Overview

Exporting is more than downloading a spreadsheet

In practice, it is usually more involved than that.

You may need several exports, and the files may not contain every piece of information you expected.

The most important thing is not just getting the data out. It is deciding what is actually worth taking with you.

The safest process is:

Here is how to approach it.

01 · Decide

1. Decide what you actually need before exporting

Before downloading thousands of records, decide what information genuinely needs to exist in the next CRM.

Moving everything simply because it exists can create a messy new CRM from day one.

02 · Export settings

2. Check your HubSpot export settings carefully

Do not assume that clicking Export automatically gives you every piece of information you will need.

Depending on what you export and the options selected, the resulting files may not contain every property, association or piece of historic information you expected.

Before relying on the export, check:

• which properties are included
• whether custom properties are included
• deal information
• company information
• owners
• pipeline and deal-stage information
• useful notes or historic activity
• associations between contacts, companies and deals

Then open the spreadsheets and physically inspect the columns. Check several records you know well.

Do not discover after cancellation that an important field was never included.

03 · Record types

3. Export contacts, companies and deals separately

Do not expect one giant spreadsheet to contain your entire CRM in a neat transferable structure.

In particular, export your deals separately.

Your deal export is commercially important because it gives you a clear working list of the opportunities the business is actively managing.

Check that it includes the information you need to understand:

• which opportunities are still active
• deal name
• associated contact
• associated company
• pipeline stage
• owner
• value
• expected close date
• useful deal information

If you use company records meaningfully, export those separately too.

This makes it much easier to understand what you have before you start importing into the next system.

04 · Multiple files

4. Expect several spreadsheets

Coming out of HubSpot may mean working with multiple files. That is normal.

You may have separate information relating to:

• contacts
• companies
• deals
• properties
• activities or notes
• lists
• other record types

Do not rush to merge everything together.

First understand what each file contains and what role it will play in the new CRM.

05 · Review

5. Review every spreadsheet before you import it

This is one of the most important parts of the migration.

Open the spreadsheets first.

Look through the rows and columns and repeatedly ask: "Do I actually need this?"

Look for:

• dead leads
• old test contacts
• duplicates
• obsolete deal stages
• abandoned opportunities
• unused custom fields
• columns containing no useful information
• old lists or classifications nobody understands
• data created around processes you no longer use

Then remove the obvious rubbish.

Your new CRM is an opportunity to start with better data, not simply recreate the old system.

06 · Cleaning

6. Only clean the data you are actually going to import

Do not turn the migration into a giant data-cleaning project.

There is very little value spending hours fixing thousands of old records if you have already decided they are not coming with you.

Start by deciding what you need. Then clean that subset.

A useful priority order is:

1. 01

   Open deals

2. 02

   Active leads

3. 03

   Follow-ups due soon

4. 04

   Current customers

5. 05

   Useful historic contacts

6. 06

   Everything else only if there is a reason to keep it

The biggest risk is not leaving an old contact behind.

It is leaving behind the person who is expecting a proposal or follow-up this week.

07 · Validate

7. Check that the information you need really came out

Once you have exported and started reviewing the data, perform another validation.

Pick several contacts and deals you know well in HubSpot and compare them with the export.

Check:

• contact details
• important custom fields
• associated company
• associated deal
• pipeline stage
• owner
• important notes or context
• next action where relevant

If something important is missing, do not assume it cannot be exported.

Go back to HubSpot and check the relevant record type, property selection or export settings before proceeding.

The export is only useful if it contains the information your team needs to keep working.

08 · Keep it simple

8. Do not over-engineer the spreadsheets

Once the rubbish is removed and the important information is present, stop.

You do not need to rebuild your new CRM inside Excel.

Most good modern CRMs provide an import mapping process. That normally allows you to match:

during the import.

Clean the file. Understand the file. Make sure the important information is there.

Then let the new CRM's importer do its job.

09 · Test

9. Test a small import before moving everything

Do not make the full database your test.

Take a small sample and import that first. Then check:

• names
• email addresses
• companies
• custom fields
• deals
• pipeline information
• tags
• dates
• duplicates

If something has mapped incorrectly, it is much easier to fix a small test than thousands of records.

Only move the wider database when the test looks right.

10 · Backup

10. Keep an export as a backup, whatever CRM you use

Exporting your CRM data is not something you should only think about when you are leaving a system.

It is good practice to keep a recent backup of your important CRM data, whatever platform you use.

That gives you another safety net if:

• data is deleted by mistake
• a bulk update goes wrong
• an import overwrites information
• a user changes something unexpectedly
• you need to check historic information
• you decide to move systems later

Store the export securely and make sure it is recent enough to be useful.

Your CRM provider should have its own safeguards, but having your own export gives you another layer of protection.

Rebuilding

What might not transfer cleanly?

Not everything in HubSpot will necessarily transfer neatly into another CRM.

Things that may need to be rebuilt or handled separately can include:

• workflows
• automations
• reports
• dashboards
• forms
• landing pages
• complex associations
• some historic activity

This is why it is important to decide what your next CRM actually needs before trying to recreate everything.

You may discover that some of the old setup is no longer useful.

That is not a migration failure. It can be an opportunity to simplify.

Less is more

Your new CRM does not need everything from your old CRM

When businesses migrate systems, there is a natural instinct to preserve everything.

But more data is not automatically better data.

If you import years of irrelevant contacts, abandoned opportunities, unused fields and old processes, you can make the new CRM messy before anybody has even started using it.

Keep anything else securely archived if there is a genuine legal, contractual or business reason to retain it.

But it does not necessarily need to live inside the new CRM.

Good practice

Exporting is good data practice, not just a migration task

Whatever CRM you use, keep a backup of the information that matters.

Then, if you ever need to migrate, recover or check historic data, you are not starting from zero.

That small change in approach can save a lot of wasted time and give your new CRM a much cleaner start.

Summary

Quick checklist: exporting data from HubSpot

Before importing anything into your next CRM, check:

• Have you decided what data you actually need?
• Have you checked the HubSpot export settings?
• Are custom properties included where needed?
• Have you exported your deals separately?
• Have you checked company data separately if relevant?
• Have you reviewed each spreadsheet?
• Have you removed records you do not need?
• Have you checked important sample records against HubSpot?
• Have you confirmed that key fields and associations are present?
• Have you avoided wasting time cleaning data you will not import?
• Have you tested a small import?
• Have you kept a secure copy of the original export as a backup?

If you can answer yes to those, you are in a much stronger position to move safely.

Frequently asked questions