HubSpot to Salesforce migration:
process and checklist
Last reviewed:
A HubSpot to Salesforce migration moves records, relationships and history into a new data model, and rebuilds automation, because workflows and sequences do not transfer. The work is mostly mapping, cleaning and reconciliation. Scope, record volumes, associations and integrations determine the plan, so it starts with an audit.
When does moving make sense?
These are the situations in which a move usually pays off:
- Sales processes now need custom objects, approvals or territory rules.
- Reporting or governance needs have outgrown the current tier.
- The business is standardising on Salesforce after an acquisition or for integration with ERP and billing.
- The team plans to use Agentforce on CRM data.
What HubSpot lets you export
The HubSpot documentation sets limits that shape the plan. The points below come from the vendor's own help pages:
- HubSpot records export as CSV, XLS or XLSX, and needs the Export permission. By default an export holds only the properties and associations in the current view; "All associated records" is available for CSV only, with up to 1,000 record IDs per association column. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base
- HubSpot allows up to 300 exports in a rolling 24 hours, with three running at once; large exports can take hours and arrive as a zip; download links expire after 30 days. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base
- Record exports do not include contact activities such as calls and notes: HubSpot points to individual contact data export, activity reports or the engagements API. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base
- The Data Import Wizard imports up to 50,000 records at a time; Data Loader complements the web-based import wizards for larger loads. Source: Salesforce Help
How the data maps to Salesforce
Where HubSpot data normally lands in Salesforce. The final mapping is agreed field by field in the design phase and signed off before any data moves.
| In HubSpot | In Salesforce | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | Contact (with Account) or Lead | Decide the rule for lead versus contact; keep the HubSpot record ID in an external ID field. |
| Companies | Account | Deduplicate by domain before loading; set parent accounts in a second pass. |
| Deals and pipelines | Opportunity, sales process and stages | Map each pipeline to a sales process; map stages to picklist values. |
| Tickets | Case | Map ticket pipelines to case record types and statuses. |
| Products and line items | Product, price book entry, opportunity product | Create price books before loading deals. |
| Calls, meetings, tasks, notes, emails | Task, Event, Note or Content Note, Email Message | Exported separately from records; decide how much history to carry. |
| Owners and teams | Users, roles, queues | Create users first; map by email address. |
| Lists | Campaigns and campaign members, or reports | Static lists become campaigns; active lists become report filters. |
| Custom properties and custom objects | Custom fields and custom objects | Map data types carefully (multi-select, date and time, enumerations). |
What does not move automatically
Some things cannot be copied across and are rebuilt, replaced or retired. These are agreed during the audit so that nothing surprises the business on go-live day:
- Workflows and sequences (rebuilt as Flow or Agentforce actions)
- Forms and landing pages (replaced by Salesforce web-to-lead, a marketing product or a website form)
- Marketing email templates and send history
- Dashboards and reports (rebuilt in Salesforce)
- Integrations and connected apps (re-pointed or replaced)
The plan, phase by phase
A migration runs in seven phases. Each phase ends with a deliverable that is reviewed before the next one starts.
1. Discover and audit
- List the HubSpot objects, custom fields, automations, integrations and reports in use
- Count records per object and flag duplicates and stale data
- Agree what is migrated, archived or left behind
- Identify owners for each decision
Deliverable: Scope document and data inventory
2. Design the Salesforce model and the mapping
- Choose standard and custom objects, record types and the sales or service process
- Write the field-by-field mapping with transformation rules
- Design security: profiles, permission sets, sharing
- Decide where marketing automation will live after the move
Deliverable: Target data model and signed mapping sheet
3. Prepare Salesforce
- Configure objects, fields, page layouts, validation and automation in a sandbox
- Set up integrations that must exist on day one
- Create users and permissions
Deliverable: Configured sandbox
4. Clean and transform the data
- Deduplicate and standardise values
- Resolve relationships between records before loading
- Prepare load files in dependency order (accounts before contacts before deals)
Deliverable: Load-ready files and transformation scripts
5. Trial loads and reconciliation
- Load into the sandbox, compare record counts and sample values with the source
- Fix mapping errors and repeat until counts reconcile
- User acceptance testing with real scenarios
Deliverable: Reconciliation report and test sign-off
6. Cutover
- Freeze changes in the source system for the agreed window
- Run the final load into production and reconcile again
- Switch website forms, tracking and email integration to Salesforce
Deliverable: Production go-live and rollback plan on record
7. Hypercare and retire the old system
- Support users and fix defects after go-live
- Keep the source data read-only for an agreed period
- Cancel or downgrade the old subscription only after sign-off
Deliverable: Closure report and decommission checklist
The audit in phase 1 produces the plan with dates, effort and owners for the specific case. Techila does not quote a duration before the audit, because record volumes, automation and integrations differ for every business.
Risks and how they are handled
Every migration has the same handful of risks. This is how each one is controlled:
| Risk | How it is handled |
|---|---|
| Associations lost or duplicated | Load parent records first, store the source ID on every record, reconcile association counts. |
| Activity history missing | Export engagements through the API or activity reports and decide the retention scope in discovery. |
| Duplicate contacts and companies | Deduplicate in the source before transformation, and apply matching rules in Salesforce. |
| Automation gaps on go-live day | Inventory every workflow in the audit and rebuild the critical ones before cutover. |
| Marketing consent and unsubscribes not carried over | Migrate consent and opt-out status as fields and test email suppression before the first send. |
| Export limits delay the plan | Schedule exports in advance within the daily export limits and use zipped large exports. |
[ FAQ ]
Frequently asked questions
Can HubSpot and Salesforce run side by side?
Yes. Many teams keep HubSpot for marketing while sales moves to Salesforce. See the HubSpot integration page.
Does everything transfer?
No. Records, relationships and selected history transfer. Workflows, sequences, forms and dashboards are rebuilt.
How long does a migration take?
It depends on record volumes, objects, automation and integrations. The audit produces a plan with dates for the specific case.
Which tool loads the data?
Small loads can use the Data Import Wizard (up to 50,000 records at a time). Larger or repeatable loads use Data Loader or an integration tool.
[ Next step ]
Talk to a Salesforce architect
Techila starts with an audit of the HubSpot set-up and a mapping to Salesforce. Share the objects in use, the record counts and the integrations to get started.
[ Related ]
Related
[ Evidence ]
Sources
- HubSpot: export your records
- Salesforce: how many records can be imported with the Data Import Wizard
- Salesforce Data Loader guide (Winter '27)
Product names are trademarks of their owners. HubSpot is a trademark of HubSpot, Inc. Techila is not affiliated with HubSpot. Information on this page was checked on 26 October 2026; vendor limits and prices change, so confirm on the vendor pages linked in the sources.