To set a revenue goal in HubSpot, go to Reporting > Goals, click Create goal, choose Create from template, then pick the Quota or Forecastable Quota template and click Set goal. Name it, pick contributors, set the duration, enter targets and pipelines, and choose notifications. To use it in your forecast, pick Yes, make this a forecastable goal from the dropdown on the Setup page and match the goal duration to your forecast period.
Here's the thing. If you followed an older tutorial (including the first version of this one), it walked you through goals from inside Sales > Forecast. HubSpot has since given goals their own home in Reporting > Goals, and the setup has more options than it used to.
So let's fix that together. By the end of this guide you'll know which goals your HubSpot subscription gives you, what to set up before you create a single target, the exact clicks to build a revenue goal, how that goal shows up in the forecast tool, and how to read the reports that tell you whether your reps are on pace.
Key Takeaways
- Goals have their own home in Reporting > Goals now. That's where you create, manage and report on every goal.
- Revenue goals only show in the forecast when you answer Yes to the forecasting question and the goal duration matches your forecast period.
- Set your fiscal year, forecast period and deal pipelines before you build goals. Changing the forecast period later resets forecastable revenue goals for every pipeline.
- Goal progress refreshes every eight to 12 minutes, so don't panic if a closed deal doesn't show up instantly.
- Each goal has its own performance page with a leaderboard, actual versus target and a per-rep breakdown.
What Are HubSpot Goals, and What Can You Track?
HubSpot goals are targets you assign to reps, teams or pipelines and then measure against real CRM data. Managers build them from HubSpot templates, and Enterprise accounts can also build custom goals from scratch.
What you can track depends on your subscription, according to HubSpot's Create sales goals article:
| Subscription | Goal measures HubSpot lists |
|---|---|
| Sales Hub or Service Hub Starter | Revenue only |
| Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise | Deals created, Calls made, Revenue, Meetings booked |
| Service Hub Professional or Enterprise | Average ticket resolution time, Average ticket response time, Revenue, Tickets closed |
| Sales Hub or Service Hub Enterprise | Custom goals built from an object, a property and an aggregation (sum, average, min, max or count) |
One detail trips up a lot of teams: meetings need a value in the Activity assigned to property to count toward a rep's meetings booked goal.
What Do You Need Before You Create a Revenue Goal?
Goals sit on top of your CRM. If the base is shaky, the goal is shaky. Before you build anything, check these four things.
The Right Seats and Permissions
HubSpot says you need a Sales or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise seat, or Super Admin access, to create, edit and delete sales goals. To be assigned a goal, a rep needs a Sales or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise seat. In the permissions settings, the Goals switch on the Reporting tab controls who can view, create and edit goals. Forecastable goals add one more check: the human building them needs Super Admin or Forecast permissions and an assigned Sales or Service seat.
Your Fiscal Year
Go to Settings > Account Defaults and set the Fiscal year dropdown to match your company's calendar. HubSpot uses it for fiscal quarters, goals, forecasts and reports, and the default is January to December.
Your Forecast Period and Deal Amount
If you'll use the forecast tool, go to Settings > Objects > Forecast first. Pick a monthly or quarterly forecast period, and choose whether the forecast uses the weighted amount or the total amount. Do this now, because HubSpot warns that editing the forecast period later resets forecastable revenue goals and forecast submissions for all pipelines.
Clean Deal Pipelines
A revenue goal is only as honest as the deals feeding it. Make sure your stages, close dates and amounts reflect reality. If you need a refresher, our guide to customizing your HubSpot sales pipeline stages walks through it, and the data hygiene guide covers the cleanup habits that keep amounts trustworthy.
We say it a lot: you can't build the shiny new thing on a shaky foundation. Goals are the shiny new thing. Your data is the foundation.
How Do You Create a Revenue Goal in HubSpot?
Here are the steps, checked against HubSpot's Create sales goals article (last updated August 6, 2026).
Step 1: Open the Goals Tool
In your HubSpot account, click More, then go to Reporting > Goals. If you don't see More, go straight to Reporting > Goals. In the top right, click Create goal.
Step 2: Pick the Quota or Forecastable Quota Template
Select Create from template. In the left panel under Category, select Sales. You'll see Quota and Forecastable Quota, and each card has its own Set goal button. Click Set goal on the one you want. Goal names have to be unique across your account, so pick a naming pattern now, something like "Revenue, East Team, FY27 Q1."
