How to switch booking apps without losing clients

The scary part of leaving a booking app is the client list. Years of phone numbers, notes and next appointments live in there, and losing even a few regulars in the move costs more than any monthly fee.

You can switch without losing people. It takes a plan, a quiet week and a clear cut-over date. This guide walks through it in order, and most of it works whichever tool you're moving to.

Pick a cut-over date before you touch anything

Choose the day your new booking link goes live and your old one stops taking bookings. Pick one of your quieter days.

Then work back from it:

• One to two weeks before: get your exports, set up services and hours in the new tool, and import.
• Cut-over day: switch off online booking and reminders in the old tool, and switch on reminders in the new one.
• The two weeks after: keep the old account open, read-only, while clients find the new link.

Don't cancel the old subscription until you've checked the new calendar against the old one, day by day, for the next month.

Step 1: Get your data out of your old tool

Every tool does this differently, and some don't give you a button for everything. Ask early, in case support takes a while to reply.

Square Appointments

• Clients: in the Square Dashboard, go to Customers, then Customer directory, then Directory, and use the Import/Export menu. A Square Community moderator gave that path in April 2025 (Square Community, checked 4 Nov 2026).
• Appointments: Square's own help describes exporting your appointment history as a CSV from Appointments, then Settings, then History (Square Support, checked 4 Nov 2026).

Booksy

Booksy's help center says to email its support team at info.us@booksy.com for a copy of your client list with contact details (Booksy Biz Help Center, checked 4 Nov 2026). While you're writing, ask for your upcoming appointments and your service list too, so you only wait once.

Vagaro

Only the business owner can export the customer list, and it comes out as an Excel or PDF file from the Customers report (Vagaro Support, checked 4 Nov 2026). Take the Excel version. If you can't find an export for upcoming bookings, ask Vagaro support for one.

Anything else

Search your tool's help center for "export clients" and "export appointments". If there's no self-serve option, ask support for a CSV. Menus change often, so if a path above doesn't match your screen, check the help article for the current one.

Step 2: Tidy the file before you import it

Ten minutes in a spreadsheet saves an hour of fixing later.

• Save it as CSV. It's the format import tools usually ask for, and Excel can save any sheet as one.
• Keep one row per client. If the same person appears twice, merge them by hand now.
• Check emails and phone numbers. These are how a new tool recognises a returning client, so a typo can split one regular into two records.
• Leave the column headings alone. You'll match them to the new tool's fields during the import.
• Keep a copy of the original export somewhere safe, untouched.

Step 3: Set up your services and hours first

Before any bookings come across, the new tool needs to know what you sell, how long it takes and when you work. Set your hours, time off and staff calendars first. An import can only place a booking where there's room for it.

Step 4: Import clients and future bookings

If you're moving to ServiceSprig, the switch-over import is on the Clients page, under Switch from another tool. Owners and managers can use it.

1. Your old tool. Pick Fresha, Booksy, Square Appointments, Vagaro, GlossGenius, MassageBook, or "Another tool or a spreadsheet".
2. Files. Add your CSV files. A Vagaro Excel file needs saving as CSV first.
3. Match. The importer suggests a field for each column. We haven't tested these suggestions on every app's real export files yet, so check that each column landed in the right field, and match your old team members and services to the new ones. You can fix any column from a dropdown, and we'll help if anything doesn't line up.
4. Check. Before anything saves, every booking row shows "Fits" or the reason it doesn't, such as a clash with another booking, time off, or outside working hours. You can untick rows you don't want.
5. Import.

What comes across: clients (name, email, phone, birthday and notes), services (name, length, price and category) and bookings from today onward. New services start hidden from online booking until you turn them on, so you can check prices first.

What doesn't: past visit history, card details, payments, memberships and marketing permission. Clients who already exist are matched by email, then phone, so running the import twice doesn't create duplicates.

If something goes wrong, Undo import is there for 7 days. It removes the imported bookings you haven't changed since. Bookings that have been moved, checked in or paid for stay put.

Step 5: Stop clients getting two reminders

This is the step people forget. For a week or two, two systems hold the same appointments, and both may try to send reminders.

ServiceSprig doesn't email or text anyone when you import. It asks when reminders for imported bookings should start. Pick the day after you switch off your old tool's reminders, so nobody gets two. You can change the date later under Your imports.

Step 6: Tell your clients where to book now

Your regulars will keep tapping the old link until you tell them otherwise.

• Update every link: your Instagram and TikTok bios, your Google Business Profile, your website button and your email signature.
• Send a short message to regulars. Something like: "Hi Jordan, I've moved my booking to a new page. Your next appointment is still on for Friday at 2. Next time, book here: [link]."
• Put a sign at the front desk for the first month.

A booking button for the website you already have means you only change one link on your site. For clients who'd rather be sent a time than pick one, a one-time booking link to a single slot works by text or DM.

Step 7: Watch the first two weeks closely

New bookings coming in through a new link are the best sign the switch worked. In ServiceSprig you can turn on phone alerts under Account, then Phone alerts, to get a buzz when a client books, moves, cancels, claims a waitlist spot or sends a form. On iPhone, you add ServiceSprig to your Home Screen first (iOS 16.4 or later). By default the alert shows only the day, time and team member, so nothing private shows on a locked phone.

Then set up the habits that keep regulars coming back:

• Book each regular's next few visits in one go with recurring appointments (Solo and Shop plans).
• Turn on email reminders (every plan) and rebook nudges (Solo and Shop). Rebook, win-back and review emails only go to clients who've agreed to marketing, and an import never ticks that box for them.

Your switching checklist

1. Pick a cut-over date.
2. Request every export, including from support if needed.
3. Save as CSV, merge duplicates, check emails and phone numbers.
4. Set up services, hours and staff in the new tool.
5. Import, check each row, then save.
6. Turn off old reminders and set the new ones to start the day after.
7. Change every booking link and message your regulars.
8. Compare both calendars, then cancel the old account.

For more on running the day once you've moved, see our guides to walk-ins without a clipboard and booking and reminders for mobile detailers.

FAQ

Will my clients be emailed when I import them into ServiceSprig? No. The import sends no confirmations, forms or texts. Reminders for imported bookings start on the date you choose. Reschedules and cancellations made after the import send the usual emails.

Can I bring over past visit history? Not at the moment. The import brings clients, services and upcoming bookings. Keep your old export files as your record of past visits, and paste anything important into client notes before you import.

My old tool isn't on the list. Can I still switch? Yes, if you can get a CSV. Choose "Another tool or a spreadsheet" and match the columns yourself.

What if I import the wrong file? Use Undo import within 7 days. It removes bookings you haven't changed since the import. Clients and services the import added are removed too, unless something else uses them or someone has edited them.

Can I use ServiceSprig today? ServiceSprig is in early access. Join the list and Trevor will be in touch as spots open.