How to Export All HighLevel Sub-Account Contacts for Off-Platform Archiving and Emergency Backup

In the fast-paced world of digital business, relying solely on a single platform for your critical data can pose significant risks. While HighLevel offers robust functionality, the strategic imperative for any agency or business is to maintain independent, off-platform backups of essential data, particularly your sub-account contacts. This ensures business continuity, provides a safety net against unforeseen platform issues, and offers peace of mind. This guide will walk you through the precise steps to secure your contact data, making it readily available for archiving or emergency restoration, safeguarding your client relationships and operational integrity.

Step 1: Understand the Critical Need for Off-Platform Data Redundancy

Before diving into the mechanics, it’s vital to grasp why off-platform backups are non-negotiable for your HighLevel sub-accounts. While HighLevel provides its own robust infrastructure and backup protocols, relying exclusively on them means your business is inherently tied to their uptime and data recovery policies. An independent backup strategy mitigates risks associated with potential service disruptions, human error, or even security incidents that could impact the primary platform. This redundancy ensures that regardless of external factors, your most valuable asset—your customer and lead contact information—remains accessible, allowing you to maintain communication and operational flow even in the most challenging scenarios. It’s a foundational element of a comprehensive business continuity plan.

Step 2: Access Your HighLevel Agency Dashboard

The journey to securing your sub-account contacts begins within your HighLevel Agency account. Log in to your HighLevel dashboard using your administrator credentials. Ensure you are accessing the main agency-level account, as this is where you will have the overarching view and control over all linked sub-accounts. If you primarily operate within a specific sub-account, you’ll need to switch back to your agency view. This initial step is crucial because direct access to export all contacts from a sub-account is managed through the agency interface, providing the necessary permissions and consolidated view to perform this critical backup operation efficiently across your entire client portfolio.

Step 3: Navigate to the Desired Sub-Account’s Settings

Once you’re in your HighLevel Agency dashboard, locate the “Sub-Accounts” section, typically found in the left-hand navigation menu. Click on it to display a list of all your managed sub-accounts. From this comprehensive list, identify and select the specific sub-account for which you intend to export contacts. It’s important to select one account at a time for this process, as HighLevel’s export functionality is generally tailored per sub-account. Clicking on the desired sub-account will typically lead you into its individual dashboard or a summary view, preparing you for the next steps to access its contact management features. This deliberate selection ensures you are working with the correct dataset.

Step 4: Locate the Contacts Section within the Sub-Account

After navigating into the specific sub-account’s environment, your next task is to find the “Contacts” section. This is usually a prominent tab or menu item on the left-hand side of the sub-account dashboard. The exact labeling might vary slightly, but it will generally be clear and intuitive, often simply labeled “Contacts” or “Smart Lists.” This section serves as the central repository for all lead and client information associated with that particular sub-account. Gaining access here is paramount because it’s from this interface that you’ll be able to view, manage, and ultimately initiate the export of all relevant contact data. Confirm you are indeed seeing the full list of contacts before proceeding.

Step 5: Filter and Select All Contacts for Export

Within the contacts section of your chosen sub-account, you’ll need to ensure all contacts are visible and selected for the export. HighLevel often displays contacts in pages or uses filters by default. To ensure a complete export, first, clear any active filters that might be limiting the displayed contacts. Next, look for a “select all” checkbox, typically located at the top of the contact list, which will select all contacts across all pages. If a direct “select all” across pages isn’t available, you might need to adjust the “items per page” setting to the maximum allowed or employ a specific export option that inherently captures all contacts regardless of current view. This step guarantees no contact is inadvertently left out of your critical backup.

Step 6: Initiate the Contact Data Export Process

With all contacts selected, locate the “Export” button. This is usually found near the top of the contacts list, often as a button or within a dropdown menu. Clicking “Export” will typically prompt a confirmation or a small pop-up window asking you to verify the action. Confirm your intent to export the contacts. HighLevel usually processes these requests in the background, especially for large datasets. You will generally receive an email notification containing a secure link to download the exported CSV file once it’s ready. This email often goes to the primary user associated with the HighLevel account. Be patient, as larger exports can take several minutes to compile and send.

Step 7: Download and Securely Verify Your Exported Data

Once you receive the email from HighLevel with the download link, click it to retrieve your contact data file, which will typically be in CSV (Comma Separated Values) format. Download this file to a secure, locally accessible location on your computer or a designated cloud storage solution. After downloading, it is imperative to open the CSV file using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Perform a quick spot-check to ensure the data integrity; scroll through, verify names, emails, and phone numbers, and confirm that all expected fields are present and correctly populated. This verification step confirms that your backup is complete and usable, preventing issues down the line.

Step 8: Store Your Emergency Backup Off-Platform Securely

The final and most crucial step is to store your freshly exported contact data in a secure, off-platform location. This could include encrypted cloud storage services (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive with strong access controls), a secure network drive, or even an encrypted external hard drive. The key is that this storage should be entirely independent of HighLevel. Consider implementing a regular schedule for these exports—monthly, quarterly, or as your business requires—to ensure your backup data is always current. Having multiple copies in diverse locations further enhances your data security posture, guaranteeing that your invaluable contact list is protected against any eventuality, providing the ultimate peace of mind.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: HighLevel Multi-Account Data Protection for HR & Recruiting