The HubSpot portal audit checklist: 30 checks, and the evidence behind each

Short answer: a HubSpot portal audit checks nine areas: properties, lifecycle stages, workflows, lead scoring, forms, the CRM sync, attribution, data quality and permissions. For each check, save the export or screenshot that proves the answer. A finding without evidence is an opinion, and opinions do not survive the meeting where the fix gets funded.

Last reviewed September 2026 against HubSpot’s knowledge base. Some tools depend on your subscription tier; we note where.

How to use this checklist

Work read-only. Do not fix anything while you audit: every fix changes the “before” state you need to prove the problem. For each check, record four things: result (pass / fail / unknown), evidence (the file name of the export or screenshot), exposure (what it breaks: reporting, routing, deliverability, compliance) and owner (who can fix it). A spreadsheet with those four columns is your audit template.

1. Properties

1. Count custom properties per object (contacts, companies, deals). Evidence: property export from Settings → Properties. Large counts are not a failure on their own; unused ones are.
2. Find unused and low-fill properties. HubSpot’s data quality tools include property insights, which show where and how properties are used. Evidence: list of custom properties with fill rate and “used in” count. Anything under a few percent fill and used nowhere is a candidate to archive.
3. Find duplicate-purpose properties (for example three different “lead source” fields). Evidence: the property export sorted by label, with the ones that mean the same thing grouped.
4. Check dropdown hygiene. Dropdown options that differ only in spelling or case split every report built on them. Evidence: option lists for the ten most-reported properties.

2. Lifecycle stages

5. Write down the stage definitions and who or what sets each stage. HubSpot’s defaults are Subscriber, Lead, Marketing Qualified Lead, Sales Qualified Lead, Opportunity, Customer, Evangelist and Other; many portals rename or add stages (Super Admins can customise them). Evidence: the stage list plus a one-line definition per stage, signed off by sales and marketing.
6. Check the automatic settings. HubSpot can set lifecycle stage when a record is created, when a deal is created, when a deal is won and when a lead is associated, and can sync stage from a company to its contacts. Evidence: screenshot of the lifecycle stage automation settings.
7. Look for backward movement. The default lifecycle stage only moves forward through HubSpot’s tools; moving a record backwards requires clearing the value first. If your team “recycles” leads, find the workflow that does it and confirm it clears and resets correctly. Evidence: the recycle workflow, plus a count of records whose stage history shows a clear-and-reset.
8. Count stage skips. Customers that never passed through Opportunity, MQLs with no “became an MQL” date. Evidence: a segment or report of records in a late stage with an empty earlier-stage date.

3. Workflows

9. Inventory every active workflow with its trigger, enrollment count and last action date. Evidence: workflow export or a screenshot of the workflows list sorted by last updated.
10. Find workflows that write to the same property. Two workflows setting lifecycle stage, lead status or owner will fight. Evidence: a table of property → workflows that set it.
11. Find orphans: active workflows whose owner has left or whose trigger segment is empty. Evidence: list with creator and last enrolment date.
12. Check error and re-enrolment settings on the workflows that touch routing and lifecycle. Evidence: screenshots of the settings tab for each.

4. Lead scoring

13. Confirm which scoring system is live. HubSpot retired its legacy score properties on 31 August 2025; historic values remained but stopped updating. Current scoring uses the Lead Scoring tool (Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise, with combined fit-plus-engagement scores on Enterprise). A portal still reporting on an old score property is reporting on a frozen number. Evidence: the score properties used in active workflows, segments and reports.
14. Test the MQL threshold against outcomes. Take the last two quarters of closed-won and closed-lost deals and check the contacts’ scores at the time they became MQLs. Evidence: the export and the split.
15. Check score decay or time-bounded engagement criteria, so a record that engaged once two years ago is not still “hot”. Evidence: screenshot of the scoring criteria.

