Set Up a Sales CRM for a SaaS Startup

Configure HubSpot CRM with custom pipelines, properties, and dashboards.

Introduction

30 Second Summary

Every sales team needs a system to track who they are talking to, where each deal stands, and what revenue is coming next. Without one, deals slip through the cracks and forecasting becomes guesswork.

In this project, you will configure HubSpot CRM from scratch as the first admin at "CloudTask," a fictional SaaS startup. You will build a custom sales pipeline, import sample data, set up automations, and create a reporting dashboard.

What You'll Build

You will set up a complete CRM system in HubSpot, customizing it for a 5-person SaaS startup's sales process from pipeline design through to reporting.

By the end of this project, you'll have:

A customized 5-stage sales pipeline with deal probabilities and pipeline stage automations that create tasks and send notifications.
A CRM populated with custom properties and sample data (12 contacts and 8 deals) imported via CSV and manual entry.
A reporting dashboard visualizing pipeline health, deal velocity, and forecasted revenue.
Secret Mission: Build a customer onboarding ticket pipeline with its own stages and automations.

Are there any prerequisites?

You need a free HubSpot account before starting this project. If you already have one, you are good to go. HubSpot's free tier has no credit card requirement and no expiration date.

Configure Your Sales Pipeline

Every sales team follows a unique series of steps to close a deal. In HubSpot, these steps are represented as stages in a deal pipeline.

CloudTask's sales process doesn't match HubSpot's generic default stages. In this step, you'll replace those defaults with a custom pipeline that mirrors how CloudTask actually sells its project management software.

In this step, get ready to:

Navigate to pipeline settings and review the default stages.
Replace the default stages with CloudTask's SaaS sales process.
Verify the new pipeline appears correctly in the Deals board view.

Navigate to pipeline settings and review the default pipeline

Before making changes, you need to find where HubSpot stores pipeline configuration and understand what the defaults look like.

Click the settings icon (gear icon) in the top navigation bar.
In the left sidebar, under the Data Management section, click Objects.
Click the Select an object dropdown menu and select Deals.
Click the Pipelines tab.

You should see the default Sales Pipeline with its seven pre-built stages listed in a table.

What are the default stages?

HubSpot's default Sales Pipeline comes with seven stages, each assigned a deal probability:

Appointment scheduled (20%).
Qualified to buy (40%).
Presentation scheduled (60%).
Decision maker bought-in (80%).
Contract sent (90%).
Closed won (100%, Won).
Closed lost (0%, Lost).

The deal probability is a percentage representing how likely a deal at that stage is to close. HubSpot multiplies each deal's value by its stage probability to calculate a weighted forecast.

Customize the pipeline stages for CloudTask's SaaS sales process

CloudTask's sales process has five open stages that don't match the five generic ones HubSpot provides. You'll delete the defaults first, then add CloudTask's custom stages.

Hover over the Appointment scheduled stage row and click Delete.
Repeat for Qualified to buy, Presentation scheduled, Decision maker bought-in, and Contract sent.

Why keep Closed won and Closed lost?

HubSpot requires at least one Won stage and one Lost stage in every deal pipeline for reporting and forecasting to work correctly. The default Closed won (100%) and Closed lost (0%) stages already match CloudTask's needs, so you'll keep them in place.

Now add CloudTask's five open stages. Each stage reflects a milestone in the SaaS sales process.

Click + Add stage below the existing stages.
Enter Discovery Call as the stage name.
Click the Deal probability dropdown and enter 10 as a custom value.
Click Add option and select the new probability.
Repeat the process to add the remaining four stages:

Qualified with a probability of 30.
Demo Completed with a probability of 50.
Proposal Sent with a probability of 75.
Negotiation with a probability of 90.

What do these probabilities mean for CloudTask?

Each probability reflects how likely a deal is to close once it reaches that stage. A deal in Discovery Call (10%) is still very early. A deal in Negotiation (90%) is almost certain to close.

HubSpot uses these percentages to calculate weighted revenue forecasts. A $10,000 deal at the Proposal Sent stage (75%) contributes $7,500 to the weighted pipeline total.

Drag the stages to reorder them from top to bottom: Discovery Call, Qualified, Demo Completed, Proposal Sent, Negotiation, Closed won, Closed lost.
Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Can't delete a stage?

