Skip to content

Association mapping with data sync

Last updated: November 6, 2024

Available with any of the following subscriptions, except where noted:

Operations Hub   Starter , Professional , Enterprise

Association mappings will sync any record associations from HubSpot to your third-party app, and vice versa. For example, contacts will be associated with their respective company or deal records. 

For most data sync apps the default field mappings included will be available out of the box and you don't need to set up multiple object syncs for associations to work. For instance, activate a contact sync and the associated company field mapping will link the respective companies.

data-sync-mapped-fields-1

But, for some data sync apps (e.g, Airtable, Kintone), and when syncing custom objects, all syncs must be specifically activated in order for associations to be recognized. Learn about how to set up associations with data sync below.

Setting up associations

When using certain data sync apps, or syncing custom objects, to recognize the associations you need to sync each object, whilst ensuring to include a mapping within the object sync. 

In the below example:

  • In the app being synced to HubSpot, there are a list of contacts in one database table, and a list of companies in a second database table.
  • The contacts are associated to the companies using a linked field.
  • The contact's associated company is displayed in a field named Account in the contacts database table, and this association needs to be replicated in HubSpot.

To set this up:

  • In your HubSpot account, navigate to Data Management > Integrations.
  • Click the app you'd like to set up associations for.
  • Click Set up sync
  • Set up your sync for the companies.
    • Make sure to choose a field to match on (e.g., name of company, domain of company). This matching key will not only determine how the company records will sync with one another, it will also help the sync in associating contact records to the right company records
    • Add any reference fields, if applicable.
    • Set up your mappings.

data-sync-sync-settings-and-mappings

With this sync set up, you can now create association field mappings in another object sync (e.g., a contact sync):

  • Click Sync more data.
  • Set up your sync for the contacts.
    • Make sure to choose a field to match on (e.g., email address).
    • Add any reference fields, if applicable.
    • At the mapping stage, set up your mappings and include a mapping from the Account field, to a HubSpot field. Select your other app's field first to narrow down the available list of association fields on HubSpot.

data-sync-associated-field

    • This will make sure that the associated account is mapped to the primary associated company in HubSpot, when a contact is synced from the database.
Was this article helpful?
This form is used for documentation feedback only. Learn how to get help with HubSpot.