A HubSpot QA Automation Experience

Intro?

HubSpot has comprehensive automation functionality. Setting it up can be quite complex, especially considering that it isn't real programming—it's more like a no-code tool. Eventually, you'll encounter limitations with these systems that aren't mentioned in user guides, and you'll need to figure out workarounds to solve your tasks. Here is my story about one such workaround.

At First Line Software, we have quite a few (over 90) HubSpot automations: some sort out forms, some change certain properties at specific stages of the lead/deal lifecycle, and some congratulate people in a Slack channel upon winning deals.

1. The task

I was asked to create a single report that would display any data issues gathered from different objects. For example, if a deal’s record is missing some important details, it should be added to the report, with all issues related to the deal shown clearly and concisely.

A deal has its own lifecycle, and the required data set changes accordingly. Of course, data in objects like deals, companies, or contacts are regularly updated. Therefore, if all issues are fixed, the object should be excluded from our report. In most cases, similar tasks can be achieved with standard reporting tools. However, in our case, we needed to gather different data from various places into a single, compact, and clear report. Here is my solution.

2. Solution: My plans

I generally avoid creating new properties because we already have so many. However, in this case, I decided to create a single property with multiple choices (checkboxes). Each checkbox is labeled with one type of issue, e.g., No Amount, No FTE, etc. This single property with checkboxes would allow me to display the issues in a compact and clear way in my report.

Each checkbox corresponds to a certain type of data issue. For example, if some deal source details are missing, the first checkbox is checked. When an object (e.g., a deal) is changed, the workflow is triggered, checking for a certain set of conditions. If these conditions are met, the appropriate checkboxes are checked in my QA property. When the object is updated and an issue is fixed, the workflow clears the corresponding checkboxes.

3. Solution: The reality

In the workflow settings, I found a function that would mark the appropriate checkboxes or a single checkbox without overwriting the states of other checkboxes that were already marked. However, my research confirmed that there was no way to automate the clearing of a single checkbox without clearing all the other checkboxes in a multiple-choice property! This meant that the purpose of the report, which was to show the situation in real-time, was not achieved.

So, I aimed to ensure that all the checkboxes would only be cleared if all issues were fixed. Fortunately, it's typically only 1-2 issues, and they are usually fixed simultaneously in most cases.

Now, my workflow checks the sets of properties one by one, and if all issues are fixed, the QA property is cleared completely.

4. Implementation and Results

The next important steps were optimizing the workflow, including re-enrollment settings to include only relevant objects, testing, and bug fixing. After 2-3 weeks of testing and fixing small bugs, the report seems to display all the data correctly. One known issue is that you sometimes need to refresh the report manually to see the latest updates.

My solution for the report was accepted by the management team, and it greatly simplified the task of keeping HubSpot data clean and up to date. Additionally, I gained valuable experience in nearly-programming within a no-code environment.

It would be great to learn about your workflow life hacks. Please share them in the comments.