If HubSpot won't let you delete a stage, it means there are existing records in that stage or conditional properties referencing it. On a fresh account this shouldn't happen, but if it does, check whether any test deals were created automatically.

help me delete a default pipeline stage in HubSpot

✔️ My pipeline has 7 stages in the right order

Your pipeline settings should show these seven stages from top to bottom: Discovery Call (10%), Qualified (30%), Demo Completed (50%), Proposal Sent (75%), Negotiation (90%), Closed won (100%, Won), Closed lost (0%, Lost).

ⓧ I'd like to double check the full pipeline

Here is the complete expected pipeline configuration:

Pipeline name: Sales Pipeline (the default name, unchanged).
Stage 1: Discovery Call, Probability: 10%, Status: Open.
Stage 2: Qualified, Probability: 30%, Status: Open.
Stage 3: Demo Completed, Probability: 50%, Status: Open.
Stage 4: Proposal Sent, Probability: 75%, Status: Open.
Stage 5: Negotiation, Probability: 90%, Status: Open.
Stage 6: Closed won, Probability: 100%, Status: Won.
Stage 7: Closed lost, Probability: 0%, Status: Lost.

Verify the board view shows your custom stages

The pipeline settings table confirms the configuration, but you should also verify the board view that your sales team will use day-to-day.

In the top navigation bar, click CRM.
Click Deals.
Confirm the board view displays your custom stages as column headers: Discovery Call, Qualified, Demo Completed, Proposal Sent, Negotiation, Closed won, Closed lost.

Don't see all the stage columns?

Make sure you saved the pipeline settings before navigating away. If some stages are missing, return to the pipeline settings and check that all seven stages are listed with the correct order.

help me troubleshoot missing pipeline stages in HubSpot board view

Your pipeline is set up and ready for deals. Next up, you'll create custom properties to capture the business-specific data that CloudTask's sales team needs on every contact and deal.

Create Custom Properties

Your pipeline stages are ready, but HubSpot's default fields don't capture everything CloudTask needs to know about its leads and deals.

Custom properties let you store business-specific data on each record. In this step, you'll create three properties that track where leads come from, how much each deal is worth annually, and which product plan each prospect is interested in.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a contact property to track lead sources.
Create two deal properties for contract value and product interest.
Verify all three properties in the settings panel.

Create a custom contact property for Lead Source Channel

CloudTask's sales team needs to know how each lead found them. A custom dropdown property on the contact object captures this cleanly.

Click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
In the left sidebar menu, click Properties.
Click the Select an object dropdown menu and select Contact properties.
Above the table, click Create property.
In the Property label text field, enter Lead Source Channel.
Click the Field type dropdown menu and select Dropdown select.
Add the following options one at a time by clicking + Add option for each:

Website
LinkedIn
Referral
Cold Outreach
Event

Click Create property.

What is a custom property?

A custom property is a field you define to store data that HubSpot's defaults don't cover. The Dropdown select field type forces a single selection from your predefined list, keeping data clean and consistent across the team.

You should see "Lead Source Channel" appear in the Contact properties table.

Don't see your new property?

Make sure you clicked Create property at the bottom of the panel. If the button was grayed out, check that the Property label field is not empty and a Field type is selected.

Help me troubleshoot my custom property creation in HubSpot.

Create custom deal properties for Annual Contract Value and Product Interest

CloudTask also needs to track two pieces of deal-level data: how much a deal is worth per year and which pricing plan the prospect is considering.

Click the Select an object dropdown menu and switch to Deal properties.
Click Create property.
In the Property label text field, enter Annual Contract Value.
Click the Field type dropdown menu and select Number.
In the format options that appear, select Currency.
Click Create property.

Why use Currency format?

Setting the number format to Currency tells HubSpot to display values with a dollar sign and proper formatting. This makes pipeline reports and forecasts easier to read at a glance.

Now create the second deal property for product interest.

Click Create property again.
In the Property label text field, enter Product Interest.
Click the Field type dropdown menu and select Dropdown select.
Add the following options one at a time by clicking + Add option for each:

Starter Plan
Growth Plan
Enterprise Plan

Click Create property.

You should now see both "Annual Contract Value" and "Product Interest" listed in the Deal properties table.

