Delivery Objects
Track value creation from commitment through fulfillment
Delivery objects track how commitments become reality. They're the infrastructure for turning Orders into fulfilled value, organizing transformation work, and responding to customer needs as they arise.
Why Delivery Objects Matter
Most CRMs focus exclusively on "getting the deal"—then hand customers off to delivery systems that live outside the CRM. This creates a visibility gap where customer-facing teams can't see delivery status, and delivery teams can't see the commercial context.
HubSpot provides delivery objects because value creation should be as visible as value selling. When delivery lives in your CRM alongside commercial data, everyone has complete context.
- Services track active engagements being delivered
- Projects organize transformation work with clear milestones
- Tickets manage reactive questions and support requests
- Appointments document time invested together
Each serves a distinct purpose. Using the right object for each type of work creates clarity about what mode you're operating in.
⚙️ Service
Every value delivery in progress. Services track active engagements—work you're doing for and with clients. Unlike Deals (exploring) or Orders (committed), Services represent ongoing delivery. They should have pipelines tracking progression: onboarding → active → optimization.
Key Properties
- Service Name: What you're delivering
- Service Type: Category of engagement
- Status: Onboarding, Active, Complete, Paused
- Start Date: When delivery began
- Health Score: Delivery quality indicator
- Primary Contact: Who you're serving
Common Associations
- Contact: Who's receiving value
- Company: Organization being served
- Order: Commitment being fulfilled
- Project: Transformation work within service
- Ticket: Support requests during delivery
- Appointment: Time spent together
CVP Perspective: Services are living relationships. Create pipelines that track progression (not just status)—Onboarding, Capability Building, Optimization, Renewal. Movement through these stages shows value being created over time.
🎯 Project
Every transformation effort organized. Projects group related work, milestones, and deliverables. They're for bounded engagements with defined outcomes. Use trust-based milestone progression (Foundation → Capability → Multiplication), not arbitrary calendar deadlines.
Key Properties
- Project Name: What transformation you're enabling
- Stage: Current phase (Foundation, Capability, etc.)
- Start Date: When work began
- Target Completion: Expected finish (not deadline)
- Status: In Progress, On Hold, Completed
- Owner: Who's accountable
Common Associations
- Service: Active engagement this supports
- Contact: Project stakeholders
- Company: Organization transforming
- Order: Commercial commitment
- Task: Specific action items
CVP Perspective: Projects track transformation, not tasks. Use milestones that represent capability gained, not arbitrary dates achieved. Foundation → Capability → Multiplication shows value building on value.
🎫 Ticket
Every question or need surfaced. Tickets track requests, issues, and inquiries that need response. Important: Use Tickets for reactive support only—questions that come TO you. Don't use Tickets for proactive project management; that's what Projects are for.
Key Properties
- Ticket Name: What question/issue is being raised
- Status: New, In Progress, Waiting, Resolved
- Priority: Urgency level
- Category: Type of request
- Owner: Who's responsible for response
- Resolution: How it was handled
Common Associations
- Contact: Who asked the question
- Company: Organization requesting support
- Service: Active engagement context
- Deal: Pre-sale questions
- Order: Post-purchase context
Common Mistake: Using Tickets for project management creates confusion about what's reactive (customer-initiated) versus proactive (team-initiated). Tickets = questions that come to you. Projects = work you're doing together.
📅 Appointment
Every time invested together. Appointments track meetings, sessions, and scheduled interactions. They document when you spent time with someone, creating a record of relationship investment that accumulates over time.
Key Properties
- Title: What the meeting is about
- Start Time: When it begins
- Duration: How long
- Type: Discovery, Demo, Strategy, Check-in, etc.
- Outcome: What was accomplished
- Location: Where it happened
Common Associations
- Contact: Who attended
- Company: Organization represented
- Deal: Commercial context
- Service: Active delivery context
- Project: Transformation work discussed
CVP Perspective: Appointments aren't calendar events—they're investments of time. Track appointment type and outcome to understand which interactions move relationships forward most effectively.
How Delivery Objects Flow Together
Delivery objects create visibility into how commitments become fulfilled value. Here's how they typically work together:
Order Confirmed
Commitment made—now delivery begins.
Service Created
Active engagement record for ongoing delivery. Associated to Order and Company.
Project Launched
Transformation work organized with milestones. Associated to Service.
Appointments Scheduled
Time invested—strategy sessions, check-ins, reviews. Associated to Service and Project.
Tickets Arise
Questions surface during delivery. Associated to Service for context.
Service Progresses
Pipeline stage updates: Onboarding → Active → Optimization → Renewal consideration.
Services vs Projects vs Tickets
The most common delivery object confusion is mixing Services, Projects, and Tickets. Here's the clear distinction:
⚙️ Service
Ongoing relationship
Use for continuous delivery that doesn't have a fixed end date. Marketing services, consulting retainers, managed services.
🎯 Project
Bounded transformation
Use for defined work with specific outcomes. Website builds, system implementations, training programs.
🎫 Ticket
Reactive support
Use only for questions that come TO you. Support requests, troubleshooting, "how do I..." questions.
A customer might have one Service (ongoing partnership), multiple Projects within that service (transformation initiatives), and occasional Tickets when questions arise.
How should you organize delivery work in HubSpot?
Your answer reveals whether you're creating clarity or confusion.
Key Takeaway: Services track ongoing delivery. Projects organize transformation work. Tickets handle reactive support. Appointments document time invested. Using the right object for each mode of work creates operational clarity.
Next up: Content & Intelligence Objects — how Listings, Courses, and Signals track engagement and learning throughout the customer journey.