HubSpot date fields are great until someone types 03/04/2026 and half the team reads it as April, the other half reads it as March. If you want clean data and fewer “wait, what date is that?” moments, this hack helps.

You’ll let users choose a friendly, readable date from a dropdown, then convert that selection into a real HubSpot date property you can use for workflows, lists, and reporting.

Why is this hack helpful?

A normal dropdown is user-friendly, but HubSpot treats it like text, not a date. That means no native date-based automation or reporting.

This approach gives you the best of both worlds:

  • Better UX for users: they pick “8th August 2026”, not a format they might mess up.
  • Cleaner data: no typos, no mixed formats, no “TBC”.
  • Proper automation: once the value is in a real date property, you can trigger reminders, delays, and follow-ups properly.
  • Reporting and segmentation: filter by upcoming dates, build lists, forecast, and create dashboards off an actual date field.

How it works (overview)

You will create two properties and one workflow step:

  1. A Dropdown property for users (friendly labels)
  2. A Date picker property for HubSpot (the real date)
  3. A custom-coded workflow action that reads the dropdown’s internal value (a Unix timestamp) and writes it into the date property

Key detail: for this method, HubSpot needs the dropdown internal values to be 13-digit Unix timestamps (milliseconds).

Steps to Set It Up

Step 1: Create the friendly dropdown property

  1. Create a dropdown where users select a date by label.

    1. Go to Settings → Data Management → Properties
    2. Click Create property
    3. Choose the object you need (commonly Contact, but could be Deal or Custom object depending on your use case)
    4. Set:
      • Label: Course Start Date (Friendly)
      • Field type: Dropdown select

    Add options (labels + internal values)

    • Label (what users see): 8th August 2026
    • Internal value (what HubSpot stores): a 13-digit Unix timestamp

    Important: This is milliseconds, not seconds. Seconds-based Unix timestamps are usually 10 digits and will not meet the 13-digit requirement you noted.

    Tip: Keep the label format consistent so it is scannable in the dropdown.

Step 2: Create the real date property

This is the date field you will actually use for workflows and reporting.

  1. In Settings → Properties, click Create property
  2. Set:
    • Label: Course Start Date (Date)
    • Field type: Date picker

Optional (but handy): enable Show date with relative time to make it easier for users to interpret in records.

Step 3: Build the workflow to convert dropdown timestamp to a date property

You will use a workflow to copy the internal timestamp value into the real date property.

Workflow type

Use the workflow type that matches your object:

  • If the properties are on Contacts, create a Contact-based workflow
  • If on Deals, create a Deal-based workflow
  • Same idea for other objects

Enrolment trigger ideas

Pick what makes sense for your process, for example:

  • Course Start Date (Friendly) is known
  • Or: Course Start Date (Friendly) has been updated

This ensures the workflow runs when someone makes a selection.

Add a custom-coded action

In the workflow, add a Custom code action.

What it needs to do:

  1. Read Course Start Date (Friendly) internal value (your timestamp)
  2. Validate it exists and looks like a 13-digit number
  3. Write it into Course Start Date (Date)

Example scenario: course signup (what this enables)

Flow:

  1. User selects a date in Course Start Date (Friendly)
  2. Workflow runs and sets Course Start Date (Date)
  3. You can now:
    • Send reminders 7 days before
    • Trigger a sequence of emails 1 day after
    • Build lists like “Course starts in next 30 days”
    • Report on upcoming cohorts cleanly

Pros and Considerations

Pros

  • Great UX: users pick a readable date from a controlled list.
  • Reliable automation: you can use native date-based workflow delays and triggers.
  • Better reporting: date-based filters and dashboards behave properly.
  • No ambiguous date formats: everyone sees the same thing.

Considerations (so it does not bite you later)

  • Timestamps must be accurate: decide your standard (commonly midnight UTC) and stick to it.
  • Requires a custom-coded workflow action: not a pure no-code setup.
  • Ongoing maintenance: every new dropdown option must include the correct timestamp internal value.
  • Timezones: a timestamp represents a moment in time. If your business operates across regions, define whether dates should be treated as UTC or local business time, then test how HubSpot displays it.

Wrapping Up

If you want users to pick dates without errors, but still need HubSpot to behave like those dates are real (because workflows and reporting are not mind readers), this hack is a tidy solution.

Want help building more smart automations in HubSpot? Contact us.