Understanding the 8 HubSpot Salesforce Integration Sync Errors

Understanding the 8 HubSpot Salesforce Integration Sync Errors

So you set up your HubSpot Salesforce integration, chose your sync triggers, and are ready to rock & roll. Now what?

While the HubSpot Salesforce integration is smooth as can be, sometimes, things go wrong. One of the most common problems you’ll find with your integration is sync issues, which is when a field value or type prevents a record from syncing properly between HubSpot and Salesforce.

Many times, people run into these issues and ignore them — either because they don’t know how to deal with sync errors or because they don’t think it’s such a big deal. But a single sync issue may cost you countless records from syncing correctly between platforms and hurt both your team’s performance and your users’ experience.

Luckily, there are 8 types of sync errors in the HubSpot Salesforce integration. And in this blog, we’re breaking them down and showing you how to deal with each type.

8 types of sync errors you’ll find in the HubSpot Salesforce integration 

Association sync errors

An association sync error is an error resulting from a Salesforce record trying to sync with a record that has yet to sync to HubSpot or because the record being associated has hit the association limit in HubSpot.

Let’s say you encounter the first case with a contact that’s associated with an account in Salesforce. The sync won’t work because the Salesforce record is not syncing through to HubSpot, which you can fix by doing what’s known as a force sync.

If you encounter the second — hitting HubSpot’s association limit —, chances are you’re using custom objects, which have a record limit that’s lower in HubSpot than in Salesforce. 

Custom code errors

Next, we have custom code errors, which happen as a result of an automation, an Apex trigger, flow or validation rule from Salesforce. If you face a custom code error, you’ll probably need help from your Salesforce administrator to fix it.

The most common custom code error you may find is a validation rule in Salesforce that requires a value to be set for a certain field.

Duplicate errors

Duplicate data is one of the biggest issues people face when syncing HubSpot and Salesforce — but not all duplicate data causes duplicate errors. 

Duplicate records increase record volume, bumping your costs and affecting your reporting, but they don’t necessarily affect your data sync between platforms. 

On the other hand, duplicate records can cause sync errors that prevent data from flowing between the platforms because HubSpot and Salesforce have different requirements for records. For example, Salesforce allows multiple leads to have the same email address, while HubSpot creates one contact per email address. In these cases, HubSpot only stores the most recently updated record in Salesforce.

Permission sync errors

Unlike the previous sync errors that result from faulty data, a permission sync error happens because the user doesn’t have the necessary permissions to access a field or object in Salesforce.

Another common case is a mismatch between record owners in Salesforce and HubSpot. While you can leave inactive users (like people who left the organization) as owners in Salesforce, HubSpot doesn’t sync with inactive users, so you’ll need to reassign accounts, contacts and leads for owners who’ve left the organization.

Picklist errors

This is the most common type of sync error in the HubSpot Salesforce integration. A picklist error happens when the field values of a picklist differ between HubSpot and Salesforce. You may have picklist values that don’t match between systems, a picklist that hit the value limit, or a value that’s not valid.

Property mappings

There are several causes for property mapping errors. First, you may have mismatched or incompatible property and field types in HubSpot and Salesforce. Second, the property or field may no longer exist. Or third, you still need to create the Salesforce reference field for it to sync to HubSpot.

Property values

The value of the property is not compatible with the integration or is invalid. A common case is contact ownership being assigned to a queue in Salesforce, which is not valid in HubSpot.

Another case is the presence of an invalid email in a record.

Other sync errors

“Other sync errors” is more or less an umbrella term for sync errors that don’t fit into any other category. In many cases, you’ll need help from your Salesforce administrator to solve these errors.

Other sync errors are usually related to customization in your Salesforce account, for which HubSpot doesn’t have a standard solution.

Solving HubSpot Salesforce integration sync errors

Okay, great. Now I know what the errors are. What the heck am I supposed to do with them?

I hear you.

The first step to prevent and catch issues on time is setting up your sync error notifications. You do this by going to the Marketplace icon in your HubSpot account. Then, click Connected apps in the Manage menu and select Salesforce, where you’ll find the Sync health tab. Under Sync errors, you’ll find the option to manage your notifications, and you can choose between instant, daily, or weekly notifications about sync errors. We personally recommend a daily check-in to prevent issues from escalating.

Your Sync health tab also shows the eight types of sync errors you may encounter, along with how many errors each type has and how many records are affected. Each type of sync error will display information specific to the case. To address each, click on the respective card and follow the instructions to solve the error before re-syncing.

The first-ever HubSpot Salesforce integration course has an entire module devoted to identifying and addressing the eight types of HubSpot Salesforce sync errors. Enroll now to give your team the tools to succeed.