How to Identify Critical Relationships for HubSpot Orders and Automate Association
Visibility into order-contact and order-company connections is crucial for accurate segmentation and timely customer communication. While HubSpot efficiently creates orders, it doesn't automatically link them to companies. Though manual association is possible, it can't be done in bulk.
Insycle's Associate app solves this by enabling bulk and automated order-to-contact and order-to-company associations, improving analysis and customer service capabilities.
Associate Orders to Contacts
When a new order is entered, you likely capture information about the customer, such as name, email address, billing or shipping address, phone number, etc. This information can be used to associate new orders with contact records using the Associate app.
Process Summary
- Filter orders down to those you want to associate.
- Set rules for making the associations.
- Preview and apply the changes to HubSpot.
Step-by-Step Instructions
In Insycle, navigate to RevOps Acceleration > Associate.
Select the HubSpot database and the orders object in the top menu. Then explore the templates for an existing solution that may be close to what you need.
Each row in Step 1 is for a field you want to look at to determine whether to include or exclude a record from this task. With this filter, you're telling Insycle what records you would like to associate.
In the below example, orders created in the last 8 hours will be included in the task.
When you click Search, Insycle will list records in the Record Viewer at the bottom of the page. If you change the filter, you need to click the Search button again to refresh the viewer.
Under Step 2, set up the rules that tell Insycle what records to use, fields to look at, and what criteria the values must meet in order to consider them a match for creating the relationship.
Specify the action to take and the type of records to be associated:
- Action tells Insycle what to do to the HubSpot records that surfaced in Step 1. Select Add to create a new association.
- Associate specifies the type of record you want to create the relationship with. Select Orders to Contacts.
- You can use the HubSpot association Labels to categorize the association.
Select the fields to use for matching and rules for comparing the values:
- Select the Orders Field you want to try and match with the contact record. In the example above, we're using Billing Email.
- Select the Contacts Field with the value that should match the order field. In the example, the Email field will be used. The two matching fields are often the same for both record types.
- The Comparison Rule tells Insycle whether the values between the order and contact records must be an Exact Match or Similar Match. In most cases, you'd select Exact Match, but you can learn more about these Comparison Rules in the Pro Tip below.
- In the Ignored field, you can specify parts of a field value to ignore, such as specific text, whitespace, or characters. In the dropdown, check the box for the values you'd like to ignore.
- The Match Parts field tells Insycle whether to match the entire field or just part of it—such as the first or last few words or first and last characters. In this example, we'll match the Entire Value.
If no matching contact record is found, an association will not be created. In these cases, you can choose to automatically create a new contact based on what is in the order record. Check the Create new Contacts when no matching is found box to enable.
One thing to note with this setting—if using the "Exact Match" Comparison Rule, the "Create new..." setting could potentially create duplicates if the contact has slightly varied values, so you should be thoughtful with the selected matching fields and Comparison Rule.
If there is valuable information in either of the records you are creating the relationships with, you can automatically copy values between them to avoid data entry errors and save time.
Under Step 3, select the field from the order records and the relevant field on the contact records. You can choose to copy values from the order record to the contact, or contact record to the order.
The Copy Rule gives you three options:
- Only when contact field is empty
- Only when order field is not empty
- Always copy
In this example, the address will be copied from the order to the contact only if the contact field is empty.
The preview CSV will include these fields and specify if the value was copied for each record.
Preview Changes in a CSV Report
Now with the filters and association actions in place, you can preview the changes you will make to your HubSpot data. That way, you can check to ensure the relationships are being created as expected before those changes are made in your live database.
Under Step 4, click the Review button, then select Preview in the popup.
On the Notify tab, add any additional recipients who should receive the CSV (and make sure to hit Enter after each address). You can add colleagues and additional context here.
On the When tab, click the Run Now tab and select which records to apply the change to (in most cases this will be All, but if you have a large number of records, you may just want to do a chunk for a test), then click the Run Now button.
Open the CSV file from your email in a spreadsheet application and review the columns.
The CSV shows how for each order record that met your filter from Step 1, Insycle tried to match it with a contact record that met the rules you selected in Step 2.
Each row in the CSV includes the Result of the association and a Message with details, the initial record info, the associated record info, and, if configured, the result of the copy operation.
If the results don't look the way you expected, go back to your filters in Step 1 or functions in Step 2 and try making some adjustments, then preview again.
Apply Changes to HubSpot
If everything in your CSV preview looks correct, return to Insycle and move forward with applying the changes to the live HubSpot data.
Under Step 4, click the Review button again. This time select Update mode.
On the When tab, you should use Run Now the first time you apply these changes to the CRM.
After you've seen the results in HubSpot and you are satisfied with how the operation runs, you can save all of the configurations as a template and set up automation so this association operation runs on a set schedule. Then, you can bundle templates into Insycle Recipes and integrate them into HubSpot Workflows.
