Raise your hand if you've ever opened a CRM and immediately thought, "How did we get here?" I’ve been there — more times than I can count.

Most audits start as spreadsheets and end as abandoned docs. Someone says, “We need to clean this up,” so the team pulls a list of fields, automations, and reports… and then? Nothing changes.

Over the past seven years auditing CRMs across HubSpot, Salesforce, and HighLevel, I developed the Five-Pillar CRM Audit Framework I use on every engagement. It keeps audits focused, organized, and actionable.

And if the structure is right - you've wasted hours of "digging" for nothing.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to define your audit purpose (so you don’t waste time documenting noise)

• The five pillars every CRM audit should include

• How to turn report into a roadmap

• How to build an ongoing audit rhythm that scales

Step 1: Start With the Why

Before you touch a field or open a workflow, clarify why you’re auditing.

Are you scaling? Fixing broken automations? Preparing for a data migration?

Your purpose determines your focus.

Write it down in one line. Example:

“We’re auditing HubSpot to improve visibility between Marketing and Sales and reduce duplicate data.”

That one sentence will keep you from spiraling into a 500-field spreadsheet no one reads.

Step 2: Organize Your Audit Into Five Core Pillars

Every CRM looks different, but I’ve found audits stay clear and useful when you evaluate them through these five pillars:

The Five Pillars (my framework):

1. Data Hygiene

2. Process Alignment

3. Automation Health

4. Reporting & Visibility

5. Enablement & Adoption

Let's discuss each one and I'll give samples of what you can review in each area.

1 - Data Hygiene

This is where everything begins — clean data equals clean decisions.

Goal: Ensure accuracy, ownership, and structure.

What to Review:

• Duplicates, incomplete, or outdated records

• Required fields, naming conventions, and ownership

• Dropdown values and picklists for consistency

• Key metrics (Lead Source, Close Date, Deal Stage)

Guidance:

Export all properties into a spreadsheet and mark what’s redundant, unused, or unclear.

If you don’t know why a field exists, it’s probably time to archive or consolidate it.

2 - Process Alignment

Your CRM should mirror how your business actually runs not how someone thought it did six months ago.

Goal: Confirm that pipelines, lifecycles, and handoffs match real operations.

What to Review:

• Lifecycle stages and entry/exit criteria

• Deal or ticket stage definitions

• Cross-team handoffs (Sales → CS → RevOps)

• Pipeline alignment with customer journey

Guidance:
Interview at least different stakeholders and managers from each team and ask:

“What happens before and after your part of the process?”
Then compare their answers to what the CRM shows. You’ll immediately see where the system doesn’t match reality.

3 - Automation Health

Automations are powerful — until they start conflicting, looping, or running in the wrong order.

Goal: Identify where workflows help or hinder performance.

What to Review:

• Triggers, conditions, and re-enrollment settings

• Duplicated or conflicting automations

• Workflow naming conventions and documentation

• Ownership and last review date

Guidance:

• Create an Automation Index — one simple table with:

• Workflow Name

• Purpose

• Owner

• Status (Active/Paused)

You’ll spot gaps and redundancies in minutes.

4- Reporting & Visibility

Reports should tell a story, not just display data.

Goal: Align dashboards to business questions and decisions.

What to Review:

• Are reports tied to KPIs that matter?

• Are dashboards filtered correctly and consistently?

• Are duplicate metrics or conflicting sources confusing teams?

Guidance:

Start from leadership goals:

“What decisions need better data?”

Then design reports that support those — not vanity metrics.

5- Enablement & Adoption

Even the cleanest CRM fails if no one knows how (or why) to use it.

Goal: Ensure your team understands, trusts, and maintains the system.

What to Review:

• Training materials and onboarding for new hires

• Documentation and change logs

• Feedback loops for user suggestions

• Usage patterns (login frequency, record updates, field completion)

Guidance:

Ask users:

“What’s confusing or unnecessary inside the CRM right now?”

You’ll learn more in that one question than in hours of data review.

Step 3: Turn Findings Into a Roadmap (Not a Report)

A list of problems isn’t a plan.

Once your audit’s complete, categorize your findings into three layers:

Quick Wins (1–2 weeks)

• Duplicate cleanups

• Field consolidation

• Naming convention updates

System Enhancements (2–4 weeks)

• Pipeline redesigns

• Automation rebuilds

• Dashboard restructuring

Strategic Projects (1–3 months)

• Data governance frameworks

• Cross-team integrations

• System migrations

Each item should end with:

Who owns it and when it will be done.

That single line turns documentation into direction.

Step 4: Share Your Findings Like a Playbook

Your audit is only valuable if people understand it.

Build a short, visual summary that includes:

• Audit purpose and scope

• Top three findings per pillar

• Before/after visuals or screenshots

• Recommended next steps

Keep it short and skimmable. A 20-slide deck no one opens is worse than no audit at all.

Step 5: Make It a Rhythm, Not a Rescue Mission

A CRM audit isn’t something you “do when it’s bad.”

It’s a maintenance habit.

Here’s a simple cadence:

• Monthly: Field cleanup + automation review

• Quarterly: Stage validation + dashboard check

• Annually: Full pillar-by-pillar audit

The goal isn’t perfection — it’s consistency.

When audits become routine, your CRM becomes scalable.

Common Audit Mistakes to Avoid

• Auditing in isolation — always involve stakeholders early.

• Trying to fix everything at once — focus on impact.

• Skipping documentation — what’s not recorded won’t stay fixed.

• Ignoring adoption — tools don’t create trust; training does.

Ready to Run a Real Audit?

If your CRM feels messy, inconsistent, or underused, this is your sign.

My CRM audits include:

• Full Audit Report: Deep dive into architecture, workflows, and automation health

• Prioritized 90-Day Action Plan: Quick wins + long-term improvements

• Implementation Strategy Call: A guided walkthrough to turn insights into execution

When you’re ready to clean up your CRM and keep it clean — let’s make it happen.

Book Your CRM Audit +

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