5. Forms

16. Inventory live forms and where each is embedded. Evidence: forms list with submission counts for the last 90 days.
17. Check hidden fields that carry source, campaign or UTM data. Evidence: form field lists showing hidden fields and their default values.
18. Check which properties each form overwrites. A form that writes “job title” or “company” on every submission can overwrite better data from sales. Evidence: per-form property list.
19. Check consent and subscription fields match your legal basis for each region you market to. Evidence: form screenshots of consent text and the subscription types they set.

6. CRM sync (Salesforce or other)

20. Record the sync scope in both directions. For Salesforce, HubSpot’s inclusion segment limits HubSpot → Salesforce; selective sync limits Salesforce → HubSpot. Evidence: screenshots of both settings.
21. Export the field mappings with their sync rules (Prefer Salesforce unless blank, Always use Salesforce, Two-way, Don’t sync). Evidence: mapping export annotated with the intended owner of each field.
22. Review the sync errors. Settings → Integrations → Connected apps → Salesforce → Data sync → Sync health. Evidence: error types and counts, with a sample of impacted records.

Our HubSpot–Salesforce sync audit playbook covers this section in depth.

7. Attribution and reporting

23. Trace the five reports leadership reads back to the properties they use. Evidence: a one-page map of report → property → what sets it.
24. Check original source coverage on contacts created in the last 90 days. Evidence: a report of contacts by original source with the “offline” and “direct” share visible.
25. Check UTM discipline on paid campaigns. Evidence: list of campaign names and UTM values from the last quarter.

8. Data quality

26. Run the duplicate check. The duplicates tool (Professional and Enterprise) compares contacts on name, email, phone, company and location fields, and companies on domain, name, country, phone and industry. Evidence: the count of suggested pairs per object. For the causes, not just the count, look at which source creates the duplicates.
27. Check formatting issues surfaced by the data quality tools (names, phone numbers, casing). Evidence: the counts per issue type.
28. Check bounce and unsubscribe hygiene. Evidence: counts of hard-bounced and unsubscribed contacts, and whether they are still in active segments.

9. Permissions and governance

29. List every user with Super Admin and every user who has not logged in for 90 days. Evidence: user export with permission sets and last login.
30. Check the audit trail you have. HubSpot’s centralised audit log keeps 30 days of user actions on all tiers; some categories (such as workflow, pipeline and property changes) are Enterprise only. Know what you cannot reconstruct before someone asks. Evidence: screenshot of the available log categories.

What to do with the results

Score each failed check by exposure, not by effort. The first fixes are the ones that corrupt reporting leadership already relies on: lifecycle, the sync and source data. Cosmetic property clean-up comes last.

If you would rather have this run for you, our GTM Systems Audit covers these areas and more, read-only, over three weeks, from USD 1,500, credited in full against the fix. See the sample audit report or start with the free Health Scan.

FAQ

What should a HubSpot audit include?

Nine areas: properties, lifecycle stages, workflows, lead scoring, forms, the CRM sync, attribution and reporting, data quality, and user permissions. Each check should record a pass or fail, the export that proves it, what the problem breaks and who owns the fix.

How long does a HubSpot portal audit take?

Running this checklist yourself takes a few focused days for a mid-sized portal, longer if a Salesforce sync is involved. Our audit takes three weeks because every finding comes with evidence and a costed fix.

Can I audit HubSpot without changing anything?

Yes, and you should. Use read-only access and exports. Fixing during the audit destroys the “before” state you need to prove the problem and size the fix.

How often should a HubSpot portal be audited?

At least once a year, and at every trigger event: a new marketing or RevOps leader, a CRM or platform migration, a new Salesforce integration, or before a fundraise when the pipeline export will be scrutinised.

What is the most common problem in a HubSpot audit?

In our experience, lifecycle stages set by several workflows and integrations at once, so nobody can say which rule put a record in its stage. It shows up as MQL and pipeline numbers that shift depending on who pulls the report.

Is there a free HubSpot health check?

HubSpot’s own data quality tools show duplicates, formatting issues and property usage on most paid tiers. Our free Health Scan takes a few minutes and points to the areas of this checklist to run first.