How to Transfer Google Workspace to Another Account

Transferring your Google Workspace account to another account can be complex but necessary for reasons like company restructuring, domain changes, mergers, or offboarding employees. This guide will help you understand the process, challenges, and available methods for moving all your critical business data, including emails, Drive files, calendars, and contacts, from one Google Workspace account to another safely and effectively in 2025.

What Does Transferring Google Workspace to Another Account Entail?

Transferring Google Workspace means moving users, domains, and all associated data such as emails, Google Drive files, calendars, and contacts from one Google Workspace environment to another. Unlike simple email forwarding, it involves migrating data between administrative accounts or tenants, which may have different domains or organisational structures. The process typically requires admin access to both source and destination accounts and often cannot be completed with a single click.

Challenges include the lack of a straightforward, one-step migration for all data types, potential downtime during domain transfer, and the need to manually transfer Drive ownership and shared drive contents. Additionally, admin cooperation is crucial when ownership or account transfer involves multiple stakeholders.

Why Transfer Your Google Workspace Account?

You might consider transferring your Google Workspace account or data to another account for several reasons:

• Company acquisition or merger, requiring domain and data consolidation.
• Changing or updating your primary domain name to reflect rebranding.
• Reorganising teams or departments and restructuring user accounts.
• Offboarding employees securely while preserving data.
• Migrating to a different subscription or provider while maintaining continuity.

Understanding these scenarios helps in planning the transfer process with minimal disruption.

How to Transfer Google Workspace Data: Manual and Professional Methods

Due to Google’s platform limitations, transferring Google Workspace data involves various steps and tools. Here are the main approaches:

Manual Transfer Using Google Data Migration Service

Administrators can use Google’s Data Migration Service via the Admin Console to migrate emails between Workspace accounts. This method allows migration of emails but does not support moving Drive files or permanent ownership transfers.

Steps generally include:

• Admin access to both source and destination accounts.
• Setting up migration in the destination Admin Console by specifying the source account and user credentials.
• Choosing migration options such as data range inclusion and folder selection.
• Starting and monitoring the migration progress.

This is suitable for small teams or limited email data migration.

Domain and User Account Preparation for Domain Transfer

To transfer a domain from one Workspace to another:

• Move all users in the source account using the domain to a secondary domain temporarily.
• Remove the primary domain from the source account after users are moved.
• Add the primary domain to the destination account.
• Recreate users on the destination account with appropriate permissions to resume email service.
• Migrate emails using the Data Migration Service as needed.

Note this process involves downtime and DNS propagation delay, typically 15 minutes to 24 hours.

Transfer Google Drive and Other Data

There is no native Google Workspace automated tool to migrate Drive files, Calendars, or Contacts between accounts in different tenants or domains. Recommended options include:

• Transferring file ownership within the same domain.
• Manually downloading files from the source account and uploading to the destination.
• You might find third-party migration tools that support Drive, Contacts, and Calendar transfers to be very helpful.

For shared drives and collaboration data, the transfer usually requires manual sharing and re-creation on the destination account.

Using Third-Party Migration Tools

Professional tools (AvePoint Fly that BackupVault provide) provide bulk migration of all services, emails, Drive, calendars, contacts, and more. They simplify the process, reduce manual steps, and maintain data integrity with features like incremental backup, filters, and multi-account migration support.

They are recommended for:

• Large organisations with extensive data.
• Complex migration scenarios.
• Minimising user downtime.
• Ensuring complete data replication.

Important Considerations and Best Practices

• Admin Access: Full super admin access is needed on both source and destination accounts.
• Data Backup: It is always wise to backup critical data using Google Takeout or third-party solutions before starting migration.
• IMAP Enabled: Make sure IMAP is enabled on all user Gmail accounts for email migration.
• Passwords Management: Admins might need to reset user passwords temporarily for migration.
• Labels and Folder Structure: Gmail migration retains folder hierarchy but check for labels and custom folder treatment.
• Downtime: Prepare users for potential downtime during domain swap and data migration.
• User Communication: Inform users about the migration schedule, new login details, and expected changes.
• Testing: Perform migration for a small number of users first to validate the process.
• Data Security: Use encrypted migration tools and comply with GDPR and data sovereignty policies.

Why Choose BackupVault for Google Workspace Backup and Migration?

BackupVault offers UK-based, fully automatic, and encrypted cloud backup tailored for Google Workspace data protection. With 20+ years of experience, UK/EU-compliant data centres, and 24/7 friendly support, BackupVault helps you prevent data loss from accidental deletion or ransomware. While BackupVault focuses on backup rather than migration, its reliable service ensures your data remains protected during transitions or account changes.

Explore BackupVault’s services to secure your Workspace data effortlessly and start a free trial to ensure peace of mind during your Google Workspace account transfer.

A secure, well-planned transfer of Google Workspace accounts can safeguard your valuable business data and maintain operational continuity. Utilising the right tools and adhering to best practices will save time and avoid data loss, helping your organisation stay productive throughout the transition.