Account foundations

You've just got access to your HubSpot account. The first thing you're probably thinking is "where do I even start?"

I get it. HubSpot has hundreds of settings, and if you configure the wrong things first, you'll be fixing it for months. I've seen companies skip the account foundations, start building campaigns immediately, and then realize six weeks later that their timezone is wrong and all their reporting is off.

This chapter walks you through the foundational setup that every HubSpot account needs. We're talking about the settings that affect everyone: timezone, currency, teams, users, permissions, and the tools that keep your team connected.

These aren't the exciting bits. Nobody brags about configuring timezones. But if you don't do this properly, everything else breaks. Your emails send at the wrong time. Your reports show data in the wrong currency. Your team can't find each other. Your notifications go to the wrong Slack channel.

Do this chapter properly, and you'll never think about it again. Skip it, and you'll be fixing problems for months.

Every HubSpot account needs a few core settings configured before anyone starts using it. These settings affect how the entire platform behaves, from how times display in reports to how securely your team accesses the system.

Time zone configuration

Your HubSpot account's time zone determines how all timestamps are recorded and displayed. This affects reporting, workflow execution times, email send times, and every date/time field in the system.

Navigate to Settings > Account Defaults > Time Zone. You'll see your current time zone setting and the option to change it.

Choose the time zone where your primary business operations occur. If you're a UK-based company, set it to GMT or BST depending on the season. If you're in Amsterdam, set it to Central European Time.

Important consideration: changing your time zone after you've already collected data doesn't retroactively adjust historical timestamps. Those remain in the original time zone. This creates reporting confusion, so set your time zone correctly from day one.

If your company operates across multiple time zones, choose the time zone where your leadership team or largest customer concentration sits. You can't have multiple time zones in one HubSpot account, so pick one and standardise on it.

Currency settings

HubSpot needs to know which currency you primarily work in for deal values, revenue reporting, and e-commerce tracking.

Go to Settings > Account Defaults > Currency. Select your primary currency from the dropdown. This becomes your "company currency" - the default currency for all deals and revenue calculations.

If you sell in multiple currencies, you can enable multiple currencies and set exchange rates. Navigate to Settings > Account Defaults > Currencies (plural), then toggle on "Use multiple currencies." Add each currency you transact in and set the exchange rate relative to your company currency.

HubSpot stores deal values in the currency you specify when creating each deal, then converts to your company currency for aggregate reporting. Keep exchange rates updated quarterly at minimum, or you'll see reporting discrepancies.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) setup

HubSpot contains sensitive business data - contact information, deal values, customer conversations. Protect it with two-factor authentication.

Navigate to Settings > Security > Two-factor authentication. You'll see options to require 2FA for all users, specific users, or make it optional.

Best practice: require 2FA for all users. This prevents password-based account compromises that could expose your entire customer database or allow unauthorised access to customer data.

When you enable required 2FA, existing users get an email notification that they must set up 2FA within a specified timeframe (you set this). New users must set up 2FA before they can access the account for the first time.

Users can authenticate via SMS, authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy), or backup codes. Authenticator apps are more secure than SMS, but SMS is better than nothing.

Configure backup access methods too. Navigate to Settings > Security > Backup codes and generate backup codes for emergency access if someone loses their authentication device.

Account security basics

Beyond 2FA, configure these security settings:

Session timeout: Set how long users can remain logged in without activity. Navigate to Settings > Security > Session timeout. Default is 12 hours. For sensitive environments, reduce this to 2-4 hours.

IP allowlisting: If your team works from consistent office IP addresses, restrict HubSpot access to those IPs only. Navigate to Settings > Security > IP allowlist and add your office IP addresses. Remote workers will need VPN access to your allowed IPs.

Password requirements: Set minimum password complexity. Navigate to Settings > Security > Password policy. Require minimum length (12+ characters), special characters, numbers, and uppercase letters. Require password changes every 90 days.

Login notification: Enable email notifications when someone logs in from a new device or IP address. Navigate to Settings > Security > Login notifications and toggle on.

These settings create defence in depth. 2FA prevents unauthorised access even if passwords leak. IP allowlisting prevents access from unexpected locations. Session timeouts limit exposure from unattended devices.

HubSpot uses teams to organise users, control access to records, and filter views in reports and dashboards. Properly structured teams make your HubSpot instance more manageable as it scales.

