Hi everyone,
This is Mike and I have just recently signed my company up with Hubspot and looking to bringing myself and fellow staff members up to speed with the functionality of Hubspot as quickly as possible - so any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I use Sage Accounting as my accounting software and wanted to know if there was any benefit to linking it into Hubspot or if I should rather use it seperately?
Many thanks
Hi @MikePza,
Welcome to HubSpot and the Community!
I wanted to share this guide on getting started with HubSpot, there you will find a one-stop shop to help you get started with the basics such as importing CRM records and configuring your HubSpot account.
HubSpot Academy is a wonderful resource to get your team up to speed on different HubSpot tools. I’m not sure which hubs you have, but I would recommend starting with these courses:
HubSpot Academy also had a lesson on Getting Started with Accounting in HubSpot! It might help inform your decision of integrating your accounting software with HubSpot or not 
As for integrating your accounting software, I would recommend analyzing if you would like to keep your data in Sage or sync it over to HubSpot for reporting purposes for example. I would also review each of the Sage Integrations in the HubSpot App Marketplace to see how they interact with HubSpot tools (Does the app sync data over to the contact record? Can you use the reporting tool with the app?)
I also wanted to invite our subject matter experts to see if they have any advice on getting started with HubSpot or integration advice.
Hi @johnelmer, @HubDoPete, @danmoyle - Do you have any getting started tips or insight for @MikePza?
Thank you!
Best,
Kristen
Hi Mike, welcome to the HubSpot user community!
My use of Sage dates back to “Sage Financial Controller” running on floppies in the late 80’s but I assume you are using the Cloud version of Sage Accounting (formerly sage One).
Many of the companies you deal with, such as customers and suppliers, will exist in both sage and HubSpot so it makes sense to link the two, to keep that data in sync.
Here is a good place to start. Look at the Sage Integration built by HubSpot:
And then while on the marketplace, search “sage” to see more options to install.
Each has a video and helpful information to decide if they suit your needs.
Plus on the marketplace there are more apps which may help you but might not have “sage” in the name, so have a good look around each category. There are well over 1,000 apps. Some apps are free, “freemium” (free plus paid options) or paid. For example, we developed a freemium app called DoPricer for B2B businesses to make HubSpot apply each customer’s agreed price and discount to line items in a Deal. It doesn’t mention Sage in the listing but once the deal has the correct pricing for that customer, it can sync to other apps like Sage. DoCurrencies is an example of a free app that updates HubSpot exchange rates daily.
With so many apps it can be a bit overwhelming. So focus on the situation that you want to create for your business and your team. For example, “making HubSpot our single source of truth” and keep your questions coming. This community is full of people who know much more than I, who can direct you to the right apps and who are keen to help you to succeed on HubSpot.
best
Pete
Hi @MikePza and welcome HubSpot and the Community! @kvlschaefer shared some great resources (thanks for the tag!), and I imagine others will, too.
I’ll share a link here for a resource I wrote for Community that may also help. 5 HubSpot Lessons Gleaned from 2,000 Trainings
As for the integration, I’m always a fan of bringing as much information into HubSpot as possible, for the most complete. If there’s an integration, that’s a great place to start. It’s not required to connect accounting software, but it helps us build a closed loop.
And if you want more help, I’m happy to chat. I do HubSpot training, onboarding, and workshops for my daily job. I’d be open to a chat anytime.
@MikePza Here are few key questions we ask anyone who contacts us about assistance with integrating software with HubSpot:
1. What problem are you trying to solve by syncing data between HubSpot and (other app)? How much time or money will you gain by solving that problem? Just because you can integrate your software doesn’t always mean you should.
2. Is your HubSpot portal fully deployed and is your data model reasonably stable? Making changes potentially becomes more difficult and costly after you start integrating other software that syncs data with HubSpot.
3. Are the data you plan to sync clean and reasonably free of errors? You can probably guess why this matters.
4. Are you willing to adapt your work processes to the constraints of each piece of software? Even with “successful” integrations (meaning data moves back and forth without errors), the user experience in one app or the other may require a change to how your are used to working.
All that said, there are prebuilt Sage integrations as @HubDoPete pointed out. Our own experience with Sage products suggests that you should use an expert to help.
HubSpot has a bit of a learning curve at first, but once you get your contacts, deals, and automations set up, it becomes much easier to manage.
As for Sage Accounting, it really depends on your workflow. If you want your sales and finance teams to stay in sync, integrating Sage with HubSpot can save time by reducing manual data entry and keeping customer information more consistent. If your accounting is handled separately and doesn’t need to interact with your CRM much, using them independently is perfectly fine too.
I’d suggest starting with HubSpot on its own, getting comfortable with the basics, and then deciding whether the integration would add value to your day-to-day processes. Good luck with the setup!
Can I get a refund ?