Sales forecasting dashboard not displaying custom fields in report builder

CRM HubSpot
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1

We’ve added several custom fields to our deal records for more detailed sales forecasting - things like ‘product_category’, ‘deal_complexity’, and ‘customer_segment’. These fields are visible and populated on individual deal records, but when I try to build forecast reports in the dashboard, these custom fields don’t appear in the available properties list.

Our goal is to segment our pipeline forecast by product category and customer segment, but without access to these fields in the report builder, we can’t create the segmented views we need. I’ve checked the property settings and they’re all set to show in reports. We also export data to Tableau for deeper analysis, and these fields need to be available there as well.

Is there a specific configuration needed to make custom deal properties available in the forecasting dashboard? Or is this a limitation of the sales forecasting module?

system 2

I can help you navigate this limitation and set up comprehensive forecasting with your custom fields across all your reporting needs.

Let’s start with the custom property configuration issue you’re facing. In HubSpot 2021, the sales forecasting module has a hardcoded property allowlist that doesn’t automatically include custom properties. This was a deliberate design decision to keep forecasting reports fast and simple, but it creates exactly the problem you’re experiencing. To verify your properties are configured correctly, go to Settings > Properties > Deal Properties, find each of your custom fields (‘product_category’, ‘deal_complexity’, ‘customer_segment’), and ensure these settings are enabled: ‘Show property in deals table’ = Yes, ‘Display property in forms’ = Yes, ‘Include in availability search’ = Yes. Most importantly, check ‘Field type’ - if they’re set as ‘Single-line text’ instead of ‘Dropdown select’ or ‘Radio select’, the forecasting module may not recognize them for grouping. Convert text fields to dropdown/radio with predefined options.

For dashboard field availability, you need to work around the forecasting module’s limitations. Here’s your solution: Create custom deal reports instead of using the forecasting templates. Go to Reports > Create custom report > Deals, then build your forecast view manually. Add these components: Date range filter set to your forecast period (e.g., ‘Close date is between Q1 2025’), Group by ‘product_category’ (your custom field), Secondary group by ‘customer_segment’, Measure by ‘Deal amount’ sum, Add ‘Deal stage’ as a filter to include only pipeline stages, not closed-lost. This gives you the segmented forecast view you need. Save this as a report and add it to your sales dashboard. Create multiple versions grouped by different custom fields to get various forecast perspectives.

Now for the external BI tool export to Tableau. The standard HubSpot export won’t include custom properties in the forecasting format, but you have better options. Use HubSpot’s REST API to pull deal data with all custom properties. Here’s the approach:


GET /crm/v3/objects/deals
parameters:
  properties: product_category,deal_complexity,customer_segment,amount,closedate,dealstage
  limit: 100
  archived: false

Set up a scheduled API extraction in Tableau (or use a middleware like Fivetran) that runs daily and pulls all deals with your custom properties. This bypasses HubSpot’s export limitations entirely and gives Tableau direct access to your complete dataset including all custom fields.

Alternatively, if you prefer not to use the API, use HubSpot’s workflow export feature. Create a workflow that enrolls all deals in your forecast period, then use the ‘Export to CSV’ action with all properties selected including your custom fields. Schedule this workflow to run daily and automatically send the CSV to an SFTP location that Tableau can access. This is less elegant than API integration but works reliably.

For advanced forecast segmentation, create calculated properties that combine your custom fields. For example, create a property called ‘forecast_segment’ that concatenates product_category and customer_segment (e.g., ‘Enterprise-Software’ or ‘SMB-Services’). Use a workflow to automatically populate this calculated property whenever either source field changes. This single combined field is easier to use in reporting and will definitely appear in report builders since it’s a standard deal property.

Finally, consider upgrading to HubSpot 2023 or later if forecasting is critical to your operations. Later versions significantly improved custom property support in forecasting modules, allowing custom fields to be used directly in forecast reports without workarounds. The upgrade also provides better API rate limits for BI tool integrations and native connectors for tools like Tableau and Power BI that handle custom properties automatically.

Implement the custom report builder approach immediately for your team’s current needs, set up the API integration for Tableau, and plan the upgrade path for long-term sustainability.

This draft is based on general HubSpot knowledge. It has not been verified against your specific version and environment. Practitioners: verify the steps and share your experience below.

3

Custom properties sometimes take a while to propagate to all reporting tools. Have you tried refreshing the report builder or logging out and back in? Also check if the properties are set to ‘Show in all forms’ and ‘Show in deals table’ in the property settings.

4

I’ve tried refreshing and the properties are definitely set to show everywhere. They appear in regular deal reports, just not in the forecasting-specific reports. It’s like the forecasting module has a different property registry.

matthew_arch 5

“Tested this on HubSpot’s Deal Properties settings and confirming custom fields in the forecasting allowlist immediately surfaced them in the Report Builder dashboard.”

6

This is a known limitation with HubSpot’s forecasting module in earlier versions. The forecasting dashboard only supports a predefined set of properties and doesn’t automatically include all custom properties. You might need to use the standard reports module instead of the forecasting-specific one, or upgrade to a newer version where this was improved. For Tableau exports, make sure you’re pulling from the deals object directly, not from the forecasting views.

8

Have you tried creating the forecast report from scratch using the custom report builder instead of the forecasting template? The templates are often restrictive. Build a deals report with your custom fields, add date-based filters for the forecast period, and group by your category fields. It won’t be in the ‘Forecasting’ section but it’ll give you the segmentation you need.

9

For the Tableau export issue, you’ll want to use HubSpot’s API to pull deal data rather than relying on the built-in export. The forecasting export is limited but the API gives you access to all properties. Set up a scheduled API call that fetches deals with all custom properties included.

10

The custom report builder approach might work for now. I’ll try building the forecast from scratch. Still frustrating that the forecasting module doesn’t support custom properties natively though.