record counts per object between HubSpot exports and Salesforce.
- Spot-check a sample of companies, contacts and deals field by field.
- Check that associations survived: contacts on the right accounts, deals linked to the right contacts.
- Confirm owners, stages and closed dates are correct.
- Run the key pipeline and revenue reports with sales leadership and compare with HubSpot.
Training users who know HubSpot
Users familiar with HubSpot adapt quickly when training maps old habits to new screens: where deals now live, how to log calls and emails, how tasks and reminders work, and where their favorite reports went. Short role-based sessions plus a one-page “HubSpot to Salesforce” cheat sheet ease the transition and reduce the temptation to keep working in the old system.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a HubSpot to Salesforce migration take?
Simple migrations can take a few weeks. Larger ones with custom objects, years of activity and integrations take longer, mostly in design and testing.
Can we keep HubSpot for marketing?
Yes. HubSpot’s Salesforce integration syncs contacts, companies and deals, letting marketing stay in HubSpot while sales works in Salesforce.
Will email history come across?
Logged emails and engagements can be migrated as activities, but plan how much history is genuinely useful.