Understanding HubSpot permissions structure

HubSpot's permission system has three layers: Super Admin, standard users with assigned permissions, and custom permission sets.

Super Admin: Full access to everything. Can add/remove users, change account settings, access all records, modify all configurations. Grant Super Admin status sparingly - only to the account owner and perhaps one backup administrator. Too many Super Admins create security and compliance risks.

Standard users with assigned permissions: Most of your team sits here. Each user gets a permission set that defines what they can view and edit. HubSpot provides default permission sets (Sales, Service, Marketing), or you create custom ones.

Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Permissions to see available permission sets. Each permission set specifies access levels for different HubSpot tools and features: view-only, edit, no access.

Custom permission sets: Create these when default permission sets don't match your needs. For example, you might need a "Marketing Coordinator" permission set that can create emails and landing pages but can't access workflows or reporting.

To create a custom permission set, navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Permissions, then click "Create permission set." Name it clearly (role-based names work best), then toggle permissions for each HubSpot feature.

Creating teams and departments

Teams group users together for filtering, assignment, and reporting purposes. Create teams that mirror your actual business structure.

Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Teams. Click "Create team."

Name your team clearly: "Sales - UK," "Marketing - Demand Generation," "Customer Success - Enterprise." Specific names prevent confusion as you add more teams.

Assign a team manager. This person doesn't get additional permissions automatically, but they appear as the team lead in reports and user lists.

Add team members by selecting users from the dropdown. Users can belong to multiple teams. For example, a regional sales director might be on both "Sales - UK" and "Sales Leadership" teams.

Create teams based on how you actually want to segment work:

• Geographic teams (UK, Netherlands, Germany)
• Functional teams (Demand Gen, Content Marketing, Sales Development)
• Product teams (Product A Sales, Product B Sales)
• Account segment teams (Enterprise, Mid-Market, SMB)

Once teams exist, you can filter records by team ownership, create team-based report dashboards, and assign records in round-robin to team members.

Configuring team settings

After creating teams, configure how they behave.

Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Teams, then click on a specific team to edit its settings.

Default lead owner: Set a team member who receives leads if no other assignment rule applies. This ensures leads don't fall through cracks.

Team pipeline: If your sales process differs by team, create team-specific pipelines. For example, "Enterprise Sales Pipeline" vs "SMB Sales Pipeline" with different deal stages and probabilities.

Team targets: Set quarterly or annual targets for each team. Navigate to Goals > Sales Goals and assign targets by team. These targets appear in team dashboards and reports.

Email signature settings: If your team shares email signature formatting, configure it at team level. Navigate to Settings > Marketing > Email > Email Signatures and create templates by team.

User access levels

Beyond permission sets, configure account access and billing access levels.

Account access: Controls what account settings a user can modify. Most users should have "No access" to account settings. Only administrators need "Edit" access to account-level configurations.

Navigate to a user's profile (Settings > Users & Teams > Users, then click the user's name). Under "Account Access," select the appropriate level.

Billing access: Controls whether a user can see billing information, modify subscriptions, and add seats. Restrict this to finance team members and Super Admins.

In the same user profile page, under "Billing Access," toggle on or off.

Sales access: In Professional and Enterprise subscriptions, you can restrict sales features. Toggle "Sales Access" on only for team members who need CRM, deals, and sales tools.

HubSpot charges per seat (in most subscription levels), so invite users strategically. Understand seat types, invite users correctly, assign seats to the right roles, and manage licences efficiently.

How to invite individual users

Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Users. Click "Create user."

Enter the person's email address (work email, not personal). HubSpot sends them an invitation to create their account.

Set their permission set: Choose from existing permission sets (Sales, Marketing, Service) or custom permission sets you've created.

Assign them to teams: Select which team(s) they belong to from the dropdown.

Set account access level: In most cases, select "No access" unless they need to configure account settings.

Set billing access: Leave this off unless they're on the finance team.

Require 2FA: If you haven't required 2FA account-wide, you can require it for specific users here.

Click "Send invitation." The user receives an email with a link to set their password and access HubSpot for the first time.

Bulk user invitation process

If you're migrating a team from another CRM or onboarding multiple people simultaneously, invite them in bulk.

Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Users. Click "Create user," then "Import users from file."