Return to the Template menu at the top of the page and click Copy to save your configurations as a new version of whatever template you started with. Then click the pencil to edit your new template name.
Under Step 4, click the Review button, and select Update mode.
On the Notify tab, select the send option appropriate for your automation: Always send, Send when errors, or Do not email.
Add any additional recipients who should receive the CSV (and make sure to hit Enter after each address). You can also provide additional context in the message subject or body.
On the When tab, select Automate and configure the frequency you'd like the template to run. When finished, click Schedule.
Create a template for each segment and association configuration, and then you can create a Recipe to automatically run them together.
In Step 2, the Comparison Rule defines what kind of likeness to look for when deciding if field values should be considered a match for association.
It's a good idea to start with Exact Match for straightforward matches and then use Similar Match to broaden the search and look for edge cases.
Exact Match looks for values that match exactly, with no differences from one record to the next. Any unique identifying fields should use Exact Match. This is usually your best bet when looking for associations.
Similar Match looks for values that may be close but with a one-character difference (like a typo, extra character, or missing character) and broadens the search. This search behaves like when Google shows results for a slightly different term or says, “Did you mean...”
For example, if a Company Name of “Acme” is found, it could include records with the Company Name values “Akme," "acm," or "Acma” as matches.
Similar Match uses looser criteria that cast a wider net for what can be considered matches. Make sure to carefully review the results to ensure the relationships being created are what you're expecting.
If using ID fields to match, note that they will only work with Exact Match, not Similar Match.
Use Contact-Company Associations to Fill in Order-Company Associations
Once you have orders associated with contacts, you can use existing relationships between contacts and companies to fill in the missing piece between orders and companies.
Process Summary
- Set up the filter to focus only on a relevant segment of records.
- Configure rules that tell Insycle what relationships to use to create the associations.
- Optionally, copy a value between the associated records.
- Preview the changes and apply them to HubSpot.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Navigate to RevOps Acceleration > Associate.
Select the HubSpot database and orders object in the top menu. Then explore the templates for an existing solution that may be close to what you need.
Each row in Step 1 is for a field you want to look at to determine whether to include or exclude a record from this operation. With this filter, you're telling Insycle what records you would like to update.
In the below example, orders created in the last 8 hours will be included in the task.
When you click Search, Insycle will list records in the Record Viewer at the bottom of the page. If you make changes to the filter, click the Search button again to refresh the viewer.
Next, you'll define the rules for filling in the missing associations on the order records by looking at the existing relationships.
Under Step 2, click the Related tab and configure the rules:
- Select the Add Action.
- The Association is the relationship you want to create, the one that is missing on the order record. In this case, we want to create a relationship between orders and companies.
- On the Related From dropdown, select the association that already exists on the order records, and already has the same relationship you want to add. In this example, the order records are already associated with contact records, and those contacts are already linked to companies.
- On the Related To dropdown, select the relationship from the contact record to copy to the order record. In this example, we'll copy the contact's associated company to the order.
Select HubSpot Association Labels
Use the HubSpot association Labels to categorize the relationships or filter the related records. A Label option must be selected for each rule. If you don't want any labels applied, use the "Unlabeled" option.
- Use the Association Labels to categorize the relationship. You can add, remove, or replace one or more labels based on the Action you've selected. In the below example, the new relationship between a order and company will be labeled as "Primary."
- The Related From Labels act as a filter where only the existing associated records with the matching labels will be used/looked at. In the example, we aren't looking for a particular contact label, so we've selected "Unlabeled."
- The Related To Labels act as a filter where only relationships with the selected label will be copied to the source record. In this example, only companies with "Primary" or no labels ("Unlabeled") will be added to orders.
Learn more about managing HubSpot labels with Insycle.
If there is valuable information in either of the records you are creating the relationships with, you can automatically copy values between them to avoid data entry errors and save time.
Under Step 3, select the field from the order records and the relevant field on the company records. You can choose to copy values from the order record to the company, or company record to the order.
The Copy Rule gives you three options:
- Only when company field is empty
- Only when order field is not empty
- Always copy
In this example, the address will be copied from the order to the company only if the company field is empty.
The preview CSV will include these fields and specify if the value was copied for each record.
Preview Changes in the CSV Report
Now with the filters and association actions in place, you can preview the changes to ensure the relationships will be created as expected when applied to your live HubSpot database.
Under Step 4, click the Review button, then select Preview in the popup.
On the Notify tab, add any additional recipients who should receive the CSV (and make sure to hit Enter after each address). You can also provide additional context in the message subject or body.
On the When tab, click Run Now and select which records to apply the change to (if you have a large number of records, you may just want to do a select number or chunk for a test), then click the Run Now button.
