Zoho to HubSpot migration: what moves and what breaks

A Zoho to HubSpot migration moves your records cleanly: leads, contacts, accounts, deals, products, notes, tasks, calls and meetings all have a direct home in HubSpot, and HubSpot's own Smart Transfer tool lists Zoho CRM as a supported source. What does not move by itself is the logic. Blueprints, workflow rules and Deluge functions have to be rebuilt in HubSpot, and custom modules need a plan of their own.

The bigger risk for most Australian businesses is everything around the CRM. If you run Zoho One, Zoho Books, Desk or Campaigns, the CRM is connected to invoices, support tickets and your unsubscribe list. Switch Zoho off in the wrong order and you lose an invoice trail, a support queue or proof of consent under the Spam Act.

So the order is: list every Zoho app in use, decide what replaces each one, back everything up, move consent and unsubscribes first, then migrate the CRM, then turn off Zoho apps one at a time. For a 50 to 250 person business with a migration and integrations, plan on eight to twelve weeks.

What moves from Zoho CRM to HubSpot, and what breaks?

Standard Zoho modules map neatly. This is the table we start from, based on HubSpot's Smart Transfer mappings for Zoho CRM:

Custom modules are where most Zoho migrations get decided. Before you pay for Enterprise to recreate a custom module, ask whether it could be a set of properties on a deal or company. A "Projects" module with six fields often could. A "Sites" module where one customer has forty sites usually needs a real custom object.

Two more things to plan for. HubSpot sets a record's create date when it is created, so add a "Zoho created date" property and fill it from Zoho's Created Time, or every record will look like it was created on migration day. HubSpot's Zoho configuration in Smart Transfer adds workflows that backfill the deal create date and store Zoho record IDs, which helps with both. And custom field mappings in Smart Transfer need a paid Data Hub subscription, so budget for it if you have more than a handful of custom fields.

This video from our YouTube channel on data migration asks where in the world your data is.

Blueprints, workflow rules and Deluge: what replaces them?

None of your Zoho automation comes across. That is the part teams underestimate, because nobody remembers half of what is running.

• Workflow rules become HubSpot workflows. Most field updates, task creation, email alerts and assignment rules translate one for one.
• Blueprints enforce a process: a deal cannot move stage until certain fields are filled or someone approves it. In HubSpot you rebuild this with required properties on pipeline stages and workflows that hold or assign the next step. Write down each Blueprint transition and its rule before you start, then rebuild only the ones the team still follows.
• Deluge functions are code. Zoho lets you attach them to workflow rules, buttons, schedules and Blueprint transitions. In HubSpot the closest match is a custom code action inside a workflow, written in JavaScript or Python (Python is in beta), and that needs Data Hub Professional or Enterprise. Some Deluge functions will be replaced by a standard HubSpot feature and need no code at all.

Export a list of every active workflow rule, Blueprint and function from Zoho's setup screens. Mark each one keep, replace with a HubSpot feature, or retire. Expect some to go, because they were built for a process nobody runs any more. Our guide on when to stop configuring HubSpot and start writing code helps with the Deluge ones that genuinely need code.

How do you leave Zoho One without breaking the apps you still use?

Zoho One bundles dozens of apps, and businesses tend to pick up more of them over the years: Books for invoicing, Desk for support, Campaigns for email, Forms, Sign, People. Leaving the CRM is easy to scope. Finding out which other apps depend on it in the background is the hard part.

Two practical points before you start:

• The licence. Zoho One's All Employee pricing asks you to license every employee on payroll. Moving the CRM to HubSpot does not shrink that bill while you still use other Zoho One apps. Check with Zoho what the apps you keep would cost on their own plans, and put that number next to the HubSpot licence before you decide.
• The connections. A Zoho Books invoice, a Desk ticket and a Campaigns list each point at a CRM contact or account. When the CRM goes, those links go with it, unless you have moved or replaced them first.

Build an inventory of every Zoho app before anyone touches data. One row per app:

For each row, write who owns it, what feeds it and what it feeds. Any app nobody can explain gets a week of watching before it is switched off.

From the app inventory in this post. Dashed lines are the per-app decisions, made before Zoho CRM is switched off.

Zoho Books, Desk and Campaigns: the three that need extra care

Zoho Books. You do not have to move finance at the same time as sales. HubSpot builds a Zoho Books data sync app that maps Books customers to contacts, invoices to invoices and items to products, so you can keep Books and let HubSpot show what has been billed. Its marketplace rating is low (2.4 out of 5 when we checked), so test it on your own data first. If finance would rather move to Xero, HubSpot's Xero data sync supports AUD and can sync invoices one way or both ways, and our HubSpot and Xero guide covers the setup. Moving accounting software is a finance decision with tax records attached, so make it with your accountant on a separate timeline.

Zoho Desk. Open tickets move to HubSpot tickets in Service Hub through a normal import, with the contact and company associations. Closed tickets are history: most businesses export them, store them, and bring over a summary only. Point the support email address at HubSpot on the same day you import open tickets, so nothing falls between the two. If you are weighing up Service Hub itself, read what Service Hub does and who it is for.

Zoho Campaigns. This is the one with legal weight. Under the Spam Act 2003, the ACMA says you must have consent for each person you send marketing to, be able to show evidence of it if asked, action an unsubscribe within 5 working days, and keep the unsubscribe working for at least 30 days after a message is sent. Your proof of consent and your unsubscribe list are in Zoho Campaigns today.

