Track projects, locations and more in HubSpot with custom objects
HubSpot comes with four main record types: contacts, companies, deals and tickets. Custom objects let you add a record type for the other things your business runs on, such as projects, locations, contracts or the products a customer owns, and link each one to the right customers. They need an Enterprise plan, so we help you decide if they're worth it first.
Free, 30 minutes, and you'll leave with at least one clear next step.
- Hub
- Any hub, including Smart CRM and Revenue Hub
- Plan needed
- Enterprise
- Status
- Generally available
How many you can create depends on your plan
What is a HubSpot custom object?
Think of HubSpot as a set of filing cabinets. Out of the box you get one for contacts, one for companies, one for deals and one for tickets. That works for many businesses. But some companies need a folder for each project, each location, each contract or each product a customer owns.
Without that, teams cram the information where it doesn't fit. They add twenty "Location 1 address" fields to the company record, or create fake deals to stand in for projects. Reports stop making sense. Simple questions go unanswered, like "Which customers have a contract ending this quarter?"
A custom object is a new cabinet you design. Each record in it has its own fields and its own history. It links to the contacts, companies, deals and tickets it belongs to. Your automated workflows and reports can use these records, and so can playbooks, the call guides HubSpot shows reps.
Examples by industry
Every business is different. Here are a few common ones, with more detail on our industry pages.
Installed equipment
A manufacturer tracks one record per installed product, with serial number, install date and service history, linked to the customer and any open tickets.
ManufacturingProjects
A contractor or agency tracks one record per project, with location, dates and scope. Several companies and contacts can link to the same project, which a deal handles poorly.
ConstructionLocations and branches
A distributor or multi-location business tracks one record per branch, linked to the parent company, so reps see which locations buy and who runs each one.
DistributionSubscriptions and contracts
An online brand or service firm tracks one record per subscription or contract, with start and end dates, so a workflow can remind the owner before it runs out.
EcommerceDo you need a custom object, or will something simpler work?
A custom object makes sense when
- One customer has many of the thing, such as many locations or many projects
- The thing has its own life, such as a service history or a renewal date
- Several companies or contacts connect to the same thing, like a project
- You need to report on the thing itself, not only on the customer
- You already pay for an Enterprise hub
Something simpler is usually enough when
- Each customer only has one or two of the thing, so a few extra fields will do
- The process is a set of stages with an end, which a separate deal or ticket pipeline can handle
- The data lives in another system and reps only need to look it up
- You'd be upgrading to Enterprise just for this one feature
Sometimes a pipeline does the job
Not every new process needs a new object. When we rebuilt one client's HubSpot account, the work split into three tracks: sales, design requests and customer service. When a deal needs a design, a request goes to the design team on its own, with room for revisions. Every service request has an owner and a response target. Pipelines, the stage-by-stage boards HubSpot uses for deals and tickets, fit the way that team works.
Pipelines a commercial oven maker runs in HubSpot
A commercial oven manufacturer now runs sales, ventilation design and service requests as separate pipelines in HubSpot, each tracked from first contact to close.
What to know before you build one
A custom object is hard to undo once people rely on it. We walk every client through these points first.
You need Enterprise
Custom objects require the Enterprise tier of Marketing, Sales, Service, Data, Content Hub, Smart CRM or Revenue Hub. If you're on Professional, price that upgrade into the decision.
Some choices are permanent
You can rename an object later, but its internal name, the one integrations use, can't change. Deleting an object is permanent. You also can't delete one that other HubSpot tools still use.
Limits depend on your plan
How many custom objects and fields you can create depends on your plan. Plan the few objects you really need instead of making one for everything.
Someone has to fill them
An empty object is worse than none. Decide up front whether records come from another system, an import, a form or your team, and who keeps them current.
Designing your first custom object
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Map how your business really works
We talk to sales, service and operations about what they track outside HubSpot today, often in spreadsheets. Together we decide which things need their own object and which can be a field or a pipeline.
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Design the object and its links
We define each object's name, the field that names each record (like a project name or contract number), its other fields and which contacts, companies, deals or tickets it links to. You approve the design before anything is created, since some choices can't be changed later.
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Build it in a test account
We create the objects in a test account, add sample records and check that reports show what your managers expect.
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Load the data
We import existing records from spreadsheets or other systems, match them to the right customers and set up any ongoing sync.
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Put it to work
We add the workflows, reports and record views that make the object useful day to day, then train each team on where to find it.
Filling custom objects automatically
Custom objects get much more useful when they fill themselves. Records can come from your accounting, order or back-office system through a sync. If you run NetSuite, see our NetSuite integration page. Some jobs need more than a sync. You might get requests or signed agreements by email, each one a PDF with a name, dates and scope.
Reading those documents and turning them into records is custom AI workflow work. An AI step pulls out the details, matches the sender to an existing company, and creates the record in HubSpot for a person to check.
Custom objects questions
Does it have to be Sales Hub Enterprise?
No. Custom objects need the Enterprise tier of at least one hub. That can be Marketing, Sales, Service, Data or Content Hub, Smart CRM or Revenue Hub.
How many custom objects can we create?
It depends on your plan. HubSpot publishes the limits for custom objects and their fields in its Products and Services Catalog. Most companies only need a few.
Can custom objects be used in workflows and reports?
Yes. HubSpot workflows can act on custom object records, and you can report on them. Playbooks work on them too.
Can custom objects link to contacts, companies and deals?
Yes. When you design the object, you choose which record types it can link to, such as contacts, companies, deals and tickets. Then each record can be tied to the right customers.
Can we change a custom object after it's created?
You can change its display names, description and which fields show on each record. Its internal name can't change, so integrations don't break. Deleting an object is permanent, which is why we design it with you first.
How are custom objects created?
An admin can create them in HubSpot's data model settings, ask Breeze Assistant (HubSpot's built-in AI helper) to do it, or have a developer use HubSpot's API. We usually build them in a test account first.
Should we use a custom object or a separate pipeline?
If the thing moves through stages and ends, such as a design request, a pipeline is often simpler. If it sticks around and has its own history, such as a location or a long-term contract, a custom object usually fits better.
Related
Show us the spreadsheet you keep on the side
Show us what you track in spreadsheets today. We'll tell you whether it needs a custom object, a pipeline or a few extra fields.