When your automations aren't working as expected, this comprehensive guide will help you identify and resolve common workflow issues in HubSpot. Follow our step-by-step troubleshooting process to get your workflows running smoothly again.
This blueprint was created by Danielle Raschke, Founder of Verityx CS. If you need help creating processes like this, reach out for a complimentary consultation.
Quick Fix Checklist
Step 1: Confirm Contact Enrollment
Check Workflow History
Navigate to the Workflow → History tab and search for the specific contact or email address. If they don't appear, they weren't successfully enrolled in the workflow.
Verify Enrollment Criteria
Confirm whether the contact actually met all the enrollment trigger criteria necessary to enter the workflow. Missing even one condition can prevent enrollment.
Check Re-enrollment Settings
If the contact previously went through the workflow, verify that re-enrollment is enabled. Without this setting, contacts won't enter the workflow again even if they meet the criteria.
Pro Tip: Use the "Test Contact" tool within the workflow editor to simulate enrollment logic before deploying. This can save hours of troubleshooting later.
Step 2: Audit Your Trigger Logic
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Step 3: Examine Action History
Where to Look
Navigate to your workflow's History tab and click on the specific contact to view their complete action timeline. This chronological view shows exactly what happened (or didn't happen) for this contact.
This detailed history provides crucial context that often reveals why an automation isn't behaving as expected.
What to Look For
Actions marked as skipped due to unmet conditions
Error messages indicating failed execution
Delayed steps that haven't executed yet but are scheduled
Actions with conditional logic that wasn't satisfied
Step 4: Inspect Suppression Settings
Do Not Contact Lists
Verify the contact isn't on a DNC list, which would prevent them from receiving emails regardless of workflow enrollment. This overrides all other communication settings.
Internal Test Lists
Check if the contact is on any suppression lists you've created specifically for internal testing, which might be excluding them from normal workflow actions.
Global Unsubscribes
Confirm the contact hasn't unsubscribed globally from all communications, which would prevent email-based workflow actions from executing.
Suppression settings can override workflow logic, especially for email-related actions. Even if a contact is enrolled in a workflow, these settings can prevent specific actions from executing.
Step 5: Review Re-enrollment Settings
For workflows designed to run multiple times (such as recurring task creation or multi-stage qualification processes), proper re-enrollment configuration is essential.
Configure Re-enrollment Correctly
Navigate to the Enrollment Triggers section and then select the Re-enrollment tab. Enable re-enrollment specifically for properties that can change multiple times throughout a contact's lifecycle.
Be strategic about which property changes should trigger re-enrollment. Not all property changes warrant running the entire workflow again.
Step 6: Check for Conflicting Workflows
Identify Related Workflows
Go to Automation → Workflows and search for other active workflows that might interact with your current one. Look for workflows that target the same contact segments.
Detect Property Conflicts
Find workflows that modify the same properties as your workflow. When multiple workflows update the same field, the last one to execute wins, potentially overriding your intended values.
Resolve Execution Order
Implement consistent naming conventions for your workflows to easily identify related automations. Consider using workflow priority settings for critical processes.
When multiple workflows operate on the same contacts simultaneously, execution order matters. The most recently executed workflow will override property values set by earlier workflows.
Step 7: Verify Action-Specific Details
Task Creation Issues
- Missing task owner assignment (required field)
- Invalid or past due dates
- Required fields in the associated playbook not populated
- Permissions issues with the assigned owner
Slack Notification Problems
- Slack app not properly installed or authenticated
- Connection to incorrect workspace
- Contact not mapped to any notification channel
- API limits or rate limits reached
Each workflow action type has specific requirements that must be met for successful execution. When troubleshooting, check the action-specific settings that might be preventing proper execution.
Step 8: Test with a Fresh Contact
Create Test Contact
Generate a new contact with a unique, recognizable email address (like test.workflow123@yourdomain.com) to isolate your testing from production data.
Set Trigger Properties
Manually update the contact's properties to exactly match your workflow's enrollment criteria, ensuring all conditions are met.
Monitor Execution
Watch the workflow history in real-time to observe enrollment and action execution, noting any errors or unexpected behavior.
Quick Fix Troubleshooting Checklist
Enrollment Issues
- Verify contacts still qualify for enrollment criteria
- Check if re-enrollment is enabled for appropriate properties
- Confirm contact isn't in a suppressed category
Action Problems
- Review error logs for skipped or failed actions
- Verify all required fields are populated (especially owner fields)
- Check if delays are still in progress rather than completed
System Conflicts
- Identify overlapping workflows that might override your actions
- Check for property update conflicts between workflows
- Verify integration connections for third-party actions
When troubleshooting complex workflow issues, methodically work through this checklist to identify common failure points. Most workflow problems stem from one of these core issues.
HubSpot Workflow Troubleshooting Guide