HubSpot CRM Migration Checklist: What to Do Before, During, and After Going Live

Introduction

Are you planning a HubSpot CRM migration and trying to make sure everything holds up after the move?

Contacts need to stay clean. Lifecycle stages need to continue reflecting how leads actually move, and reports need to keep telling the same story your team already trusts.

That concern is justified. However, most CRM migrations don’t fail during data transfer. They unravel later, when small details get missed. Incomplete cleanup leads to duplicate records. Gaps in field mapping surface as broken reports. Workflows stop firing, and confidence in the CRM starts to erode.

That’s exactly why this HubSpot CRM migration checklist exists. It provides a practical way to move through the migration without missing the details that matter.

If you’re already deep into planning or working with a complex setup, a quick review can help surface risks early and validate your migration approach.

Now, let’s start with what you need to do before you move any data into HubSpot. 

HubSpot CRM Migration Checklist: What to Do Before You Move Any Data

This phase sets the foundation for your entire HubSpot CRM migration. Most problems that surface after going live do not start during import. They begin much earlier, when preparation gets rushed or skipped, often without teams realizing the downstream impact.

A HubSpot CRM migration checklist outlines the exact steps required to move CRM data to HubSpot without data loss or disruption. The checklist begins with planning and data cleanup to reduce risk before migration. It then covers field mapping, data imports, and workflow setup to ensure contacts, companies, deals, and activities transfer accurately. 

Validation and backups protect data integrity during the move. Structured testing confirms going-live readiness. Post-migration audits and team training support adoption and long-term CRM performance.

Taking the time to prepare properly keeps the migration controlled and helps you avoid cleanup work later. With that foundation in place, the first step is to audit your current CRM data.

1. Audit Your Current CRM Data

Start by understanding what actually exists in your current CRM. Over time, systems evolve, fields get added, and processes change. As a result, the CRM you think you are migrating is often different from the one your teams actively use.

Begin with the core objects:

• Contacts, companies, deals, and tickets
• The relationships and associations between these records

Once the objects are clear, review the structure that supports them:

• Custom and required fields
• Field dependencies and validation rules
• Active workflows, automations, and integrations that rely on specific properties

Finally, assess how much of this data is still relevant:

• Records your teams actively work with
• Historical or unused records that no longer support day-to-day operations

This audit creates clarity around what genuinely needs to be migrated into HubSpot and what can be archived, which simplifies the migration and reduces noise from the start.

2. Clean and Standardize CRM Records

Once you know what you are migrating, the next step is to clean it. Data quality issues do not fix themselves after migration. In most cases, they become harder to identify and more disruptive once teams start using the new CRM.

Begin by addressing duplication and decay:

• Deduplicate contacts and companies
• Remove inactive or outdated records

Then focus on consistency across key fields:

• Standardize picklists such as industry, region, and deal stage
• Ensure values align with how teams actually segment and report

This is also the right moment to simplify the system:

• Archive unused pipelines and custom fields
• Remove automations that no longer reflect current processes

Clean, standardized data improves reporting accuracy, reduces workflow errors, and makes it easier for teams to trust the CRM from day one.

3. Define Migration Scope and Success Criteria

A common mistake in CRM migrations is trying to move everything. Successful migrations take a more deliberate approach by defining the scope before any data is imported.

A simple framework, like the following classification, helps guide these decisions:

• Must migrate
• Nice to have
• Exclude

At the same time, decide how much historical data you truly need. Some teams require full history for compliance or long-term reporting, while others only need recent records to operate effectively without clutter. Make this call early to prevent unnecessary imports and simplify validation later.

Also, define what success looks like after migration. In most cases, that means:

• Lifecycle and pipeline reports match expectations
• Workflows and automations run as intended
• Data feels reliable without constant manual checks

When success criteria are defined upfront, post-migration validation becomes faster and far more objective.

4. Prepare HubSpot Account and Permissions

Before importing any data, ensure your HubSpot account itself is ready. Configuration choices made at this stage shape how usable and reliable the CRM will be long after going live.

