You are at the end of a sales call. An agency offers to build your CRM and run it for you each month, in an account it hosts. Hosted CRM vs own account: if you leave, what do you keep?
This post covers GoHighLevel, the platform our plans run on. Its maker, HighLevel, lists contacts, conversations and websites among what "generally transfers" with a hosted sub-account. Connected accounts, Stripe payment settings and saved contact filters do not move automatically. HighLevel's steps for a move start on the agency's side, and contact exports omit "past emails, and SMS logs". If the account is in your name, you already hold it.
Checked against HighLevel's help articles and terms and UK GDPR on 1 November 2026. We have not run a transfer or an eject. WebAsk is a web and CRM agency, not a law firm, and this is not legal advice.
TL;DR
If you hold the account, you keep it. From a hosted sub-account, HighLevel's steps show two ways out, both starting on the agency's side: a transfer to another agency, where HighLevel's guide lists automations "in their existing state", and an eject to a new agency account, where they "will all be set to Draft". Neither route's page states a fee or a period, so agree those on day one.
Hosted CRM vs own account: the two models
Your own account. You hold the platform subscription, and an agency builds in it as a project. Our CRM & Follow-up page says: "The account is yours, in your name, so access to your customers never depends on us."
A hosted sub-account. The agency holds the licence and your business is one sub-account under it, run month to month. Our Local Business Plans page says: "If you leave, you get an export and the option to move the account to a paid agency account of your own or another agency's."
Who is responsible for the data in a hosted sub-account?
If you are asking who owns the CRM data, ask who the controller is. Our plans page says: "You stay in charge of your customers' data (the controller, in law), and we process it for you under a written contract", so check the roles in your own contract. UK GDPR Article 28 says that contract "shall be in writing, including in electronic form".
HighLevel's security overview (16 June 2026), which says it is not binding, states: "Our product infrastructure resides in the United States." For transfers abroad and health data, see our guide to CRMs for UK clinics.
Leaving a marketing agency's CRM: transfer or eject
HighLevel documents two routes: to another agency, or to an account you hold and pay for yourself. A transfer, in its Sub-Account Transfer Guide (modified 7 August 2026), "moves an entire sub-account from one HighLevel agency" to "another HighLevel agency, known as the receiving agency". An eject, in its eject article (modified 22 April 2026), turns the sub-account into "a separate, independent agency account".
GoHighLevel sub-account transfer: who can start it
The guide says: "By default, only the Agency Owner can request or complete a sub-account transfer." The eject article does not say which roles can start one, but its steps begin at "Agency Level".
In HighLevel's terms (June 2026), "you" is the agency and "your customers" are its clients: "HighLevel will not fulfill Sub-Account transfer requests made by your customers unless you have approved the transfer through our in-app transfer request process." It "will only fulfill" one without that approval if all three of these apply:
- the client tried that process
- the agency has not responded "for at least 30 days"
- its platform account has been cancelled and "not reactivated within 30 days", or suspended or terminated for breach
So who raises the request is a question for day one.
What the receiving agency needs
The guide says the receiving agency "must be active and eligible to accept the additional sub-account", with "the required account capacity, compliance add-ons, and active account status". The sending agency enters the receiving agency's "Relationship Number", and that agency then has to approve. The transfer record can show "rejected, canceled, or blocked".
If you already hold an agency account, we read this as your route; neither page addresses that case.
Eject sub-account to a new agency
The agency will "nominate one user from the sub-account to become the new agency owner". That person "will then receive an invitation via email to sign up for the $97/month plan", and once the new account is created, the sub-account "will automatically be transferred" to it. "The setup process will default to the $97/month plan." That is in US dollars, dated 22 April 2026, so check the current figure. Our buyer's guide covers HighLevel's plans.
The same article says the sending agency is "rewarded with 40% affiliate commission on all of their future renewals". The transfer guide mentions no commission. On a plan of ours, we would be that agency, so ask any agency, us included, whether it earns on the route it suggests.