Property not showing in the list?

Double-check that you selected Deal properties in the object dropdown at the top of the page. If you accidentally left it on Contact properties, your new deal properties will not appear in the current view.

Help me find my custom deal properties in HubSpot settings.

Verify all three custom properties in Settings

Click the Select an object dropdown and choose Contact properties.
Use the search bar at the top of the properties table to search for Lead Source Channel. Confirm it appears with the Dropdown select field type.
Switch the dropdown to Deal properties.
Search for Annual Contract Value. Confirm it appears with the Number field type.
Search for Product Interest. Confirm it appears with the Dropdown select field type.

Why does this matter for CRM admins?

Custom properties are the building blocks of CRM data architecture. Every report, automation, and import you build later depends on having the right fields in place. Getting properties right first saves hours of rework down the line.

Your CRM now has custom fields ready to capture CloudTask's business data. Next up, you'll populate these properties with sample contact and deal records using a CSV import.

Import Sample Data

Your pipeline is configured and your custom properties are ready to capture business-specific data. Now CloudTask's CRM needs actual records to work with.

In this step, you will populate HubSpot with realistic sample data. You will prepare a CSV file with 12 fictional contacts, import them into the CRM, and then create 8 deals distributed across your pipeline stages.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a CSV file with 12 sample contact records.
Import contacts into HubSpot and map columns to properties.
Create 8 deals and associate each with a contact across your pipeline stages.

Prepare a contacts CSV file with 12 sample records

HubSpot's import tool reads spreadsheet files and creates contact records from each row. You need a CSV file with column headers that match HubSpot property names.

Open your spreadsheet editor (Google Sheets or Excel).
Create a new spreadsheet with these exact column headers in row 1:

First name,Last name,Email,Company name,Phone number,Lead Source Channel

Add the following 12 rows of sample data below the header row:

First name,Last name,Email,Company name,Phone number,Lead Source Channel
Sarah,Chen,sarah@buildright.com,BuildRight Construction,555-0101,Website
Marcus,Johnson,marcus@marketflow.io,MarketFlow Agency,555-0102,LinkedIn
Emily,Rodriguez,emily@swiftlogistics.com,Swift Logistics,555-0103,Referral
David,Kim,david@peakvideo.com,Peak Video Productions,555-0104,Cold Outreach
Rachel,Thompson,rachel@greenleafdesign.com,Greenleaf Design,555-0105,Event
James,O'Brien,james@northstartech.com,NorthStar Technologies,555-0106,Website
Priya,Patel,priya@cloudnine.io,CloudNine Solutions,555-0107,LinkedIn
Tom,Williams,tom@blueocean.com,Blue Ocean Ventures,555-0108,Referral
Lisa,Chang,lisa@urbanedge.co,UrbanEdge Properties,555-0109,Cold Outreach
Michael,Davis,michael@quantumleap.io,QuantumLeap Analytics,555-0110,Event
Anna,Kowalski,anna@brightpath.com,BrightPath Consulting,555-0111,Website
Carlos,Mendez,carlos@rapidscale.io,RapidScale Systems,555-0112,LinkedIn

What do these columns represent?

First name, Last name, Email, Company name, and Phone number are default HubSpot contact properties.
Lead Source Channel is the custom dropdown property you created in the previous step. Each value (Website, LinkedIn, Referral, Cold Outreach, Event) matches one of the options you defined.
HubSpot uses the Email column as a unique identifier to prevent duplicate contacts.

Save your spreadsheet as a .csv file named contacts.csv.

Saving as CSV in Google Sheets

In Google Sheets, click File then Download then Comma Separated Values (.csv). In Excel, click File then Save As and choose CSV UTF-8 from the format dropdown.

Import contacts into HubSpot

With your CSV file ready, you will use HubSpot's import tool to bulk-create all 12 contacts at once. The tool reads your column headers and maps them to HubSpot properties.

In HubSpot, navigate to CRM then Contacts.
In the upper right, click Import.
Click Start an import.
Select Contacts as the object to import.
From the Choose how to import dropdown, select Create new records only.
Click choose a file and select the contacts.csv file you saved.

What happens during column mapping?

HubSpot reads your CSV header row and tries to match each column to an existing property. Standard columns like First name and Email map automatically.