Download the CSV template. This template includes columns for email address, permission set, teams, and access levels.

Fill in the template:

• Email address: One work email per row
• Permission set: Use exact permission set names from your account
• Teams: List team names separated by semicolons if users belong to multiple teams
• Account access: "None," "View," or "Edit"
• Billing access: "Yes" or "No"

Upload the completed CSV. HubSpot validates the file and shows any errors (invalid permission sets, malformed emails, etc.). Fix errors and re-upload.

Confirm the import. HubSpot sends invitation emails to all users in the file. They receive the same invitation flow as individual invitations.

Assigning and managing seats

HubSpot subscriptions include a certain number of paid seats (Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub) and free seats (limited access).

Paid seats: Give full access to tools in that Hub. For example, a Sales Hub paid seat can access deals, pipelines, sequences, and all sales tools.

Free seats: Limited access. Free CRM users can view and edit contacts, companies, deals, and tickets but can't access advanced features like workflows, sequences, or custom reporting.

Assign paid seats to users who need full feature access. Assign free seats to users who only need basic CRM access (executives who want read-only access, part-time team members, contractors).

To assign seats, navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Users, click a user's name, then under "Products" toggle on the Hubs they need access to. Each toggle you turn on consumes a seat.

Monitor seat usage in Settings > Account > Subscription. You'll see total seats purchased vs seats assigned for each Hub. If you're at capacity and need to add someone, either purchase additional seats or remove unused seats from inactive users.

Managing user licences

As team members change roles or leave the company, manage their licences accordingly.

Deactivating users: When someone leaves, deactivate their user account immediately. Navigate to Settings > Users & Teams > Users, click their name, then click "Deactivate user." This removes their access but preserves their historical activity in HubSpot (emails they sent, deals they owned, notes they wrote).

Deactivating a user frees up their seat. You can reassign that seat to a new team member without purchasing an additional licence.

Reactivating users: If you need to restore access to a deactivated user, click their name in the deactivated users list, then click "Reactivate." They receive a new invitation email to regain access.

Changing permission sets: As roles evolve, update users' permission sets. Navigate to their user profile and change their assigned permission set. Changes take effect immediately.

Changing teams: Reassign users to different teams as your organisation restructures. Navigate to their user profile, update their team assignments, and save.

Access HubSpot support independently

Even when you're working with an agency partner (like us), you have direct access to HubSpot's support team. You don't need to route every technical question through your partner that creates unnecessary delays and makes your partner a bottleneck. On a professional plan and above you have phone support included 24 hours a day.

HubSpot becomes more powerful when connected to the tools your team already uses. Integrations sync data between platforms, automate workflows, and centralise information in HubSpot.

Calling and VoIP integrations

If your sales team makes calls, integrate your calling system with HubSpot to log calls automatically and access call recordings in contact records.

Supported integrations:

• Aircall
• RingCentral
• Dialpad
• Zoom Phone
• CloudTalk

Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Connected apps, then search for your calling platform. Click "Connect" and follow the OAuth authentication process.

Once connected, configure call logging settings. Navigate to the integration settings and toggle on:

• Automatic call logging: Creates call activity records in HubSpot automatically
• Call recordings: Stores recordings in contact/deal timelines
• Call disposition: Prompts reps to categorise calls (connected, voicemail, wrong number)

Enable call tracking: If you run paid advertising or multiple campaigns, use dynamic call tracking. Integrate CallRail or similar to track which marketing campaigns drive phone calls.

Meeting notes tools

Integrate meeting note tools to automatically sync call notes and action items into HubSpot.

Supported tools:

• Grain
• Fellow
• Otter.ai
• Fireflies.ai

Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Connected apps, search for your meeting notes tool, and connect it.

Configure what data syncs:

• Meeting recordings: Store in HubSpot timeline
• Transcripts: Attach to meeting records
• Action items: Create tasks in HubSpot
• Meeting summaries: Add as notes on contact/deal records

Meeting schedulers

Connect meeting scheduler tools to embed booking links in emails, track meeting bookings, and sync calendar events to HubSpot.

HubSpot includes built-in meeting scheduler (Meetings tool), but you might already use external schedulers:

• Calendly
• Chili Piper
• OnceHub

Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Connected apps, connect your scheduler, and configure:

• Meeting types: Map scheduler meeting types to HubSpot meeting types
• Contact creation: Automatically create contact records when someone books
• Deal stage progression: Move deals to "Meeting Scheduled" stage when someone books

LinkedIn automation

Integrate LinkedIn tools to track connection requests, messages, and profile views as activities in HubSpot.

