Edit records using workflows

After creating your workflow and setting enrollment triggers, use the Edit records action to update or clear your record's property values. You can also use this action to copy values from one property to another, both within the same record and with associated records.

Before you get started

• If you've turned on Sensitive Data in your account, you can edit records using personalization tokens from Sensitive Data properties, but not Highly Sensitive Data. Learn more about how Sensitive Data is used in workflows.
• When editing an associated record, such as a deal from a contact-based workflow, the association must exist before the Edit record action. 
• When updating a contact's default Lifecycle stage property, you can only set a value further down the funnel. To move a contact’s lifecycle stage backwards, add another Edit record action to clear the Lifecycle stage value first.
• If you're using the Edit record action to copy a property value to another property within the same record or in an associated record: 
  
  • The source and target properties must be compatible. Learn more about compatible property types.

• • The source property value should be populated. If the source property has no value, the action may result in an error. It is recommended to use a branch to check for populated property values before the Edit record action.

Set up the Edit record action

1. In your HubSpot account, navigate to Automation > Workflows.
2. Click the name of an existing workflow or create a new workflow.
3. Set your enrollment triggers.
4. Click the + plus icon to add an action.
5. In the left panel, click to expand the CRM section. Then, click Edit record. 
6. Click the Target object dropdown menu and select an object type. 
7. If you've selected an associated object, click the Association to object dropdown menu and select an association label. Learn more about association labels. 
   
   

8. Click the Property to Edit dropdown menu and select the property that you'd like to update. The following steps will vary depending on the property type selected.

Single checkbox and other select-type properties

• Click the Property to edit dropdown menu and select a value. 
• Click the Change type dropdown menu and select from the following:
  
  • Replace: clear all previous property values and add only the selected property values.

• • Clear: clear all property values from the record's property
• If you've selected the option to replace a property value, click the Choose a value dropdown menu and select a replacement value. Or, to use a value from another property, click Choose data token. 
   

Multiple checkbox properties

If you're updating a multiple checkbox property, you can select multiple options:

• Click the Property to edit dropdown menu and select a value. 
• Click the Change type dropdown menu and select from the following:
  
  • Append: add the new property values to the existing property values. For example, the action has been configured to set the property value to option B. If the contact's property value was option A, after passing the action, the contact will have both option A and option B. 
  • Replace: clear all previous property values and add only the selected property values. For example, the action has been configured to set the property value to option B. If the contact's property value was option A, after passing the action, the contact will only have option B.
  • Remove: remove specific property values. For example, the action has been configured to remove the property value option B. If the contact's multiple checkbox property value was option A and option B, after passing the action, the contact will only have option A.
  • Clear: clear all property values from the record's property
• If you've selected the option to Append, Replace or Remove, click the Choose a value dropdown menu and select the property values that you've like to take action on.
   

Text input properties 

• In the [property name] field, enter the property value. 
• To copy and use values from another property, in the Insert data panel, search for and select a property. You can combine both custom text and values from other properties. 
   

Date picker properties

• Use the date the action completes: set the property value to the date when the record reaches this step in the workflow.
• Choose a date or date property: set the property value to the specified date. When using this option, you can also copy other date picker properties. In the left panel, click the date picker. Then, select a property. You cannot select non-date picker properties.
   

Use outputs from earlier actions to update your records

• In the Action data section, click More action data.
• Click the action name, then select the output. 
• To clear the property value, select the Clear existing property value checkbox. 

Clear property values

• To clear all property values from the record's property, select the Clear existing property value checkbox. 
  
  

Example use cases

The following examples outline the different ways you can use the Edit record action in workflows to automate more complex processes:

• Update property values based on actions: update your record's property values based on interactions with your content. For example, you may want to set a contact's Industry to a value like Construction when they submit a specific form.
• Mirror property values between associated records: use this action to match property values between associated records to ensure your data is kept up to date. For example, you may want to copy a company's Industry property to the associated contact's Industry property. Depending on your workflow, you can add an enrollment criteria and turn on re-enrollment based on the source property is known so changes to the property value are continuously updated.