Best Way to Structure Parent & Child Companies for Seamless HubSpot Import?

[RMcTough]

Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of importing 230 companies into HubSpot using an Excel spreadsheet, and I want to ensure a seamless migration...especially for companies that fall under a larger parent group.

Above is a screenshot of my current data structure.

• Some companies operate under a parent company, and I need to correctly set up parent-child relationships in HubSpot.

• I want to ensure this is properly mapped in Excel before importing to avoid manual adjustments later.

• Ideally, I’d like a process that maintains data integrity and links companies correctly.

1. How should I structure parent-child companies in Excel before importing to HubSpot?

2. Which HubSpot properties should I use to ensure these relationships are automatically set up during import?

3. Any best practices or common pitfalls to watch out for when managing hierarchical company data in HubSpot?
   4. Ideally be able to make dashbaord for reporting the Groups perfomance (parent) and then the indivdual company (child)

[KKevin9]

Hey! It’s great that you’re planning ahead — it’ll definitely save you a lot of time later.

When prepping your Excel sheet for HubSpot import, you'll want to clearly define your company structure by including a "Parent Company" column. In HubSpot, the key property for linking these relationships is "Parent Company." You can map this property during the import process to automatically create the parent-child connections between companies.

Best practices:

• Ensure that the parent companies are listed first in your spreadsheet so they exist in HubSpot before the child companies try to link to them.

• Use unique identifiers (like company domain name or a custom ID) to avoid any confusion, especially if company names are similar.

• Double-check for consistency in naming — even small differences can break the link.

As for reporting, once your company structure   is set up correctly, you can create dashboards that show both group (parent) and individual (child) performance by using HubSpot's custom reports and filters.

Let me know if you want a simple template for the Excel layout — happy to share!

[AryFrischman · Accepted solution]

Hey, 

This is how I'd do it. I hope you find it useful. 

Your Excel file should contain the following columns:

Company Name - Parent Company Name - Domain - Location -UK Region -Existing Client -Phone Number - Industry - Company Owner - Number of Employees - Annual Revenue - Address

Child Company A	Parent Company X	childa.com	London	South	Yes	1234567890	Retail	John Doe	50	$1M	123 Street
Child Company B	Parent Company X	childb.com	Manchester	North	No	0987654321	Manufacturing	Jane Smith	100	$2M	456 Avenue
Parent Company X		parentx.com	HQ	Central	Yes	1112223333	Holding	Mike Ross	500	$10M	HQ Building

Some tips:

* Make sure that "Company Name" and "Parent Company Name" are consistent across all entries.

* Parent companies should be listed without a parent company name (leave it blank).

* Use unique domain names for each company to prevent duplicate entries.

* Ensure the "Parent Company Name" exactly matches the "Company Name" of the parent.

HubSpot Properties to Use:
Company Name: (standard property)

Company Domain Name: (standard property)

Parent Company: (custom or standard property depending on your setup)

Industry: (standard property)

Number of Employees: (standard property)

Annual Revenue: (standard property)

Location: (custom property if not standard)

Phone Number: (standard property)

Address: (standard property)

Company Owner: (standard property)

Importing Process:
Step 1: Import Parent Companies First

Make sure they are imported and created without any "Parent Company Name" value.

Step 2: Import Child Companies

Ensure the "Parent Company Name" matches the "Company Name" of the parent record.

HubSpot will automatically link the child company to the parent during import if the Parent Company Name matches an existing company.

You might want to start with a small batch just in case, to test it out. Check everything twice and you should be good 🙂

Happy to help if anything else's needed. 

Cheers, 

Ary | Draidel.com