Client data export checklist.
Your client list is your most valuable asset. This checklist makes sure you always have your own copy — and can leave any tool without losing it.
If a tool charges you to leave with your own data, that's a red flag. Keep your own backups and confirm your booking software supports free export before you depend on it.
What to export
The data that's genuinely yours.
- Client contacts (name, email, phone, consent)
- Services + prices
- Appointment + visit history
- Notes and tags
How often
A simple cadence beats a perfect one.
- A full export at least quarterly
- Before any pricing change or contract renewal
- Before switching tools
Make sure you can leave
Confirm export is free and self-serve — not a support ticket or a paywall.
- CSV and/or JSON
- No fee to export
- Self-serve, any time
Before you commit to any booking tool, export your data once. If it's easy and free, you're safe. If it's gated, assume leaving will be too.
Questions.
Your client list determines whether you can ever switch tools, negotiate, or recover from an outage. If you can't export it, you don't really own it.
CSV for spreadsheets/accountants, JSON for a complete machine-readable backup. Dropinly offers both, free.