Start with the basics:

• Confirm plan limits and object availability
• Set up user roles, teams, and access permissions

Then focus on structure:

• Default properties and lifecycle stages
• Tracking and attribution settings aligned with business processes

Lifecycle logic and permissions are especially important because they influence reporting, automation, and visibility across teams. Small misalignments here often surface later as confusing dashboards or inconsistent metrics.

In several HubSpot CRM implementations we’ve led at Revv Growth, including a full rollout for Vymo, this step proved critical.

Vymo was moving from spreadsheets and disconnected tools into HubSpot to support a high-velocity demand generation motion. Before migrating any data, we worked with their sales and marketing teams to define lifecycle stages, lead statuses, custom deal stages, and role-based permissions.

That upfront structure meant contacts, companies, and deals could be migrated cleanly, workflows could be rebuilt without rework, and reporting remained consistent after going live. It also prevented common post-migration issues like broken attribution, inconsistent dashboards, and unclear handoffs between marketing and sales.

Once planning, permissions, and lifecycle logic are locked, the migration can move from preparation into execution.

Executing the HubSpot CRM Migration: Data, Pipelines, and Workflow Setup

This phase is where planning turns into execution. Your focus here should not be optimization or adoption, but structural accuracy and continuity. The goal is to ensure HubSpot behaves exactly as expected once data is live, without breaking reporting or automation later.

1. Map CRM Fields to HubSpot Properties

Field mapping sits at the core of a successful migration. When data lands in the wrong properties, problems rarely appear immediately. Instead, they show up later as broken reports, misfiring workflows, or missing context in records, making them harder to trace back to the source.

Start by mapping all standard and custom fields from your existing CRM to the correct HubSpot properties. As you work through this, make sure you account for:

• Field names and definitions
• Data types such as text, number, date, or dropdown
• Required fields and validation rules

Calculated or dependent fields usually cannot be migrated directly. You will need to recreate this logic using HubSpot properties or workflows. Documenting these decisions in a field-mapping table helps reduce import errors and simplifies validation later.

2. Migrate Core CRM Objects in the Right Order

Once fields are mapped, the order of migration becomes critical. Importing data out of sequence often breaks associations and affects reporting. A reliable order is:

Companies → Contacts → Deals → Tickets → Activities and notes

This sequence ensures relationships between records remain intact. Deals rely on associated companies and contacts, while activities and notes depend on all of them. When you preserve these associations during import, pipeline views and funnel reports continue to behave as expected after migration.

Trying to migrate everything at once often leads to orphaned records and missing links that are difficult to repair later. Moving data in a controlled order helps you avoid those issues.

3. Rebuild Pipelines, Stages, and Lifecycle Logic

With data in place, you now need to rebuild pipelines and lifecycle logic, so HubSpot mirrors how your business actually operates. These elements define how leads progress, how deals move forward, and how performance gets measured across teams.

This step typically involves:

• Recreating sales pipelines and deal stages
• Defining lifecycle stages that align with HubSpot’s data model
• Aligning lead status with lifecycle stages to avoid conflicting signals

Lifecycle logic has a direct impact on funnel and revenue reporting. Even small misalignments can cause dashboards to show unexpected changes, which quickly undermines confidence in the data.

One of the most common post-migration issues teams face is broken dashboards caused by lifecycle logic that no longer reflects real-world movement. Taking the time to align this correctly helps you avoid reporting confusion later.

4. Recreate Workflows, Automations, and Integrations

Most workflows and automations do not migrate automatically, which means you need to review and rebuild them inside HubSpot. This step ensures that the logic supporting your processes continues to work as expected.

Start by identifying:

• Workflows that must be recreated
• Automations tied to legacy fields or logic
• Integrations that require reconnection or reauthentication

As you rebuild workflows, validate triggers, delays, and enrollment rules. Review integration sync settings carefully to avoid duplicates or overwrites. Small gaps here often lead to silent failures that only appear weeks later.

At this stage, HubSpot is structurally complete. Data is in place, logic is defined, and systems are connected. However, it is not yet ready for real-world use. Testing and validation are what ensure everything holds up once teams start working in the CRM.

