Complete Guide to HubSpot Project Management
What you need to know about managing your projects within HubSpot.
Inquiring minds want to know– If you’re using HubSpot as your CRM, why not stick around when you move to the project phase If you didn’t know, you can do project management within the HubSpot environment.
It’s highly recommended by most HubSpot professional services teams who are already doing it. Using HubSpot for project management makes operational processes more cohesive for your team by a long shot. Keeping it all together, on both the sales and projects sides, is the main idea… No more migrating data. No more jumping around spreadsheets and 5 different software solutions. You’ll have a single source of truth. That’s the beauty of HubSpot project management. You simply keep everything in HubSpot. It's the most efficient, secure way to go from deal to cash.
In this guide, you’ll find out everything you need to know about managing projects in HubSpot, plus how to do it better with one of the world’s most highly-rated CRM platforms.
- What exactly is meant by ‘HubSpot project management’?
- How HubSpot project management improves operational efficiency.
- Your choices to leverage HubSpot project management.
- Integrations & tools: What to look for.
- Integrations & tools: 2-way integration tools.
- How to use HubSpot for project management.
- FAQ
- At the end of the day, there’s a better way!
What exactly is meant by ‘HubSpot project management’?
HubSpot project management refers to the cloud-based management of projects within the digital HubSpot environment. HubSpot project management entails the managing of all major project processes within the HubSpot ecosystem, via software integration and/or by using HubSpot itself.
On a practical level, this means seamlessly going from sales to project without ever leaving HubSpot’s ecosystem or manually transferring customer data.
What does managing projects in HubSpot require? Let’s break it down.
HubSpot project management– and the discipline at large– includes the following subsets:
Contract management
Each contract should be carefully monitored and tied directly with your other project data. Leverage contract creation, multiple contract types, contract tracking, and alerts to stay on top of key contract parameters as the project lifecycle moves forward.
Project planning
Before the project begins, this phase will include complete budgeting, roadmap, and project charts like Gantt charts and Kanban boards to plan the execution. With HubSpot project management, you can get started on planning before the deal officially closes to get a jump on the process.
Task management
Execute your deliverables by spelling out all the tasks required to complete them. This includes creating, assigning, tracking & sharing info about all project tasks. You can use HubSpot Projects for task management or you can use your integrated solution.
Resource management
Project management requires that you not only manage your processes but your people. Keep track of your resources with rates, roles, and capacity planning for more complex projects. Assign different rates for team members that were more than one hat.
Time tracking
Time management is critical to project success, as is making sure that an hour worked is an hour paid. Track all billable hours accurately and tie them to the correct project in a unified system.
Invoicing
Invoicing with HubSpot project management is the most efficient way to get from deal to cash since you don’t have to make any spreadsheets or go to an outside solution. Create, approve, send, and track all project invoices according to the billing schedule.
HubSpot project management means doing all the above without ever leaving HubSpot.
To effectively manage projects in HubSpot, it’s not recommended to go the way of siloed Excel spreadsheets. Even if you’re a startup with a small team and only one client, doing things this way will bite you sooner rather than later.
Instead, a HubSpot project management solution will automate what you’re doing as much as possible, plan work with structured lists, and stay on top of all the critical subsets.
The increased operational efficiency can help you deliver services at scale, all while keeping your eyes on the profitability of your projects.
Summary: HubSpot project management encompasses managing the entire lifecycle of your project– from planning to deliverables– within HubSpot’s digital environment.
How HubSpot Project Management Improves Operational Efficiency.
Here are the benefits of doing your project management within HubSpot versus an outside software environment:
- Productivity - Forget jumping around different platforms to find the information you need. Teams can be more productive when CRM and project data live in the same place.
- Cohesion on sales and project sides - Never have a messy sales-to-project handoff again with custom alerts and project notifications in the HubSpot feed.
- An hour worked is an hour paid - Whether you’re working on the CRM side or the project end, integrated time tracking means everyone’s billable hours are easily accounted for and tied to the correct client or project.
- Single source of truth - Keep your data secure and accessible with a single source of truth. Keep all communications streamlined around all customers and projects.
- Get started on projects sooner - Increase your team’s billability by getting to work as soon as the contract is signed. You can even start the project planning phase before the deal is officially closed/won.
- Better profitability - Get more accurate insights into the profitability of your projects, since you can easily account for all your time and expense data with a couple clicks.
Summary: Keeping your project management within the HubSpot environment increases your overall efficiency and can help you increase the profitability of your projects.
Your options in leveraging HubSpot project management
You already have HubSpot, so what’s next if you want to leverage project management in the platform? To effectively do everything project management requires within HubSpot’s ecosystem, you have two choices:
1. Use HubSpot itself with HubSpot Projects
You can use HubSpot for a bit of project management with HubSpot’s Projects feature, aptly called Projects. HubSpot Projects is a task management tool that comes with Professional and Enterprise subscriptions.
