Switching cleaning business software is mostly a data and timing problem: export everything, sort out where your clients' saved cards live, and run both systems until every recurring client has had one clean booked, reminded and charged in the new one. Do it in that order and most clients never notice the move.
This guide is for house cleaning and maid service owners moving off ZenMaid, Jobber, Housecall Pro, BookingKoala, Launch27 or a spreadsheet. You'll get each vendor's export path (from its own help pages), what Stripe can and can't do with saved cards, a dated sample cut-over plan and a checklist. If you want to set up the new system while you read, you can start a ConvertLabs trial; it runs for 7 days.
Vendor help pages and Stripe documentation checked November 9, 2026. Menus and plan limits change, so confirm in your own account before you cancel anything.
Photo: Alejandro Escamilla / Unsplash, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
Signs it's time to switch (and when to wait)
A switch costs a few evenings of setup plus two to four weeks of overlap. It's worth it when your current tool costs you time or money every week:
You chase payments by hand instead of charging a saved card when the job is marked complete.
Clients can't book or see prices online, so every "how much for a 3-bed, 2-bath?" text is a lead that might book elsewhere overnight.
Per-user pricing is outgrowing your team. Our Housecall Pro alternatives guide runs that math for a five-cleaner team.
You run four tools for one job: website, booking form, scheduler and payment app, none of them connected.
Wait if the reason is a feature you might use someday, or if your busiest weeks are coming up. Pick a quiet stretch instead.
Step 1: Export everything before you cancel anything
Your old software is the only complete record of who you clean for, when, at what price and with which door code. Export it while you still have full access, and keep an untouched copy.
Software | Where to export | What to know |
|---|---|---|
ZenMaid | Reports → Export data (Appointments, Assignments, Bookings, Charges, Cleaners, Contacts) | CSVs are emailed. ZenMaid says CSV exports are on Pro Max only. (help) |
Jobber | Clients → More Actions → Export Clients; Insights → Reports → Recurring jobs → Export to CSV | Admins only; files are emailed; client CSVs split at 1,500 rows. "Available on select plans." (clients, recurring jobs) |
Housecall Pro | Customers → Actions → Export; Jobs → Actions → Export | Admins only; CSV emailed. (help) |
BookingKoala | Customers → Customers → Export | Filter by date, status and tags; pick fields; CSV downloads. (help) |
Launch27 | Bookings → Download CSV; Customers → Export customers | Launch27 says only active booking data can be exported. (help) |
Make sure your files cover:
Clients: name, phone, email, service and billing addresses, tags.
Recurring schedule: frequency, day, time window, assigned cleaner, price and frequency discount.
Home notes: entry instructions, lockbox and alarm codes, pets, product preferences. Owners forget these, and cleaners need them on day one.
Money: open invoices, credits, gift card balances.
Team: cleaners, contact info, pay rates.
If something won't export on your plan, copy it out by hand now.
Step 2: Figure out where your clients' cards actually live
Saved cards are where switches lose clients. Someone asked to dig out a card may use that moment to rethink the whole arrangement. In the tools we checked, the card isn't stored in the scheduling software itself. It sits with the payment processor (Stripe, Square or the software's payments partner), and the software keeps a reference to it.
That leaves four situations:
Your situation | What's possible | Ask the new vendor |
|---|---|---|
Same Stripe account. Old and new tools both connect to your Stripe account. | The cards are already there, but the new tool has to link them to its client records. BookingKoala's import accepts a "Payment Processor ID" column (help). ZenMaid says cards already stored in a Stripe account you connect can't be charged in ZenMaid (help). | "Can you attach my existing Stripe customers' cards to imported clients?" |
Different Stripe account. | Stripe's self-serve tool copies customers and saved payment methods between Stripe accounts. The originals stay put, customer IDs are kept, payment methods get new IDs, and the recipient gets a mapping file. Charges, invoices and subscriptions don't copy. (Stripe) | "Can you match copied cards using Stripe's mapping file?" |
Different processor. Square, or your old tool's built-in payments. | Stripe can import cards from another processor once that processor sends the data. Stripe warns that the export can take "a few days to several months" and that imports usually finish within 10 business days of valid data. CVCs never transfer. (Stripe) Launch27's Automaid Pay FAQ says token transfers can be requested for a fee (FAQ). | "How long will this take, and what does it cost?" |
No transfer. | Each recurring client re-enters a card once through a secure link. | Plan the message (Step 5). |
Two more details from Stripe's docs. Cards moved to a new merchant account can see a temporary rise in declines, so Stripe suggests ramping up rather than charging everyone on day one. Copying expired cards into an account with Card Account Updater turned on can trigger updater fees, so remove expired cards first.
