How to Associate Records in Hubspot CRM

Managing record associations in Hubspot is essential for keeping your CRM data organized and easy to analyze. By correctly linking contacts, companies, deals, tickets, and custom objects, you can see complete relationship histories, improve reporting, and streamline team workflows.

This guide walks through how to create, edit, and remove associations in your CRM records, following the official process used in the Hubspot app.

Understanding Record Associations in Hubspot

In Hubspot, an association is the relationship between two records, such as a contact tied to a company or a deal linked to a ticket. These relationships control what data appears in timelines, reports, and automation tools.

Typical association examples include:

• Contact associated with a company
• Contact associated with a deal or ticket
• Company associated with multiple deals
• Tickets associated with deals or custom objects

Depending on your subscription and object settings, you may also use association labels to add extra meaning to relationships (for example, identifying a primary contact or a decision maker).

Hubspot Requirements and Permissions

Before you start associating records, ensure you have the right permissions in Hubspot. Users must be able to view and edit the objects they want to connect. If you cannot see the association panel or cannot save changes, contact your CRM administrator to confirm your access level.

Some association features, such as custom association labels or advanced object configurations, may require specific subscription tiers. Check your account configuration if certain options shown in documentation do not appear in your account.

How to Associate Existing Records in Hubspot

You can associate records directly from the record sidebar. The exact layout can vary slightly by object, but the process is similar across contacts, companies, deals, and tickets.

Step 1: Open a Record in Hubspot

1. Sign in to your Hubspot account.
2. Navigate to the object you want to work with (for example, Contacts, Companies, Deals, or Tickets).
3. Click the name of a specific record to open its detailed view.

Step 2: Find the Associations Card

On the record page, locate the right or left sidebar (depending on your layout) and look for sections such as:

• Contacts
• Companies
• Deals
• Tickets
• Custom objects

Each section represents existing associations. If there are no records yet, you can start by adding a new connection.

Step 3: Add an Association in Hubspot

1. In the appropriate association section (for example, Companies on a contact record), click Add or an equivalent button such as + Add or Associate.
2. In the search field, type the name of the record you want to link.
3. Select the correct result from the dropdown list.
4. If available, choose an association label to better define the relationship.
5. Click Save or Done to confirm the new association.

The newly associated record will now appear in the sidebar and will also show the relationship from the other side (for example, the company record will show the contact).

Creating New Associated Records in Hubspot

Sometimes the record you need does not exist yet. In that case, you can create a new record and associate it at the same time.

1. Open the primary record you are working on.
2. In the relevant association card, click Create or Create new.
3. Fill in the required fields for the new record (such as name, email, or company domain).
4. Optional: Apply an association label if your Hubspot account supports labels for that object.
5. Click Create to save and instantly associate the new record.

This approach helps keep data entry efficient and ensures that related records are consistently connected.

Managing Association Labels in Hubspot

Association labels allow you to define specific roles between associated records, giving you more context about each relationship.

Common label uses include:

• Marking a primary contact on a company
• Flagging an internal stakeholder on a deal
• Identifying the requester or approver on a ticket

How to Add or Change Association Labels

1. Open the record in Hubspot.
2. Locate the associated record in the sidebar section (for example, a contact listed under Companies).
3. Click the options menu (often represented by a More button or three dots).
4. Select the option to Edit association or Edit labels.
5. Choose or update the label that best describes the relationship.
6. Save your changes.

Updated labels will appear next to the association, helping users quickly understand how the records are related.

How to Remove Record Associations in Hubspot

If relationships between records are no longer relevant, remove the association to keep your CRM data clean.

Steps to Remove an Association

1. Open the record whose association you want to change.
2. In the associations section, hover over the record you want to unlink.
3. Click the options menu or the Remove icon.
4. Select Remove association (or similar wording).
5. Confirm the removal when prompted.

Removing an association does not usually delete the record itself; it only disconnects the relationship between the two records in Hubspot. The other record can still be accessed from its own object view.

Best Practices for Associations in Hubspot

To keep your data reliable and easy to work with, follow these practical tips when building associations in Hubspot:

• Define clear rules: Agree as a team on when to associate contacts to companies, deals, and tickets.
• Use labels consistently: Apply association labels using a shared naming convention so reporting remains clear.
• Avoid duplicates: Check whether a record already exists before creating a new one to associate.
• Review historical links: Periodically audit old deals, tickets, or companies to confirm they are linked to the correct contacts.
• Leverage associations in reports: Build dashboards that rely on associations to show full customer journeys.

More Help and Resources for Hubspot Users

For complete, authoritative details on record associations, refer to the official Hubspot knowledge base article on associating records: Associate records in the CRM. This resource is updated by the product team and reflects the latest interface and feature changes.

If you need strategic guidance on structuring your CRM, creating association rules, or improving data quality, you can also work with a Hubspot-focused consultancy such as Consultevo to design a scalable association framework tailored to your processes.

By using record associations correctly in Hubspot, your teams gain complete context on every interaction, your reports become more accurate, and your automation can trigger at the right time with the right data.

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