Switching from Fresha or Booksy without losing clients

Start with what must move

Before you touch any settings, make a simple list of what you need to bring across. For most salons, this means clients, services, prices, team members and future appointments. You may also want notes, colour formulas, allergy alerts, package details or consent history, depending on how you use your current system.

Do not assume every piece of information sits in one place. Client names and phone numbers may be in the client list. Service names and prices may be in settings. Future bookings will usually be in the calendar. If you are not sure where to find an export, look in the account settings or reporting area, or ask support for help exporting your own business data.

The aim is not to make the move perfect on the first click. The aim is to know what matters. A colour client with a patch test note matters. A regular Saturday blow dry matters. A vague old note from years ago may not be worth delaying the whole switch.

• Client names, mobile numbers and email addresses
• Service names, categories, prices and durations
• Team members and their working hours
• Future appointments, including service, date, time and team member
• Important notes such as allergies, formulas and client preferences

Export clients and services carefully

Most moves start with a CSV or Excel file. Export your client list first, then your services. If your system lets you choose columns, include the basics as well as useful salon notes. A file with name, phone number, email address and notes is far more useful than a file with names only.

When exporting services, check that the file includes durations as well as prices. A cut and blow dry at £48 is not enough information if the appointment length is missing. You need the timing too, otherwise your new calendar may show gaps that are not really free, or it may squeeze services too tightly.

If you cannot find an export button, do not panic. Ask the current provider’s support team where to export your client list, services and upcoming appointments. Keep the request plain and specific. You are asking for your business information in a usable file, not for advice on which system to use next.

• Save a copy of every file before editing it
• Use clear file names, such as clients-june or services-current
• Open the files and check that names, phone numbers and prices look right
• Do not delete your old account access until the new diary has been checked
• Keep exports in a secure folder because they contain personal data

Clean the files before importing

A clean import starts with a quick tidy. You do not need to spend days fixing every line, but you should remove obvious problems. Look for clients with no name, phone numbers in the wrong column, duplicate rows and old test entries. If your team has ever added a client as “Mrs Smith” on one visit and “Jane Smith” on another, this is your chance to tidy the worst of it.

Phone numbers matter because they are often the simplest way to spot duplicates. Try to keep them in a consistent format. For UK salons, that usually means mobile numbers beginning with 07, or with the country code if you use it. If a client has changed their number, keep the latest one where you can tell.

Be careful with notes. They can contain sensitive information, especially in beauty, aesthetics, massage or physiotherapy settings. Only bring across what you have a proper reason to keep. Under UK GDPR, you should not move personal data simply because it exists. You should know why you need it for the client relationship, treatment record, booking management or legal record keeping. The ICO expects businesses to handle personal data fairly and securely, even during admin tasks such as a software move.

Import, check and fix

Once your files are ready, import them into the new system and check before saving where possible. Agendessa, for example, can import clients, services, team members and future appointments from Fresha, Booksy, Evo, MERO, Treatwell, Phorest or Excel and CSV. Its import recognises columns, lets you check them before saving and skips duplicates by phone number. If you prefer, you can send the file and the team will import it for free.

Whatever system you use, do not judge the move by the upload message alone. Open the client list and search for five regulars. Check a colour client, a lash client, a new client, a lapsed client and someone with an allergy note. Then open the services list and compare your top ten services with the old system. Prices and durations should match your current menu, not last year’s version.

If something looks wrong, stop and fix the file or mapping before importing more data. It is easier to correct a column before saving than to clean hundreds of records afterwards. For example, if mobile numbers have landed in the notes field, do not carry on and hope the team will cope. Correct it early.

• Check that first name and surname are in sensible fields
• Check that mobile numbers can be used for reminders
• Check that service durations match the real chair time
• Check that allergy or alert notes are visible where the team needs them
• Check that duplicate clients have not multiplied

Move future appointments with care

Future appointments are the most delicate part of the move because clients are already expecting those times. Export them if you can, or ask support for a future appointments file. At minimum, you need the client, date, start time, service and team member. If you use resources such as treatment rooms, beds or grooming tables, include those too where possible.

After importing appointments, compare a few days side by side with your old diary. Start with your busiest day. A quiet Tuesday is useful, but a packed Saturday will show problems faster. Check that a colour booking is long enough, that processing time has not become a solid block by mistake, and that each team member has their own appointments in the right column.

If some appointments cannot be imported, enter them manually in small batches. Work from the nearest dates first. This reduces the risk of missing tomorrow’s 9 am client while trying to organise bookings for next month. Put one trusted person in charge of the manual list, and ask another person to check it.

• Check the next seven days first
• Then check the next four to six weeks
• Mark any uncertain bookings for a quick client confirmation
• Keep the old diary visible during the checking stage
• Avoid switching on public online booking until future appointments are checked

Tell clients without making it a drama

Clients do not need a long explanation about software. They need to know how to book, where to click and whether their existing appointment is safe. Keep the message short and calm. Mention that the salon has a new booking link, and that existing appointments remain in the diary unless you contact them separately.

Use more than one place to share the new link. Put it in your Instagram bio, Facebook page, Google profile if you use a booking button there, your website button and your email footer. If the new system gives you a QR code, print it for reception and the mirror stations. A client waiting for toner to process may scan it and book her next visit before she leaves.

Agendessa gives each business its own booking page with a link and QR code, plus a booking button for Instagram, Facebook and Google, and a floating “Book now” button code for an existing WordPress or Wix website. If your system offers similar options, use them all on the same day so clients do not find mixed links.

• Example message: We have a new booking link. Your existing appointment is still in our diary. For new bookings, please use: [link]
• Example reception line: We have moved our booking page. I will send you the new link now.
• Example social post: Online booking has moved. Please use the link in our bio for all new appointments.
• Example reminder note: If you saved our old booking page, please replace it with this one.

Use a calm switch day plan

Choose a switch day that gives you breathing space. For many salons, that is not the busiest Saturday of the month. The best day depends on your diary, but the principle is simple. Do the technical work when the team can concentrate, not while three clients are waiting at reception and a colour needs rinsing.

The day before, stop making changes in two places unless you have a clear process. If a client calls to move an appointment, decide which diary is now the main one. Write that rule down for the team. Confusion usually comes from half the salon using the old system and half using the new one.

On the morning of the switch, print or save a copy of the day’s appointments as a backup. Check the first client for each team member. Check any deposits, notes or allergy alerts that the team needs before the service starts. Keep the old diary accessible for reference, but ask the team to work from the new diary once it has been confirmed.

At the end of the day, hold a ten minute review. Ask what was missing, what confused clients and what the team had to look up. Fix small problems while they are fresh. A missing service duration, the wrong team member’s hours or a forgotten link on a social page is easier to correct on day one than after a week of workarounds.

• Pick a quieter day if you can
• Freeze changes in the old diary once the final export is done
• Check the next day’s appointments before leaving
• Keep one person responsible for client messages
• Review and fix issues at the end of the first day

Frequently asked questions

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