If you use LinkedIn Sales Navigator, integrate it directly. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > LinkedIn Sales Navigator, click "Connect," and authenticate your Sales Navigator account.

This integration allows you to:

• Import leads from Sales Navigator into HubSpot
• View LinkedIn profile information alongside contact records
• Track InMail messages in HubSpot timelines

For LinkedIn automation tools (Dux-Soup, Expandi, Phantombuster), check if they have native HubSpot integrations. If not, use Zapier to connect them (covered in automation tools section).

Live chat tools

Connect your live chat tool to create conversations and contacts in HubSpot automatically.

HubSpot includes built-in live chat, but if you use external tools:

• Intercom
• Drift
• Zendesk Chat
• Crisp

Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Connected apps, connect your chat tool, and configure:

• Contact creation: Create HubSpot contacts from chat visitors automatically
• Conversation syncing: Store chat transcripts in contact timelines
• Chatbot triggers: Use HubSpot contact properties to personalise chat experiences

Website integrations

Connect your website platform to HubSpot for tracking, form submissions, and content personalisation.

WordPress: Install the HubSpot WordPress plugin. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > WordPress, download the plugin, and install it on your WordPress site. This enables HubSpot tracking, forms, live chat, and pop-ups on your WordPress site.

Webflow: Install HubSpot tracking code manually. Navigate to Settings > Tracking Code, copy the code snippet, then paste it into your Webflow project settings under Custom Code > Head Code.

Shopify: Connect HubSpot to Shopify for e-commerce tracking. Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Shopify, click "Connect," and authenticate. This syncs orders, customer data, and abandoned cart information into HubSpot.

Analytics and reporting platforms

Connect analytics tools to enrich HubSpot's reporting capabilities and correlate data across platforms.

Google Analytics 4: Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Google Analytics, click "Connect," and authenticate your GA4 property. This allows you to:

• Track HubSpot contact sources in Google Analytics
• View Google Analytics traffic data in HubSpot reports
• Attribute revenue to traffic sources

Google Search Console: Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Google Search Console, connect it, and sync search performance data into HubSpot. This helps you understand which organic search queries drive traffic and conversions.

Supermetrics or similar: For advanced reporting, connect data warehousing tools that pull HubSpot data into Google Sheets, Data Studio, or BI platforms.

Cold outreach tools

Integrate outreach platforms to centralise prospecting activity in HubSpot.

Supported tools:

• Apollo.io
• Lemlist
• Reply.io
• Woodpecker

Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Connected apps, connect your tool, and configure:

• Contact syncing: Push HubSpot contacts into outreach sequences
• Activity logging: Log emails, calls, and LinkedIn touches in HubSpot
• Reply tracking: Update contact properties based on prospect engagement

Automation tools (Zapier, Make)

Zapier and Make connect HubSpot to thousands of tools that don't have native integrations.

Connect Zapier: Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Zapier, click "Connect," and authenticate. This grants Zapier access to read and write HubSpot data.

Common Zapier automation examples:

• New HubSpot contact → Add to Google Sheets
• New HubSpot deal → Send Slack notification
• Gmail email sent → Log as HubSpot activity
• Typeform submission → Create HubSpot contact with custom properties

Build zaps at zapier.com using HubSpot as a trigger or action. Select which HubSpot data to sync and configure field mappings.

Connect Make: Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Make (formerly Integromat), click "Connect," and authenticate. Make offers more complex automation scenarios than Zapier with conditional logic and multi-step workflows.

Account foundations aren't exciting. Nobody gets promoted for correctly configuring timezone settings. But this boring configuration work is what separates HubSpot accounts that actually work from accounts that constantly need fixing.

You've now set up the foundational structure: timezone and currency are configured, teams match your business structure, users are invited with appropriate permissions, and your essential tools are connected.

The next chapters build on this foundation. We'll connect your domain and tracking so HubSpot knows who's visiting your website. We'll set up your brand kit so everything looks consistent. And we'll import your existing data so your team has context on every contact.

But for now, your account structure is solid. Everything else we build will work properly because we got the foundations right.