Understanding Custom Properties in HubSpot
Custom properties in HubSpot allow you to collect and organize data specific to your business needs. Each property represents a unique piece of information connected to an object such as a contact, company, or deal.
By creating your own properties, you can tailor your CRM to store exactly the kind of information your team needs — whether that’s lead source, subscription type, or preferred loan officer. The type of property you choose determines how the data is entered, displayed, and used throughout HubSpot.
Choosing the Right Property Type
When setting up a custom property, it’s essential to select the correct field type based on the information you want to capture. HubSpot offers a wide range of property types to accommodate various data formats.
Below are the most commonly used property types and how they’re applied:
- Single-line text: Stores a short piece of text, such as a first name, job title, or email address.
- Multi-line text: Captures longer text entries, such as notes, messages, or descriptions.
- Number: Records numerical values like revenue amounts, quantities, or loan numbers.
- Date: Stores a specific date or time value, such as a close date or renewal date.
- Boolean: Tracks a true/false value, such as whether a contact is a customer or a prospect.
- Dropdown select: Allows users to choose one option from a predefined list, such as loan type or state.
- Radio select: Similar to a dropdown, but presents all options visually with only one selectable choice.
- Checkbox: Enables users to select multiple options from a predefined list, such as services or product categories.
- File: Allows uploads like resumes, contracts, or image files.
- Email: Stores a contact’s email address in a validated format.
- Phone: Saves a phone number.
- Website: Captures a website URL.
- Address: Records physical address details.
- Number (Decimal): Accepts decimal values, useful for precise percentages or metrics.
- Number (Currency): Used for monetary values such as revenue or deal size.
- Number (Duration): Measures time spans in minutes, hours, or days.
- Number (Percent): Displays percentages for performance or completion tracking.
- Date and Time: Combines both a date and a specific time entry.
- Date and Time (Timezone): Adds timezone context for scheduling across regions.
- Time: Stores only a specific time of day.
- Linked Records: Connects related records within HubSpot, such as linking a contact to their corresponding company or deal.
Each of these field types helps you structure data more effectively across your CRM, reports, and workflows.
Editing and Managing Custom Properties
After creating a property, HubSpot allows you to manage and adjust it as your business evolves. For certain field types, you can edit options or change how the property behaves. For instance:
- You can add or remove choices in dropdown or checkbox fields.
- You can rename the property or update its internal description.
- You can determine which teams or pipelines have access to it.
This flexibility ensures that your CRM always reflects the most accurate and relevant data for your organization.
Why Custom Properties Matter
Custom properties are essential for aligning HubSpot with your specific business operations. They help teams:
- Segment contacts with greater precision.
- Build reports that reflect meaningful business metrics.
- Personalize marketing automation and email workflows.
- Maintain data consistency across teams and departments.
Whether you’re tracking loan officers, customer preferences, or campaign ROI, custom properties turn HubSpot into a system that works the way your business does, not the other way around.
Key Takeaway
Creating custom properties in HubSpot gives you complete control over your data. By selecting the right field types and managing them effectively, your CRM becomes a central, intelligent system for driving better decisions, improving automation, and achieving measurable ROI.
