GoHighLevel Sub-Account Onboarding Checklist for Agencies

A repeatable GoHighLevel sub-account onboarding checklist is the difference between a client who's texting leads in week one and a client still waiting on A2P approval in week four. This is the checklist we'd hand a new team member: what to set up, in what order, and what a snapshot won't do for you. Use it as a starting template and add your own niche-specific steps.

Before you start the GoHighLevel sub-account onboarding checklist

• Signed agreement and payment method on file
• Business legal name, EIN or equivalent, address and website, exactly as registered (A2P registration will need them)
• Primary contact and who else on the client's team needs a login
• Lead sources: ads, website forms, purchased data, referrals
• What the client wants to see in reporting each month

Collect this in one intake form so you're not chasing it piece by piece.

Step 1: Create the sub-account and load the snapshot

• Create the sub-account with the correct business name, address and timezone. A wrong timezone breaks appointment reminders and drip windows.
• Load your niche snapshot.
• Review what came across: workflows, funnels, pipelines, calendars, forms, custom fields and values, templates and tags.

Remember what snapshots don't include: contacts, conversations, users and integrations such as payment connections and API keys.

Step 2: Phone, A2P 10DLC and SMS compliance

Start this early. Registration review can take days.

• Buy or port the phone number.
• Submit A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration in the sub-account's phone or trust settings. Use accurate business details, a clear use case and sample messages that match what you'll actually send.
• Make sure the client's website has a privacy policy and SMS terms, and that forms collecting phone numbers include clear consent language.
• Review the SMS compliance settings under the phone numbers area's advanced settings, including the automatic opt-out message ("Reply STOP to unsubscribe" by default, as of October 2026).
• Decide on call recording per number, and add a recording notice where consent laws require it.
• Set up call forwarding and voicemail.

Step 3: Email sending

• Set up a dedicated sending domain or subdomain for the client and add the DNS records HighLevel provides.
• Confirm SPF, DKIM and DMARC are in place.
• Set the default from name and reply-to address.
• Send a test email to a few inboxes and check spam placement.

Step 4: Custom fields, values and folders

This is where most agencies lose an afternoon.

• Compare the snapshot's fields against what this client needs.
• Create missing custom fields with the right types. A date stored as text can't drive a date-based workflow.
• Add dropdown, checkbox and radio options.
• Group fields into folders and keep them in a sensible order.
• Fill in custom values such as business name, phone, booking link and owner name, so templates render correctly.
• Record field keys and merge tags for anyone writing templates. Finding a custom field key explains where they are.

Natively, each field is created one at a time in Settings under Custom Fields. For details, see bulk creating custom fields in GoHighLevel.

Step 5: Users and permissions

• Create a user for each team member who needs access.
• Set roles and permissions deliberately. Reps often should only see assigned contacts and conversations.
• Assign phone numbers to users who make calls.
• Connect each user's calendar if they take appointments.
• Confirm agency staff access is limited to the people who need it.

Step 6: Integrations

Snapshots don't carry these, so connect them per client:

• Google Business Profile, Facebook and Instagram, and any ad accounts
• Calendar sync (Google or Outlook)
• Payment processor, if the client takes payments
• Any third-party tools or webhooks, using a Private Integration Token where needed

Step 7: Pipelines, calendars and workflows

• Rename pipeline stages to the client's language.
• Set calendar availability, buffers and confirmation messages.
• Update workflow sender details, user assignments and phone numbers inherited from the snapshot.
• Set lead distribution if there are several reps. See splitting leads between reps.

Step 8: Test the whole path

• Submit every form as a test lead.
• Confirm the contact is created with the right fields, tags and owner.
• Confirm the right workflows fire, with correct merge tags and no blank values.
• Reply to a test text and confirm reply handling works.
• Book a test appointment and check reminders.
• Delete or tag test contacts so they don't pollute reporting.

Step 9: Reporting and backups

• Build or adjust the dashboard the client will see.
• Decide what you'll send monthly and from where.
• Schedule backups: a dated snapshot after go-live, plus regular data and file exports. See how to back up a GoHighLevel sub-account.

Step 10: Handoff

• Walk the client through their logins, inbox and pipeline.
• Document anything custom to this account.
• Set a check-in two weeks out.

Where onboarding gets slow

Steps 2 and 3 are mostly waiting. Steps 4 and 5 are mostly clicking: creating fields one at a time, opening each dropdown to add options, and building users with the same permission grid over and over. Multiply that by every new client, and it's where agencies lose the most hours.

How Sub-Account Manager speeds up steps 4 and 5

Sub-Account Manager from RGS Tools handles the repetitive setup.

• Bulk field creator: paste names, pick types and a folder, and create contact and opportunity fields in one run. Duplicates are skipped, and you get back every field key and merge tag.
• Dropdown option manager: add and sort options on dropdown, checkbox and radio fields without opening each one.
• Bulk user creator: paste a list of people, set roles and a permissions grid, and create them all at once.
• User and permission manager: change roles in bulk, or pause access and restore it exactly as it was.

Every change can be dry-run first. Sub-Account Manager is $49/mo per agency with unlimited sub-accounts and a 7-day free trial.