What moves, what needs work and what does not
The Transfer column is the guide (7 August 2026). Its two lists are images on the page: it says the first "generally transfers" and the second "does not transfer automatically". The Eject column is the article (22 April 2026).
| Result | Item | Transfer to another agency | Eject to a new agency account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moves | Contacts and their records | "Contacts", "Contact history", "Conversations and conversation history", "Appointments", "Opportunities" | "Contacts and their conversations, appointments, opportunities, and history will be transferred over." |
| Moves | Websites, funnels, calendars | "Websites and funnels", "HighLevel calendars" | "Websites and funnels will all be transferred." "GHL calendars will get transferred over." |
| Moves | People already in a workflow | "Workflow enrollment data" | "Contacts will remain in the workflow." |
| Moves | Users | "Eligible sub-account users" | "All users with User Type 'Account', and only assigned to that particular sub-account and no other sub-account will be transferred." |
| Moves | API keys (codes that connect other software) and memberships | "Sub-account-level API keys", "Membership access and associated membership data" | "Sub-account level API Keys will remain the same." Memberships: not stated |
| Moves | Numbers, both sides on LC Phone (the platform's own phone system; UK numbers: see below) | "Phone numbers may transfer automatically depending on the phone provider used by both agencies." With both on LC Phone: "Phone numbers transfer with the sub-account." | "If BOTH the releasing and receiving agencies along with the sub-account that needs to be transferred is on LC, then the phone numbers will automatically be transferred with the sub-account." |
| Moves; on an eject, needs work | Automations | "Automation workflows in their existing state" | "All automation will be transferred over." "They will all be set to Draft." |
| On a transfer, depends on the set-up; on an eject, re-add | Email sending (the domain your emails go out from; Mailgun and SMTP are outside email services) | On LC Email (the platform's own), a sub-account-owned dedicated domain "transfers with the sub-account", and an agency-assigned one "is removed during the transfer". "Existing Mailgun or SMTP configurations are removed." "The sub-account adopts the receiving agency’s default email provider." | "Mailgun/SMTP won't get transferred." "You will have to re-add LC Email, Mailgun/SMTP, and Twilio" |
| Does not move automatically | Website domains | Not stated in the guide. Bulk transfer article (11 December 2025): "You will have to re-add your domains" | "Domains are not automatically carried over." "You will have to re-add your domains" |
| Does not move automatically | Numbers, either side on Twilio (a separate phone provider) | "Phone numbers do not transfer automatically. The agencies and Twilio account owner must coordinate the move separately." | "No phone numbers will be transferred over by HighLevel." "It is your responsibility to work with the previous account owner as well as Twilio" |
| Does not move automatically | Connected accounts (login links to other services) and their settings | "Authorization connections", "Including Google, Facebook, Instagram, QuickBooks, Clio, DrChrono, and Listings"; "Facebook and Google integration settings". The section says: "These items are removed or disconnected to prevent the receiving agency from inheriting access it does not own." | "All auth connections will be deleted"; "All Facebook and Google settings will be cleared"; "You will need to reconnect all auth connections" |
| Does not move automatically | Stripe fields (the payment settings on the sub-account) | "Sub-account-level Stripe fields" | "Sub-Account-level Stripe fields will be cleared" |
| Does not move automatically | Smart lists (saved filters of contacts) | "Smart Lists" | "Smartlists do not get transferred over with the sub-account currently" |
| Does not move automatically | External calendars | "External calendar connections" | "The external calendar integrations will be disconnected." |
| On an eject, does not move automatically | White-label app domain (the agency's branded app address) | Not stated | "If your agency has a whitelabel domain" it "also does not transfer automatically" |
| Cancelled or disabled first | Add-ons such as WordPress, listings, WhatsApp and a dedicated IP | "Certain active subscriptions and add-on services" do not transfer automatically. "Active subscriptions such as WordPress, Listings, WhatsApp, or Dedicated IP must be canceled when they prevent the transfer from proceeding." On LC Email: "Dedicated IP: The IP is unassigned and the related subscription is removed." | "All active subscriptions like Wordpress, Yext, Whatsapp, Dedicated IP etc. will have to be cancelled before the transfer is requested." |
| Cancelled or disabled first | SaaS mode (an agency's reselling setting) | "SaaS Mode is automatically disabled before the transfer. However, active SaaS-related subscriptions or other dependencies may still need to be resolved." | "SaaS mode will automatically be disabled before the transfer takes place." Its FAQ: "Any SaaS sub-account will need to have SaaS disabled." |
What neither page states
- A fee for the move. The eject article names the plan the new account signs up to.
- A period. The guide says "The sub-account will be transferred as soon as the request is approved." and "Timing may vary if eligibility requirements or account dependencies need to be resolved."
- A plan on the receiving side of a transfer.
- How an automation behaves once a connection it used has gone.
- What data the old agency keeps after the move.
Automations: where the two routes differ
On an eject, the article says "They will all be set to Draft." Our reading: someone then reviews each one and switches it on. On a transfer, the guide's list says "Automation workflows in their existing state", and HighLevel's article on bulk transfers (11 December 2025) says "All automation will be transferred over in Live state." Either way, our view: test each workflow, because a connection it uses may not have moved.
