The HighLevel setup and migration checklist

Updated 2026-09-19

Setting up HighLevel is about 20 steps in a fixed order, and the order matters more than the speed. Sending domain first, then contacts, then one pipeline, then the calendar, then one workflow, then everything else. This checklist gives each step and the condition that says it is actually done, not just started.

This checklist is the detailed version of the order described on the switch hub and at start. Read the learning curve alongside it if you are also new to the platform itself.

How to use this list

Work the steps in order. Do not skip any of the first five. A step counts as done when its condition is met with a real contact moving through it, not when the settings page is filled in. Cancel an old tool only after the last step's condition is met.

Print this list or keep it open in a second tab while you work. It is written to stand on its own without any other page on this site, so it is the page to hand to whoever is actually doing the setup, whether that is you, an employee or someone you hire for the project.

The order

1. Create the account and add users. Done when every person who will work in the account can log in.
2. Choose the sending domain. A subdomain of your main domain, never the root domain itself. Done when the subdomain is chosen and recorded.
3. Add sending domain authentication. SPF, DKIM and DMARC records added at your domain registrar. Done when HighLevel confirms the domain as verified. See email deliverability for what each record does.
4. Start email warm-up. This runs in the background over roughly two to four weeks (FACTS.md, Email and SMS, as at September 2026); start it now so it is not the last thing you wait on.
5. Register for business texting (A2P 10DLC) if you plan to send SMS. One-time registration plus a monthly campaign fee apply (FACTS.md, Usage fees, as at September 2026); see phone and SMS for the specific amounts.
6. Buy or port a phone number. Local numbers rent at $1.15 per month, toll-free at $2.15 per month (FACTS.md, Usage fees, as at September 2026). Done when a test call and text both connect.
7. Export contacts and tags from your current tool. Do this before anything else changes in the old system.
8. Map custom fields. Decide which fields in your old tool become which fields in HighLevel before importing, not after.
9. Import contacts and tags. Done when the contact count matches your export, accounting for any deliberate exclusions.
10. Build your first pipeline with real stages. Use your actual sales or client stages, not a generic template. Done when a real enquiry can be dragged through every stage.
11. Set up the calendar and one booking page. Done when you can book a real appointment through it end to end.
12. Connect payments. Most commonly Stripe or PayPal (FACTS.md, Payments, as at September 2026). Done when a real, small test payment completes.
13. Build one workflow: what happens when a new enquiry arrives. This is the workflow that matters most in week one. Done when a test enquiry triggers the expected message.
14. Rebuild your most-used page or form. Start with the one piece of content that generates the most enquiries.
15. Rebuild remaining workflows one at a time. Renewal reminders, review requests, no-show follow-up; add each only once the last one is tested.
16. Rebuild courses or memberships, if you have them. Content is generally re-uploaded rather than transferred automatically; budget real hours for this.
17. Run a real enquiry end to end. A genuine test, not a fake one, through the whole path from first contact to booked appointment.
18. Run both tools side by side for a defined period. Pick a system of record for tracking during this window, since two tools rarely count the same activity the same way.
19. Export anything you still need from the old tool. History, past invoices, anything not already moved.
20. Cancel the old tool. Only after the enquiry workflow, the pipeline and the calendar have each handled a real case successfully.

Where owners lose the most time

Two steps cause most of the delay we have seen in businesses we have advised through this process: nobody is named as the single owner of the setup, so it drifts for weeks with nothing decided, and the sending domain is left until late because it feels less urgent than the visible pieces like pages and pipelines. Both are avoidable by naming an owner on day one and starting the domain and warm-up before anything else, exactly as steps two through four above are ordered.

The single most common first-month mistake on this list is working the steps out of order: building pages and workflows first because they feel like progress, then discovering the domain still has not finished warming up. the setup timeline tool turns this order into a week-by-week plan for your own starting point.

Questions people ask

What do I set up first in HighLevel?

The sending domain and its authentication records, because the warm-up period runs in the background and sets the floor on how soon you can send real volume. Start it on day one even if nothing else is ready yet.

How do I know a step is finished?

Each step above has a condition tied to a real action, such as a real contact moving through a pipeline stage or a genuine test payment completing, rather than a settings page being filled in.

When can I cancel my old tools?

Only after your enquiry workflow, pipeline and calendar have each handled a real case successfully, and you have exported anything from the old tool you still need.

How long does the checklist take?

It depends on how much needs to be rebuilt and who owns the work. See the setup timeline tool for a week-by-week estimate based on your own starting point.

Do I need to do all of it?

The first five steps apply to every setup. Later steps, such as rebuilding courses or memberships, only apply if your business uses those features.