How to Migrate from SimplePractice to Another EHR

How to Migrate from SimplePractice to Another EHR (2026 Guide)

Migrating from SimplePractice to another practice management or EHR platform is a significant operational project — but one that follows a predictable pattern if approached systematically. The most common reasons practices make this switch: SimplePractice's per-user pricing becomes expensive as the team grows, EU-based practices find the platform's US data residency incompatible with their GDPR obligations, or the practice needs features (multi-location management, specific clinical modules, EU-native billing) that SimplePractice doesn't offer.

This guide covers the full migration process: what data to export, how to evaluate what transfers cleanly vs what requires manual work, how to handle the parallel operation period, and the GDPR considerations specific to EU practices moving to an EU-hosted platform.

What Data Lives in SimplePractice

Before planning the migration, understand what data you have and which categories can be exported:

Client records

• Demographic information: name, date of birth, contact details, emergency contacts
• Insurance information (US-focused; less relevant for EU practices)
• Billing history: invoices, payments, outstanding balances
• Appointment history: dates, appointment types, clinician

Clinical records

• Progress notes (session notes, SOAP notes)
• Treatment plans
• Intake forms and assessments submitted by clients

Documents

• Consent forms
• Uploaded documents (referral letters, reports, attachments)

Practice data

• Service catalogue (appointment types and rates)
• Clinician records
• Calendar and scheduling data (upcoming appointments)

Step 1 — Request Your Data Export from SimplePractice

SimplePractice provides data export under GDPR Article 20 (data portability) for EU clients, and as a standard feature for all accounts. The export process:

1. Log in to SimplePractice as the account owner
2. Navigate to Settings → My Account → Export Data (or the equivalent in the current interface — verify in SimplePractice's current help documentation)
3. Request a full account export
4. SimplePractice will prepare the export and email a download link (this may take 24–72 hours for large accounts)

What you get: CSV files for client records, appointment history, and billing data. Clinical notes may be available as PDF exports per client or in a structured format — confirm the current export format in SimplePractice's documentation.

What does not export cleanly:

• Uploaded document files (may require manual download per client)
• Clinical note formatting (rich text formatting may not transfer to the destination system)
• Client portal data and portal-submitted forms

Keep the export files — they are your audit record of the data that existed at migration and the basis for verifying the import at the destination.

Step 2 — Audit Your Data Before Import

Do not import everything without reviewing what you have. A migration is an opportunity to clean the data:

Archive inactive clients: Clients with no appointments in the past three to five years can be exported and archived rather than imported as active records in the new system. This keeps the new system's active client list clean.

Resolve outstanding billing: Any open invoices or unresolved balances should be resolved or documented before migration. Importing a large number of open invoices from a legacy system creates reconciliation complexity in the new system.

Identify duplicate records: SimplePractice may have duplicate client records created during its history. Identify and merge duplicates before import — it is significantly easier to merge them in a CSV than in a live system.

Flag records requiring special handling: Minors (different data handling and retention rules), deceased clients (check your jurisdiction's rules on record retention after death), and clients who have exercised GDPR rights (erasure requests) need to be handled explicitly during migration.

Step 3 — Set Up the Destination System

Before importing any data, configure the destination system to receive it correctly:

Service catalogue: Set up all appointment types, services, and rates in the new system. The import of appointment history depends on these types existing in the destination.

Clinician records: Create user accounts for all clinicians in the new system before importing client records. Appointment history needs to be associated with the correct clinician account.

Location structure: For multi-location practices, set up locations in the new system. Appointment history imports should assign the correct location.

Custom fields: If SimplePractice had custom fields in client records or intake forms, identify equivalent fields in the destination system before import.

Step 4 — Test Import with a Sample Dataset

Do not run a full import without testing first. Take a representative sample — 20–50 client records covering different record types, appointment histories, and billing states — and run a test import:

• Verify client records import with correct field mapping
• Verify appointment history assigns to the correct clinician and location
• Verify billing history shows correct amounts and payment status
• Verify clinical notes appear attached to the correct client record

Every field mapping error in the test import represents a systematic error in the full import. Fix mapping issues in the test before running the full import.

Step 5 — Clinical Notes: The Hard Part

Clinical notes are the most operationally critical records and often the hardest to migrate cleanly.

Three approaches, in order of preference:

Option 1 — Structured import: If the destination system accepts clinical notes in a structured format (CSV with defined fields, or via API), and SimplePractice exports them in a compatible format, import them as active records. This is the cleanest outcome but depends on format compatibility.

Option 2 — PDF archive linked to client records: Export SimplePractice notes as PDFs (one PDF per client or per session). Import the client records into the new system, and attach the PDF archive to each client record as a document. All historical notes are accessible in the new system — they just can't be edited as live records.

