Switch to Session from another platform

There's no downtime, and you don't need to "go live" on Session first. Your booking page takes bookings from the day you set it up. You switch by changing your booking links - once they point at Session, Session is your booking system.

How a switch works

1. Set up Session to match your old system. Take your time - nobody finds your page unless you send them the link.
2. Pick a switch date, and keep selling on your old system until then - including bookings for dates after the switch. They come across in the import and are honoured on Session.
3. On the day, point your links at Session and stop your old system selling. That's the switch.
4. Export from your old system and import into Session straight away.
5. Email customers with upcoming bookings, memberships or credit to say you've moved.

Before switch day

1. 1

   Schedule your sessions to match

   Use the same days, times, durations, capacity and locations as your old platform (repeating schedules, one-off dates, locations). The import matches upcoming bookings to sessions by date and time, so a mismatch loses them.

   Don't recreate private hire as its own session - add a Whole session price to the communal session instead (why).

2. 2

   Connect Stripe

   Start early; verification can take a day or two (connect Stripe). Online payments run through Stripe only, even if you used Square, SumUp or PayPal - keep your card machine for walk-ins and record those payments.

3. 3

   Set your prices, offers, policies and emails

   Mirror your price options; create the bundles and membership tiers your import maps onto (what to create first). Set your cancellation policy, waiver and follow-up emails.

4. 4

   Pick your switch date

   Choose a quiet morning and set it on your Setup checklist so we're on hand. Decide whether you or your members cancel old subscriptions; we move member lists for you. Don't import yet - a trial export is fine, but an early import misses everything sold after it.

On switch day

Do the first three back to back - until you import, spaces sold on your old system look free on Session.

1. 1

   Point your links at Session

   Update your website, social bios and any embedded widget to your booking link (embed). An old widget left in place looks closed, not moved.

2. 2

   Stop your old platform selling anything

   New bookings and pack, gift voucher and subscription sales. Existing bookings stay viewable. Also stop customers rescheduling or cancelling there - nothing syncs to Session. On Acuity, see stop Acuity selling.

3. 3

   Run your final export and import it

   See importing data. Upcoming bookings take their spaces.

4. 4

   Tell your customers, then press Go live

   Email them (below), and press Go live whenever you're ready so Google can list your page.

Tell your customers

Email anyone with an upcoming booking, membership or credit. A draft to adapt:

Subject: We've moved our booking system

Hi [first name],

We've switched to a new booking system called Session. Your upcoming booking, any gift card balance or session credits, and your membership have all moved across, tied to this email address.

To pick up where you left off:

1. Go to [your booking link]/welcome
2. Set up your login using this same email address
3. You'll see your booking and credit waiting for you

Any questions, just reply to this email.

From Acuity

If you gave us your Acuity link at signup, your sessions are already built - check them. Acuity calendars usually map onto locations.

Stop Acuity selling

1. 1
   Stop new appointments with Block off time → Block multiple days, for several years ahead, on every calendar.
2. 2
   Stop package, gift certificate and subscription sales by turning off "Public" on each product under Packages, Gifts & Subscriptions. Existing balances aren't affected.
3. 3
   Cancel existing Acuity subscriptions - Acuity keeps charging until each is cancelled. Members re-subscribe on Session - see imported members.
4. 4
   Stop clients rescheduling or cancelling under Scheduling Limits - their old confirmation emails still work.
5. 5
   Turn off Acuity's reminder and follow-up emails - their reschedule and cancel links bypass Session. Your session reminder covers imported bookings too.

Export and import

Follow exporting from Acuity, or send us the export if you have several locations or private hire. Gift certificates and packages need gathering by hand:

• Acuity's "Package" is Session's "Bundle", and a "Gift Certificate" is a "gift voucher".
• A certificate for a number of sessions imports as a count voucher and a cash one as an amount voucher. Restrict a private hire certificate to that session, since private hire is priced as one block.
• Check Acuity's balance screen, not the name - a product called "10 sessions" can track its balance in pounds.

Discount codes don't export either. Copy each active code's setup from Acuity's edit screen (percentage or flat, limits, expiry) into Offers → Discounts - SUMMER10 can turn out to be a flat £5 off.

From Periode

Send us your exports and we'll run the import: bookings and customers, gift cards as gift vouchers with their original codes, punch passes as bundle credit, and your mailing list with any consent your export records.

Your Periode checklist

Send these answers with a first export, so the import is tested before switch day:

1. 1

   Give every Periode product a session

   Including sites you no longer run, if you want their history (a closed session holds it). Private hire needs a private hire price, and extra products such as upgrades a matching add-on.

2. 2

   Match each membership plan to a tier

   Periode plans are often one per site. Tell us which membership tier each moves to.

3. 3

   Choose which gift cards come across

   Unused codes can include cards from an earlier system, prizes and test cards. Say which to leave out and whether any expire.

4. 4

   Switch off Periode, then export

   Turn off bookings and gift card sales (separate switches - a card bought after the switch won't work on Session), then pull the exports below straight away.

5. 5

   Cancel Periode subscriptions

   Periode keeps billing until each agreement is cancelled. Members re-subscribe on Session - see imported members.

Pull your exports

From Periode's Reporting page:

• Bookings, history plus everything upcoming.
• Gift cards (per card, with codes) and gift card balances (per customer). The card list has no balances, so you need both; include cards marked Redeemed, which usually still hold money.
• Punch passes, with remaining punches and expiry.
• Subscriptions or membership payments, with each member's next renewal date.
• Customers or sales contacts, with the marketing consent column.

From Momence

Your customer list comes across as Customers. Momence's export has no marketing consent, so everyone arrives as Not asked and can't get marketing email until they opt in.

We move memberships and remaining pack balances for you. Send your member list and balances, say which membership tier or bundle each moves to, and who cancels the old subscriptions. Members re-subscribe on Session - see imported members.

Booking history is optional: send an export and we'll say whether it can come across. Customers only shows visits and first and last visit for people whose history is imported.

Common questions

1. Can customers book on Session before switch day? Yes, with your link, and those bookings are real - so don't share it until your old system stops selling.

2. A customer moved their booking on my old system. It doesn't sync - move it in Session.

3. A customer can't see their booking after claiming their account. See import troubleshooting - usually they signed up with a different email address.

4. What if I find a code that didn't come across? Add it by hand - see discount codes and gift vouchers.

5. A customer says their Periode gift card doesn't work. Send us the code and their email. If it was bought after your switch, Periode is still selling - switch that off.

6. How long should I keep my old account? A month.