How to Set Up SaaS Mode Step by Step in GoHighLevel

Understanding SaaS Mode Before You Start

SaaS Mode transforms GoHighLevel from a marketing platform you use for clients into a product you sell to clients. Instead of charging hourly or project fees, you build recurring monthly revenue — the most scalable agency model.

Here's the fundamental math:

• You pay: $497/month for Agency Pro (unlimited sub-accounts)
• You charge: $297–$997/month per client
• 10 clients at $497/month = $4,970 MRR — 10× your platform cost

SaaS Mode is the engine. This tutorial walks you through every configuration step.

Prerequisites

Before starting:

• ✅ Agency Pro plan active ($497/month)
• ✅ Stripe account (free to create at stripe.com)
• ✅ Custom domain for white labeling (recommended but optional to start)
• ✅ Brand assets: logo, colors, business name

Step 1: Access the SaaS Configurator

1. Log in to GoHighLevel at app.gohighlevel.com
2. Click Settings in the left sidebar
3. Select SaaS Configurator

You'll see the SaaS setup wizard. This is the command center for your entire reselling operation.

Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account

1. In the SaaS Configurator, click Connect Stripe
2. You'll be redirected to Stripe's OAuth flow
3. Log in to your Stripe account (or create one at stripe.com — it's free)
4. Authorize GoHighLevel to create charges and subscriptions on your behalf
5. You'll be redirected back to GoHighLevel with a green Stripe Connected status

Important: Make sure your Stripe account is out of test mode before going live. Navigate to Stripe → Dashboard → toggle off Test Mode.

Step 3: Enable Rebilling (Recommended)

Rebilling lets you mark up GoHighLevel's per-usage costs (SMS, email, calls, AI tokens) and charge clients more than you pay.

1. In SaaS Configurator → Rebilling
2. Enable SMS Rebilling, Email Rebilling, Call Rebilling, and AI Rebilling
3. Set your markup percentage or fixed markup per unit:
   • Example: if HighLevel charges you a set rate per SMS, you charge clients that rate plus your markup
4. Click Save

This creates passive revenue every time your clients send a message or use an AI feature.

Step 4: Create Your Pricing Plans

This is the most strategic step. You're defining what you sell.

Creating a plan:

1. In SaaS Configurator → Plans → Add Plan
2. Configure:
   • Plan Name: e.g., "Local Business Starter"
   • Plan Description: What this plan delivers
   • Monthly Price: What you charge (e.g., $297/month)
   • Annual Price: Discounted rate (e.g., $2,970/year — 2 months free)
   • Trial Period: 14 or 30 days (optional)
3. In Feature Access, toggle on/off GoHighLevel modules:
   • CRM & Pipelines, Funnels, Websites, Automations, SMS/Email, Reputation Management, Reporting
4. In Usage Limits, set:
   • Max contacts, max users, max sub-accounts (if you're allowing agencies to resell under you)
5. Click Save Plan

Recommended 3-tier structure:

| Plan | Price | Key Features | |------|-------|-------------| | Local Starter | $297/mo | CRM, basic automations, SMS/Email, reputation | | Growth | $497/mo | Everything + funnels, websites, advanced workflows | | Agency | $997/mo | Everything + unlimited contacts, sub-accounts, priority support |

Step 5: Configure Your Sub-Account Sign-Up Page

GoHighLevel generates a client-facing sign-up URL for each plan.

1. In SaaS Configurator → Sign-Up Page
2. Customize the sign-up page:
   • Add your logo and brand colors
   • Write a headline and value proposition
   • Select which plans are visible
3. Click Publish
4. Copy the Sign-Up URL — this is the link you'll share with prospects

The sign-up page is hosted by GoHighLevel but branded with your identity. Clients who sign up are automatically provisioned a sub-account and sent a welcome email.

Step 6: Set Up the White-Label Domain (Highly Recommended)

Without a custom domain, clients log in at app.gohighlevel.com, which exposes the underlying platform.

1. Go to Settings → Agency Settings → White Label
2. Enter your custom domain (e.g., app.youragency.com)
3. Add the CNAME record at your DNS provider pointing to GoHighLevel's servers
4. Click Verify Domain

After verification (up to 48 hours), all clients access the platform at your domain.

Step 7: Configure Welcome & Onboarding Emails

1. Go to Settings → Notifications
2. Edit the New Sub-Account Welcome Email template:
   • Include your logo, brand tone, and a CTA to a getting-started video
   • Add your support email/chat link
3. Optionally, create a GoHighLevel Workflow that triggers when a new sub-account is created and sends a 7-day onboarding drip sequence

Step 8: Test the Entire Flow End-to-End

Before inviting real clients, simulate the client experience:

1. Open an incognito browser window
2. Navigate to your sign-up URL
3. Select a plan and enter Stripe's test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242 (any future expiry, any CVC)
4. Complete sign-up and verify:
   • ✅ Sub-account created in your agency dashboard
   • ✅ Welcome email received with correct branding
   • ✅ Client can log in at your custom domain
   • ✅ Platform shows your logo and brand colors
5. Test an upgrade and a cancellation using the Stripe test environment

Step 9: Set Up Churn Prevention Alerts

GoHighLevel doesn't natively alert you when clients cancel. Set this up manually:

1. In Settings → Integrations → Stripe Webhooks
2. Add a webhook for customer.subscription.deleted and customer.subscription.updated
3. Route the webhook to a GoHighLevel workflow or Zapier
4. Create an automation that:
   • Tags the contact as "Churn Risk"
   • Notifies you via SMS or Slack
   • Triggers a win-back email sequence to the client

Step 10: Launch and Monitor Your SaaS Dashboard

1. Share your sign-up URL on your website, LinkedIn, cold email sequences, and sales calls
2. Monitor revenue in SaaS Configurator → Revenue Report:
   • MRR (monthly recurring revenue)
   • Active subscriptions by plan
   • Trial conversions
   • Churn rate
3. In your Stripe dashboard, monitor:
   • Successful charges
   • Failed payment retries
   • Dispute rate (keep it as low as possible)

Month 1 Revenue Targets

| Clients | Price/Client | Monthly Revenue | Platform Cost | Net Margin | |---------|-------------|-----------------|---------------|------------| | 3 | $297 | $891 | $497 | $394 | | 10 | $297 | $2,970 | $497 | $2,473 | | 10 | $497 | $4,970 | $497 | $4,473 | | 25 | $497 | $12,425 | $497 | $11,928 |

The unit economics improve dramatically as you scale — the platform cost is fixed while revenue scales linearly.