Systems and records
Owner, admin or super admin: who can export all company data from a SaaS tool?
By SourceX Editorial · Updated
Short answer
In most SaaS tools only the top role can export all company data: the owner, super admin or account owner, and sometimes only after the vendor enables it. Ordinary admins often export only what they can see. Confirm the role, the plan tier and any vendor approval for each critical system before a migration, sale or shutdown.
Key takeaways
- A full export usually needs the highest role in the account, not just any admin.
- Plan tier and vendor approval can block a full export even when the right person asks.
- Some exports cover only what the requester can see, so an admin's file can be quietly incomplete.
- At least two named people in company roles should hold owner or super admin rights in every critical system.
- Export access is a technical permission; the right to use or license the data is a separate question.
Which role can export everything?#
The role that can export everything is usually the highest one in the account: the owner, super admin or account owner, not every admin. Vendors split rights this way because a full export copies every record, private space and file in one move.
Three conditions decide whether that role can actually run the export: the plan tier, any approval step on the vendor's side, and whether the export covers the whole account or only what the requester can see. A company can have the right person and still fail one of the other two.
| Role label | Typical scope | Common limit |
|---|---|---|
| Owner or primary owner | Billing, account deletion, ownership transfer and full exports | Often one person, sometimes a founder who has left |
| Super admin or organization admin | All users, security settings and org-wide exports | May also need an app-level admin role |
| Admin | Users, settings and exports of data they can see | Private spaces and other teams' records may be excluded |
| Member with export permission | Exports of specific objects or views | Bounded by visibility settings and row limits |
Role-by-tool table for 15 common systems#
The table summarizes what each vendor's own documentation says about who can run a broad or account-level export. Plans, role names and menus change, so confirm in the admin console before you rely on any row.
| System | Who can run the broad export | Condition to check |
|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | Super admin | The super admin account must be at least 30 days old, unless the organization's account is newer |
| Slack | Workspace Owners and Admins, for public channels | Exports with private channels and DMs need Business+ or Enterprise and an approved application by Owners |
| Asana | Super admin | Organization export is on Enterprise+ and legacy Enterprise tiers |
| Jira and Confluence | Organization admin with app admin permissions | Atlassian Backup and Restore needs a Premium or Enterprise plan |
| GitHub | Organization owner | Migration archives need owner permissions and a token with repo and admin:org scopes |
| Linear | Admins | On Enterprise plans only owners can run the workspace export |
| Zendesk | Account owner | Exports are off by default; the owner asks Zendesk support to enable them |
| HubSpot | Users with export permissions | Activities such as calls and notes need a separate export method |
| Pipedrive | Global admins and permitted users | Each user exports only data visible under their visibility settings |
| monday.com | Admins | The account export includes boards and uploaded files, and all admins are notified |
| Wrike | Owners and admins with the Export account data permission | BI Export is on Enterprise, Pinnacle and Apex plans |
| Procore | Users with Admin-level permission on each tool | Procore Extracts checks admin rights tool by tool |
| Deltek Vantagepoint Cloud | Designated Vantagepoint administrator | Service requests from anyone else are rejected |
| Bullhorn Automation | Admins | Exports run from a saved list or custom search |
| Jobber | Admin users | Team members with the Reports permission can export only some client data |
- 01Your work records
- 02Personal details removed
- 03You approve the release
- 04Licensed to AI developers
Why an admin's export can come back incomplete#
An admin's export comes back incomplete when it is scoped to the requester rather than the account. Pipedrive limits each user's export to data visible under their visibility settings, and Wrike's quick account backup covers only the tasks, folders and projects shared with the person who requests it.
Other gaps come from how the tool is built. Procore checks admin rights tool by tool, so an admin on one tool may be blocked on the next. HubSpot's standard record export leaves activities such as calls and notes to a separate method. Plan limits add a third kind of gap: a Slack export without the approved full option leaves out private channels and direct messages. Treat every first export as a test and compare its counts with what the system reports.
Check your access before you need it#
Checking export access takes little time per system, and it is far easier before a deadline than during one. Run the check across every system that holds operating records.
- List each system and name its current owner and super admins.
- Confirm each named person is a current employee using a company-controlled login.
- Note the plan tier and whether the full export is included, gated or available only on request.
- Run a small test export and compare record counts with the system's own reports.
- Record where the export landed, who ran it and when its download link expires.
- Add a second owner or super admin where the vendor allows it, and document a break-glass account.
Illustrative: a software holding group checks export rights after an acquisition#
Illustrative: a fictional holding company that buys vertical software businesses acquires a field inspection software company. The founders stay for a transition period, and the group's head of portfolio operations wants a full archive of support, engineering and sales records before systems are consolidated.
