Currently, we have an automation in place that automatically creates a company from a contact’s email domain. However, I want to turn this automation off. Here’s why:
I’ve created a custom object for our Partners, and I’m building a workflow to manage contact associations. My workflow works as follows:
It first tries to associate contacts with an existing company (if the company exists).
If no company exists, it checks for a matching Partner object based on the email domain and associates the contact with the Partner instead.
If neither a company nor a partner exists, the workflow creates a new company and associates the contact accordingly.
I’m using the matching property feature in the workflow to align the contact’s email domain with the domain name of either the Partner or the Company, and it seems to work well so far.
That said, I’d like to know:
Are there potential issues with this approach that I should be aware of?
Do you keep the default automation enabled for creating companies based on a contact’s email domain in your setups, or do you use a similar customized solution?
Your approach sounds well-structured, especially with the custom object for partners and the workflow logic. I want to invite our top experts to share their thoughts, @franksteiner79 and @TomM2 do you have any recommendations for @ADardoumpas matter?
The above approach is solid, and it’s great that you’re taking control of associations between contacts, companies, and partners. That said, there are a couple of things to watch out for that could cause issues:
1. Domain Conflicts
If a company and a partner have similar domains (e.g., example.com and partner.example.com), the workflow might associate the contact with the wrong record. This could get messy, especially if there’s overlap between partners and companies.
What to do: Add a step in your workflow to prioritize Partners first. You could also use something other than just the domain to match contacts—like a custom property or ID specific to Partners.
2. Complex Workflows
With multiple checks and conditions, your workflow might get a bit tricky to maintain over time. If it’s not carefully set up, it could miss associations or create duplicates, which would require manual clean-up later.
What to do: Consider splitting the workflow into smaller, focused workflows. For example:
One workflow to associate contacts with Partners.
A second one for Companies.
A final fallback to create a new Company if no match is found.
This makes it easier to troubleshoot and adjust as needed.
3. Default Automation Conflict
If HubSpot’s default automation for creating companies is still turned on, it could clash with your workflow. You might end up with duplicate company records or unexpected associations.
What to do: Turn off the default automation to ensure your custom workflow runs without interference.
