Sub-Account Management in HighLevel

Updated: February 6, 2026  | 
Author: Bill Stilwell

This post covers what sub-accounts are, how they are structured, how to create and configure them efficiently, what settings are managed per sub-account, how to give clients access, and how to manage the sub-account lifecycle when clients leave.

Reading time: about 7 minutes.

What Is a Sub-Account in HighLevel?

A sub-account in HighLevel is a complete, self-contained client environment. It contains everything a business needs to manage its marketing and CRM operations within HighLevel: its own contacts database, funnels, workflows, conversations inbox, calendar, pipeline, forms, and settings.

Sub-accounts are the units that agencies manage. An agency with 20 clients has 20 sub-accounts.

Each client account is entirely separate – one client’s leads, funnels, and conversations are completely invisible from within another client’s account. There is no bleed between them.

The term “sub-account” reflects the hierarchy: the agency account is the parent, and each client account is a child account (a sub-account) within that parent. The agency has oversight and management access; each client operates only within their own sub-account.

Data Isolation Between Sub-Accounts

Complete data isolation is one of the most important structural properties of HighLevel sub-accounts. This isolation is what makes it appropriate for agencies to manage multiple businesses on the same platform without any data commingling.

A contact created in Client A’s sub-account cannot appear in Client B’s sub-account. A funnel built in Client A’s account is not visible in Client B’s account.

A conversation with a lead in Client A’s inbox does not appear anywhere in Client B’s view.

This isolation is not just a display filter – it is structural. Each sub-account has its own separate data environment.

The agency can see all accounts from the agency dashboard, but the data within each account is entirely self-contained.

This isolation is what makes it safe for an agency to use a single HighLevel account to serve dozens of clients across potentially competing industries. One client’s business data has no exposure to another client’s account, regardless of what the agency can see from the top level.

Creating a New Sub-Account

New sub-accounts are created from the agency dashboard. The creation flow is straightforward: enter the business name, contact email, phone number, physical address, and timezone.

Then select a snapshot to apply.

The snapshot selection is the highest-leverage decision in the creation flow. A well-built, relevant snapshot deploys the entire client infrastructure in one step – funnels, workflows, pipelines, email templates, and all other configured elements.

A new sub-account without a snapshot is a blank environment requiring complete manual setup.

After the sub-account is created, it appears in the agency dashboard list immediately. The agency enters it, completes the customization steps, and the account is ready for the client.

Sub-Account Settings

Every sub-account has its own Settings section, accessible from within the sub-account’s navigation. The settings are specific to that client – they do not affect any other sub-account.

Business Information settings store the client’s name, address, phone, email, and timezone. These fields are the source for custom value placeholders used throughout email templates, SMS messages, and funnel pages.

Accurate business information here means every template that uses those placeholders displays the correct client details automatically.

Other settings sections within each sub-account cover: connected integrations, phone number and email configuration, notification preferences, calendar availability, user management (who has access to this account), and feature-specific configurations like pipeline stages and contact fields.

Custom Values – The Personalization Layer

Custom values are one of the most important configuration elements in sub-account setup. They are placeholder variables used throughout HighLevel templates – in email subjects, email bodies, SMS messages, funnel page copy, and anywhere else text is used repeatedly across a client’s account.

A snapshot typically includes custom values like {{business_name}}, {{business_phone}}, {{owner_name}}, {{business_address}}. When the snapshot is deployed, all templates in the sub-account reference these values as placeholders.

After snapshot deployment, the agency navigates to Settings, then Custom Values, and enters the client’s specific information for each placeholder. The moment those values are saved, every template in the entire sub-account that uses those placeholders automatically reflects the client’s correct information – business name, phone, address – throughout all emails, SMS messages, and funnel copy.

This is what makes snapshot-based onboarding efficient: the templates are built once in the snapshot using custom value placeholders, and each new client’s account is personalized with one round of custom value updates.