Although it’s pretty basic from a functionality standpoint, HubSpot Projects’ advantage is that it’s affordable, and it’s also very easy to use.
Here’s what you can do: Create and assign tasks and due dates. Share information about tasks with attachments and mentions. Track workflows.
That’s about it.
To fill gaps within the project lifecycle outside of task management, you’ll need to turn to other tools. However, HubSpot Projects can serve as an effective learning tool for startups and small companies who need something right away. Marketing firms and sales teams may be able to stick around with the tool for longer, since all the templates, layouts, etc are geared more toward advertising.
2. Use project management software that integrates (2-way) with HubSpot
To get a firmer grip on your operational processes, it’s recommended to use a bonafide project management software app that integrates with the HubSpot CRM in a two-way data sync. This is also called a bidirectional sync.
A good two-way integration will serve as a singular source of truth, which is one of the biggest benefits of HubSpot project management. Keeping your data in one place means everything is right there when you need it.
What about connecting third-party solutions?
As the saying goes, almost doesn’t count. Connecting a third-party project management solution– aka software that doesn’t come with a HubSpot integration– through a platform like Zapier doesn’t qualify for HubSpot project management, not as it’s defined here.
First, that’s because there is no out-of-box two-way data sync.
Also, doing data synchronization in a roundabout way means that the developers of the project management software have not put any time into the UX. Things can get clumsy quickly, with lots of workarounds required on the backend.
The only viable option in this scenario could be onboarding a two-way data sync app like Unito, Outfunnel, or Whalesync, which could then connect your siloed project management solution to HubSpot. There are a few apps like these that will incur additional costs. This cost is pretty high at around $100 per month, so it’s not worth it for most HubSpot teams.
Summary: HubSpot project management requires that you keep the project lifecycle in HubSpot. To do that, you can get started with HubSpot Projects for tasks, but you’ll need to incorporate an integrated project management solution to handle the remainder.
Make sure you have a two-way data sync so that the project side can inform sales and vice versa.
HubSpot Project Management = HubSpot Projects and/or 2-Way Software Integration
Integrations & tools
“If you have a native integration within the applications you are using and it solves your operational challenge, go for it. That's the easiest, safest, and most intuitive way to sync data.” - HubSpot
Seamless HubSpot project management will require the use of an integrated tool. Luckily, there are a few super-effective solutions that provide this, so you can cover your bases from contracts to billing, and everything in between.
Follow along as we explain what to look for to make for the best experience for you, your team, and your wallet. After that, you’ll find the most current list of all the project management software that offers a HubSpot integration.
What to look for
The whole point of using HubSpot project management in the first place is to make life easier for you and your team. This lets everyone get back to what they do best, i.e. creating, servicing, consulting, etc.
The other key motivation is to make your projects more profitable by increasing your efficiency.
Certain features and characteristics will help you reach these two aims. Here’s what you should look for in a HubSpot project management tool:
UX & Onboarding
First of all, you want your team to like the tool: something intuitive with easy onboarding. To figure out if the project management tool will be a good fit for your HubSpot team, check verified user reviews to help you get a good idea of how businesses similar to yours feel.
Look for positive remarks about UX, onboarding, and support.
Two-way sync
Next, when you’re in the market for a HubSpot project management app, you’ll want to look for a two-way data sync. That way, not only will HubSpot information flow to your project management tool, but vice versa.
A two-way sync is necessary to be the most efficient, especially in the sales-to-project handoff. Plus, if you’re using a more innovative tool with predictive analysis capabilities, you’ll want the software to learn from data on BOTH sides.
Automation & other ‘smart’ features
Speaking of innovation, the more high-rated HubSpot project management tools out there will offer a lot by way of automation. These ‘smarter’ features will come in handy, particularly in regard to time tracking and other admin tasks that can be automated.
Top examples of smart features to look for in service businesses include:
- Self-driving time tracking
- Predictive analysis
- Smart invoicing
- Smart contracts
Price
Finally, price is a factor. However, it’s important to note that the majority of the best-selling project management tools that offer a HubSpot integration hover around the same price for the pricing tiers with more functionality.
Free versions can be a good idea for super-small startups, but these types of businesses will usually have to bump up their licensing tier sooner rather than later anyway.
Next step: Sign up for a free demo with the HubSpot project management app you’re considering. Or you can jump right in and sign up for a free trial to take the software for a spin. Get someone on your team to take a whirl, too, to get useful feedback.
What project management tools offer a two-way integration with HubSpot?
Remember, you may be able to connect a siloed project management app to HubSpot with Zapier, but this won’t qualify for bonafide HubSpot project management. A two-way sync is not supported.
Various solutions offer a native HubSpot sync, but it’s monodirectional. AKA, your data can flow from HubSpot to the project management app, but not the other way around.
