HubSpot HQ – Internal Import Checklist for Superadmins

The existing Import Requirements B2B and Import Requirements B2C articles explain what requesters need to provide. This checklist covers the additional checks the HubSpot HQ team should perform before, during and after executing the import.

The goal is to make sure that an import is not only technically successful, but also complete from a data quality, marketing, consent, association and CRM governance perspective.

Important: If required information is missing or unclear, pause the import and clarify it with the requester before proceeding. Do not make assumptions on behalf of the requester.

1. Review the import request

Before preparing the import, confirm:

• Correct HubSpot portal / channel: B2B or B2C
• Country / market
• Business requester / owner
• Data source
• Object(s) to be imported
• Whether records should be created, updated or both
• Required associations
• Expected number of records
• Any specific business outcome or post-import action requested

Examples of associations:

• Contact ↔ Company
• Contact ↔ Exhibition
• Contact ↔ Academy Event
• Contact ↔ Academy Certification
• Other HubSpot custom objects

If the request was submitted through the standard import process, verify that the information is consistent with the relevant Import Requirements B2B or Import Requirements B2C article.

2. For Contact imports, confirm marketing and consent requirements

This check is required for every Contact import.

Do not assume these settings based only on the source file or the business purpose.

Marketing Contact status

Confirm whether the Contacts should be:

• Marketing Contacts
• Non-Marketing Contacts
• A combination of both

If both are included in the same file, make sure they can be clearly identified and processed correctly.

Important: Marketing Contact status and communication subscriptions are two different things.

Marketing Contact status determines whether the Contact belongs to the billable marketing audience in HubSpot.

Communication subscriptions determine which types of communication the Contact is allowed to receive.

One must not be inferred from the other.

Legal basis

Where required, confirm:

• Legal basis for communication with the Contact
• Explanation for the legal basis

Do not create or assume legal consent information if it has not been explicitly provided.

Communication subscriptions

Confirm:

• Whether the Contact should be opted into any subscription type
• Which exact subscription type(s) should be applied

If Marketing Contact status, legal basis or communication subscriptions are missing or unclear, ask the requester before continuing.

3. Review the source data before import

Before uploading the file into HubSpot, check for:

• Empty or obviously invalid rows
• Duplicate records within the source file
• Duplicate email addresses
• Missing required identifiers
• Invalid or inconsistent property values
• Obvious formatting problems
• Values that may not exist in the relevant HubSpot dropdown properties

Where appropriate and where the source information is clear, normalize:

• Phone numbers
• Country values
• Dates
• Leading/trailing spaces
• Other standardized fields

Do not guess or invent missing business information.

4. Confirm how existing records will be identified

Contacts

Use a reliable identifier such as:

1. Existing HubSpot Record ID, where available
2. Email address
3. ERP ID

If multiple source rows contain the same email address but represent different people or conflicting data, separate those records and ask for clarification if necessary.

Do not create incomplete duplicate Contacts simply to preserve every source row.

Companies

Prefer:

1. Existing HubSpot Record ID
2. ERP ID or another unique external system ID
3. Reliable company domain

Other information such as country, postal code or address can support duplicate prevention and validation.

Important: Company name alone may not be sufficient to safely identify an existing Company.

If there is no reliable identifier and duplicate risk is material, review the creation or matching strategy before proceeding with a bulk import.

5. Decide whether additional email quality checks are required

A previous bounce or email quality check is not required for every import.

Consider an additional check depending on:

• Number of Contacts
• Age of the source data
• Origin of the email addresses
• Reliability of the source system
• Known data quality issues
• Risk of outdated or invalid email addresses

A recent first-party source with known quality may require less validation than an old or externally supplied list.

If the risk is unclear, clarify before making Contacts available for marketing communication.

6. Review property mapping and overwrite behavior

Before executing the import, check:

• Source column → HubSpot property
• Correct property type
• Dropdown / multi-select values
• Country values
• Date formats
• Owner mapping
• Unique identifiers
• Association identifiers

Also determine whether the source should update existing CRM values.

Ask:

• Is the source authoritative for this property?
• Should an existing HubSpot value be overwritten?
• Could the import replace better or more current data?

Do not overwrite reliable CRM data automatically when the source is not considered authoritative.

7. Review associations

If the request includes associations, verify:

• Which objects need to be associated
• Whether related records already exist
• Which identifier will connect the records
• Whether existing records should be reused instead of creating new ones

For Academy-related imports, do not only confirm that the Contact exists. Also check whether the relevant Academy Event or Academy Certification already exists and whether the existing record should be associated.