With data migrated and logic rebuilt, the next step is making sure HubSpot holds up in real-world use.

What to Do After a HubSpot CRM Migration: Testing, Going-Live, and Adoption

This phase determines whether your HubSpot CRM migration actually succeeds in practice. 

At this point, data is in place, and systems are connected, but that does not guarantee everything works the way your teams expect. Most migration failures surface here, not because the data did not move, but because issues were never validated before real usage began.

1. Validate Data Accuracy and Record Relationships

Start by validating that the data you migrated is accurate, complete, and connected correctly. This step helps you catch issues early, before teams start building habits around incorrect data. Focus on:

• Spot-checking contacts, companies, and deals across different segments
• Verifying record ownership and associations between objects
• Reviewing timestamps, activity history, and engagement records
• Detecting duplicates created during or after imports

You do not need to review every record, but you do need enough coverage to confirm patterns. If associations or ownership are inconsistent, reports and workflows will behave unpredictably later.

2. Test Reports, Dashboards, and Attribution

Once data accuracy is confirmed, shift your attention to reporting. Reports are often the first place teams notice something is wrong, which makes this step critical for building confidence. Test key reports your teams rely on, including:

• Pipeline and revenue reports
• Funnel conversion tracking
• Marketing attribution and source reporting
• Forecast and leadership dashboards
  

If numbers look different from expected, resist the urge to adjust reports immediately. Reporting issues almost always trace back to lifecycle stages, property mappings, or data configuration gaps. Fixing the root cause here prevents long-term reporting confusion.

3. User Training and Access Control

Even a well-configured CRM fails if teams do not understand how to use it. Your training should focus on how HubSpot works in your environment, not generic platform walkthroughs. Make sure user training covers:

• Role-based onboarding for sales, marketing, and operations
• Permission checks to prevent accidental data changes
• Clear documentation of workflows, processes, and ownership rules

When users understand what has changed and why, they are more likely to trust the system and use it consistently instead of maintaining side spreadsheets or workarounds.

4. Monitor Data Quality and Sync Issues

The first few weeks after going live are when most data quality issues appear. Ongoing monitoring helps you catch problems while they are still easy to fix. Pay close attention to:

• Duplicate management rules and alerts
• Integration sync behavior and error logs
• Data quality reviews during the first 30 to 60 days
• Early usage patterns that introduce inconsistencies

Small issues left unattended often grow into systemic problems. Regular monitoring allows you to correct course before bad data becomes embedded in reports and workflows.

5. Optimize HubSpot for Sales and Marketing Teams

Once HubSpot proves stable, you can begin refining it based on real usage. This is where the CRM transitions from a migrated system to a tool that actively supports growth. Common areas to refine include:

• Dashboards and reports tailored to team needs
• Workflow adjustments based on how teams actually work
• New automation opportunities identified post-launch
• Improved handoffs between sales and marketing

At this stage, teams often decide whether to continue optimizing internally or bring in additional support. If you are also evaluating external support for your migration, check out the best HubSpot agencies to work with, which have hands-on migration and implementation experience across complex GTM setups.

Conclusion: Ready to Execute a Successful HubSpot CRM Migration?

From preparation to post-migration optimization, every step in this checklist is designed to reduce long-term risks like data inconsistency, broken reporting, and unreliable automation.

A HubSpot CRM migration does not end with going live. Real success comes when your data stays clean, your reports remain consistent, and workflows support daily work without constant fixes.

Following a structured HubSpot CRM migration checklist helps you reduce risk at every stage. It prevents common issues like duplicate records, misaligned lifecycle logic, and reporting gaps that often appear weeks after migration. More importantly, it helps you build a CRM that your teams trust and actually use.

If your migration involves complex data models, multiple integrations, or strict reporting requirements, experience makes a difference. Across HubSpot CRM migrations we’ve led at Revv Growth, we’ve seen how upfront structure leads to smoother adoption and more reliable reporting.

If you’re planning a HubSpot CRM migration and want to reduce risk before moving forward, you can book a call with Revv Growth to review your migration scope, data structure, and execution plan with an experienced team.