That means you have to choose a tool that already provides an integration with HubSpot. These options can be found in the HubSpot App Marketplace.
At present, these are the most popular project management software that provides two-way integration with HubSpot:
- Teamwork
- PSOhub
- Wrike
- Smartsheet
- Accelo
- Airtable
- ClickUp
- Jira
Trello, Asana, Monday.com, BigTime, Projectworks, and Projector PSA only offer one-way syncs with HubSpot. There are currently no out-of-box, two-way integrations provided by these solutions, so data will only flow in one direction, from HubSpot. This means they don’t qualify for full-fledged HubSpot project management at present.
Summary: To effectively leverage HubSpot project management, find an integrated solution with a two-way data sync. You’ll also want to make sure that it’s a good fit for your team, i.e. good UX, affordable, etc.
Teamwork, PSOhub, Wrike, Jira, and more currently offer a two-way integration with HubSpot that can help you get the job done.
How to use HubSpot for project management aka How to Manage Projects in HubSpot
In project management, the project lifecycle includes initiation, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling, and closing. With HubSpot project management, you can move through these phases in the same, closed-loop environment:
Contract management
Managing contracts in HubSpot is easy with a two-way integration. First, use contract templates to create your contracts without starting from scratch and get them out faster. HubSpot provides handy contract templates, as do all the all-in-one project management solutions like PSOhub, Monday.com, etc.
Next, set up automation and tracking features to make sure you stay on top of your service agreement, time and expense contract, etc. This way, your contracts manage themselves.
Project planning
Get a leg up on your project planning while you’re still closing the deal in HubSpot. Project planning during sales can pay off big time when it comes to efficiency. Map the project during the HubSpot sales process to help define scope. You can even develop your project milestones during sales to help improve your invoicing rate.
From there, leverage Gantt charts on the project side to get more granular with deliverables and timelines. You can access these from both the HubSpot and project sides in a two-way sync.
Task management
You can launch your task management with HubSpot itself. Use HubSpot Projects to create, assign, and track tasks. To do that, first go to the Marketing Tab. Then select Planning & Strategy. Click on Projects. (Here’s a good video that walks you through using HubSpot Projects in under 5 minutes.)
From there you’ll find a wealth of templates made with HubSpot’s best practices in mind. However, note that the vast majority of these are related specifically to sales and marketing campaigns, not the project side.
You can also use Kanban boards in your project management solution that will automatically update from activity in HubSpot. However you choose to manage your tasks, you’ll keep them all together with integrated software.
Resource management
No matter how many projects you have going on at once, a HubSpot-integrated project management tool can help you easily stay on top of your resources. Use capacity planning to monitor how much load each resource is carrying, so you can shift work around when needed. This can help prevent burnout and help you foster a more empathetic company culture while still increasing efficiency with resource management.
Time tracking
Unified time tracking across your HubSpot project management means that all billable hours will be accounted for. Take advantage of all the time tracking features to make logging hours easy for your team, like a mobile app, browser extension, etc.
To up your efficiency, you can even automate your team’s time tracking in the HubSpot environment. To do this, use a self-driving time tracking feature that will learn from your Google or Outlook calendar and even your physical location (GPS time tracking).
Another thing that can help with overall time management and billability is seamless Service Hub time tracking. You’ve heard of deal-to-cash; well in this case, it’s ticket-to-cash.
With this feature, your team can track service with just a click directly in HubSpot’s Service Hub.
This data will then automatically connect with your contract data. Whenever time exceeds what’s allotted in the service agreement, you can automatically trigger an invoice.
Invoicing
HubSpot project management will have built-in invoicing to help you stay on top of your billing without the legwork. This integration can be taken a step further if you choose to automate your invoicing altogether.
Automated invoicing reads directly from your time tracking data and automatically ties this time to the correct project/contract and billing schedule. Then…
Boom! An invoice is created. You can manually approve what you want and automatically bill the rest. Automated alerts and messages can keep your payments from arriving late, too. Never have invoices floating in space again!
FAQ
Can HubSpot be used for project management?
HubSpot Projects can help you manage deadlines and tasks, but full-fledged project management is currently not available with the solution itself.
What do online users say about using HubSpot for project management?
According to Reddit: Solely using HubSpot as a project management tool, or rather, using HubSpot as an internal project management tool, is not recommended by online users.
Does HubSpot have project management?
Yes, HubSpot offers a feature called Projects to help people get started with their project management with tools for task creation, assignment, and tracking. Projects is included with Professional and Enterprise HubSpot subscriptions.
At the end of the day, there’s a better way!
HubSpot project management via two-way integration is the better way to manage your projects when you’re already using HubSpot for your CRM. By leveraging HubSpot project management, you can keep all your project data synced with sales and secure in a singular digital environment. This will keep your tech stack leaner, your license spend smaller, and your productivity levels higher for the win.
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