Phone numbers, including UK numbers
Neither the guide nor the eject article mentions UK numbers, or says whether a Regulatory Bundle carries over. That is the approved identity and address record HighLevel asks for on UK numbers. Its article on UK numbers (7 October 2026) says "New and existing regulated UK long codes must have the applicable approved Regulatory Compliance information associated with them." It says those requirements can apply to local, national, mobile and toll-free numbers. HighLevel's article on moving US and international numbers on their own (4 September 2026) says "International phone numbers can require country- and number-type-specific regulatory information before they can be moved."
If an agency's platform account is cancelled or terminated, the terms say "all phone numbers procured through the Platform on your behalf will be released within fourteen (14) days". A number a client ported in "is the property of the Sub-Account owner".
Our plans page offers "a divert from the number you publish or a new UK number". For the number you publish, the page's FAQ says "switching the divert off puts everything back". Porting a number in from another provider is in our migration guide.
What you can export, if your login allows it
Check the limits first. HighLevel's contacts export page (24 December 2025) says "Only Admin Users Can Export Contacts." and "Only Agency Admins and Location Admins can download completed exports from Bulk Actions." It adds: "Exports do not include automation history (e.g., past emails, and SMS logs)." A location is HighLevel's word for a sub-account.
Its help pages, each with its own date:
| Data | What the page says | Page's date |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts | "such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, tags, and custom fields (if selected)". "The CSV file will only contain the columns that are currently visible in the Contacts table." "Only the latest note of up to 255 characters is included when exporting contacts." "Export files are available for 30 days." | 24 December 2025 |
| Form submissions | "Export all form submissions in CSV format from the 'Export' button" | 11 February 2026 |
| Survey submissions | "A download link will be emailed to you to download the survey submissions." | 8 September 2026 |
| Opportunities (pipeline deals) | "Select Export Opportunities." | 21 August 2026 |
| Companies | "Company Export lets you download multiple selected companies" or "the full company list" | 27 March 2026 |
| Transactions | "The email link is valid for 7 days and is unique to the requesting user." | 4 February 2026 |
| Orders | "The export link expires after 7 days." | 3 February 2026 |
| Voice AI call logs | "Bulk export lets you download Voice AI call logs as a CSV file." "When you bulk export, it exports up to the 50 most recent calls that match your current filters." "To export all calls within the applied filters, click Export All." | 12 June 2026 |
In seven searches of HighLevel's help centre on 1 November 2026, we did not find a page on exporting conversation threads or individual appointments. Both move routes list them, so ask how they would reach you without a move.
What to agree on day one: an exit checklist
Take these to the agency before you sign. Each comes from the pages above, unless marked as our view.
- Who raises the move, and who receives it. Our view: have the agreement say who raises the request after your notice. Keep one of your own people as a user on the sub-account from day one, because an eject nominates "one user from the sub-account".
- The export. Article 28(3)(g): a processor contract must say the processor, "at the choice of the controller, deletes or returns all the personal data" after the service ends. Our view: say you want it returned, ask for a login that can download exports, run a test export on day one, and ask how message history would reach you.
- Numbers. Our view: find out if your published number is on a divert or in the account, and whether this agency uses LC Phone or Twilio. Ask whether a UK number's Regulatory Bundle carries over.
- Connections, add-ons and email. Our view: list what is connected, who holds each login and which subscriptions are live. Write down each smart list's filters. Ask if your sending domain is sub-account-owned, and hold your domain in your own name.
- Notice, timing and cost. Older screenshots in both articles say "Please note that this action is irreversible." The guide's text adds: "Transfer requests can also be canceled". The eject article has no such line. Our view: agree the notice period, any charge for the move and the order (export, then move) in writing. Date this list, and re-read HighLevel's pages when you give notice.
Which model fits
In our two service pages' words:
| Model | When it fits |
|---|---|
| Your own account | Local Business Plans page: "If the system is core to how you sell, your team will live in it every day, or your records are human patients' records, own the account". It also says: "We do not host human patients' records". The clinic guide linked above covers those records |
| A hosted plan | CRM & Follow-up page: "If you would rather not run a platform account at all, and your records are not human patients' records". Local Business Plans page: "when you want the phone, the reviews and the follow-up run for you, without a platform account of your own, and you accept the trade: your data sits in a sub-account under our licence, processed for you under a written contract". Its opening says running those three "takes a platform, a subscription and the hours to learn it" |
Where to start
- If you want the account in your name, read CRM & Follow-up: "Built in an account you own."
- If you want it run for you, read Local Business Plans: "run for you each month in an account we host".
- If you already have a hosted CRM and want to leave, use the checklist now: export first, then ask who raises the move.
- Take the checklist to any agency, us included. Get in touch for a free 30-minute call.