Pet Business Software Migration: A Field by Field Checklist

Check more than the number of imported records

Try one difficult household in the new system before moving everyone. Check each type of information by hand.

Inventory the data and its relationships

Collect sample exports and define one row or object per owner, pet and appointment. Decide which fields are essential, which are historical reference and which can be archived. Do not copy stale or duplicate data without review.

• Owners: names, contact details, communication preferences and any household links.
• Pets: separate identity, owner relationship, service notes, handling notes, vaccine/document details and relevant history.
• Future commitments: service, start and end time, staff, room or route, status, deposit, package balance and recurrence.
• Commercial history: open invoices, payments, refunds, credits, memberships and vouchers. Some records may need to remain in the old system if migration is not supported.

Map, clean and sample before the full import

Create a field mapping with source, destination, transformation and owner. Try a small sample containing difficult records, not only clean ones. A trial should include a two pet household, a changed booking, a future recurrence and a balance.

• Normalise phone numbers and dates with the intended locale and timezone.
• Identify duplicates using more than name alone; two unrelated owners can share a name.
• Verify attachments remain linked to the correct pet and accessible to the right staff.
• Count records before and after, then inspect individual examples with staff who know the customers.

Reconcile the money and the calendar

Totals can match while individual records are wrong. Review the next two weeks of appointments and a sample of outstanding balances by owner. Choose a clear cutoff so staff know where to make changes during the transition.

• Reconcile future confirmed appointments by date, service, pet, staff and status.
• Review deposits and remaining balances. Avoid creating a new charge for a payment already collected.
• Decide how cancellations or changes arriving during the import window are captured and replayed.
• Record any fields that did not move and where authorised staff can find the archive.

Launch with an owner for each exception

Train the front desk on the first service day rather than only the configuration screen. Assign an owner to incorrect pet links, missing documents, payment disputes and customer login questions. A short daily issue log reveals patterns quickly.

• Use a staged rollout or clear cutover time; avoid two systems both being editable without a reconciliation process.
• Test a customer booking link and an existing customer sign in from a real phone.
• Keep the old system available in a read only way if the contract permits, with an agreed retention period.
• After launch, compare daily bookings, payments and exceptions for a defined settling period.

Check records that are easy to miss

Names and phone numbers are the easy part. Future bookings, pet links, files, remaining package visits and unpaid bills are easier to miss. Try a difficult sample before choosing a switch date.

• Agree field mapping and data ownership before transferring customer information.
• Count future appointments by date, pet, branch and status in both systems.
• Check balances one by one and prevent duplicate collections.
• Keep a rollback and communications plan for the first live week.

Checklist

• Agree the import scope in writing.
• Test difficult sample records.
• Reconcile upcoming appointments and balances.
• Name owners for launch day exceptions.