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How to Create Companies and Contacts

Step-by-step guide for Customer Service on searching first, creating companies, creating contacts, and properly associating them in HubSpot.

How to Create Companies & Contacts in HubSpot

Always follow this order:
1) Search → 2) Create Company → 3) Create Contact → 4) Associate

1. Before You Create Anything: Always Search First

Before creating a new company or contact, always check whether it already exists.
This prevents duplicates and keeps CRM data accurate.

How to Search

  • Go to CRM → Companies (to search for a company).

  • Go to CRM → Contacts (to search for a contact).

  • Use the top global search bar to search across the entire HubSpot account:

    • Company name

    • Company domain/website

    • Contact name

    • Contact email

If the company exists: Do not create a new one — associate the contact with it.
If the company does not exist: Create the company first.

Quick Tip:
The top search bar scans companies, contacts, activities, deals, tickets, and more.
This is the fastest way to prevent duplicate records.

2. How to Create a Company

(Always create the company first.)

HubSpot’s Required Fields

You must enter at least one:

  • Company Name, OR

  • Company Domain Name

Team Best Practice (Required for Us)

✔ Enter BOTH:

  • Company Name

  • Company Domain Name (important for auto-association!)

Steps to Create a Company

  1. Go to CRM → Companies.

  2. Click Create company.

  3. Enter:

    • Company Name

    • Company Domain Name

  4. (Optional but recommended) Add any additional information:

    • Industry

    • Phone

    • Address

    • Number of employees

    • Website URL

  5. Click Create.

3. How to Create a Contact

HubSpot’s Required Fields

You must provide at least one:

  • First name OR

  • Last name OR

  • Email address

Team Best Practice

✔ Enter ALL THREE:

  • First Name

  • Last Name

  • Email Address (required for automation & deduplication)

Steps to Create a Contact

  1. Go to CRM → Contacts.

  2. Click Create contact.

  3. Enter:

    • First name

    • Last name

    • Email

  4. Add any additional information you have:

    • Phone number

    • Job title

    • Lifecycle stage

  5. In Associate contact with, search for and select the company you created in Step 2.

  6. Click Create.

You will now see the associated company appear on the contact record.

4. How Contacts Get Associated With Companies

Automatic Association

HubSpot will automatically associate a contact when:

  • The contact’s email domain matches the company’s domain.

Auto-Association Does NOT Work For:

  • gmail.com

  • yahoo.com

  • outlook.com

→ For generic domains, you must manually associate the contact.

Why Typing a Company Name Does NOT Associate a Contact

Incorrect behavior users sometimes do:
They type the company name into a text field on the contact record.

Why this fails:

  • The Company Name property on a contact is not a text box—it is a relationship field.

  • Typing text does not create a relationship.

  • HubSpot does not link the contact to the actual Company record.

Result of Incorrect Method

  • The contact does not show under the company

  • The company does not show the contact

  • Workflows fail

  • Sales cannot see the relationship

  • Reporting is inaccurate

  • The contact becomes an orphan

Correct Method: Use the Company Association Tool

How to properly associate:

  1. Open the contact record.

  2. Find the Company section.

  3. Click Add association.

  4. Search for the company (e.g., “SmileWorks Dental Studio”).

  5. Select the existing company.

Correct Result

  • The contact is fully associated with the company

  • All activity syncs properly

  • Workflows, routing, reporting, and automation function as intended

Side-by-Side Comparison

❌ Incorrect: Typing the Company Name

Action What the User Does What HubSpot Thinks Outcome
Typing a company name Enters the company name in a text field HubSpot treats it as plain text only No association created; automation & reporting fail

✔️ Correct: Proper Company Association

Action What the User Does What HubSpot Thinks Outcome
Adding an association User uses Add Association and selects the existing company HubSpot links using the company’s internal Object ID Full CRM relationship; everything syncs correctly

Manual Association (When Needed)

From Contact → Company

  1. Open the Contact record

  2. Locate the Company panel

  3. Click Add association

  4. Search and select the correct company

From Company → Contact

  1. Open the Company record

  2. In Contacts panel, click Add

  3. Search for the contact

  4. Select to associate

5. The Correct Order (Required for Our Team)

Always follow this sequence:

1️⃣ Search first
Check if the company or contact already exists.

2️⃣ Create the company
Always create or confirm the company record before the contact.

3️⃣ Create the contact
Then link the contact to the company.

4️⃣ Verify association
Ensure:

  • The contact shows the company

  • The company shows the contact

6. Quick Summary Table

Action Minimum Required (HubSpot) Team Best Practice Why It Matters
Create Company Company Name OR Domain Enter BOTH fields Prevents duplicates; enables auto-association
Create Contact First OR Last Name OR Email Enter First + Last + Email Ensures accurate deduping & automation
Association Auto-association works only when email domain matches Always verify manually Prevents orphan contacts & reporting errors

Download: How to Create Companies and Contacts in HubSpot (PDF)