Most clinic owners put off a software move for one reason: the fear of losing years of patient history on the way. If you are working out how to switch clinic software without losing data, the hard part is mostly done by the export from your old system. Clinic Membership gives you two clear routes from there. You can hand the files to our team. We do the hard work for you. Or you can step through a guided CSV import yourself. Both start in the same place, and neither asks you to retype a single patient.
This guide walks through both routes, what to export before you start, and what to check once your data is in.
How Clinic Membership brings your data across
Everything begins under Settings, then Data, in the section called Import your data. This is where you attach the exports from your previous system. Clinic Membership accepts CSV, Excel, ZIP and JSON files, and you can attach several in one go, for example a patient list plus past appointments.
Once your files are attached, you choose how you want them loaded:
- Request our team to import. We take the files and do the import for you.
- Start step-by-step import. You run the guided wizard, which scans your files, matches columns to Clinic Membership fields and lets you review before anything is saved.
You do not have to decide up front. Attach the files first, look at what you have, then pick the route that suits your week. The fuller path is in the Help Centre guide to onboarding from another system.
Route one: hand the files to the Clinic Membership team
For most clinics this is the route we recommend. It suits owners who are busy running a clinic and would rather not learn an import screen they will only use once.
- Go to Settings, then Data and scroll to Import your data.
- Attach the exports from your old system. CSV, Excel, ZIP or JSON all work.
- Open the Typical files checklist to see which files usually help, such as patients, appointments, notes and invoices.
- Click Request our team to import this for you.
- Confirm Yes, request import.
That is the whole job on your side. If you realise a file is missing after you have sent the request, you can still add it. Nothing is lost by sending what you have now and topping it up later.
The checklist is worth a minute of your time. Old systems often split data across several exports, and the checklist is a quick way to spot the one you forgot before the team starts work.
Route two: run the guided import in Clinic Membership yourself
Some owners and practice managers like to see every column land for themselves. The self-guided route is built for that. The full steps are in the Help article on importing patients from another system, but in short:
- In Settings, then Data, attach your CSV exports.
- Click Start step-by-step import.
- Start with patients first, so bookings and notes have someone to attach to.
- Read the scan summary and fix any blocking warnings it raises.
- Match columns to Clinic Membership fields, and match services or products if prompted.
- Confirm each file, then click Import when the review screen shows everything ready.
The wizard does not save anything until you reach that final review. If a column looks wrong, you can stop, fix the export and try again without leaving half a patient list behind.
What to export before you switch
Whichever route you choose, a clean export makes the move quicker. Before you cancel anything with your old provider, ask them or check their settings for exports of:
- Patients, with names, contact details and dates of birth
- Appointments, past and future
- Notes linked to each patient
- Invoices or payment history, if your old system holds them
- Services and products, so bookings match the right treatment
Keep a copy of every export somewhere safe, even after the import is done. It is your record of what came across.
If your patient history is currently spread across a booking tool, a spreadsheet and a folder of paper notes, it is worth reading our piece on bringing patient records into one place before you start. Pulling everything into one export first saves a second import later.
What happens after the import in Clinic Membership
Once the data is in, spend ten minutes checking a handful of patient cards. Pick a long-standing patient, a recent new patient and someone with a future booking. Check the name, contact details, upcoming appointment and notes look right. If something is off, it is far easier to fix now than after a busy week of bookings.
Clinical files are handled by Documenti, the EMR that works alongside Clinic Membership. Documenti creates or links clinical files when people next book in, so you do not need to rebuild those records by hand on day one.
A few habits help the first week go smoothly:
- Check five patient cards before you open the diary to new bookings.
- Turn on appointment reminders once imported patients have future appointments in the calendar.
- Tell reception where things live now, so nobody reaches for the old system out of habit.
- Keep the old exports until you are sure everything you need is in Clinic Membership.
Two routes, one starting point
Switching clinic software does not have to mean a lost weekend or a gap in patient history. In Clinic Membership you start at Settings, then Data, attach your exports, then either request our team to import them or step through the guided import yourself. Patients come first, bookings and notes follow, and a quick check of patient cards tells you the move worked.
Clinic Membership brings your patients, calendar, memberships and payments together in one place, so the history you bring across sits beside every booking you make next. Free covers up to 10 patient records. See pricing for paid plans.
