Short answer: To manage channel partners in HubSpot without mixing them with customers, create a Partner custom object modelled on the Company object. Tag partner people on the existing Contact object, associate the partner with each deal it brings, and store training status as properties on the partner record. Amwhiz built exactly this for a SaaS client, so partner data, training, and revenue reporting now run from the same CRM as sales.
A partner is a company, but it is not a customer. Amwhiz's SaaS client already worked every deal in HubSpot. They now wanted their global partner network in the same CRM, with training data attached, without disturbing the Companies view their sales team depends on.
The client is a software company that provides AI-native IT operations and service management platforms. They work with partners across the world. Partners are trained to implement the platform, and some also take part in sales.
You can, but it hurts visibility. Customers and partners are both companies, yet they serve different purposes. Mixing them means sales reports, lists, and views no longer show a clean picture of customers.
The client faced these problems:
Amwhiz delivered five things:
Customer records stay in Companies and Contacts, while partners get their own object and are linked to the deal as a separate association.
Amwhiz compared two options. Using the Company object would have kept everything in one place but mixed partner and customer records. They chose a separate custom object, so customers stay in Companies and partners stay in their own space. Custom objects are available on HubSpot Enterprise plans, so check your tier first. Our HubSpot Professional vs Enterprise comparison covers what each plan includes.
Amwhiz created a custom object named Partners and modelled it on the Company object so the sales and partner teams would find it familiar. It carries the same core information a company record holds, such as name, domain, country, industry, and owner, plus partner-specific properties.
| Property group | Example properties | Demo value |
|---|---|---|
| Company information | Partner Name, Website, Country, Partner Owner | Demo Partner Alpha, demo-partner-alpha.example, Singapore |
| Partner classification | Partner Tier, Partner Type, Partnership Start Date | Gold, Implementation and Sales, 1 Apr 2025 |
| Training information | Training Status, Training Programme, Training Completion Date, Certified Team Members | Completed, Platform Implementation, 20 Jun 2025, 6 |
Amwhiz did not create a second contact object. Partner people stay in the existing Contact object, are tagged as Partner Contacts, and are associated with their partner record. A partner now shows all of its people on one record, and customer contacts stay separate from partner contacts.
When a sale comes through a partner, the sales team follows this routine:
The sales process does not change. The partner is one more association on the deal, and it shows who brought the opportunity. If you later want to automate parts of this routine, read about the common HubSpot workflow automation challenges first.
Each partner record holds training properties showing where that partner stands. The team can filter and segment a large partner base by training status, programme, or completion date, and can see at a glance who is trained, who is in progress, and who has not started.
With partners linked to deals and training stored on the partner, Amwhiz built reports for:
Sample figures for illustration only.
Clean, well-structured CRM data is what makes these reports trustworthy. Our guide to HubSpot Data Hub explains how to keep that data in shape as you grow.
| Challenge | How Amwhiz addressed it |
|---|---|
| Adding partners to the Company object would hurt customer visibility | Created a Partner custom object that replicates the Company structure, so partners get a company-style record without entering the Companies view |
| Partners have several people, and a second contact structure would split the data | Reused the Contact object and tagged people as Partner Contacts, associated with their partner record |
| A deal had to carry the customer and the partner without confusing the two | Kept the customer contact and company associations as they were and added the partner as a separate association |
| Training information had to work across a large set of partners | Added dedicated training properties on the partner record so lists, filters, and reports can segment by status |
| Leadership wanted revenue reporting by partner and tier on a financial year basis | Built reports on the partner-to-deal association, grouped by partner and tier, and filtered to the financial year |
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Partners had no dedicated place in HubSpot | Partners live in their own custom object, modelled on the Company object |
| Adding partners as companies would have mixed them with customers | Customer companies and partner records stay separate and clear |
| No way to tag a partner on a deal | The partner is associated with the deal alongside the customer contact and company |
| Partner people mixed in with customer contacts | Partner Contacts are tagged and linked to their partner record |
| Training status not tracked in the CRM | Training properties sit on each partner record |
| Partner performance hard to measure | Reports show revenue by partner, training gaps, and tier outcomes |
Yes. Create a Partner custom object, tag partner people on the Contact object, and associate the partner with each deal it brings.
Partners added as companies mix with customer records and reduce visibility into both. A separate custom object keeps customers in Companies and partners in their own space.
Associate the partner record with the deal, alongside the customer contact and customer company. The sales process itself does not change.
Add training properties to the partner record, such as Training Status, Training Programme, Training Completion Date, and Certified Team Members. Then filter and segment partners by those values.
Yes. Reports built on the partner-to-deal association can be grouped by partner and by tier and filtered to the financial year.
The client needed to manage partners and their training inside HubSpot without disturbing the customer data and sales process that already worked. Amwhiz created a Partner object modelled on Company, tagged partner people on the existing Contact object, associated partners with deals, and added training properties to each partner. The result is a clear separation between customers and partners, a simple routine for tagging partners on deals, and reports that show partner revenue, training gaps, and tier performance.
If your partner programme has outgrown spreadsheets, or you are seeing the signs you have outgrown DIY HubSpot, our HubSpot consulting team can design the right data model, and our HubSpot onboarding services help your sales and partner teams adopt it.
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