Your custom Lead Source Channel column may need manual mapping. If you see it listed as unmapped, click the HubSpot Property dropdown for that column and search for Lead Source Channel.

Review the column mapping screen and confirm that each column is mapped to the correct HubSpot property, especially Lead Source Channel.
Click Finish import.
Navigate back to CRM then Contacts and confirm that 12 contact records now appear.

Not seeing all 12 contacts?

Make sure you selected Create new records only during import. If you selected Update existing records only, no new contacts are created.
Check that your CSV has exactly one header row. Extra blank rows or duplicate headers can cause import errors.
Verify that every row has a value in at least one of the required columns: First name, Last name, or Email.

Why aren't my imported contacts showing up in HubSpot?

Create 8 deals and associate them with contacts

Real pipelines have deals at every stage. You will manually create 8 deals and distribute them across your pipeline to simulate an active sales process.

Navigate to CRM then Deals.
Click the Add deals dropdown menu and select Create new.
In the right panel, enter the details for your first deal using the reference table below.
In the Associate Deal with section, search for and select the associated contact.
Click Create and add another to save and immediately start the next deal.
Repeat for all 8 deals. On the last deal, click Create to finish.

Reference table for your 8 deals

Use these values for each deal. Set the close dates to any future date within the next 4-8 weeks.

Discovery Call stage (2 deals):

BuildRight - Starter Plan | Amount: $8,400 | ACV: $8,400 | Product Interest: Starter Plan | Contact: Sarah Chen.
MarketFlow - Growth Plan | Amount: $18,000 | ACV: $18,000 | Product Interest: Growth Plan | Contact: Marcus Johnson.

Qualified stage (2 deals):

Swift Logistics - Growth Plan | Amount: $18,000 | ACV: $18,000 | Product Interest: Growth Plan | Contact: Emily Rodriguez.
Peak Video - Starter Plan | Amount: $8,400 | ACV: $8,400 | Product Interest: Starter Plan | Contact: David Kim.

Demo Completed stage (2 deals):

Greenleaf - Enterprise Plan | Amount: $36,000 | ACV: $36,000 | Product Interest: Enterprise Plan | Contact: Rachel Thompson.
NorthStar - Growth Plan | Amount: $18,000 | ACV: $18,000 | Product Interest: Growth Plan | Contact: James O'Brien.

Proposal Sent stage (1 deal):

CloudNine - Enterprise Plan | Amount: $36,000 | ACV: $36,000 | Product Interest: Enterprise Plan | Contact: Priya Patel.

Negotiation stage (1 deal):

Blue Ocean - Enterprise Plan | Amount: $48,000 | ACV: $48,000 | Product Interest: Enterprise Plan | Contact: Tom Williams.

What fields to fill in for each deal

Deal name: The name from the reference table (e.g. BuildRight - Starter Plan).
Amount: The dollar value listed.
Close date: Pick any date 4-8 weeks from today.
Pipeline: Sales Pipeline (already selected by default).
Deal stage: The stage listed in the reference table.
Product Interest: Your custom dropdown property. Select the matching plan.
Annual Contract Value: Your custom currency property. Enter the ACV from the table.

After creating all 8 deals, switch to Board view using the view type toggle in the upper left (if not already selected).
Confirm that your deals appear as cards distributed across the correct pipeline stages.

You should see 2 cards in Discovery Call, 2 in Qualified, 2 in Demo Completed, 1 in Proposal Sent, and 1 in Negotiation.

Custom properties not showing in the deal form?

If Product Interest or Annual Contract Value does not appear in the deal creation panel, scroll down or search for the property name in the panel's search field.
Confirm you created these properties under Deal properties (not Contact properties) in the previous step.

Why can't I see my custom deal properties when creating a new deal?

Your CRM now has real structure. Next up, you will set up pipeline stage automations that trigger tasks and notifications as deals move through your pipeline.

Set Up Pipeline Stage Automations

Your pipeline has stages and data, but right now every follow-up action depends on someone remembering to do it manually. A rep moves a deal to Discovery Call and then forgets to send product info. A deal hits Proposal Sent and nobody tells the team.