Per-Sub-Account Integrations

Every integration in HighLevel is connected at the sub-account level. Each client account connects its own third-party services independently of other sub-accounts.

Key integrations configured per sub-account: Stripe (or other payment processor) for checkout and billing, Facebook Page for Lead Ads and messaging, Google Business Profile for reviews and messaging, TikTok for lead ads, and any other platform-specific connections the client uses.

Per-sub-account integrations ensure complete financial and data separation. When a client’s Stripe account is connected to their sub-account, only that client’s transactions process through that connection.

The agency’s own Stripe account and all other clients’ accounts are never involved in another client’s transactions.

Adding Client User Access

By default, when a sub-account is created, only agency users can access it. To give the client access to their own account, the agency adds the client as a user within the sub-account.

The user creation flow asks for the client’s name, email, and permission level. HighLevel sends the new user an email with login instructions.

After they set their password, they can log in and see their own sub-account – and only their sub-account.

Permission levels control what the client can do within their account. An admin-level client can modify settings, create funnels, and make configuration changes.

A restricted user might only be able to view conversations, respond to leads, and check their pipeline – without being able to modify settings or automation. The right permission level depends on how much platform control the client needs and how much the agency wants them to have.

Sub-Account Limits

The number of sub-accounts available to an agency depends on the HighLevel plan. Some plans include unlimited sub-accounts; others have a specific cap.

An agency that hits their sub-account limit needs to upgrade their plan to create additional accounts.

Within each sub-account, some features also have usage limits depending on the agency plan and any per-sub-account configurations the agency applies – for example, limiting the number of contacts or users on a specific sub-account if using SaaS Mode feature gates.

Sub-Account Lifecycle – Pause, Delete, Transfer

When a client relationship ends, the agency has several options for managing the sub-account.

Pausing a sub-account suspends access to it – the data is preserved but no one can log in or use the account. Useful for clients who are temporarily not active or who owe outstanding payment.

The account can be reactivated if the client returns.

Deleting a sub-account permanently removes it and all its data. This action is irreversible.

Use this only when certain that the data is no longer needed by anyone. Most agencies export or archive critical data before deleting.

Transferring a sub-account moves it to a different agency account or to the client’s own standalone HighLevel account. This is the appropriate action when a client is moving to a different agency but wants to keep their HighLevel setup, or when a client wants to continue independently.

Transfers may require HighLevel support involvement.

What Can You Do With It?

• Serve unlimited clients on one platform with complete data separation: Each client’s CRM, funnels, conversations, and data exist in their own isolated sub-account – serving dozens or hundreds of clients without any risk of data crossing between accounts.
• Deploy full client setups in minutes using snapshots: Create a sub-account, apply a snapshot, update custom values, and the client has a complete, personalized marketing platform – without rebuilding anything from scratch.
• Customize each client’s experience while maintaining consistency: Custom values personalize the snapshot’s templates for each client while keeping the underlying structure consistent across all accounts using that snapshot.
• Give clients controlled access to their own account: Client user accounts with configured permission levels let clients see and interact with their own data – managing their own leads and conversations – without touching settings or automation they should not modify.
• Manage the full client lifecycle from creation to departure: Pause, delete, or transfer sub-accounts as client relationships evolve – with each option appropriate to the specific situation.

Key Definitions

Use Cases by Industry

Marketing Agency – Structured Onboarding Workflow

An agency with a structured onboarding process creates every new client sub-account using a checklist: create the account with the industry snapshot, enter the sub-account, update business information in Settings, update all custom values, connect the client’s Facebook Page, connect their Stripe account, add the client as a user with appropriate permissions, test a funnel submission, confirm workflow triggers.

This same checklist is followed for every client – the process takes under two hours for a new account. The agency’s onboarding is consistent because the process is defined and the snapshot handles the heavy lifting.

Result: Client onboarding is fast, consistent, and quality-controlled. Every client account meets the same standard on delivery day because the process is standardized rather than improvised per client.

