Take your customers with you, history included.
The fear that stalls almost every booking-software switch isn't price: it's losing the customer base you've spent years building. You don't have to. You export your customers from your current system as a CSV, upload it to Qomanda and keep names, phones, emails and their visit history. Here's the full process, including what transfers and what doesn't.
Your data is yours, and you should be able to take it out.
Before the how, the why: your restaurant's customer base is yours, not your software provider's. The GDPR grants you the right to data portability, and any serious system should let you export it in a standard format without fuss.
So step one of any migration is asking your current provider for the export. Normally you can download it yourself from the dashboard; if you can't find it, email them and ask. A CSV of your customers is the reasonable minimum.
And a practical tip: do the export before cancelling anything. Cancelling first and asking for your data afterwards is the fastest way to end up without it.
What travels with you and what you'll have to rebuild.
We'll say it plainly so there are no surprises on day one.
Travels: your customer base with name, phone, email and language, plus whatever visit history the export includes (how many times each guest came and when). That's what makes the CRM arrive with memory instead of blank.
Doesn't travel, and has to be rebuilt: the floor plan, services and capacities, message templates, and any future bookings already taken in the old system. It's less work than it sounds —the plan and services take an afternoon— but plan for it rather than leaving it to switching day.
Future bookings are the delicate bit: if you already have tables booked three weeks out, those stay in the old system. That's why overlapping both systems for a while is the sensible move, which is exactly what comes next.
Overlap both systems and switch when you're sure.
A migration that goes well is almost never a cold jump. It's an overlap.
During the 30-day trial you have Qomanda set up and running while your previous system stays alive. Future bookings you already had are served where they were; new ones start coming through your new engine. When the day arrives that nothing is left pending in the old system, you cancel it.
That overlap is the safety net: if something in your operation isn't covered, you find out with the old system still running, not on a Friday at nine with a full room. And since the trial doesn't ask for a card, overlapping costs you nothing.
What the CSV needs to look like.
The export doesn't need an exact format: what matters is a CSV with one row per customer and a header row on top. What Qomanda uses is the name, phone, email and, if present, the language and visits.
Two things that help and usually cause trouble: phone numbers with an international prefix (+34…) so you don't get odd duplicates, and the file saved as UTF-8, which is what stops accents and ñ from breaking. If your export comes out of Excel, save it as "CSV UTF-8" and you're done.
If we spot repeated customers on upload —the same phone on two rows— they're merged into one profile instead of duplicated. And if something doesn't add up, you'll see it before confirming, not after.
A legal note worth being clear about.
When you move a customer base from one system to another, you remain the data controller; the software is the processor. In practice that means two things: you can take it with you, and you still have the same obligations towards it as before (informing people, handling opt-outs, not using it for things it wasn't meant for).
In Qomanda every customer profile has its data-deletion option, access is restricted per restaurant account, and you can re-export your base whenever you want. If you ever decide to leave, you take your data out the same way you brought it in.
And the obvious caveat: we're not your lawyers. If you handle a large volume or have specific compliance questions, check with whoever handles your data protection.
The full migration, in seven steps.
- 01
Export your customers from your current system
Look for the export or download customers option in your dashboard and ask for a CSV. If you can't find it, email your provider and request it: you have the right to data portability. Do this before cancelling anything.
- 02
Give the file a quick check
Open it and check three things: there's a header row, phone numbers carry a prefix (+34…) and accents display correctly. If you see odd characters, save it again as "CSV UTF-8".
- 03
Create your Qomanda account
Signing up takes a few minutes and the 30-day trial asks for no card. Don't cancel your previous system yet: you'll need it during the overlap.
- 04
Upload the CSV from CRM › Customers › Import
Drag the file in and see the result before confirming: how many customers come in and whether repeats will be merged. If something's off, fix the CSV and upload again.
- 05
Set up your floor plan and services
Draw your tables and zones, set services, capacities and average duration. This is the part the export doesn't carry, and the one where doing it properly shows most: taken calmly, it's an afternoon.
- 06
Embed the booking engine on your website
Paste one line of code into your site and new bookings start landing straight in your panel, in 12 languages and commission-free. From here you're already capturing through the new channel.
- 07
Overlap for a few days and cancel when nothing's left
Serve the bookings you already had in the old system and let new ones come through Qomanda. When the old calendar empties, you cancel. No cold jumps, no scares.
Before you make the move.
What restaurants thinking about switching usually ask us. No fine print.
Yes. Qomanda imports customers from a CSV, the standard format booking systems export to, CoverManager included. You request the export from your current provider, upload it from CRM › Customers › Import and keep names, phones, emails and visit history.
Fill your room.
We handle the rest.
We migrate your restaurant with you and stay through the launch. You run the service; the software is on us.
€49/mo · no fees · 30 days free · cancel anytime