Pipeline stage automations solve this by triggering actions automatically when a deal enters a specific stage. In this step, you will configure three automations that create tasks, send notifications, and update records without any manual effort.

In this step, get ready to:

Add a task automation to the Discovery Call stage.
Add a notification automation to the Proposal Sent stage.
Add a record edit automation to the Negotiation stage.

Add a task automation for the Discovery Call stage

When a deal enters the Discovery Call stage, the rep should immediately send product information to the prospect. You will automate this by creating a task that gets assigned to the deal owner the moment a deal arrives in that stage.

What are pipeline stage automations?

Pipeline stage automations are templated actions that fire automatically when a deal moves into a specific stage. On free accounts created after March 30, 2026, three automation types are available: create and assign a task, send an internal email notification, and edit a record.

These follow a simple trigger-action model. The trigger is a deal entering a stage, and the action is what HubSpot does in response.

Don't see the automation options?

Pipeline stage automations are only available on free accounts created after March 30, 2026. If your account predates this, you may need to check whether your account has been enrolled in the updated board view.

Navigate to CRM > Deals in the top navigation menu.
In the upper right, click the view type dropdown menu and select Board view.
Hover on the Discovery Call stage name at the top of its column.
Click the three vertical dots icon that appears.
Select Manage stage automation.
Choose Create and assign a task.
In the panel that opens, enter Send follow-up email with product info as the task name.
Set the assignee to deal owner.
Set the due date to 1 day after trigger.
Click Save.

Why assign to the deal owner?

The deal owner is the rep responsible for that specific opportunity. By assigning to the deal owner rather than a specific person, the task always goes to whoever is managing that deal, even if ownership changes.

Add a notification automation for the Proposal Sent stage

When a deal reaches Proposal Sent, the whole team should know. This helps managers spot bottlenecks and lets support staff prepare for potential onboarding.

Hover on the Proposal Sent stage name.
Click the three vertical dots icon.
Select Manage stage automation.
Choose Send internal email notification.
Configure the notification details in the panel to alert the team when a deal reaches this stage.
Click Save.

Who receives the notification?

The internal email notification goes to users in your HubSpot account who have their notifications turned on. In a real team environment, this would alert your sales manager and any support staff preparing for handoff.

Add a record edit automation for the Negotiation stage

Deals in Negotiation are high-priority by definition. You will set up an automation that automatically marks a deal as high priority when it enters this stage, making it easy to filter and report on urgent opportunities.

Hover on the Negotiation stage name.
Click the three vertical dots icon.
Select Manage stage automation.
Choose Edit record.
In the panel, select the Priority property as the property to update.
Set its value to High.
Click Save.

What is the Priority property?

Priority is a default deal property built into every HubSpot account. It indicates the level of attention needed on a deal. You do not need to create it. It already exists in your deal properties.

Now test all three automations to confirm they work correctly.

Pick one of your test deals currently in a stage like Qualified or Demo Completed.
Drag the deal card into the Discovery Call column.
Check the deal's activity timeline or the Tasks section. You should see a new task titled Send follow-up email with product info assigned to the deal owner.
Now drag that same deal into the Proposal Sent column.
Check the notification bell icon in the top navigation. You should see a notification about the deal reaching Proposal Sent.
Finally, drag the deal into the Negotiation column.
Open the deal record and check the Priority property. It should now show High.

Automation didn't fire?

Make sure you are dragging the deal into the stage (not just clicking to view it). The automation triggers only when a record enters the stage.

If you still don't see the task or notification, confirm your account was created after March 30, 2026 and that you have Super Admin permissions. Help me troubleshoot why my pipeline stage automation isn't triggering.

Your pipeline now works for you instead of relying on memory. Next up, you will build a reporting dashboard that visualizes the health of your entire pipeline.

Build a Reporting Dashboard

Your pipeline is fully automated. When deals move between stages, tasks get created, notifications fire, and records update themselves.

Now you need a way to see the big picture. A reporting dashboard gives CloudTask's team a single view of pipeline health, deal velocity, and revenue forecasts. In this step, you will build one from scratch.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a blank reporting dashboard named "CloudTask Sales Pipeline Review".
Add three pipeline reports covering deal revenue by stage, deals over time, and deal forecast.
Arrange and save the dashboard for your team.

