Short answer
Associations are the links between records in HubSpot, such as a contact associated with a company, a deal associated with several contacts, or a ticket associated with a deal. Association labels describe the relationship, for example "decision maker" or "billing contact".
HubSpot Associations explained
Associations determine which activities, emails and notes appear on which records, and they power reports that span objects. A record can have many associations, and labels make the role of each one clear. Custom objects use associations to connect to standard records.
Poor association design leads to activity landing on the wrong deal or reports that cannot connect companies to revenue.
How Vantage Point helps: we design HubSpot data models, association labels and migration rules so relationships come across correctly from other CRMs.
Frequently asked questions
Can a deal exist without a company?
Yes, a deal can be associated only with contacts, but associating it with a company usually makes reporting and context clearer.
What are association labels?
Labels that describe how two records are related, such as "primary contact" or "billing contact".