Since 2009
TELCOMA Global / Contact & Company Tags / Setup guide
Set up tags on your HubSpot records in five minutes.
The app adds a Tags card to contact, company and deal records, and a settings page where admins manage the tag list. Tags are saved in a normal multiple-checkbox property called Tags.
What it does
Manual tags for contacts, companies and deals.
- See a record's tags in colour on the record page, or in the preview panel.
- Add or remove a tag with one click, or create a new tag by typing its name.
- Rename, recolour, merge and delete tags in one place.
- Use tags anywhere HubSpot uses properties: filters, saved views, segments (lists), workflows, reports, imports and exports.
It works on every HubSpot plan, including the free CRM.
Install and connect
Install from HubSpot, approve the permissions, done.
Start the install
Click Install on the app's HubSpot Marketplace listing, or use the install link we send you. You need to be a Super Admin or have the HubSpot Marketplace Access permission.
Choose the account
If you have more than one HubSpot account, pick the one to connect.
Approve the permissions
The app asks to read and write contacts, companies and deals, to read and change their property settings, and to see who your users are. Click Connect app.
From the Marketplace, HubSpot then shows its own "installed" dialog with a Customize app cards button. From our install link, you land on our confirmation page instead. Either way, nothing changes in your CRM yet. The first time someone adds a tag to a contact, company or deal, the app creates a multiple-checkbox property called Tags (internal name record_tags, in a property group called Tags) on that object, with that tag as its first option. HubSpot doesn't allow an empty multiple-checkbox property, which is why it waits for the first tag.
Why these permissions: the object permissions let the card read and save the tags on a record. The property-settings permissions let the app create the Tags property and add, rename and remove tags, which HubSpot stores as the property's options. The user permission lets the app check that the person changing tags in the settings page is a Super Admin.
Free HubSpot accounts have a limit on custom properties. The app needs one per object. If the limit is reached, the card shows HubSpot's message when you add the first tag. Delete a property you don't use, or choose an existing multiple-checkbox property in the app settings.
Add the card
Put the Tags card on your record pages.
HubSpot doesn't add app cards to records automatically. A Super Admin, or someone with permission to customise record layouts, adds it once per object:
- Open any contact.
- Click Customize at the top of the middle column (or Customize record from the record's actions).
- Choose the view to edit, usually Default view.
- Click + where you want the card: in a middle-column tab, or in the right sidebar.
- Open the Card library tab and click Add card under Tags.
- Click Save and exit.
Repeat for companies and deals. On deals, the middle column opens on an Activities tab that can't hold cards, so the right sidebar is the easy place. The left sidebar only takes HubSpot's own cards. You can also add the card to the record preview panel, so tags show when you preview a record from a list or board.
Tag records
Tick to add. Untick to remove. Type to create.
- Tags on this record show as coloured chips at the top of the card.
- To add or remove a tag, tick or untick it in the list below. It saves straight away and the record's Tags property updates.
- To find a tag, type part of its name in the search box. The card shows up to 30 tags at once; the search finds the rest.
- To create a tag, type a name that doesn't exist and click Add new tag, or press Enter. It is added to the list and to this record.
If a save fails, for example because HubSpot is busy, the tick is undone and the card tells you why.
Manage tags
One list per object, in the app settings.
In HubSpot, click the Marketplace icon, then Connected apps, open Contact & Company Tags and choose the Settings tab. There is a tab each for contacts, companies and deals. Only Super Admins can make changes here; everyone else who opens the page sees the list and the record counts.
- Add tag: type a name, pick a colour, click Add tag.
- Rename or recolour: from the tag's Actions menu. Renaming changes only the label; the tag stays on every record, and segments, filters and workflows that use it keep working.
- Merge into another tag: every record with the first tag gets the second one instead, then the first tag is deleted. Large merges run in steps; keep the window open until it finishes.
- Delete: removes the tag from every record, then deletes it. This can't be undone.
- Count tagged records: shows how many records have each tag on the current page of the list.
Use tags in HubSpot
It's a normal property, so everything works.
- Views and filters: filter contacts, companies or deals by Tags is any of, contains all of or is none of.
- Segments (lists): build active segments from a tag, for example everyone tagged Newsletter.
- Workflows: enroll or branch on Tags, or set it with a workflow action.
- Reports: group or filter reports by Tags.
- Import and export: the column is called Tags; several tags are separated by semicolons.
Settings
Two choices, both in the settings page.
Who can create tags
On by default: anyone who sees the card can create a tag by typing. Turn it off and only Super Admins add tags, from the settings page; everyone else picks from the list.
Which property holds the tags
By default, the Tags property the app created. If you already use your own multiple-checkbox property as tags, choose it and the card will read and write that property instead. Tags already saved on records stay where they are.
Disconnect or uninstall
Your tags stay on your records.
To uninstall, follow HubSpot's guide: uninstall an app. In short: Marketplace › Connected apps › Contact & Company Tags › Actions › Uninstall. Uninstalling is how you disconnect; there is no separate disconnect step.
What happens:
- The Tags card disappears from records and the settings page is removed.
- The Tags property and every tag on your records stay in HubSpot. Segments, workflows and reports that use them keep working. You can still edit the property in HubSpot's property settings, or delete it there.
- HubSpot revokes the app's access. An hourly job re-checks accounts that haven't used the app for two days, so we normally detect the revocation two to three days after you uninstall and delete the stored tokens at once. Your tag colours and settings are deleted 30 days after that. Email us to have everything deleted straight away.
If you reinstall within those 30 days, your colours and settings come back.
FAQ
Questions people ask.
Why only five colours?
The card uses HubSpot's own tag component, which has five colours. That keeps the card looking like the rest of HubSpot.
I set option colours on the property in HubSpot. Why doesn't the card use them?
HubSpot can show a checkbox property's options in colour, set under Option display mode in the property's settings. HubSpot doesn't make those colours available to apps, so the card can't read or change them. It keeps its own colour per tag, and adding or renaming a tag through the app leaves your option colours alone.
The card says the app needs to be reconnected.
HubSpot has withdrawn the app's access, usually because the app was uninstalled or the user who installed it was removed. A Super Admin installs the app again from the Marketplace listing; tags on your records are unaffected.
What can a tag be called?
Any name up to 80 characters, except that it can't contain a semicolon, because HubSpot uses semicolons to separate the values of a multiple-checkbox property. Names are compared without regard to case, so VIP and vip are the same tag.
Are tags shared between contacts, companies and deals?
No. Each object has its own list, because each has its own property. A tag called VIP on contacts and one on companies are separate tags.
How many tags can I have?
Up to 1,000 per object.
Why can't I delete the last tag?
HubSpot needs at least one option in a multiple-checkbox property. Deleting the last tag still removes it from every record; the tag itself stays in the list. Rename it, or add another tag first.
Can I tag many records at once?
Yes, with HubSpot's own bulk edit: select records in a view, choose Edit, set the Tags property and choose Append to current value(s). The replace option removes the tags already on those records. If you need bulk tagging inside the app, tell us.
Does it work on tickets?
Not yet. Contacts, companies and deals are supported.
What does the app store?
The install's access tokens (encrypted), the colour of each tag and your two settings. Nothing from your records. See the privacy policy.