Option 3 — External archive: Keep SimplePractice accessible (on a reduced plan if available, or by exporting and storing PDFs outside the new system) for historical note reference. New notes go into the new system. This requires managing two systems during a transition period but is operationally simple.

For EU practices, clinical notes are subject to mandatory retention periods (commonly ten years from last contact). The migration plan must ensure historical notes remain accessible throughout the mandatory retention period, regardless of which option is chosen.

Step 6 — Parallel Operation Period

Run both systems in parallel for 30–60 days after the import:

• New appointments and new client registrations go into the new system
• Legacy SimplePractice records remain accessible for reference
• Billing for active clients moves to the new system
• Outstanding SimplePractice billing (open invoices, payment plans) is either migrated or managed in SimplePractice until resolved

The parallel operation period catches problems: a clinician who can't find a client's history, a billing record that didn't import correctly, a document that's missing. These are resolved during the parallel period rather than discovered after SimplePractice is decommissioned.

GDPR Considerations for EU Practices

Data residency

SimplePractice is a US-headquartered company with US-based infrastructure. If your EU practice has been using SimplePractice, your client health data has been processed under Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) — the legal mechanism for EU data to be processed by US companies. This is legally permitted but requires that SimplePractice's processor terms are in place and that the SCCs are current.

When migrating to an EU-hosted platform, the data transfer from SimplePractice to the new system is a one-time transfer covered by your existing contract and the migration process. After migration, data is held in the EU and the SCCs with SimplePractice are no longer needed.

Client notification

Under GDPR, clients have the right to be informed about how their data is processed. When you migrate to a new platform, the data controller (your clinic) is the same — so this is not a change of controller that requires explicit consent. However, if your privacy notice references specific technical measures or the identity of the data processor (SimplePractice), you should update the privacy notice to reflect the new processor.

Deletion from SimplePractice after migration

After migration is complete and verified, you should confirm with SimplePractice that your account data is deleted from their servers — not just deactivated. Under GDPR, you are the data controller and have the right to instruct the processor (SimplePractice) to delete the data once it is no longer processed on your behalf. Request written confirmation of deletion for your compliance records.

Setting Up in Tregovia

Tregovia is a practice management platform with import support for SimplePractice migrations:

Data import: CSV import for client records, appointment history, and billing history. PDF document attachment per client record for clinical note archives.

Privacy controls: Configure access roles, consent records, exports, deletion requests, and retention rules before publishing this workflow.

Clinical modules: Medical Records (EUR 15/month), Vet Records (EUR 15/month, part of Vet Bundle at EUR 15/month for all three vet modules).

Flat-rate pricing: EUR 47/month, up to 2 staff, up to 100 clients (extra users EUR 10/month per 5 seats). No per-user scaling as your team grows.

Migration support: Step-by-step import guide. 14-day free trial to complete and verify migration before committing.

FAQ

How long does a SimplePractice migration take?

Four to eight weeks from decision to full cutover for a typical small practice (one to five clinicians, up to a few hundred active clients). The majority of the time is: data audit and cleaning (one to two weeks), destination system setup (one week), test import and verification (one week), parallel operation (two to four weeks). Larger practices or those with complex billing histories should plan for eight to twelve weeks.

Will SimplePractice let me export all my data?

Yes. SimplePractice provides data export under their standard terms and GDPR data portability rights. The export includes client records, appointment history, and billing data in CSV format. Clinical notes may require PDF export per client or per session — confirm the current export options in SimplePractice's help documentation, as the available formats may change.

What happens to client portal accounts during migration?

Client portal accounts in SimplePractice are tied to SimplePractice's infrastructure — they do not migrate. Clients will need to register new portal accounts in the new system. Send a migration notification that includes: the new portal URL, instructions for registering, and what information is pre-populated in their new account (so they know they don't need to re-enter their history).

Do I need to notify clients that I'm changing software?

You are not legally required to obtain new consent for the data migration, as you remain the data controller and the purpose of processing has not changed. However, you should update your privacy notice to reflect the new processor, and it is good practice to send clients a brief operational notification: "We have moved to a new client management system. Your records are intact. Please use [new portal URL] to access your account going forward."

Can a practice access SimplePractice after migrating, for historical reference?

Yes, if you maintain the subscription. Some practices keep a reduced or read-only access to SimplePractice for the duration of the mandatory record retention period (commonly ten years), so historical notes are accessible even if not imported into the new system. The cost of maintaining read-only access should be weighed against the alternative: exporting all notes as PDFs and storing them in the new system as document attachments. The PDF archive approach eliminates the ongoing SimplePractice subscription cost.