Create a new dashboard

Dashboards collect multiple reports into one screen. You will create a blank dashboard and give it a name that makes it easy to find during sales reviews.

In HubSpot, navigate to Reporting in the top navigation bar.
Click Dashboards.
In the upper right, click Create dashboard.
Select New Dashboard to create a blank dashboard with no reports.
In the right panel, enter CloudTask Sales Pipeline Review as the dashboard name.
Leave the user access setting as the default (Private to owner).
In the bottom right, click Create dashboard.

You land on an empty dashboard. The name "CloudTask Sales Pipeline Review" appears at the top of the page.

Don't see the Create dashboard button?

Make sure you are on the Reporting > Dashboards page, not the Reports page. The button appears in the upper right corner.

help me find the Create dashboard button in HubSpot

Add pipeline reports

HubSpot's report library includes pre-built templates that work with your deal data. You will add three reports that answer the questions every sales leader asks: where is money sitting, how fast are deals coming in, and what revenue can we expect to close.

On your new dashboard, click Add content.
Select Report.

A right side panel opens showing available report templates. You will search for and add each of the three reports one at a time.

First, add the "Deal revenue by stage" report:

In the search box at the top of the right panel, type deal revenue.
Find a report template that shows total deal value per pipeline stage (look for titles related to deal amount by stage or deal revenue by stage).
Hover over the report and click + Add to add it to your dashboard.

Next, add the "Deals created over time" report:

In the search box, clear the previous search and type deals created.
Find a report template that shows new deals created by week or month.
Hover over the report and click + Add.

Finally, add the "Deal forecast" report:

In the search box, clear the previous search and type deal forecast.
Find a report template that shows weighted pipeline revenue (deal amount multiplied by stage probability).
Hover over the report and click + Add.
Close the right panel by clicking the X button or clicking outside it.

What is weighted pipeline revenue?

Weighted revenue multiplies each deal's amount by its stage probability. A $10,000 deal in the Proposal Sent stage (75%) contributes $7,500 to your forecast.

This gives a more realistic revenue estimate than simply summing all open deals. The probabilities you set in Step 1 power this calculation automatically.

Can't find an exact template match?

HubSpot's report library changes over time. If you cannot find a template with the exact name, choose the closest match. Look for reports with "Deals" as the data source and chart types like bar charts (for revenue by stage) or line charts (for deals over time).

You can rename reports after adding them to better match your dashboard's purpose.

Your dashboard now shows three report tiles populated with data from your 8 deals.

Arrange and save the dashboard

Report placement matters for readability. Position the most important metric (revenue by stage) at the top where the eye naturally lands first.

Click and hold a report tile on your dashboard.
Drag it to reposition it on the dashboard grid.
Arrange the reports so that "Deal revenue by stage" is at the top, "Deals created over time" is below it, and "Deal forecast" is alongside or beneath.
Release the report tile in its new position.

Does HubSpot auto-save dashboard layouts?

Yes. When you drag and drop reports on a dashboard, HubSpot saves the new position automatically. There is no separate "Save layout" button you need to click.

Navigate away from the page and then return to Reporting > Dashboards to confirm your dashboard appears in the list with all three reports still in place.

Reports showing zero data?

If your reports appear empty, confirm that your 8 deals from Step 3 are still in the pipeline. Navigate to CRM > Deals and check that deals exist across multiple stages with dollar amounts entered.

Also check that the report's date range includes the date you created your deals. Some templates default to "this month" or "this quarter" which may not cover your data.

help me troubleshoot why my HubSpot dashboard reports show no data

Secret mission

Build a Customer Onboarding Ticket Pipeline

Your sales pipeline is humming. But what happens after a deal closes? In this secret mission, you will extend CloudTask's CRM to handle customer onboarding with a dedicated ticket pipeline, stage automations, and sample data.

Clean Up Your Resources

Decide whether to keep your resources running, pause them to come back later, or delete them entirely. This project runs entirely on HubSpot's free tier, so there are no ongoing costs regardless of which option you choose.

