Understanding Hubspot Change Sources in Your CRM

In Hubspot, every update to a contact, company, deal, or ticket property is tracked with a change source so you can easily see where data came from, who changed it, and how it was updated over time.

This guide explains how change sources work, how to read them in property history, and how they help you troubleshoot unexpected updates in your CRM.

What Are Hubspot Change Sources?

Change sources in Hubspot are labels that describe the origin of a property update. Whenever a property value is created or modified, the system records:

• Which source made the change
• When the change occurred
• What the old and new values were

You can view these details in the property history panel for any record, which makes it easier to audit changes and understand your data flows.

How to View Property History in Hubspot

To investigate how a value was updated, open the record in your CRM and review its property history.

Step-by-step: Open Property History

1. Navigate to Contacts, Companies, Deals, or Tickets in Hubspot.
2. Click the specific record you want to inspect.
3. Find the property you are interested in on the left-hand sidebar.
4. Hover over the property and click Details or View property history (label may vary by layout).

You will see a timeline of changes with:

• Time and date of each change
• Previous and new values
• The change source that explains where the edit came from

Types of Hubspot Change Sources

Hubspot uses a variety of source labels to identify how a property was updated. Below is a breakdown of common categories and what they mean.

Hubspot User and Manual Edits

• CRM UI: A user manually updated the property in the record interface.
• Import: A user changed the value via an import file.
• Merge: The value came from a merge between two records.
• Inline Edit (where present): A user edited directly in a table or board view.

These sources usually indicate that a human user working inside Hubspot made the change.

Hubspot Automation and Tools

• Workflow: A workflow action updated the property automatically.
• Sequences: Engagement or enrollment activity changed the value.
• Lead Scoring: An automated scoring rule updated a numerical property.
• Form Submission: A contact submitted a form that updated the property.
• Chat or Conversations: Messages or chatbots adjusted the data.

These change sources signal that Hubspot automation or tools are actively managing your CRM properties.

Integrations and APIs in Hubspot

• API: A connected application or custom integration updated the property programmatically.
• Integration: A specific third-party tool synchronized a value to or from Hubspot.
• Salesforce Integration: If you use Salesforce, this source indicates sync activity.

API and integration sources are critical when you need to troubleshoot data issues that originate outside the Hubspot interface.

System and Default Behavior in Hubspot

• System: Hubspot automatically updated the value based on internal logic.
• Analytics: Tracking code or analytics tools adjusted traffic or source properties.
• Email: Marketing or sales email interactions updated engagement fields.

These sources usually reflect underlying platform behavior that responds to user activity, page views, or email performance.

Why Hubspot Change Sources Matter for Data Quality

Change sources make it possible to trace every important update in your database. This helps you:

• Identify which tool or integration is responsible for unexpected values
• Confirm that workflows are behaving as designed
• Audit manual edits made by your team
• Protect key properties from unwanted overwrites

When you combine change source information with timestamps and user details, you gain a clear audit trail for each record.

How to Troubleshoot Property Changes in Hubspot

When a property looks incorrect, use a structured approach to locate and fix the source of the issue.

Step 1: Review Property History

1. Open the record and view the property history.
2. Locate the most recent unexpected change.
3. Note the change source, date, and time.

This tells you whether the update came from a user, workflow, form, or integration.

Step 2: Investigate the Hubspot Source

• User or CRM UI: Check with the team member who made the edit.
• Workflow: Open the workflow and review the action that updates the property.
• Form Submission: Open the form and review its field mappings and options.
• API or Integration: Check the connected app logs or integration settings.

Understanding the exact Hubspot change source helps you decide whether to reconfigure automation, update forms, or adjust integration rules.

Step 3: Prevent Future Issues

• Lock critical properties from being overwritten by specific tools where possible.
• Document which integrations can write to key fields.
• Standardize workflows so similar records are updated consistently.

Clear governance makes the most of Hubspot change tracking and stabilizes your CRM data.

Best Practices for Using Hubspot Change History

To fully leverage the change sources feature, incorporate these practices into your regular operations.

• Train your team to check property history before editing sensitive values.
• Audit automation periodically to confirm workflows and forms are updating the right properties.
• Monitor integrations to ensure external systems do not overwrite strategic data in Hubspot.
• Document ownership of key properties so you know which team or tool is allowed to change them.

Learn More About Hubspot Change Sources

For full technical details about available change source labels and how they are defined, refer to the official documentation on Hubspot change sources. This page outlines all current behavior, including how different tools and integrations are recorded.

If you need strategic help configuring your CRM, workflows, and integrations, you can also explore expert consulting services at Consultevo to optimize how your organization uses Hubspot.

By routinely checking property history and understanding each change source, you can maintain accurate, reliable data and gain deeper confidence in every report, list, and workflow powered by Hubspot.

Need Help With Hubspot?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Hubspot , work with ConsultEvo, a team who has a decade of Hubspot experience.

Scale Hubspot

“`