How to switch booking systems without losing guests

Switching booking systems feels like changing a car's engine at speed. The phone rings, guests arrive, and somewhere in the background you're also supposed to start from scratch. It doesn't have to be that way. Here's a concrete guide to making the switch without losing a single booking, or guest.

1. Decide what to actually move

Every booking system says it exports your data. Few stop and explain what you actually get. Before you cancel the old one, ask your current vendor for a CSV export of:

• All future bookings (date, time, guest name, phone, party size, table, notes)
• The full guest database (name, phone, email, allergies, tags, visit history)
• Table layout per zone, if the system has a floor plan

If they only give you "name and date", that isn't an export. That's a list. Ask for the rest.

2. Set up the new system in parallel

Before moving guests over, set up the new system and run it empty for two-three days. Add zones, tables, opening hours, pace rules. Paste the widget on a test subpage of your site (not the homepage, not yet).

This bridge period matters. It's where you discover that "we have six chairs around that table on Fridays but four on Wednesdays" needs handling. Easier to fix before the first real guest tries the widget.

3. Import future bookings, not old ones

It's tempting to move everything. Don't. The only thing you must have in the new system is the bookings ahead of you. History can stay in the old one, or get exported as an archive CSV you tuck away.

Want regulars and their preferences? Import the guest database separately. Two operations, not one.

4. Swap the widget on a quiet night

Pick a Sunday or Monday, when the phone isn't ringing. Replace the embed code on your site with the new system's. Verify a test booking lands in the new admin view. The confirmation email goes out. It all works.

Do not cancel the old system the same night. Let it run in parallel for two weeks. If something breaks, you have a backup.

5. Cancel the old one, and ask for confirmation

Once you're confident, cancel. And ask for written confirmation that the account is closed and that they're not still charging monthly fees. Many systems have 12-24 month lock-ins that roll over automatically. Read the fine print before you assume you're free.

What this usually costs, and what it shouldn't

Booking systems typically charge between 2,000 and 8,000 SEK as a "setup fee" to bring you on. That's a little odd. You're doing the work, they're pressing buttons. Many people switch simply because prices have crept up without features changing.

We (Bordflow) charge no setup fee at all. Doing it yourself takes five minutes, by design. Want us to do it for you, we enter the bookings by hand and it costs nothing.

Six things to verify the day after the switch

• Tomorrow's bookings show correctly in the new system
• Guests booking on your site land in the new admin view
• Confirmation emails go out (test with a dummy booking)
• SMS reminders (if you have them) send at the right time
• Staff know to check the new system, not the old one
• The old system is no longer connected to your website

More help?

If you get stuck on the practical side, email us. The reply comes the same day, and a migration can usually be run through on a 30-minute call.