Franchise Management – Multiple Locations

A franchise with 15 locations uses one HighLevel agency account with 15 sub-accounts – one per location. Each location’s sub-account shares the same snapshot-based infrastructure (funnels, workflows, pipeline structure) but has its own business information, custom values, and connected integrations for that location’s phone number, address, and payment account.

The franchisor manages a master snapshot that ensures all locations start with the approved marketing infrastructure. Location managers log into their own sub-account and manage their location’s leads and conversations – without seeing any other location’s data.

Result: Brand consistency across all 15 locations through a shared snapshot, with location-specific data isolation keeping each manager’s view clean and focused on their own location’s operations.

SaaS Mode – Self-Service Subscriber Accounts

A SaaS Mode agency has 50 subscribers. Each subscriber has their own sub-account, created automatically when they completed the self-signup flow.

The sub-accounts were all provisioned with the SaaS snapshot – same structure for all subscribers.

Subscribers log into their own sub-account with the credentials created at signup. The agency never manually touched most of these accounts – the automated provisioning handled creation, and custom values were updated automatically with the subscriber’s business information from the signup form.

Result: 50 subscriber accounts, all fully provisioned and functional, with minimal manual agency intervention per account. The sub-account system is what makes 50 isolated, individually personalized client environments operationally manageable.

Agency Offboarding – Client Leaves

A client ends their relationship with the agency. The agency has two options: the client wants to continue using HighLevel with a different agency, or the client is done with HighLevel entirely.

For the first scenario, the agency initiates a sub-account transfer – the client’s account (with all their data, funnels, and contacts) moves to the new agency’s HighLevel account. For the second, the agency exports the client’s contact data, provides it to the client, and then deletes the sub-account.

Either path is manageable. The data isolation that kept the client’s data separate from other clients also makes it straightforward to move or remove without affecting anything else.

Result: Clean, professional offboarding. The client’s data is handled appropriately – transferred if they are continuing, returned if they are not. The agency’s other 19 client accounts are completely unaffected.

Who Is This For?

How to Create and Configure a Sub-Account

Step 1: Create the sub-account

From the agency dashboard, click Add Sub-Account. Enter the business name, email, phone, address, and timezone.

Select the appropriate snapshot. Save.

Step 2: Enter the sub-account

Click the new sub-account in the agency dashboard list to enter it. The sub-account view opens.

Step 3: Update business information in Settings

Go to Settings in the sub-account navigation. Confirm all business information fields are correctly populated – name, address, phone, email, timezone.

Step 4: Update custom values

In Settings, go to Custom Values. Update every placeholder with the client’s specific information.

This personalizes all templates in the account with a single batch update.

Step 5: Connect payment integration

Go to Settings, then Payments, then Integrations. Connect the client’s Stripe account so checkout pages in the snapshot can process real transactions.

Step 6: Connect social and ad integrations

In Settings, connect the client’s Facebook Page, Google Business Profile, and any other relevant integrations. These connections enable the platform features that depend on them.

Step 7: Configure phone and email

Set up the sub-account’s phone number and email sending configuration so SMS and email workflows can actually deliver messages to leads and clients.

Step 8: Add the client as a user

In Settings, then Users, add the client with their email and the appropriate permission level. They will receive a login invitation by email.

Step 9: Test and hand off

Submit a test form, check the CRM contact was created, verify the workflow triggered, and confirm the calendar booking flow works. Then hand off the account to the client with a brief walkthrough of the key features.

How Does It Connect to HighLevel?

• Agency Dashboard: The Agency Dashboard is the management layer for all sub-accounts. Sub-account creation, access, and lifecycle management happen from the agency dashboard. The dashboard and sub-account management are inseparable in practice.
• Snapshot Manager: The Snapshot Manager provides the snapshots applied during sub-account creation. High-quality snapshots turn sub-account creation into a rapid deployment task rather than a manual build-from-scratch process.
• Custom Domains: Custom domains are configured within each sub-account’s Settings, then Domains. Each client’s funnels and websites use the client’s own domain – configured within their individual sub-account settings.
• Payment Integrations: Payment integrations – Stripe, PayPal – are connected per sub-account. Each client connects their own payment processor in their own sub-account settings. Financial data and transactions are isolated per sub-account as a direct result.
• SaaS Mode: SaaS Mode creates subscriber sub-accounts automatically during the self-signup flow. Each subscriber’s automatically provisioned sub-account is a standard HighLevel sub-account managed through the same sub-account management system as manually created accounts.

