Practical
How to switch booking software without losing future appointments
I run 7 massage stores on Mangomint. Moving the book is the part that goes wrong, not the logo on the login screen. This is the order I would use. It is not a story about one dramatic week, and it is not a vendor’s migration brochure.
Do not cancel yet
Keep the old system until the new one has the future book loaded and you have watched a real week. Canceling on the day you sign up is how Tuesday’s 2pm disappears.
Export three lists
- Clients, with phone and email.
- Future appointments: date, time, service, duration, staff, room.
- Balances: packages left, membership status, gift card amounts, and anything unpaid.
Download them before you are in a fight with the old vendor. Some tools make export easy until you are leaving.
Map services before you import
Duration, price, buffer, and room. Online booking will sell whatever you mapped. A 60-minute massage imported as 50 minutes will wreck a day that looked full. Do this with the menu in front of you, not from memory.
Check a real day yourself
After the import, sit with the front desk and one therapist. Look at today, a busy day next week, and a day that includes a package redemption. You are looking for the appointment that landed on the wrong person or the wrong length. A sample of three days catches more than a dashboard that says “import complete.”
Balances are where the money goes missing
Prepaid packages, memberships, and gift cards are the usual loss. If the new system cannot hold the remaining count, keep a spreadsheet until those balances are used up, and tell the desk which book is the source of truth. Do not trust both screens.
Run both for a week
New bookings go in the new system. The old system is read-only, except for the appointments already on it. A week is the minimum I would use at 7 stores. A one-room practice might get away with less. I would not bet the Saturday book on it.
Change the public link the day you open the new book
Instagram, Google profile, the website, and the footer of confirmations. Old confirmation texts will still point at the old tool. That is fine if the old tool can still show those appointments. It is not fine if you have already shut it off.
Then cancel
Read the contract cell first. “Cancel anytime” and “no contract” are on theno-contract page, in the vendor’s words. A monthly bill is not the same promise. Mindbody’s line says cancellation may require notice. ChiroFusion publishes a twelve-month option. Boulevard does not state the longer terms on the pricing page.
Trials are not migrations
A trial lets you click around. It does not move next month’s book. These are the contract lines that mention a trial:
- Vagaro: Cancel anytime, no cancellation fees; 30-day free trial
- GlossGenius: No contracts (stated for multi-location); 14-day free trial
- Jane: No free trial (demo account available); contract terms not stated
- Fresha: No minimum commitment or long-term contract; 7-day trial
- Acuity Scheduling: Monthly or annual billing; 7-day free trial, no credit card
- SimplePractice: Billed monthly; free trial
- MassageBook: Cancel anytime; 30-day free trial
Transfer language we actually have
When a vendor puts onboarding or data transfer in the contract line, it is quoted here. If a tool is missing, this sheet does not know what they charge to move you.
- Mangomint: No contracts; cancel anytime; free onboarding and data transfer
I use Mangomint, and that sentence is why the transfer line matters to me. It is still their sentence, not a case study with a number of appointments saved. I am not going to invent one.
What this does not cover
Card deposits, payroll year-to-date, and insurance claims are separate exports. If the tool is clinical, the appointment book and the charts are two projects. This sheet does not document chart-export formats. Ask before you cancel:
Weekly price note
What changed, who it affects, and the new number. No recycled reviews. Sent with beehiiv.