Move from Fresha to CRM: Migration Checklist

Moving from Fresha to a CRM: Migration Checklist for Salons and Spas

The risky part of moving from Fresha to a CRM is not clicking export. It is discovering, halfway through a busy week, that the new system has clients but no useful appointment history, services but the wrong durations, deposits but no clear status, or reminders that do not match the old cancellation policy.

Salon migrations fail when owners treat them like a file transfer. They work when owners treat them like an operating change.

If you are moving away from Fresha, you are probably not doing it because a calendar exists somewhere else. You are doing it because you want a different shape of business system: a CRM where client records, appointments, billing, reminders, reports, and follow-up sit together. That can be a good reason to switch. It still needs a careful migration plan.

This checklist is written for salons and spas moving from Fresha into a CRM such as Tregovia. It uses Fresha as the current-state system, but the same process applies to most booking-tool migrations. If you are still comparing costs before deciding, read the Fresha total cost model first.

First: Know What Fresha Lets You Export

Do not rely on memory or old screenshots. Check the current export options inside your Fresha account and Fresha's help center before scheduling a cutover.

Fresha's own help center currently describes these export paths:

• Client lists can be exported in Excel or CSV format from the Clients area.
• Reports can be exported in PDF, CSV, or XLSX format where the report supports export.
• Appointment exports are described through appointment list filtering and export options.
• Client card details cannot be exported or transferred, according to Fresha's client export help.

Those details matter. A migration plan that assumes "everything comes across" is too vague. Your plan should say exactly which files will be exported, what each file contains, who has permission to export it, and what will be recreated manually.

Migration Map: What Moves, What Gets Rebuilt

Use this table before touching the new CRM.

Data or workflow	Export or rebuild?	Migration note
Clients	Export, clean, import	Deduplicate names, phones, emails, and inactive records
Client notes	Export if available, review manually	Remove unnecessary or sensitive notes before import
Appointment history	Export reports/lists where available	Decide how much history is worth importing or retaining
Future appointments	Recreate or import carefully	This is the highest-risk calendar item
Services	Rebuild deliberately	Use the migration to clean names, prices, durations, and categories
Staff schedules	Rebuild	Check working hours, days off, and bookable staff
Deposits/prepayments	Validate manually	Do not assume payment status moves cleanly
Sales/payment reports	Export for records	Reconcile before switching billing workflows
Gift cards/packages	Review case by case	Outstanding balances need special attention
Reminder templates	Rebuild	Rewrite SMS/email copy to match the new workflow
Marketing lists	Export only with care	Check consent and segmentation before importing
Stored cards	Do not expect transfer	Fresha says card details cannot be exported or transferred

This is the mindset shift. You are not trying to drag the old system into the new one. You are deciding what deserves to become the new operating record.

Step 1: Freeze the Current Workflow

Before exporting anything, write down how the salon currently works.

For each appointment type, document:

1. how the client books;
2. which service they choose;
3. whether a deposit is required;
4. what reminder is sent;
5. how payment is taken;
6. what notes staff need before the visit;
7. what happens after the appointment.

This does two things. It reveals what has to be recreated, and it exposes messy old rules that should not be migrated. If three different services all mean "gel manicure," clean that now. If the reminder policy is unclear, rewrite it before importing templates.

For nail and beauty businesses, the related software for nail salons guide is useful because it separates booking, billing, reminders, client notes, and reporting instead of treating software as one large feature list.

Step 2: Export in Small, Named Batches

Do not export a pile of files called download.csv, report.xlsx, and final-final.csv. You will regret it.

Use filenames like:

2026-11-01-fresha-clients-all-locations.csv
2026-11-01-fresha-future-appointments-nov-jan.xlsx
2026-11-01-fresha-sales-summary-2026-ytd.csv
2026-11-01-fresha-services-current.xlsx
2026-11-01-fresha-gift-cards-open-balances.csv

Then keep a simple export log:

File	Exported by	Date	Filters used	Purpose
Clients	Owner	Cutover week	All active clients	CRM import
Future appointments	Manager	Cutover week	Next 90 days	Calendar validation
Sales report	Owner/bookkeeper	Month close	Year to date	Billing reconciliation
Services	Owner	Pre-cleanup	Active services only	Rebuild service catalog

This is not bureaucracy. It is how you avoid arguing later about which spreadsheet was used.

Step 3: Clean Clients Before Import

Client cleanup is where migrations get won or lost.

Look for:

• duplicate clients with the same phone or email;
• clients with only a first name;
• old clients who have not visited in years;
• missing phone numbers;
• shared family emails;
• staff test records;
• marketing consent fields that are unclear;
• notes that should not be carried into the new CRM.

Do not import every stale record just because it exists. A smaller clean client list is more useful than a huge messy one.

In Tregovia, client records are the base object for appointments, billing, notes, tags, and custom fields. That makes client cleanup more important, not less. Bad client data spreads into every connected workflow.

Step 4: Rebuild Services Instead of Copying Them Blindly

Services are not just names. They drive appointment duration, price expectation, online booking, staff assignment, deposits, and reporting.

A salon moving from Fresha should review each service:

Service question	Why it matters
Is the service still offered?	Do not migrate dead menu items
Is the duration realistic?	Bad durations create late days and bad booking slots
Is the price current?	Old prices cause checkout disputes
Should it be bookable online?	Not every service belongs on a public booking page
Does it require a deposit?	Long/high-risk services need clear rules
Which staff can perform it?	Availability depends on skill, not just opening hours

If the salon has messy services, rebuild them manually. It takes longer upfront and saves months of calendar confusion.