Common Questions

What is a sub-account in HighLevel?

An individual, isolated client environment within an agency’s HighLevel account. Each sub-account has its own CRM, funnels, workflows, conversations, and settings – completely separate from all other sub-accounts.

How do I create a new sub-account in HighLevel?

From the agency dashboard, click Add Sub-Account. Enter business name, email, phone, address, and timezone.

Select a snapshot. Save.

The account appears in the dashboard list immediately.

How many sub-accounts can I have in HighLevel?

Depends on the agency plan. Some plans include unlimited sub-accounts; others have a cap.

Check current HighLevel pricing documentation for the limit on the current plan.

Can I give clients access to their own HighLevel sub-account?

Yes. Add the client as a user in Settings, then Users within the sub-account.

Configure their permission level. They receive a login invitation and can access only their own account.

What settings are configured per sub-account in HighLevel?

Business information, connected integrations, phone and email configuration, timezone, custom values, custom fields, user access and permissions, notification settings, and calendar configurations – all specific to that client’s account.

Can I transfer a sub-account from one agency to another in HighLevel?

Yes – transfers are possible but may require HighLevel support involvement. Used when a client moves to a different agency or wants to continue independently.

What happens to a sub-account when a client leaves the agency?

Options: pause the account (preserves data, suspends access), delete it (permanent removal), or transfer it (move to the client or a new agency). The choice depends on the client’s situation.

Can I apply a snapshot to an existing sub-account in HighLevel?

Yes. Snapshots can be deployed to existing accounts.

Elements are added alongside existing content rather than overwriting it. Test on a test account before deploying to a production client account.

How do I access a sub-account’s settings in HighLevel?

Enter the sub-account from the agency dashboard by clicking it. Then navigate to Settings in the sub-account’s navigation menu.

Are sub-accounts billed separately in HighLevel?

No – the agency pays one plan subscription covering the allowed sub-account count. Usage-based costs (SMS, email, AI) accrue per sub-account and can be passed to clients via the Rebilling feature.

To Wrap It Up

Sub-accounts are the structural foundation of HighLevel agency operations. Every client interaction, every piece of client data, and every piece of marketing infrastructure for every client lives within its own sub-account.

Understanding how they work – and how to set them up efficiently – is the most foundational operational knowledge for any HighLevel agency.

The two practices that make sub-account management efficient at scale are snapshots and custom values. Snapshots eliminate manual build work – the infrastructure is deployed in one step.

Custom values eliminate manual personalization work – update the values once and every template in the account reflects the client’s information.

An agency that has these two practices working consistently can create a fully configured, personalized client account in under two hours. An agency still building everything manually for each client, one element at a time, cannot.

Here is how to get started:

1. Ensure at least one quality snapshot is in the Snapshot Manager before creating the next client account
2. From the agency dashboard, click Add Sub-Account and create the account with the snapshot applied
3. Enter the sub-account and go to Settings
4. Update all business information fields
5. Go to Custom Values and update every placeholder with the client’s specific information
6. Connect Stripe, Facebook Page, and any other relevant integrations
7. Configure phone number and email sending
8. Add the client as a user with appropriate permissions
9. Run a test submission and confirm the workflow fires
10. Hand off the account to the client

Update custom values before walking the client through the account for the first time. Nothing undermines the presentation of a new client platform more than email templates that still say “Business Name Here” or “Owner’s Name” – because the custom values were not updated.

Take 10 minutes for the custom value update before every client handoff.