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04.01 Export and back up your database before you touch it

04.01

Export and back up your database before you touch it

Take a complete CSV export from HighLevel or Follow Up Boss, store it safely, and keep an untouched copy you can restore from.

30 minMatches official docsChecked 2026-10-20

Video walkthrough

Coming soonThe 20-minute backup that makes every cleanup safe
It will cover
  1. Why a merge or bulk delete cannot be undone, in either CRM
  2. HighLevel: show every column, export, and download from Bulk Actions
  3. Follow Up Boss: select all, check all columns, and export
  4. Name, store and lock the file: the three-folder routine
  5. Open the export and count rows against the CRM total
This chapter is complete without it. Every step is written out on this page.

What you're building

A dated, complete CSV copy of every contact in your CRM, saved in a private folder, plus a working copy you will clean in the next chapters. The original export stays untouched so you can compare or rebuild later.

  • 2026-10-20_highlevel_all-contacts_ORIGINAL.csv (or _followupboss_), read-only
  • A WORKING copy for cleanup
  • A one-line export log: date, CRM, row count, who exported

Why it matters

Everything in this part changes records: merging duplicates, editing fields, adding tags. In HighLevel a merge "cannot be reversed", and in Follow Up Boss a merge "cannot be undone". A backup taken before you start is the only way to recover a phone number or note that a bad merge overwrote.

The export is also your raw material. The reactivation workbook in chapter 5 works from this file, not from the live CRM, so you can score and sort without risk.

What you need

  • HighLevel: an Admin user. HighLevel's article says only admin users can export contacts, and only Agency and Location Admins can download the file.
  • Follow Up Boss: the Account Owner, or a user the Owner has given Can Export at Admin > Teams. The Owner gets an email whenever someone else exports.
  • A private storage location: an encrypted laptop folder, or a business cloud drive with sharing turned off.
  • Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets to open the file.

Time and cost

Time
20 to 40 minutes
Cost
$0

Export is included in both CRMs. Large accounts take longer because HighLevel builds the file in the background.

Step by step

  1. HighLevel: show every column you want in the export

    HighLevel exports only the columns visible in the table. Open Manage Fields and turn on every standard and custom field you care about: name, email, phone, address, tags, source, date created, last activity, and every custom field such as consent source.

    Check: The table on screen shows the custom fields you need as columns.

  2. HighLevel: select all contacts and export

    Tick the select box, choose Select All Contacts (not just the visible page), then More > Export and confirm. The export runs as a background job; use Check Progress or wait for the notification.

    Download the finished file from Contacts > Bulk Actions. HighLevel keeps it there for 30 days. Exports run one sub-account at a time, so repeat for each sub-account you use.

    Check: A CSV is in your Downloads folder and the Bulk Actions row shows the export as completed.

  3. Follow Up Boss: select everyone and export with all columns

    On People > All People, clear any filters, check the box next to Name, then Select All. Click the export icon (down arrow) and check the option to include all columns before confirming. The CSV downloads in your browser.

    With all columns checked, Follow Up Boss includes up to 6 phones, 6 emails and 6 addresses, stage, source, assignment, tags, custom fields and the 50 most recent calls, texts and notes. Without it you get only the first phone, email and address.

    Check: The CSV has more than one phone column and a Tags column.

  4. Count rows against the CRM total

    Open the CSV. The number of data rows (total rows minus the header) should match the contact count shown in the CRM's All list. A gap usually means you exported only the visible page or a filtered list.

    Write the result in your export log.

    Check: Row count in the file equals the CRM's total contact count, or you can explain the difference.

  5. Name, store and lock the original

    1. Rename the file YYYY-MM-DD_<crm>_all-contacts_ORIGINAL.csv.
    2. Move it into a folder named CRM backups that only you (and your broker, if required) can open.
    3. Mark it read-only: on Mac, File > Get Info > Locked; on Windows, Properties > Read-only.
    4. Duplicate it as ..._WORKING.csv for the cleanup chapters.
    5. Delete the copy in Downloads.

    Check: The ORIGINAL file is locked and is the only full export outside the CRM besides your WORKING copy.

What success looks like

  • A locked ORIGINAL CSV whose row count matches the CRM
  • A WORKING copy ready for chapter 2
  • An export log line you could show your broker
  • No exports left in Downloads, email or shared drives

Copyable templates

csvExport log

One row per export. Keep it next to the backups.

export_date,crm,sub_account_or_team,row_count_in_file,crm_total_shown,exported_by,file_name,stored_in,notes
2026-10-20,HighLevel,Coastal Key Realty,4312,4312,Dana Reyes,2026-10-20_highlevel_all-contacts_ORIGINAL.csv,CRM backups (encrypted),All columns shown before export

Try it

Live CRMHighLevel or Follow Up Boss
ORIGINAL.csvlocked, never edited
WORKING.csvcleaned in ch. 2 to 5
Reactivation workbookscored and segmented
  • Live CRMtoORIGINAL.csvexport
  • ORIGINAL.csvtoWORKING.csvduplicate
  • WORKING.csvtoReactivation workbookpaste
Where each copy lives

How to test it

  1. Pick three contacts you know well. Find each in the CSV and confirm phone, email and tags match the CRM.
  2. Try to edit and save the ORIGINAL file. Your computer should refuse or ask to unlock it.
  3. Search your email Sent folder and Downloads for the file name. You should find nothing.

Troubleshooting

HighLevel shows no Export option.

Your user is not an admin. Ask the account owner to run the export or change your role.

The HighLevel export is missing custom fields.

Only visible columns export. Turn them on in Manage Fields and export again.

The Follow Up Boss export icon is missing.

You lack export permission. The Account Owner can tick Can Export for you at Admin > Teams.

Row count is far lower than the CRM total.

You exported one page or a filtered Smart List. Clear filters, use Select All, and export again.

Excel turned phone numbers into 5.55E+09 or dropped leading zeros.

Do not save over the file. Re-open it with Data > From Text/CSV and set phone columns to Text.

Advanced technical details

Optional. You can follow every step above without these.

Technical detailsExporting by API instead of the UI

Follow Up Boss exposes GET /v1/people with HTTP Basic auth. limit defaults to 10 and maxes at 100, so a full pull pages with offset; add fields=allFields to include custom fields, and includeTrash defaults to false. Rate limits are not stated on that reference page, so add a delay between pages.

HighLevel also has a contacts API, but the UI export is enough for a backup. If you script one, store the API key outside the script and log the row count each run so you can compare against the UI total.

Sources

Every product step matches the current official documentation listed under Sources. Last checked 2026-10-20.