You’ve probably stared at a sales dashboard and thought, “What am I actually looking at? Does this help me or just slow me down?” If you’re working with a sales team and need data that’s actually useful—not just pretty charts—this guide is for you. We’ll walk through creating and managing custom reporting dashboards in Hubspot, with some straight talk about what’s worth your time and what you can skip.
Why Custom Dashboards Matter (and What Usually Goes Wrong)
Out of the box, Hubspot’s default sales dashboards are… fine. They give you some pipeline numbers, a few deal charts, maybe a leaderboard. But they’re generic. If you want to know which deals are actually stuck, where reps are losing prospects, or how long stuff sits in each pipeline stage, you need dashboards that fit your real questions—not someone else’s template.
Common issues: - Too many vanity metrics (hello, “calls made”). - Data overload—100 reports, nobody knows what matters. - Dashboards built for managers, ignored by reps.
The good news: custom dashboards aren’t hard to set up, and a few focused reports are more useful than a dozen you never look at.
Step 1: Figure Out What You Actually Need to Track
Before you open Hubspot, grab a notepad (or a Google Doc). Ask yourself—and your team—what decisions you want to make with your dashboard. A few questions worth asking:
- What does “good” look like for your team? (Revenue, deals closed, activity, etc.)
- What are your biggest sales bottlenecks right now?
- Who will actually use this dashboard—and for what purpose?
- How often will you review it? (Daily, weekly, monthly?)
Pro tip: Less is more. If a metric doesn’t change how you act, don’t bother tracking it.
Step 2: Get Familiar with Hubspot’s Reporting Tools
Inside Hubspot, the reporting tools are split into: - Standard Reports: Pre-made, quick to add, sometimes useful as a starting point. - Custom Reports: Build your own, using any sales data you want. - Dashboards: Collections of up to 30 reports each, organized for different users or teams.
Caveat: Some reporting features (especially cross-object or advanced custom reports) are only available on Pro or Enterprise plans. If you’re on Starter, your options are limited—don’t waste time looking for features that aren’t there.
Step 3: Build Your First Custom Dashboard
Let’s get hands-on.
3.1: Create a New Dashboard
- In Hubspot, go to Reports > Dashboards.
- Click Create dashboard (top right).
- Choose Start from scratch (don’t worry about templates unless one actually matches your needs).
- Name your dashboard—something clear, like “Sales Team Weekly” or “Pipeline Health.”
- Set visibility (private, shared with your team, or public). If it’s just for you, keep it private.
3.2: Add or Build Reports
You can add standard reports or build your own. Here’s how:
- To add a standard report: Click Add report > Standard. Browse or search. Don’t overthink—add a few, see if they’re useful, delete if not.
- To build a custom report:
- Click Add report > Custom report builder.
- Pick your data source (e.g., Deals, Contacts, Activities).
- Drag in the fields you care about (e.g., Deal Stage, Amount, Owner).
- Choose your report type—table, bar chart, funnel, etc.
- Set filters (e.g., only show deals in “Negotiation” stage).
- Save and add to your dashboard.
Common sales reports worth building: - Deals by stage (see where stuff’s stuck) - Average deal size by rep - Sales cycle length (how long deals take to close) - New deals created this week/month - Activities (calls, emails) tied to closed/won deals (skip raw activity counts—focus on what actually leads to closed business)
Pro tip: Don’t chase perfection. Start with 3–5 reports; refine as you go.
Step 4: Organize and Customize Your Dashboard
Once you’ve added reports, arrange them so the most important stuff is at the top or in the biggest tiles. You can resize, drag, and reorder reports—use this to highlight what actually matters.
Other useful tweaks: - Rename reports for clarity (“Deals Over $10K This Month” beats “Report 7”). - Add filters (e.g., by rep, region, product). - Set date ranges (rolling 30 days is more useful than “all time”). - Remove clutter—delete anything nobody’s using.
Honest take: Don’t bother color-coding everything or making it look “beautiful.” If the data’s clear, that’s enough.
Step 5: Share Dashboards and Control Access
Hubspot lets you share dashboards: - With your team: Great for weekly sales meetings or coaching. - With individuals: For rep-specific dashboards. - Public link: For execs who want to check in but don’t need to mess around.
Go to dashboard settings, choose who can view or edit. Be careful: giving edit access to everyone usually ends with someone “improving” your dashboard into a mess.
Pro tip: If you want reps to actually use the dashboard, pin it to their Hubspot home page.
Step 6: Keep It Useful—Review and Update Regularly
Here’s where most dashboards go to die: nobody updates them, and soon you’re stuck with a graveyard of outdated charts.
- Review dashboards every month or quarter. Delete or update reports that aren’t helpful.
- Ask your team: “Is there any metric you ignore? Anything missing?”
- If your sales process changes (new product, new pipeline stages), update your reports.
Don’t be precious—dashboards are living documents, not works of art.
What to Ignore (and Why)
Some things look impressive but don’t help you close more deals:
- Raw activity metrics: “Calls made” or “emails sent” don’t mean much without context.
- Overly complex funnels: If you need a manual to explain your dashboard, it won’t get used.
- Lagging vanity stats: Year-to-date leaderboards are fun, but they won’t fix this month’s pipeline.
Stick to metrics that drive behavior or decisions.
Troubleshooting: Common Problems and How to Fix Them
Problem: Data looks wrong or incomplete. - Check your filters—are you excluding deals or reps by accident? - Is your sales team actually logging everything in Hubspot? Garbage in, garbage out.
Problem: Dashboard is too slow or cluttered. - Fewer reports load faster. Split into multiple dashboards if needed.
Problem: Nobody looks at the dashboard. - Is it answering questions people actually have, or just tracking stuff because you can? - Have you shown your team how to use it? (A quick screen share can help.)
Pro Tips for Real-World Use
- Bookmark your dashboard in your browser (don’t rely on digging through menus).
- Automate email sends: Hubspot can email dashboards on a schedule—good for busy execs.
- Clone dashboards for different teams or use cases (e.g., separate one for new business vs. renewals).
- Keep permissions tight—one dashboard owner, others as viewers.
Summary: Start Simple, Iterate Often
The best dashboards aren’t the fanciest—they’re the ones you actually use. Start with a handful of key sales metrics, get feedback from your team, and tweak as you go. Ignore the noise, focus on what drives decisions, and remember: a dashboard is a tool, not a trophy.