Get your data back before you change tools

Before you leave a tool, your data should leave with you. Once the subscription ends, access may close, and the data may be erased after a period set by the vendor. This guide helps you get everything back, in the right format and at the right time.

Take stock of what the tool holds

A tool often holds more than you think. Before exporting, list what it keeps for you:

• Records: clients, contacts, projects, tasks, quotes or invoices, depending on the tool.
• History: comments, exchanges, status changes, key dates.
• Attachments: documents, images and PDFs added to records.
• Settings: steps, custom fields, document templates, automations.
• Users: who has access, with which role.

Settings and users cannot always be exported. Take screenshots or write them down: they will help you reproduce your setup in the next tool.

What to export, and in which format

• CSV for tables: clients, contacts, tasks. It opens in any spreadsheet, and most tools can import it.
• JSON when the tool offers it. Less readable, it better keeps the links between records, such as a task and its project.
• PDF for documents you must keep as they are: invoices issued, signed quotes, contracts.
• For accounting in France, the FEC (fichier des écritures comptables), the standard file of accounting entries. All accounting software must be able to produce it, and the tax authorities can ask for it during an inspection.

Think about attachments too: they are not always included in the main export. Some tools deliver them in a separate archive, others make you download them one by one.

Check that the export is complete

An export can look complete without being so. Before you cancel, take the time to check:

• Compare the numbers: the file should hold as many clients, projects or invoices as the tool.
• Open the files: accents, dates and amounts must be readable.
• Check that the history and attachments are there, not just the records.
• If something is missing, ask customer support while you are still subscribed.

Export in time, and keep a dated copy

Export before the subscription ends, not on the last day. Read the vendor's terms: they say what happens to your data after cancellation, and for how long you can still get it back.

Then store a dated copy in your own storage, for example in a folder named after the tool and the date of the export. Keep it even after moving to the new tool: it is your point of reference if a piece of data is ever missing.

The checklist before you cancel

• I have listed what the tool holds: records, history, attachments, settings, users.
• I have exported the tables as CSV, and as JSON when offered.
• I have saved the documents I must keep as PDFs, and the FEC for accounting.
• I have checked the numbers, the accents and the attachments.
• I have read what happens to my data after cancellation.
• A dated copy is stored in my own storage.