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Software and switching

How to switch from Jobber: export, clean, import and go live

Updated November 10, 20266 min read

To switch from Jobber, sign in as an admin and export your client list (Clients, More Actions, Export Clients, CSV), your Products and Services list from Settings, and the reports you need from Insights, then Reports. Clean duplicates, import with a dry run, run both systems for a week, then forward your phones. Most shops can be live in about two weeks.

Before you export anything: decide what is worth moving

Most shops move too much. Years of one-time leads, duplicate clients and items you stopped selling make the new system messy on day one. Sort your data into three piles before you touch an export button:

PileWhat goes in itWhat to do
Must moveActive clients and properties, your products and services, open quotes, unpaid invoices, upcoming visitsExport, clean, import
Keep for referencePaid invoices, finished jobs, old quotes, timesheetsExport to CSV and store it; import only what you will look up
Leave behindDuplicate clients, dead leads, retired itemsClean up in Jobber before exporting, or skip

Example: a shop with 2,400 clients in Jobber may find only 1,100 had a job in the last three years. Moving the 1,100 cleanly beats moving 2,400 with duplicates.

How to export your data from Jobber

These steps come from Jobber's own help center, checked on the date in the sources. Menu names can change, so open the linked articles if a button has moved. Some exports are admin-only or limited to certain plans, so sign in as an admin.

1. Client list

  1. Open Clients from the side menu.
  2. Click More Actions in the top right and choose Export Clients.
  3. Pick CSV as the format and click Export. Jobber emails the file.

Things to know: Jobber says only admin users can export clients, and client exporting is limited to select plans. Each CSV holds up to 1,500 rows, so a bigger list arrives as several files. Property addresses come with the client export. You can export by tag, but if you pick several tags, only clients with every selected tag are included, so for a full list leave tags off.

2. Products and services

  1. Click the gear icon, then Settings, then Products & Services.
  2. Scroll to the export box near the bottom and click Export to CSV.

Jobber emails the file; with fewer than 50 items it downloads directly, and lists over 1,500 items are split across several files. This is the start of your new price book.

3. Quotes, invoices, visits and other reports

  1. Go to Insights, then Reports.
  2. Open the report you need. Jobber lists invoice and payment reports, a client balance summary, visits, one-off jobs, recurring jobs, requests, quotes, products and services, and timesheets, among others.
  3. Use Columns to show the fields you want, then export to CSV and choose all columns or selected columns. Jobber emails the file to your login address.

Jobber's reports guide notes that the Taxation, Waypoints and Job Follow-ups reports can't be exported. For history you want to keep, export with all columns.

4. What to ask Jobber support

The help articles we checked cover clients, products and services and reports. They did not describe a bulk export of photos, attachments or notes. If you rely on job photos or attached documents, ask Jobber support how to get them out before you cancel.

Clean the files before you import

An hour in a spreadsheet saves days of fixing records later. Work through this checklist on the client file first:

  • Remove duplicate clients. Sort by phone number and by email; the same person often appears twice.
  • Put one phone number and one email per column. Split cells like "805-555-0100, 805-555-0199".
  • Check that every client has a service address, not only a billing address.
  • Mark commercial accounts and property managers so they keep their payment terms.
  • In the products file, delete retired items and check that every item has a cost, not just a price. Without costs, no system can show you margin.
  • Compare your unpaid invoice total against the client balance summary report so the opening balances match.

A two-week switching plan

Example plan for a five-truck shop. Adjust to your size.

WhenTaskWho
Week 1, day 1Export clients, products and services, open quotes, unpaid invoices, upcoming visitsOwner or office manager
Week 1, day 2Clean files using the checklist aboveOffice
Week 1, day 3Dry-run import, review rows, fix and importOffice with the new vendor
Week 1, days 4-5Set up price book, techs, phone menu and message templatesOwner
Week 2Shadow week: run both systems, book new work in the new oneEveryone
End of week 2Forward phone numbers, stop booking in Jobber, keep it read-only until old invoices are paidOwner
Never switch in your busiest month, and never cancel the old system until every open invoice from it is paid or moved.

What to tell your team and your customers

Techs care about one thing: will my day get harder? Show them the new phone app before the switch, give each one a login and run a ride-along style practice job in the office.

A script the office can use when a customer asks why their invoice looks different:

"We moved to new software this month, so your invoice and texts look a little different. Same team, same prices. You can still pay by card online or with your tech."

Common mistakes when leaving Jobber

  • Exporting clients with a tag filter on and losing everyone who lacks all of the tags.
  • Forgetting that large lists arrive as several files of 1,500 rows and importing only the first one.
  • Canceling before downloading the reports you need for taxes, such as payments and invoices.
  • Porting phone numbers on day one instead of forwarding first.
  • Moving recurring visits without checking the new schedule against the old one for the next 30 days.

How SWITCHBOARD handles a move from Jobber

The SWITCHBOARD import takes Jobber exports directly. You run a dry run, review the rows, import, and can Undo if something looks wrong. Setup is done with you on a call, and you can run a shadow week where your phones ring you first and the AI receptionist catches the rest. Numbers are forwarded first and ported later. The goal is to be live in about one to two weeks with one or two calls. If you are still deciding, read our side-by-side comparison with Jobber or the Jobber alternatives list, and see the general guide to switching software without losing data.

Questions people ask

How do I export my client list from Jobber?

Go to Clients, click More Actions, choose Export Clients, pick CSV and click Export. Jobber emails the file. Only admin users can export clients, and the feature is limited to select plans.

Can I export invoices and quotes from Jobber?

Yes, through reports. Go to Insights, then Reports, open the invoices or quotes report and export it to CSV with all columns or selected columns. The file is emailed to your login address.

Why did my Jobber client export come in several files?

Jobber's CSV exports hold up to 1,500 rows each, so a larger client list arrives as multiple files. Import all of them.

How long does it take to switch from Jobber?

For a small to mid-size shop, about one to two weeks is realistic: a few days to export, clean and import, then a week running both systems before you stop booking in Jobber.

Should I cancel Jobber right away?

No. Keep it until every open invoice is paid or moved and you have downloaded the reports you need for your books and taxes.

Sources

See it on your own shop.

Thirty minutes on a call, built around your trade and your week. We set it up with you, and pricing is quoted per shop on the call.

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