Step 5: Treat Future Appointments as Critical

Future appointments deserve their own migration pass. They are not just history. They are tomorrow's revenue.

For each future appointment, check:

• client name and contact details;
• service name;
• date and time;
• staff member;
• duration;
• deposit or prepayment status;
• notes needed for the visit;
• cancellation or reschedule status;
• reminder timing.

Do a sample check before cutover, then a full check for the next two to four weeks of appointments. If a future appointment is wrong, the client will feel the migration immediately.

Step 6: Recreate Reminders and Policies

Do not copy old reminder wording without reading it. A system switch is the right time to clean the voice of the salon.

At minimum, recreate:

• booking confirmation;
• 24-hour reminder;
• deposit wording;
• cancellation window;
• late arrival note;
• reschedule instruction;
• rebooking prompt if used.

Use the appointment reminder templates for nail salons as a starting point. Keep SMS short and move longer policy details to email or booking-page copy.

Step 7: Decide What Becomes the New CRM Record

Do not treat the Fresha export as the source of truth just because it is the newest file. The source of truth should be the cleaned operating record the salon wants to run after cutover.

When evaluating Tregovia as the receiving CRM, decide what each export should become:

• clients become client records;
• useful tags and fields become tags/custom fields;
• current services become the service catalog;
• future appointments are validated before go-live;
• billing and refund workflows are tested before staff rely on them;
• reminder templates are rewritten, then connected to appointments;
• reports are checked against known Fresha/export totals.

The conservative claim is simple: Tregovia can be evaluated for the cleaned CRM workflow. It should not be described as automatically importing every historical Fresha field without review.

If pricing is part of the switch decision, compare Tregovia pricing against the Fresha total cost model, not against a single Fresha subscription line. If reminders or deposits are part of the cutover, test them against the nail salon reminder templates and deposit policy guide.

Step 8: Test With Staff Before Go-Live

A migration that works for the owner but confuses staff is not ready.

Run a staff test:

1. Search for a client.
2. Open tomorrow's appointment.
3. Check service, duration, staff member, and notes.
4. Create a new booking.
5. Reschedule it.
6. Record a payment or invoice workflow if relevant.
7. Check a refund/discount scenario.
8. Send or preview a reminder.
9. Run the daily appointment view.
10. Export or review a basic report.

If staff cannot complete those tasks without workarounds, delay the cutover.

Cutover Plan

Do not switch on a Friday afternoon. Do not switch the day before a wedding-party booking. Do not switch during the busiest week of the year.

Use a controlled cutover:

Phase	What happens
Preparation	Export, clean, map fields, rebuild services
Test import	Import a sample and check records manually
Workflow test	Staff test bookings, payments, reminders, and reports
Final export	Export latest clients and future appointments
Freeze	Stop making changes in the old system except urgent bookings
Cutover	Move active workflow to the CRM
Parallel check	Keep old system accessible for reference if possible
First-week review	Check appointments, reminders, payments, and client issues daily

The first week is not business as usual. Treat it like a launch.

What Not To Migrate

Some data should stay in records for legal, accounting, or reference reasons but should not necessarily become active CRM data.

Be careful with:

• very old inactive clients;
• unclear marketing consent;
• messy free-text notes;
• stored card assumptions;
• obsolete services;
• old promotions;
• staff test records;
• duplicate profiles;
• incomplete forms;
• unverified balances.

If you are unsure, keep an archive export and import only what the team needs to run current operations.

Migration Questions Salon Owners Ask

Can I export clients from Fresha before moving to a CRM? Fresha's help center says client lists can be exported in Excel or CSV format. Always confirm the current export options and permissions in your own Fresha account before planning a migration.

What should salons export before switching from Fresha? Start with clients, appointment lists or reports, service lists, product or inventory data if used, payment or sales reports, gift card or package records if relevant, and reminder or policy wording.

Can card details be transferred from Fresha? Fresha's client export help states that client card details cannot be exported or transferred. Plan payment setup in the new CRM without assuming stored cards will move.

How should Tregovia be used during migration? Use Tregovia as the receiving CRM only after cleaning exports, mapping fields, testing sample imports, checking future appointments, and validating billing and reminder workflows.

When should a salon switch systems? Choose a low-risk week, avoid peak days, freeze changes during cutover, keep Fresha read-only where possible, and test future bookings before asking staff to work fully in the new CRM.

Migration Takeaways

• Moving from Fresha to a CRM is an operating migration, not only a data export.
• Confirm Fresha's current export options and permissions before planning the switch.
• Clean clients, services, future appointments, reminders, and payment records before importing.
• Stored card details should not be assumed transferable.
• Tregovia should receive a cleaned workflow, not a messy copy of the old system.
• Staff testing and first-week review matter as much as the import itself.

Final Cutover Test

A good migration makes the salon calmer after the switch. A bad migration simply moves old confusion into a new interface.

Before moving from Fresha to a CRM, export carefully, name your files, clean your clients, rebuild services deliberately, check every near-term appointment, rewrite reminders, and test the workflow with staff. Then cut over in a low-risk week with a clear rollback reference. The goal is not to leave Fresha quickly. The goal is to arrive in the new CRM with a cleaner salon operation than the one you left behind.