How to switch from Housecall Pro without losing data or calls

Step 1: Decide what actually needs to move

Most failed switches try to move everything. You don't need eight years of history to be live in the new system. You need what you'll touch in the next 90 days, plus a safe archive of the rest. Sort your data into three piles:

The first column is small but it carries the money. Hand-check every row in it.

Step 2: Export from Housecall Pro

Housecall Pro's help center describes these exports. They come as CSV files sent to your email from [email protected]:

• Customers: Customers, then the Actions button, then Export, then confirm your email and click Send file. Only Admins can do this.
• Jobs: Jobs, then Actions, then Export, then Send File. Admins only.
• Price book: the gear icon for Settings, then Price Book. Open the Services or Materials tab and click Export. You need to be an Admin, or Office Staff with the "Update company account info" permission. Export both tabs.

If the email doesn't show up within an hour, check spam. Their help center says to contact their support for anything the standard exports don't cover. Ask early about invoices, estimates and membership details, because those are the records shops most often realize they're missing.

Save every file in one dated folder, such as "HCP export 2026-11-10". Don't edit the originals. Make copies to clean.

Step 3: Clean the files before import

Ten minutes of cleanup saves hours of fixing duplicates later. Work through this list on the copies:

1. Duplicates. Sort customers by phone number. Merge any "Ava Reyes" and "Ava Reyes (rental)" that are the same person. Keep separate service addresses as addresses, not new customers.
2. Phone format. Make every number 10 digits with no extensions crammed into the field. Bad numbers break text reminders.
3. Tags. Collapse 40 one-off tags into the 8-10 you actually filter by, such as membership, commercial, property manager, do-not-service.
4. Price book. Delete services no one has sold in two years. Check that the costs are current, because your margins in the new system will only be as good as these numbers.
5. Open money. Build a one-page list of every unpaid invoice and every deposit held, with amounts. This is your reconciliation sheet for Step 6.

Step 4: Import with a dry run

Whatever system you move to, ask for a dry run: a preview that shows how each column maps before anything is written. Check five real customers you know well. Is the name right? Is the address split correctly? Did the notes come across? Are the jobs attached to the right person? Then import, and make sure there is a way to undo a bad batch.

Set up the parts that don't come over in a file: technicians and their skills, service area, business hours, the arrival windows you offer, payment settings, and review-request messages. If you're rebuilding pricing at the same time, our guide to building a flat-rate price book walks through it.

Step 5: Run a shadow week

Don't flip the switch on a Monday and hope. For about a week, run both systems:

• Book all new jobs in the new system. Leave jobs already scheduled in Housecall Pro there until they finish.
• Have two techs, one experienced and one newer, run their whole day on the new phone app. Their complaints on day two are your training list.
• The office checks the board each morning and evening. Anything that needed a workaround goes on a list for the setup call.
• Send real invoices and take real payments in the new system, so you know the money side works before you rely on it.

Step 6: Move the phones last, then cancel

Forward first, port later

Your phone number is the most valuable thing you own in this process. Forward first and port later. Point your main line at the new system by call forwarding. If anything goes wrong, you can switch the forward back in minutes. Port the number only once you trust the new setup, usually after a few weeks. Porting is the formal carrier transfer and can't be undone quickly.

The day you forward, call your own number from a cell phone: during hours, after hours, and while someone is already on the line. Make sure every path reaches a person, a voicemail you check, or an AI receptionist that books the job.

Reconcile before you cancel

Before you cancel Housecall Pro, take out the reconciliation sheet from Step 3. Every unpaid invoice must be either paid or open in the new system with the same amount. Every deposit must be attached to its job. Every membership must have its next visit scheduled. Run one full month-end in the new system, and check that your accounting sync matches your bank deposits. Then download a final export of everything for your records and cancel.

Common mistakes

• Switching in peak season. For HVAC that usually means the first heat wave or cold snap. Pick a slower stretch.
• Forgetting memberships. Plan customers who miss a visit because it wasn't recreated are the ones who cancel. Hand-check every membership.
• Training only the office. If techs don't trust the app, they text the office and the office re-types everything.
• Porting on day one. See Step 6.

How SWITCHBOARD handles a Housecall Pro switch

SWITCHBOARD's import takes Housecall Pro exports directly. You get a dry run, review the rows, import, and can Undo a batch. Setup is done with you on a call, and the shadow week is built in: phones ring you first and the receptionist catches the rest. The goal is live in about 1-2 weeks with 1-2 calls. If you're still comparing, see SWITCHBOARD vs Housecall Pro or the general guide to switching software without losing data.

Sources

• Housecall Pro help: how to import/export jobs and customers (checked November 10, 2026)
• Housecall Pro help: how to import and export price book services and materials (checked November 10, 2026)