Switching salon software: a checklist that keeps every client
A step-by-step checklist for switching salon software: exports, import, gift card balances, future bookings, staff training and the day you change your booking link.
By The Salon Desk, Product and onboarding team
Key takeaways
- Export clients, services, products and gift card balances before you cancel anything.
- Run both books for a week: new bookings in the new system, old ones finish in the old.
- Change your booking link everywhere on the same day.
- Train the desk first; stylists need ten minutes.
Switching salon software is mostly about order. Salons lose clients in a switch when they cancel first and export later, or when the old booking link keeps taking bookings nobody sees. Follow this order and the move is uneventful.
Before you choose
- List what you pay today, including per-staff fees, marketplace fees and add-ons. Use the savings calculator.
- Note what annoys the team most; that is what the new system must fix.
- Check the new system’s export too. Your data should be able to leave again.
Week 0: exports
Export, in this order, and keep copies:
- Clients — names, phones, emails, notes, consent.
- Services — names, prices, durations.
- Products — barcodes, cost, price, stock.
- Gift card and credit balances — so clients can still use them.
- Future appointments — if your system exports them.
Days 1–2: import and check
Send the files to the new provider (GetSalonPOS imports free). Before the full import, check ten clients and ten products side by side. Fix mapping problems now, not after.
Days 2–7: overlap
- New bookings go only into the new system.
- Old bookings finish in the old one.
- The desk checks both books each morning.
The switch day
Change the booking link everywhere at once: Instagram bio, Google Business Profile, WhatsApp Business, Facebook, your website. Turn off online booking in the old system so it cannot take bookings nobody sees.
Training
The desk needs an hour; stylists need ten minutes to see their column and their commission report. Let each person choose their interface language.
After
Cancel the old plan once the last old booking has passed. Read the full switching guide or compare options on compare.
Questions
How long does it take to switch salon software?
A typical salon is fully moved within a week: a day or two for import, a few days of overlap while old bookings finish, and one day to change the booking link everywhere.
Will I lose my client history when I switch?
Not if you export first. Client details and notes import directly; past visits usually come across as notes or a visit list depending on the export.
When should I cancel my old salon software?
After your last future booking in the old system has passed and your exports are safely imported and checked.
Tags: switching, import, migration
Written by
The team that sets up GetSalonPOS for salons in the USA, the UAE and Pakistan, writing from real setup and import work.