Resources you used:

Customized Sales Pipeline with 7 stages (Discovery Call through Closed Lost).
3 custom properties (Lead Source Channel, Annual Contract Value, Product Interest).
12 imported contact records.
8 manually created deal records.
3 pipeline stage automations (Discovery Call, Proposal Sent, Negotiation).
CloudTask Sales Pipeline Review dashboard with 3 reports.
Customer onboarding ticket pipeline with 5 stages and automations (Secret Mission).
Sample onboarding tickets (Secret Mission).
Local contacts.csv file on your computer.

Keep everything running

No action needed. Choose this if you are still actively building on your CloudTask CRM or plan to reference it in interviews.

Your HubSpot free account has no expiration date and no ongoing charges.
All pipeline configurations, properties, automations, contacts, deals, tickets, and dashboards remain exactly as you left them.
You can return at any time to add more data, refine automations, or take screenshots for your portfolio.

Pause - I'll come back to this later

Since HubSpot is free and cloud-hosted, there is nothing to shut down or pause. Your data stays in place with no cost. If you want to reduce clutter without fully deleting, you can remove the sample records while keeping your pipeline configuration intact.

Delete the 8 sample deals: navigate to CRM > Deals, switch to table view, select the checkboxes next to all sample deals, click Delete at the top of the table, enter the number of records in the dialog box, and click Delete to confirm.
Delete the 12 sample contacts: navigate to CRM > Contacts, select the checkboxes next to all sample contacts in the table view, click Delete at the top of the table, enter the number of records, and click Delete to confirm.
Delete any sample onboarding tickets: navigate to CRM > Tickets, select the sample tickets in board view by hovering over each record and selecting the checkbox, click Delete at the top, enter the number of records, and click Delete to confirm.
Your pipeline stages, custom properties, automations, and dashboard all remain in place for when you return.

Delete - I don't want to use this again

Remove all project resources and start fresh. Follow each step below in order.

Delete deals: navigate to CRM > Deals, switch to table view, select the checkbox in the upper left of the table to select all records, click Delete at the top, enter the number of records in the dialog box, and click Delete to confirm.
Delete contacts: navigate to CRM > Contacts, select the checkbox in the upper left of the table to select all records, click Delete at the top, enter the number of records, and click Delete to confirm.
Delete tickets: navigate to CRM > Tickets, select all sample tickets in the board view by hovering over each record and selecting its checkbox, click Delete at the top, enter the number of records, and click Delete to confirm.
Delete custom properties: click the settings icon in the top navigation bar, then click Properties in the left sidebar. Select Contact properties from the dropdown, find Lead Source Channel, click the More dropdown menu next to it, then click Archive. In the right panel, click Delete permanently. Repeat for Deal properties: delete Annual Contract Value and Product Interest using the same steps.
Reset pipeline stages: click the settings icon, navigate to Objects in the left sidebar under Data Management, select Deals from the dropdown, then click the Pipelines tab. Hover over each custom stage and click Delete to remove it. Add back the default stages if you want to restore the original pipeline.
Reset ticket pipeline stages: in the same settings area, select Tickets from the object dropdown and click the Pipelines tab. Hover over each custom onboarding stage and click Delete to remove it.
Delete the dashboard: navigate to Reporting > Dashboards, click Manage dashboards at the top. Find the CloudTask Sales Pipeline Review dashboard, click the Actions dropdown menu, and select Delete. In the dialog box, leave the Also delete all reports in this dashboard checkbox selected, then click Delete dashboard.
Delete the local CSV file: find contacts.csv on your computer and move it to the Recycle Bin (Windows).

Nice Work!

You just built a fully configured sales CRM from scratch for a fictional SaaS startup. CloudTask now has a professional HubSpot setup that demonstrates the exact skills hiring managers look for in HubSpot Admin and RevOps roles.

Here's what you accomplished:

Configured a custom SaaS sales pipeline with deal probabilities for weighted revenue forecasting, plus custom properties capturing business-specific data like Lead Source Channel, Annual Contract Value, and Product Interest.
Populated the CRM with structured sample data using CSV import for 12 contacts and manual deal creation for 8 deals distributed across pipeline stages.
Set up pipeline stage automations that create tasks, send notifications, and edit records automatically, then built a reporting dashboard showing pipeline health and revenue forecasts.
Secret Mission: Extended the CRM to support customer onboarding with a dedicated ticket pipeline, stage automations, and sample onboarding tickets tied to Closed Won deals.

Ready to quiz yourself?