How to export all your customer data before you switch software
By Joseph Gomez Salazar · Paper StPublished Drafted with AI from the public sources listed below. Published by Joseph Gomez Salazar. How we make these guides
Export everything while your old account is still live, then count the rows before you cancel. The window after you leave can be short. One large CRM's contract gives your data back only if you ask within 30 days of the end (Salesforce MSA). After that, its terms say it will delete it.
You'll be able to list what your app holds, export it, open it without damage, prove nothing is missing, and cancel in time.
- You'll get
- an export inventory, a count-back table and a 6-line checklist.
- Expect
- about 5 minutes to read and 2 to 4 hours to do.
- For
- owners moving from one app to another. Not for: moves where the new app's team does the whole move for you.
- Do you know how many customers your app holds, to the row?
- Do you know if your files and notes come out in the export?
- Do you know how long your data stays after you cancel?
3 yeses? Skip to "If it goes wrong". Any no? Start with Phase 1.
Phase 1: export everything
Phase 1 of 2 · before you cancel · 1 to 3 hours
-
List every kind of data the app holds.
Use the export inventory below. The contact list is only the first row.
Examplea job app holds contacts, notes, photos, past jobs and invoices.
Done wheneach kind has a row and a count from the app.
- 1 to 9: the 9 kinds of data in the table below, in the same order.
- With a tick (1): comes out in a file with one click.
- With a ring (2, 4 to 7): sometimes missed. Check it.
- Hatched (3, 8, 9): often missed. Rows 8 and 9 usually have no export at all, so copy them by hand.
The export inventory as a table. Tick each row as you export it.
| # | Kind of data | Usually comes out as | Often missed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Contacts and companies | A CSV file | No |
| 2 | Notes and call logs | A CSV, sometimes a separate export | Sometimes |
| 3 | Files and photos | A zip, or not at all | Yes |
| 4 | Job or order history | A CSV report | Sometimes |
| 5 | Invoices and quotes | A CSV or PDFs | Sometimes |
| 6 | Tags and custom fields | Columns in the contacts CSV | Sometimes |
| 7 | Users and who owns each record | A CSV or a screen | Sometimes |
| 8 | Email and text templates | Copy and paste | Yes |
| 9 | Automations and rules | Screenshots | Yes |
-
Find each export in the app's help pages.
Search the help pages for "export" plus the kind of data. Anything with no export gets copied or screenshotted.
Example"export notes" finds a separate notes export that the contacts export left out.
-
Export to CSV, and ask for the full export in writing.
CSV is a plain table most apps can import. Email support for a full export, including files.
Example"Please send a full export of our account, including attachments, before [date]."
-
Name the files and keep 2 copies.
One copy lives in a folder you own, outside the old app.
Exampleoldapp-contacts-2026-09-27.csv, on your computer and in your own cloud folder.
Phase 2: check it, then cancel
Phase 2 of 2 · the same week · about 1 hour
-
Open each file with the import tool, not a double-click.
Opened directly, Excel drops leading zeros and rounds long numbers (Microsoft). Use Data, then From Text/CSV, and set ID, phone and ZIP columns to Text.
ExampleZIP code 02134 stays 02134, not 2134.
-
Count back.
Put the app's count next to the file's row count. They must match.
Examplethe app says 2,412 contacts, and the file has 2,412 rows under the header.
Done whenevery row of the inventory has 2 matching counts.
-
Spot-check 5 records from start to finish.
Pick 5 customers and compare every field, note and file.
Exampleyour oldest customer, your newest, and 3 in between.
-
Cancel only after the counts match, and note the window.
Read what the app keeps after you cancel, and put the last day in your calendar.
Exampleone accounting app gives read-only access for 1 year after you cancel (Intuit).
Send it to the old app's support team.
Full export request
"Hi, we plan to close our account on [date]. Please send a full export of all our data, including notes, files and history, by [date]. Please also confirm how long our data stays after we cancel."