Open the CSV file from your email in a spreadsheet application and review the columns. Each row in the CSV includes:
- The Result of the action and a Message with details. The below example shows "Added" and "Succeeded," which means an association was made.
-
Source record Type (in this example, orders), with the ID, order name, and deeplink to the HubSpot record.
-
Related Type (contact records), with the ID, email, and deeplink.
-
Associated Type of the records to be associated (companies) with the ID, company name, and deeplink.
If you set a copy operation up in Step 3, the CSV will also include info about the copy results.
If the results don't look as you expected, go back to your filters in Step 1 or functions in Step 2, try making some adjustments, and then preview again.
Apply Changes to HubSpot
If everything in your CSV preview looks correct, return to Insycle and apply the changes to the live HubSpot data.
Under Step 4, click the Review button again, and this time select Update mode.
On the When tab, you should use Run Now the first time you apply these changes to the CRM.
Return to the Template menu at the top of the page and click Copy to save your configurations as a new version of whatever template you started with. Then click the pencil to edit your new template name.
Under Step 4, click the Review button, and select Update mode.
On the Notify tab, select the send option appropriate for your automation: Always send, Send when errors, or Do not email.
Add any additional recipients who should receive the CSV (and make sure to hit Enter after each address). You can also provide additional context in the message subject or body.
On the When tab, select Automate and configure the frequency you'd like the template to run. When finished, click Schedule.
Create a template for each segment and association configuration, and then you can create a Recipe to automatically run them together.
Supercharge Your HubSpot Worklow with an Insycle Recipe
When you have a solid set of templates that reliably associate your orders, you can put them together into a longer, ordered sequence as a Recipe. Then, you can schedule that Recipe to run on a consistent, set schedule. Your templates will run one after another in the order that you set.
To add your Recipe to a HubSpot Workflow, it must be automated and set to Execute as HubSpot Workflow Action.
Learn more about associating records in HubSpot Workflows, or learn Why Data Management Is So Time-Consuming and How Recipes Can Help.
Troubleshooting
When using existing relationships to make associations, a "Failed" Result with the Message, "Not related to Companies through Contacts association," indicates the record associated with your selected source record type does not have the association you are looking for.
For example, if you are setting up the process to associate orders with companies by looking at the contact records if a contact doesn’t have a company associated with it, there is nothing to copy to the orders.
If you click the Review button under Step 4 and are met with an "Association Validation Error" message, it's most likely that you forgot to set the Labeling for one or more of your association rules.
Under Step 2, each part of the association rule must have one or more Label options selected. If you don't want any labels applied, use the Unlabeled option.
Remember, the Association Labels categorize the relationship, the Related From Labels act as a filter on the related record, and the Related To Labels act as a filter on the relationships to be copied to the source record. For more detail, see the Step 2: Configure Rules That Will Create the Relationship section above.
Frequently Asked Questions
When using existing associations to fill in missing relationships, you may notice one number of results in the Record Viewer and the When tab of the Review settings...
...and another number on the Result popup and CSV.
In the above example, both the Record Viewer and the Review settings showed 11 records, which is how many records meet the filter criteria in Step 1. But after the operation was run, the Result popup and CSV showed 73 because when you associate records using the Related tab, additional records are affected.
For example, let's say you are associating deals and companies based on the existing relationships between deals and contacts, and contacts and companies. In this scenario, say the filter in Step 1 yields only one deal, so the Review settings show "All=1." When the operation runs, though, Insycle finds that there are two contacts related to the deal. Contact A is related to three companies, and Contact B is related to two. So there are five companies in total, which in this case are all associated with one deal, and a row for each of the five will appear in the CSV indicating the association was added.
Currently, it is not possible to access, update, or associate HubSpot activities in Insycle.
When working with HubSpot, for every Insycle operation that updates or creates a record, the Run ID will be updated in the custom property, Insycle Run ID.
You can use this to look up an operation in Insycle's Activity Tracker or get more help from the Insycle support team.
When using an Insycle Recipe that includes templates for more than one object type, such as companies and contacts, the same Run ID will appear in both HubSpot records.
If the Insycle Run ID doesn't already exist in your HubSpot database, add it as a custom property with the label "Insycle Run ID" to each object type as needed.
This object label is the only requirement for the integration to work properly. It's not dependent on the internal name or underlying API field name.
Additional Resources
Related Help Articles
- Associate Records in HubSpot Workflows
- Using Existing HubSpot Associations to Fill in Missing Relationships
- Multiple Associations and Labels in HubSpot
- HubSpot Associate App Overview
Related Blog Posts
- Fix Missing Deal-to-Company Associations From the HubSpot-Shopify Integration
- How E-Commerce Companies Can Manage HubSpot Orders in Commerce Hub for a Better Customer Experience
- Fill in Missing HubSpot Associations Using Existing Relationships
- How to Associate HubSpot Companies to Related Companies in Bulk