Switching Garage Software: A Practical Migration Checklist

Switching garage management software works best when you decide exactly what is moving, what stays available in the old system and when the new one becomes the working record. The subscription is only one part of the change.

If you are moving to Pistonlog, start with a sample of your records and a normal workshop job. Prove that the new process works before bringing the whole team across.

1. Inventory what you rely on

List customers, vehicles, future appointments, open jobs, invoices, payment records, inspection reports and attachments. Include any templates and integrations that affect the day.

For each category, decide whether it must be imported, recreated, archived or retained in the old system. Record who is responsible and how they will verify the result. “Move our data” is too broad to be a useful acceptance test.

Confirm export options and access arrangements before cancelling your existing service. A customer CSV and a complete history of invoices or attachments are different deliverables.

2. Understand the import boundary

Pistonlog's CSV importer is for customer and vehicle records. It does not import jobcards, payments, invoices, comments or inspections. That means you need a separate plan for historical work and financial records.

Use the Pistonlog CSV import guide and the template supplied by the app. Do not assume an export from another supplier can be uploaded unchanged. Map and review it first.

This boundary is worth settling before choosing a start date. If access to old attachments is essential, confirm how the team will retrieve them after the move.

3. Test representative records

Choose a sample that includes a customer with several vehicles, a business customer, incomplete contact details and a possible duplicate. Check the customer-to-vehicle relationships after the import.

Record the expected result before testing. Counts alone are not enough: ten imported vehicles are not a success if they are attached to the wrong customers. Review the entries with the person who knows the records.

Resolve errors in the source data rather than repeatedly creating new records to work around them. Keep an untouched copy of the original export for reference.

4. Rehearse a complete workshop day

Create a booking, update a job, record parts and labour, and prepare an invoice. Include a changed appointment and an unresolved job so the team practises exceptions as well as the ideal process.

Assign individual access and check permissions. Reception and technicians should understand where to put information and how to find each other's updates. Write down questions that still need a provider answer.

5. Agree the cutover and handover

Choose when the new system becomes the master for new work. Decide how open jobs and future bookings will be handled so the same vehicle is not managed independently in two places.

After the first live day, review missing records, booking changes and invoice questions. Give each issue an owner and keep essential historical access available under your agreed arrangements.

Pistonlog's switching guide explains the options for moving your workshop process. Talk to us about your current system with a list of the records you need, then choose the plan that fits your live work.