The review finds that the only Google Workspace super admin is a founder, the Slack workspace sits on a plan without full exports, and GitHub organization ownership belongs to a former contractor's account. The group adds its own super admin early so the account clears Google's age requirement in time, upgrades Slack and applies for the full export, and moves GitHub ownership to a company account before the founders leave.
The outcome: the archive is complete before consolidation starts, and the group records who ran each export. When counsel later reviews the acquired records for a licensing question, the provenance is already written down.
Who should hold owner and super admin roles?#
Owner and super admin roles should sit with at least two named people in company roles, chosen by job rather than tenure. Founders, early engineers and departed IT contractors often hold the only owner seat for years, which turns a routine export into a recovery project.
Keep a role register beside the system inventory: system, owner, super admins, plan tier, export method and the date access was last tested. Review it whenever a senior person leaves and at every acquisition. The register also answers a standard diligence question: who controls the company's records?
How SourceX handles export authority#
SourceX asks who can export before asking for anything else. In the Supply step of the SourceX five-step transaction (Supply, Rights, Preparation, Approval, Delivery), the fit check records systems, years of history and who holds owner rights, and nothing is shared during that assessment.
If a company proceeds, the person who runs each export and the person who authorizes release are recorded in the SourceX Evidence Packet, alongside provenance, licensing rights, permitted use and the privacy record. Large exports stay in the company's own storage or ship on encrypted drives.
Frequently asked questions
Can an IT contractor run the full export for us?
Often, if the vendor allows the role to be delegated and the contractor works from a company-managed login. Grant the role for the export window and remove it afterward. Do not let a contractor's own account hold the owner seat, because the company loses control when the engagement ends.
What if the only owner has already left?
Most vendors have an ownership recovery process that asks you to prove control of the company's domain or billing account. Start it early, since it can take several rounds with support. Until it is resolved, a full export may not be possible, so record the gap in your system inventory.
Does a full export include deleted records?
Usually not. Google, for example, says its Workspace Data Export tool does not export deleted data unless Google Vault retention rules or holds kept it. Check each vendor's trash and retention rules before assuming that older or deleted records are still available to export.
Is export access the same as the right to use the data?
No. Export access is a technical permission. Using the data, for example licensing it, depends on vendor terms, customer contracts, notices and privacy law, reviewed with counsel. Many vendor terms say the customer owns its data, but some restrict bulk API pulls or certain downstream uses.
How often should we test exports?
Test after any plan change, role change or major vendor update, and on a regular cycle for systems that hold critical records. A small test export confirms the role still works, the plan still includes the feature and the files open as expected.
Sources
- Google says the Workspace Data Export tool must be started by a super admin account that is at least 30 days old, unless the organization's account is newer than 30 days. Source
- Google says the Data Export tool does not export deleted data unless it was retained or held by Google Vault policies. Source
- Slack does not offer exports of public and private channels plus direct messages on the Free or Pro plans; they are available on Business+ and Enterprise, and Workspace Owners or Org Owners must apply to use them. Source
- Asana super admins can request a full export of their organization's data through the admin console, available on Enterprise+ and legacy Enterprise tiers. Source
- Atlassian Backup and Restore requires a Premium or Enterprise plan plus organization admin and app admin permissions. Source
- Exporting migration data from a GitHub.com organization requires owner permissions on the source organization's repositories and an access token with the repo and admin:org scopes. Source
- Linear admins can export workspace issue data as CSV, and on Enterprise plans only owners can do this. Source
- Zendesk data exports are not turned on by default; the account owner must contact Zendesk Customer Support to enable them. Source
- HubSpot says exporting records requires export permissions, and activities such as calls and notes must be exported with a separate method. Source
- Only Pipedrive global admins and users with the right permissions can export, and they can export only data visible to them under their visibility settings. Source
- monday.com admins can export all account data to a zip file of Excel sheets and uploaded files, and the export notifies all admins. Source
- Wrike's BI Export lets Enterprise, Pinnacle and Apex owners and admins with the 'Export account data' permission export full account data. Source
- Wrike's quick account backup covers only tasks, folders and projects shared with the requesting user. Source
- Procore Extracts requires Admin-level permissions on each tool you extract from. Source
- Vantagepoint Cloud service requests are submitted only by a designated Vantagepoint administrator, and requests from anyone else are rejected. Source
- Bullhorn Automation users can export records to CSV from a saved list or custom search, and only admins can run the export. Source
- Jobber says only admin users can import and export clients, although team members with the Reports permission can export some client data. Source
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