How do you carry consent and unsubscribes across?

1. Export the unsubscribes first. Zoho Campaigns lets you export your "Do not mail" contacts. Do this before any contact import.
2. Import them as opted out. HubSpot has an import type called "List of contacts to opt out of emails". Those addresses can never receive marketing email, and new addresses imported this way do not become contacts or count toward your billable contacts.
3. Bring the consent evidence. Add properties for consent source, consent date and the form or event it came from, and fill them from Zoho. If you cannot show where a contact's consent came from, do not mark them as a marketing contact.
4. Freeze sends during cutover. No campaigns from either system in the final week. Anyone who unsubscribes from a late Zoho send must still be honoured within 5 working days, so re-export Zoho's unsubscribes on cutover day and import the difference.

Contacts with weak consent are a good reason to run a re-permission email once you are on HubSpot. Our post on waking up old contacts without breaking the Spam Act walks through it.

What order should the cutover follow, and how long does it take?

First, take a full backup. Zoho CRM's data backup gives you every module's records as CSV in a ZIP, including File Upload and Image Upload fields. Only administrators can request it, paid editions other than Ultimate get two free backups, and the download link expires after 7 days. The backup leaves out email content and attachments, documents, and data brought in through integrations, so export those separately if you need them. For single modules, a CSV export takes up to 200,000 records at a time.

Keep Zoho CRM read only for at least a month after go live, so anyone can look something up. Cancel it once nobody has needed it for a fortnight. For a fuller look at a large migration, our Salesforce to HubSpot guide covers the same sequence from another CRM.

1. Weeks 1 to 2List every Zoho app in use and decide what replaces each one.
2. Weeks 2 to 3Take a full Zoho backup, then clean duplicates in Zoho.
3. Weeks 5 to 7Import the unsubscribes as opt-outs and bring the consent evidence across.
4. Weeks 7 to 9Move the CRM data, then check record counts against Zoho.
5. Weeks 10 to 12Switch Zoho apps off one at a time, working from the inventory.
6. A month or more after go liveCancel Zoho CRM once nobody has needed it for a fortnight.

Weeks from the cutover plan in this post, for a 50 to 250 person business with a migration and integrations.

When should you stay on Zoho?

Moving is not always right. Stay if:

• Most of your business runs on Zoho One apps you are happy with, and the CRM is not the problem.
• Your process depends on several custom modules and you are not ready to pay for HubSpot Enterprise.
• The real issue is messy data or a sales process nobody follows. That comes with you, whichever CRM you use.
• You have a large Deluge codebase and nobody left who wrote it. Document it first, then decide.

If the case for moving is strong, a HubSpot implementation with us starts from about $7,000 plus the HubSpot licence for a guided build of one or two hubs. A Zoho migration with integrations is priced once we have seen your Zoho setup and a sample of the data.

Frequently asked questions

Can HubSpot import data directly from Zoho CRM? Yes. HubSpot's Smart Transfer lists Zoho CRM as a supported source and maps leads, contacts, accounts, deals, products, notes, tasks, calls, meetings and more. Custom modules are not supported by Smart Transfer, and only Super Admins can use it.

Do Zoho Blueprints and Deluge functions migrate to HubSpot? No. They have to be rebuilt as HubSpot workflows, pipeline stage rules or custom code actions. Custom code actions need Data Hub Professional or Enterprise.

How long does a Zoho to HubSpot migration take? For a 50 to 250 person business with a migration and integrations, plan on eight to twelve weeks. Moving Zoho Books to another accounting system usually runs on its own timeline after that.

How do we keep Spam Act compliance when leaving Zoho Campaigns? Export the "Do not mail" contacts from Zoho Campaigns and import them into HubSpot as an opt-out list before importing anyone else. Bring consent source and date across as properties, and freeze sends during cutover.

Can we keep Zoho Books and use HubSpot for sales? Yes. HubSpot builds a Zoho Books data sync app that maps customers, invoices and items. Test it on your own data first, because its marketplace reviews are mixed.

Sources

• Supported apps for HubSpot Smart Transfer, HubSpot Knowledge Base, for the Zoho CRM object mappings, one-time transfers, custom objects and backfill workflows.
• Transfer data from other apps using HubSpot Smart Transfer, HubSpot Knowledge Base, for Super Admin access and the Data Hub requirement for custom field mappings.
• How to use objects for business processes, HubSpot Knowledge Base, for custom objects needing Enterprise.
• Custom code workflow actions, HubSpot Developers, for languages and the Data Hub Professional requirement.
• Import opted-out contacts, HubSpot Knowledge Base, for opt-out imports and billing.
• Zoho Books app listing, HubSpot App Marketplace, for builder, mappings and rating.
• Connect HubSpot and Xero (Data Sync), HubSpot Knowledge Base, for invoice sync and AUD support.
• Data Backup, Zoho CRM Help, for backup contents, free backups and the 7 day link.
• Export CRM Data, Zoho CRM Help, for module export limits.
• Functions, Zoho CRM Developer Docs, for where Deluge functions attach.
• Contact Management FAQ, Zoho Campaigns Help, for exporting "Do not mail" contacts.
• Zoho One pricing, Zoho, for All Employee pricing.
• Email and SMS unsubscribe rules, ACMA, for consent evidence, the 5 working day and 30 day rules.

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Ready to scope the move? See our HubSpot implementation work and CRM implementation, or talk to us.