The HubSpot Migration Checklist: Lessons from 4 Enterprise Implementations

Why CRM Migrations Fail

Most CRM migrations fail not because of technical complexity, but because of inadequate preparation. After migrating Salesforce to HubSpot at PatientIQ and consolidating 3 legacy systems into one platform at AASM, I've developed a checklist that prevents the most common failure modes.

This isn't theoretical. Every item on this list exists because I learned the hard way — or watched someone else learn it.

Phase 1: Pre-Migration Audit (Weeks 1-2)

Before you touch a single record, you need a complete inventory of what you're migrating and why.

Data inventory checklist:

• Export complete field list from source system (every custom field, every picklist value)
• Count records by object type: contacts, companies, deals, activities, custom objects
• Identify data quality issues: duplicates, missing emails, outdated records
• Map which fields are actively used vs. legacy/abandoned
• Document all active automation rules and triggers
• List every integration that reads from or writes to the CRM

At AASM, this audit revealed that 15% of contact records were duplicates and 20% had no email address. We cleaned this before migration, not after.

Integration mapping checklist:

• List every system connected to your current CRM
• For each integration: data direction (one-way vs. bidirectional), frequency, and criticality
• Identify which integrations have native HubSpot alternatives
• Flag any custom API integrations that need rebuilding

Phase 2: Architecture Design (Week 3)

This is where most migrations go wrong. Teams recreate their existing structure in the new system instead of designing for how they should work.

Architecture decisions to make:

• Lifecycle stage definitions (get sales and marketing to agree before building)
• Lead scoring model design (behavioral + firmographic)
• Custom object structure (don't recreate Salesforce objects 1:1 — rethink for HubSpot's data model)
• Pipeline stages and deal properties
• Reporting requirements (build dashboards schema first, not last)
• Permission sets and team access controls

The cardinal rule: Get stakeholder sign-off on architecture before migration begins. Changes after data is loaded are 10x more expensive.

Phase 3: Data Migration (Weeks 4-5)

Migration execution checklist:

• Migrate in phases: companies first, then contacts, then deals, then activities
• Validate record counts at each phase (source count = destination count)
• Verify field mappings with sample records (check 50+ records manually)
• Test association integrity: are contacts linked to the right companies and deals?
• Run duplicate detection on imported data
• Verify lifecycle stages mapped correctly
• Check that historical activity data (emails, meetings, notes) transferred

At PatientIQ, we ran both CRM systems in parallel for 2 weeks. Every new deal was entered in both Salesforce and HubSpot. This parallel-run period caught 3 field mapping issues that would have corrupted reporting.

Phase 4: Automation & Integration Rebuild (Week 6)

Automation checklist:

• Rebuild lead scoring model and validate with historical conversion data
• Create lifecycle stage automation (MQL/SQL triggers, stage progression)
• Set up lead assignment rules and notification workflows
• Rebuild email nurture sequences (don't just copy — improve)
• Configure deal automation: stage requirements, task creation, notifications
• Test every automation with sample records before going live

Integration checklist:

• Rebuild or replace each integration from your Phase 1 mapping
• Test data flow in both directions
• Verify webhook reliability (set up error monitoring)
• Configure sync frequencies (real-time vs. scheduled)

Phase 5: Post-Migration Validation (Weeks 7-8)

Validation checklist:

• Compare dashboard numbers between old and new system (they should match)
• Run a full sales pipeline review: every open deal accounted for
• Verify email deliverability from new platform (warm up sending domain)
• Test form submissions through entire lifecycle
• Validate attribution data: are campaigns tracked correctly?
• Conduct user acceptance testing with 3-5 power users from each team

Training checklist:

• Role-specific training sessions (sales vs. marketing vs. leadership)
• Document all custom processes and automations
• Create quick-reference guides for common tasks
• Schedule 30-day follow-up training after launch

Timeline Variants

Fast track (30 days): Possible for startups with clean data and simple requirements. I did this at Ambience Healthcare — new HubSpot portal from scratch, generating $2.5M ARR in the first month.

Standard (60 days): Typical for single-system migrations with moderate complexity.

Enterprise (90 days): Required for multi-system consolidations, large data volumes, or complex integration landscapes. The AASM migration took this path — 3 systems, 13,000+ member records, 50+ users to train.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Migrating dirty data**: Clean first, migrate second. Always.
2. **Recreating old structure**: Use migration as an opportunity to fix broken processes.
3. **Skipping parallel run**: Running both systems simultaneously catches issues before they compound.
4. **Launching without training**: A configured CRM that nobody uses correctly is worse than the old one.
5. **No post-migration monitoring**: The first 30 days after launch are when most issues surface.

Planning a CRM migration? I've done 4 of them — from 30-day startup sprints to 90-day enterprise consolidations. [Let's discuss your specific situation](/contact).