Step 3: Decide If It Belongs in the Forecast
On the Setup page, a dropdown asks: Do you need to use this goal in the forecasting tool? Choose Yes, make this a forecastable goal if you want it to show on the Forecast dashboard. That switches the template to Forecastable Quota, and the question goes away. You'll then pick a forecast type, a year and the pipelines this goal applies to, and the year follows your fiscal year setting. Choose No and the goal shows in reporting and the Goals overview tab only.
Step 4: Name It and Choose Contributors
On the Setup page, enter the goal name, then choose how contributors work:
- Individual users: each rep gets a target, with no team rollup.
- Team goals only: targets sit at the team level, without tracking each rep.
- Team goal with individual user targets: targets at both levels, so you can see each rep inside the team picture.
If a rep belongs to more than one team, their target can only apply to one of those teams. If they're a primary member of a team, that's the only team it can apply to.
Step 5: Set the Duration
Choose Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly or Custom. To line up with your fiscal calendar, select Align with your fiscal year settings. For a forecastable goal, the duration has to match your forecast period. A quarterly goal needs a quarterly forecast period, or it won't display in your forecast.
Step 6: Enter Targets and Pipelines
Click Next. On the Performance page, enter a target for each period. To apply the same target to several reps or teams, select their checkboxes and click Apply targets. Have a lot of reps? Click Import team targets or Import user targets and upload a .csv file. If the goal isn't forecastable, choose the pipeline for each row, or select them all and click Apply pipelines.
Step 7: Turn On Milestone Notifications
Click Next, select the goal milestones that should trigger a notification, and click Done. HubSpot drops you on the Goals overview tab, filtered to your new goal.
How Do Revenue Goals Connect to the Forecast Tool?
The forecast tool (Sales Hub or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise) shows each rep's progress toward forecastable revenue goals. It groups deals by deal stage by default, or by forecast categories if you set them up in Settings > Objects > Forecast on the Pipelines tab. The category mapping uses Not forecasted, Pipeline, Best case, Commit and Closed won.
Turn on Automate forecast categories and HubSpot creates a workflow that updates the category when a deal changes stage. Reps can still change a deal's category by hand from the deal record. HubSpot calls the forecast tool useful during one-on-ones, and we agree: it's the conversation starter, not the verdict.
How Do You Track Progress Against a Revenue Goal?
Goal reporting takes a Sales, Service or Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription. Go to Reporting > Goals and click the goal's name. The performance page shows the template, pipelines, cadence, start and end dates and who created it. The Summary tab includes:
- Total progress: how far the goal has moved overall.
- Actual versus user goals: target against actual progress.
- Leaderboard: reps ranked by progress.
That view makes the gap plain. If a rep has closed $1,000 against a $10,000 goal, they're $9,000 away, and that clarity is what turns a report into a coaching conversation.
The User performance tab breaks it down by rep, with filters for teams, reps and pipelines. Want it on a dashboard? Hover over the goal, click Actions, select Report, choose the contributor type and visualization, then click Create goal report and save it. You can also add a goal to a deal-based report from its View and filter panel, or build a goals report in the single object report builder.
Two timing notes from HubSpot: goal progress updates every eight to 12 minutes, and changes made to a deal after a goal is due won't update that goal.
How Often Should You Review Revenue Goals?
Consistency beats heroics. A quick weekly look at the leaderboard, plus a deeper review when each period closes, keeps goals honest without turning them into a fire drill. Set targets that are challenging but achievable, check progress during the period instead of only at the end, and use the data to have real conversations with your reps. Your humans want to know they're winning. When the new year rolls around, HubSpot lets you clone goals in bulk, so annual setup doesn't have to eat your planning week.
Which HubSpot Tier Do You Actually Need for Goals?
If your team is on Starter and you're wondering whether calls, meetings or forecast goals justify a jump to Professional, get the numbers in front of you before you talk to anyone.
Grab the HubSpot Pricing Cheat Sheet: every hub and every tier on one page, so you can see what your goals plan really costs.
And if you want to see how goals fit the bigger sales picture, our practical guide to HubSpot Sales Hub and the Revenue Hub launch guide are good next reads.
Sources
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Create sales goals (updated August 6, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Report on goals (updated July 21, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Set up the forecast tool (updated September 9, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Use the forecast tool (updated August 7, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Create custom goals (updated June 30, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Set an account's fiscal year (updated September 30, 2026)
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, HubSpot user permissions guide (updated October 29, 2026)
