How to Avoid Creating Duplicates When Exporting from Cognism

Duplicates typically occur when both HubSpot and Cognism are configured to create companies automatically. You can avoid this by choosing one system to manage company creation.

Why are duplicate companies created?

HubSpot includes a setting called Create and associate Companies with Contacts.

When this setting is enabled, HubSpot:

• Creates a company automatically based on a contact’s email domain
• Associates that company with the contact

For example, if a contact has the email address jane@acme.io, HubSpot creates a company with the domain acme.io.

If Cognism is also set to create companies during export, duplicates can occur when the domains used by each system do not match exactly. Common variations include:

• acme.com 
• mail.acme.com 
• acme-inc.com 

Example of a duplicate scenario

1. A contact with the email address john@acme.io is added to HubSpot. 
2. HubSpot creates a company with the domain acme.io. 
3. You export company data from Cognism.
4. Cognism creates a company using the domain acme.com. 

This results in two company records for the same organisation in HubSpot.

Choose one system to create companies

To avoid duplicates, select one system to be responsible for company creation.

Option 1: Let Cognism create companies (recommended)

You can use this option to enrich company data in HubSpot.

1. In HubSpot, disable Create and associate Companies with Contacts. 
2. In Cognism, enable company export.

With this setup:

• Cognism creates companies in HubSpot.
• Company records include firmographic and technographic data, such as industry and revenue.
• HubSpot does not create companies from contact email domains.

Option 2: Let HubSpot create companies

Use this option if you want to rely on HubSpot’s default behaviour.

1. Keep Create and associate Companies with Contacts enabled in HubSpot. 
2. Disable company export from Cognism.

With this setup:

• HubSpot creates companies based on contact email domains.
• Cognism exports contact data only.
• Company enrichment from Cognism is not applied.

Expected results

When configured correctly:

• One company record is created per organisation.
• Contacts are associated with the correct company.
• Duplicate company records are avoided.

Next steps

• Review your HubSpot company creation settings.
• Check your Cognism export configuration.
• Test an export using a sample contact and company.

If you are unsure which setup best fits your workflow, contact Cognism support for guidance.