How to switch from Salesforce or HubSpot to a custom solution?

What is easy

The pure data export. Contacts, companies, opportunities, activities, and notes can be extracted in structured format.

What is costly

Automations. Workflows, triggers, and notifications built over years. They are documented nowhere and only become apparent when they are missing.

Connected tools. Newsletters, website forms, appointment booking, support – each of these points to the old system.

Custom fields. Created over years, many of them unused. Before the move, check which ones are actually filled.

Reports. Need to be rebuilt.

The process

1. Inventory check, especially of automations and integrations
2. Pruning – which fields and workflows does someone really need?
3. Test import into the new environment
4. Parallel operation, at least one month
5. Switching connected tools
6. Keep the old system read-only until the notice period expires

What you should clarify beforehand

• Notice periods. Annual contracts often have a notice period; switching mid-year costs double.
• Data export in the contract. Check the extent and duration of possible exports after contract end.
• Attachments. Files are often not included in standard exports and require their own method.

The last point is regularly overlooked and only becomes apparent after shutdown.