Deleting a sub-account is the last step of offboarding, and it's the one you can't take back. This checklist covers what to export, what to hand the client, and what to confirm before you click Delete in GoHighLevel.
What disappears when you delete a sub-account
HighLevel's help center says deleting a sub-account is permanent after 24 hours. After that window, contacts, messages, campaigns and settings are lost. The same article describes a 24-hour grace period for reversing a deletion. Don't plan around it. Finish your exports first, and treat the grace period as a safety net only.
Menus and policies change, so confirm the details on HighLevel's help center before you delete. This guide reflects what we could verify as of October 2026.
The checklist at a glance
| Step | What to do | Native way |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decide: delete, pause, or hand over | Pause, transfer or eject |
| 2 | Export contacts | Contacts bulk action, CSV |
| 3 | Export conversations and call recordings | Mostly manual |
| 4 | Export pipelines, forms and notes | Area by area |
| 5 | Save files and media | Manual downloads |
| 6 | Save the build | Snapshot |
| 7 | Disconnect numbers, domains and integrations | Settings and agency view |
| 8 | Remove users | Team settings |
| 9 | Verify, hand over, then delete | Agency view |
1. Decide: delete, pause, or hand over
Ask what the client actually wants before you export anything.
- Pause. If you're unsure, HighLevel says you can pause the sub-account instead of deleting it. Pausing buys you time to double-check your exports. See how to pause user access for the access side.
- Transfer or eject. If the client is moving to their own HighLevel account, deleting isn't the right move. An eject carries over contacts and their conversations, appointments, opportunities and history. But auth connections are deleted and smart lists don't come across, so list what you need to rebuild.
- Delete. Use this when the client is done with the platform and nobody needs the account. The rest of this checklist assumes that.
2. Export contacts
This is the part GoHighLevel handles best.
- Open Contacts in the sub-account, or a smart list if you only want a segment.
- Select the page, then choose Select all so you capture every matching record, not just the ones on screen.
- Run the Export Contacts bulk action.
- Download the file from the Bulk Actions area. HighLevel says finished exports stay available for 30 days.
- Open the CSV and check it before you rely on it.
The export includes names, emails, phone numbers, tags, and custom fields if you select them. Make sure the custom fields you care about are included. HighLevel notes that downloads are admin-only, so confirm you have the permission before you start.
A contact CSV is not a full backup. Conversations, notes and opportunities aren't part of a simple contact export. For more on the gaps, read what a GoHighLevel CSV export leaves out.
3. Export conversations and call recordings
This is where offboarding usually stalls. Many clients, especially in regulated industries, need their SMS and email history. HighLevel's feature-request board has a long-running request from a user who needs to download SMS conversations for compliance. We couldn't find a native bulk conversation export, so check the current help center before assuming otherwise.
What you can do natively is open conversations and recordings one at a time. That works for a handful of contacts and falls apart at a few thousand. Our guides on exporting SMS conversations and exporting call recordings cover the options in detail.
4. Export pipelines, forms, notes and everything else
Go through the sub-account area by area and ask, "Would the client miss this?" The usual candidates:
- Opportunities and pipeline stages
- Form and survey submissions
- Contact notes and tasks
- Appointments and calendar history
- Invoices, documents and contracts
Some areas have a CSV export and some don't. Where there's no export, use the API with a private integration token, or record what exists so the client knows what was lost. Don't promise data you didn't verify.
5. Save files and media
Contact uploads, form attachments, signed documents and media library files all live in the sub-account and go when it goes. Natively, you download them one by one. Our guide on downloading all files from GoHighLevel contacts walks through the manual route, and media library links covers the media side. Don't skip this step. Files are the easiest thing to forget and the hardest to recreate.
6. Save the build with a snapshot
If you built workflows, funnels, forms or custom fields for this client, capture them. From agency view, open Account Snapshots in agency settings, choose Create Snapshot, and select the sub-account. A snapshot captures configuration such as workflows, funnels, calendars, forms, campaigns and custom fields.
It does not capture the client's data. Contacts, appointments, conversation history, users, connected integrations and phone number registration are left out. A snapshot saves your work. It doesn't save theirs. Check what your contract says about who owns the build before you reuse it.
7. Disconnect numbers, domains and integrations
HighLevel tells you to disconnect Twilio, Mailgun, Facebook, Google and other third-party integrations before deleting. Also check:
- Phone numbers and A2P registration. If the client is keeping a number, work out the move before the account goes. When both agencies and the sub-account are on LC Phone, numbers transfer and A2P status is retained.
- Custom domains and email sending domains
- Calendar and payment connections the client owns
8. Remove users
Remove or pause the client's logins and any of your own team members who only had access to this sub-account. If you want a clean record of who had access, export the user list first. Pause user access explains the options.
9. Verify, hand over, then delete
- Open every export. A file that exists isn't a file that works.
- Spot-check a few contacts against the live account.
- Play a few downloaded recordings.
- Send the client their data through a secure channel, and get a written acknowledgment.
- Wait a few days if you can, with the account paused.
- Delete the sub-account from the agency dashboard.
For moving data somewhere else instead, see moving contacts and files between sub-accounts.
Where the native route gets slow
None of the steps above is hard. The cost is repetition. Every offboarding means a contact export, then conversations and recordings by hand, then files one at a time, then checking that nothing was missed. With a few clients a year, that's fine. With a lot of churn, someone on your team loses a day per client, and the risky part is the item nobody remembered.
For a broader plan that covers more than offboarding, see how to back up a GoHighLevel sub-account.
How RGS Tools can help
Backup & Insights ($99/mo) covers the file side. File backup saves a sub-account's files, and zip downloads and share links let you package them for the client.
For conversations, Conversation Exporter ($67/mo) has SMS and email export and call export with playable recordings. Pricing is per agency, with unlimited sub-accounts and a 7-day free trial. You can cancel any time, and the All Tools Bundle is $149/mo. RGS Tools isn't affiliated with HighLevel Inc.
You can follow every other step in this checklist without buying anything.
Questions
Can I recover a GoHighLevel sub-account after I delete it?
Only within the grace period. As of October 2026, HighLevel's help center describes a 24-hour window to reverse a deletion, and after that the deletion is permanent. Treat your exports as the only copy that matters.
Does a snapshot back up a client's contacts and conversations?
No. A snapshot copies configuration such as workflows, funnels, forms, custom fields and custom values. Contacts, conversation history, users and connected integrations stay behind, so you need separate exports for them.
Should I pause a sub-account instead of deleting it?
If the client might come back, or you're not sure your exports are complete, pausing is the safer first step. HighLevel's help center lists pausing as an alternative to permanent deletion.
How long should I keep a former client's data?
That depends on your contract and any rules the client's industry has to follow, so decide it with the client in writing. Whatever you decide, store the files securely and delete them when the retention period ends.