You bought HubSpot to be your "single source of truth." But six months later, you're still copying data between systems manually.
HubSpot is great at what it does. But it doesn't automatically talk to your accounting software, your forms, your project management tools, or your custom databases.
Here's how to actually connect everything.
The Integration Landscape
You have three options for connecting HubSpot to other tools:
1. Native HubSpot integrations - HubSpot's built-in connections to popular tools. Easy to set up, but limited in what they can do.
2. Third-party automation (Zapier, Make, n8n) - More flexible. Can handle complex logic. Where most real integrations happen.
3. Custom API integration - Maximum flexibility. Required for complex requirements or tools without existing integrations.
Common Integration Scenarios
Forms → HubSpot
When someone fills out a Typeform, JotForm, or Webflow form, create a contact in HubSpot automatically.
What to sync: Name, email, company, phone, form responses as custom properties.
Watch out for: Duplicate contacts. Always check if the contact exists before creating a new one.
HubSpot → Accounting
When a deal closes in HubSpot, create an invoice in QuickBooks or Xero.
What to sync: Company info, deal amount, line items, payment terms.
Watch out for: Tax calculations, multi-currency, customer matching between systems.
HubSpot → Project Management
When a deal closes, create a project in Asana, Monday, or ClickUp.
What to sync: Client info, project scope (from deal notes), timeline, assigned team members.
Watch out for: Mapping deal stages to project templates. Different deal types might need different project structures.
Email → HubSpot
Log all customer emails (Gmail, Outlook) to HubSpot contact records.
What to sync: Email content, attachments, timestamps.
Watch out for: Privacy considerations. Some emails shouldn't be logged (personal, confidential).
The Right Way to Build Integrations
Start with the workflow, not the tools.
Before building anything, map out exactly what should happen. When X occurs in System A, what needs to happen in System B? What data needs to move? What happens if something fails?
Handle duplicates.
The biggest integration headache is duplicate records. Always check if a record exists before creating. Use email address as the unique identifier for contacts.
Build in error handling.
What happens when the API is down? When data is malformed? When a required field is empty? Good integrations handle these gracefully.
Log everything.
When something goes wrong (and it will), you need to know what happened. Keep logs of every integration run.
When to DIY vs. Hire Help
DIY if:
- The integration is simple (one trigger, one action)
- Native HubSpot integration exists
- You have time to learn and maintain it
Hire help if:
- Complex logic required (conditions, branching)
- Multiple systems need to sync
- Data quality is critical
- You don't have time to maintain it
I build HubSpot integrations for growing companies. If your systems aren't talking to each other, book a call and we'll figure out what needs to happen.
Or check out my CRM integration services to see how I can help.