Start it yourself
A System Admin prepares the archive in Settings after a fresh security check. The action does not depend on a cancellation request or support ticket.
Data export & portability
Take your HR data with you — without a support ticket or separate export fee.
A HollyHR System Admin can prepare a secure organisation archive in the product: 14 plainly named CSV data areas, eligible uploaded files and manifests that show what was included or skipped. No support ticket or separate export fee.
✓ One self-service action✓ 14 plainly named CSV data areas✓ Eligible files with included/skipped evidence✓ Private five-minute download
What does the HollyHR organisation export contain?
Your organisation keeps the rights in the HR data it stores in HollyHR. A System Admin can create a self-service ZIP with 14 plainly named CSV data areas, eligible uploaded files and included/skipped manifests. It is a broad operational archive—not a complete database backup or a guaranteed import into another system.
Your data. A visible way out.
An exit route you do not have to negotiate.
Inspect the result
A bundle manifest accounts for all 14 core data areas. A separate document manifest records every profile-document and native compliance-asset entry as included or skipped, with the reason.
Move it without pretending schemas match
Separate CSV files are readable and suitable for mapping. Populated files include clear column headings; the destination system still decides what it can import.
A package you can inspect
See what the ZIP contains—not just that a download finished.
HollyHR separates each data area, keeps eligible uploads in their own folders and places the manifests beside them. A missing core dataset stops the package.
File bytes, with a manifest
Keep “listed” separate from “included”.
Uploaded file bytes have explicit limits. The manifest records included and skipped entries; external links remain metadata because HollyHR does not own the remote file.
Different jobs. Different boundaries.
Choose the export that matches the question.
An organisation archive, subject-access response, report, payroll handoff and API read have different permissions, formats and evidence.
Six questions worth asking
Make every HR supplier show you the exit.
A useful portability promise should survive specific questions. These are HollyHR's current answers—not a roadmap presented as proof.
Can we start it ourselves?
Yes. A System Admin starts it in Settings after a fresh security check—without a cancellation request or support ticket.
Is it more than one people file?
Yes. The ZIP separates 14 core data areas; a missing dataset stops a successful package.
Do uploaded files come too?
Eligible profile documents and native compliance files are included up to 25 MB each and 100 MB of uploaded-file content per export.
Will we see what was skipped?
Yes. Every considered entry is marked included or skipped, with a reason. External links remain metadata.
How is the download protected?
A fresh check protects the action. The private link lasts five minutes; completed exports enter the audit trail.
What happens if we cancel?
Cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period, with paid access continuing until then. Prepare the export before account closure.
A clear product boundary
Know what the archive is—and is not
The ZIP can contain sensitive personal, address, employment, pay and bank values. Protected pay and bank fields are decrypted for the archive, so store, transfer and dispose of it as carefully as the live HR system.
- Access — System Admin only after a fresh check; locked or awaiting-reactivation workspaces cannot start it.
- File limits — 25 MB each and 100 MB of uploaded-file content per export; external links remain metadata.
- Current scope — no working-pattern history, onboarding journeys, policy ledgers, custom fields, compliance workflow state or audit history.
- Portability — readable and mappable does not mean one-click import into another supplier.
Questions people ask
Can I export my organisation's data if I leave HollyHR?
Yes. A System Admin can choose Prepare secure export in Settings after a fresh security check. HollyHR returns a private download link valid for five minutes and records the completed export. The action does not require a cancellation request or support ticket, and there is no separate export fee.
Which data areas are in the organisation export?
The 14 CSV areas cover the organisation, organisation addresses, users, profiles, departments, bank accounts, compensation, compensation history, employment history, emergency contacts, personal addresses, document metadata, native compliance-asset metadata and time off. The bundle manifest accounts for every expected area.
Does the export include uploaded document files?
It includes eligible uploaded profile documents and native compliance files up to 25 MB per file and 100 MB of uploaded-file content per export. The document manifest records every considered entry as included or skipped, with the reason. External links remain metadata.
Is the organisation export safe to email around?
Treat it as highly sensitive. The archive can contain personal, address, employment, pay and bank values, and protected pay and bank fields are decrypted for the ZIP. Use an approved secure transfer and storage location rather than attaching it to ordinary email.
What happens to export access if I cancel?
Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, with paid access continuing until then. Export before account closure. Application-deleted data is removed from live systems immediately. Isolated encrypted backups keep a 35-day recovery window and are then scheduled for deletion through provider lifecycle processing.
How does a subject access request work in HollyHR?
An authorised System Admin or HR Admin can generate an inventoried JSON bundle for an active person. It names exclusions and is released only after its audit succeeds. Archived leavers use a guarded operator process. This supports, but does not replace, identity checks, legal review and secure disclosure.
What other ways can I move data out of HollyHR?
Headcount, turnover and time-off views download as CSV or PDF. Payroll review packs use a generic shape, pay-period changes or a Xero Payroll UK file preset without submitting payroll. The beta REST API provides scoped reads; Standard write scopes require System Admin key creation after a fresh security check.
A clean exit, built in
Choose HR software with the way out already working.
Join early access with a self-service archive you can inspect—or check the exact product boundary before you do.
Join the early-access list →Read the no-lock-in promiseSee pricingFree core HR up to 10 active people · no card · no trial clock