Avoid creating duplicate related records when the correct object already exists in HubSpot.

8. Check workflows and other automation before importing

An import can trigger HubSpot automation immediately after records are created or updated.

Check whether relevant workflows or integrations may react to imported changes.

Pay particular attention to:

• Contact Owner
• Company Owner
• Country
• Lead routing
• Lifecycle stages
• Marketing Contact status
• Associations
• Notifications
• External integrations

Important: The value imported into HubSpot may not be the final value if an active workflow changes it afterwards.

If automation is expected to run, include its result in the post-import validation.

If automation should not run, determine the safe approach before proceeding.

9. Plan all required HubSpot actions

Do not assume that one import operation will cover every requirement.

Identify whether separate steps are needed for:

• Record creation or update
• Associations
• Marketing Contact status
• Communication subscriptions
• Legal basis / consent information
• Other bulk updates

Use the simplest supported HubSpot method that safely fulfils the requirement.

For standard CRM imports, prefer the native HubSpot import functionality where practical.

Use API or custom tooling only where there is a clear requirement that cannot reasonably be handled with the standard HubSpot tools.

10. Final pre-import check

Before starting the import, confirm:

• Correct HubSpot portal
• Correct source file and latest validated version
• Correct object(s)
• Correct create/update behavior
• Correct matching identifier
• Duplicate risks reviewed
• Marketing Contact status confirmed
• Legal basis confirmed where required
• Communication subscriptions confirmed where required
• Property mappings checked
• Associations checked
• Owner handling confirmed where applicable
• Relevant workflows / automation reviewed
• Expected source count known
• Any required separate post-import actions identified

Important: If a required item is still unclear, stop and ask before importing.

11. Reconcile the import result

Compare the result with the prepared source file.

Check:

• Expected source rows
• Successfully processed records
• Created records
• Updated records
• Skipped records
• Import errors

Review meaningful errors individually.

Do not assume skipped records are acceptable without understanding why they were skipped.

12. Validate the imported data

Spot-check representative records.

Verify:

• Important properties were mapped correctly
• Existing values were not unintentionally overwritten
• Contact / Company Owners are correct
• Marketing Contact status is correct
• Communication subscriptions are correct where applicable
• Legal basis information is correct where applicable
• Required associations were created
• No obvious duplicate records were created
• Expected workflows or automation executed correctly
• No unexpected workflow or integration changed the imported data

Where automation runs immediately after the import, allow it to finish before completing final validation.

13. Handle exceptions separately

Do not force unclear or conflicting records through the import only to make the final count match the source file.

Examples:

• Duplicate email addresses representing conflicting people
• Ambiguous Company matches
• Companies without a safe identifier
• Unsupported property values
• Missing consent information
• Conflicting CRM and source-system data
• Records requiring a business decision

Exclude or isolate these records and request clarification where necessary.

Document the exception and its final resolution.

14. Document and close the request

Before closing the import task:

• Record the final import result
• Include relevant created / updated / skipped / error counts
• Link the HubSpot import result or resulting segment/list
• Document excluded or unresolved records
• Document any correction required after the initial import
• Confirm requested Marketing Contact or subscription updates were completed
• Confirm required associations
• Confirm whether requester validation is needed

If the import reveals a new recurring issue that could affect future imports, update this checklist accordingly.

Key rules

Missing information = ask before importing

Do not assume the answer when a business or governance decision belongs to the requester.

Never assume Marketing Contact status

The requester must clearly specify whether Contacts should be Marketing or Non-Marketing.

Marketing Contact does not mean subscribed

Marketing Contact status and communication permission serve different purposes and must be handled separately.

Never invent legal consent

Legal basis and communication permissions must come from valid requester or source information.

Do not automatically resolve ambiguous duplicates

When the correct Contact or Company cannot be determined safely, ask for business clarification.

Companies need a safe matching strategy

Prefer HubSpot Record ID, ERP / external system ID or a reliable domain.

Check automation

Imported values can be changed immediately by workflows or downstream integrations.

Validate after the import

A technically successful import is not complete until the resulting HubSpot records have been checked.

Keep the checklist current

When a new recurring issue is discovered, add the lesson to this checklist.

Related articles

• Import Requirements B2B
• Import Requirements B2C
• Import or Export Contacts and Change Properties