Worked example: one count-back, with 2 misses
A small service business checks its export before it cancels.
| Kind of data | Count in the app | Rows or files in the export | Match? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | 2,412 | 2,412 | Yes |
| Notes | 9,870 | 9,870 | Yes |
| Files and photos | 1,203 | 0 | No: not in the CSV |
| Past jobs | 4,550 | 4,550 | Yes |
| Tags | 38 | 38 | Yes |
| ZIP codes starting with 0 | 214 | 0 | No: zeros dropped |
What they fix: they ask support for a zip of the files, and re-open the contacts file with the import tool. Both rows match on the second try. Only then do they cancel.
Your turn: the count-back table
| Kind of data | Count in the app | Rows or files in the export | Match? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contacts | |||
| Notes | |||
| Files and photos | |||
| Job or order history | |||
| Invoices and quotes | |||
| Tags and custom fields |
If it goes wrong
Common mistakes, and the fix for each.
-
Numbers change when you open the file.
Spot itmissing leading zeros, or long IDs ending in zeros. Excel keeps 15 digits and turns the rest into zeros (Microsoft).
Fix itre-open with the import tool, columns set to Text.
-
Names turn into odd symbols.
Spot it"José" shows as "José".
Fix itopen it with Data, then Get Data, then From Text/CSV, not a double-click (Microsoft).
-
The file stops at Excel's row limit.
Spot itthe count is short by a lot. Excel holds 1,048,576 rows on a sheet (Microsoft).
Fix itask for the export split into smaller files.
Check your work
Do-confirm checklist. Do the work, then confirm each line.
Answer from memory, then open the answers.
Why open a CSV with the import tool?
Show the answer
A double-click can drop leading zeros and round long numbers.
When is it safe to cancel?
Show the answer
After every count matches and 5 records check out.
When this does not apply
- The app has no export at all. Ask support in writing before you sign the new contract, and keep the reply.
- You are staying. In our view, still export your customer list every month, as a backup you own.
- Millions of records. Past Excel's row limit, a person who works with databases should run the move.
Your next step
fill in the export inventory for your main app. It takes 20 minutes, and you do not need to cancel anything to do it.
Go deeper: what happens after you cancel
Show the detail
Two examples, read at the source. Check your own app's terms, since each one differs.
| App type | What the terms say | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A large CRM | Data is made available for export if you ask within 30 days after the contract ends. After that, it may be deleted | Salesforce Main Services Agreement |
| The same CRM, free trial | Trial data is lost at the end of the trial unless you buy or export it | Salesforce Main Services Agreement |
| An accounting app | Read-only access for 1 year after you cancel. After a free trial, 90 days | Intuit help article |
The pattern: the window starts when the account ends. So the export, the check and the copies all come first.
Read next
Sources
- Salesforce, Main Services Agreement, last updated 1 September 2026, return of customer data and free trial terms. salesforce.com/en-us/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/documents/legal/Salesforce_MSA.pdf
- Intuit, "What happens to my QuickBooks Online data after I cancel?" quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/access-permissions/happens-quickbooks-online-data-cancel/L6qDpbE1B_US_en_US
- Microsoft Support, "Keeping leading zeros and large numbers." support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/keeping-leading-zeros-and-large-numbers
- Microsoft Support, "Opening CSV UTF-8 files correctly in Excel." support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/opening-csv-utf-8-files-correctly-in-excel-8a935af5-3416-4edd-ba7e-3dfd2bc4a032
- Microsoft Support, "Excel specifications and limits." support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/excel-specifications-and-limits-1672b34d-7043-467e-8e27-269d656771c3
About this guide
- How it was made
- drafted with AI from the 5 public sources above. No Paper St client notes were used.
- How it was checked
- each number against its source, by a checker separate from the drafter, before release. Intuit's help page did not load for our tools, so its 1 year and 90 days were read in a saved copy of that page.
- Who published it
- Joseph Gomez Salazar. Published Oct 10, 2026. Last updated: not yet.