ConvertLabs charges cards through your Stripe account at Stripe's standard rates, with no ConvertLabs cut. If you already use Stripe, you can connect that same Stripe account to ConvertLabs, so your customers' saved cards are already there and nobody has to re-enter a card. That only applies when you keep the same Stripe account — moving cards between different Stripe accounts still needs Stripe's own copy tool, and cards on Square or another processor need Stripe's import process. The ConvertLabs team can walk you through bringing your clients and bookings over.
Step 3: Build the new system completely before anyone sees it
Half-migrated systems are how visits get missed. Set it all up in one push:
Services and prices. Rebuild bedroom/bathroom pricing, frequency discounts and extras so clients see what they pay today. On ConvertLabs, frequency discounts are built into the online booking flow.
All clients at once, notes and codes included, with codes in internal-only fields.
Recurring series. Ask whether the new tool imports recurrence rules or only clients. If it's only clients, rebuild series client by client: weekly first, then biweekly, then monthly.
Compare calendars. Check the next four weeks side by side. Every visit should match on date, time, cleaner and price.
Reminders and policies. Match your current timing and cancellation wording.
Cleaners. Each one installs the app and opens their first job before switch day.
Booking links. List every place your old link lives: website, Google Business Profile, social bios, email signatures, printed cards, QR codes. A link on your own domain (yourcompany.com/book) makes the next switch a one-line change.
Step 4: Pick a cut-over date and run both systems
Choose a Monday in a normal week. From then on, the new system is the source of truth for bookings, reminders, completions and charges. The old one goes read-only.
Overlap until your least frequent client has completed one visit in the new system: about 7 days for weekly, 14 for biweekly and 28 to 31 for monthly.
Sample cut-over timeline
Say you run a maid service with 60 recurring clients (20 weekly, 30 biweekly, 10 monthly) and five cleaners, cutting over on Monday, January 11, 2027:
When | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
Week −3 | Mon Dec 21 | Export everything. Start the new trial. Ask about card transfer. |
Week −2 | Mon Dec 28 | Rebuild services and prices. Import clients. Request any card copy or import. |
Week −1 | Mon Jan 4 | Rebuild recurring series. Compare 4 weeks of calendar. Cleaners install the app. Email clients. |
Cut-over | Mon Jan 11 | New system live. Booking links swapped. Old tool read-only. |
+3 days | Thu Jan 14 | Card-link reminder to anyone without a card on file. |
+7 days | Mon Jan 18 | All 20 weekly clients have completed a visit in the new system. |
+14 days | Mon Jan 25 | All 30 biweekly clients done. Reconcile counts. |
+28 days | Mon Feb 8 | All 10 monthly clients done. Final export. Cancel old tool before renewal. |
Photo: Norbert Levajsics / Unsplash, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
The overlap usually means paying for both tools for about a month. That's cheap next to losing one $150 biweekly client, which works out to $3,900 a year.
Step 5: Tell clients and cleaners (briefly)
Clients only need to hear what changes for them. Send one message a week before cut-over:
Hi [Name], on [date] we're moving to a new booking system. Your [weekly/biweekly] cleaning stays exactly the same. You'll get reminders from [new sender]. One quick favor: please re-save your card here before your next clean on [date]: [secure link]. Thanks!
Drop the card line if your cards transferred. Send a reminder three days after cut-over, and give cleaners a way to take a card in person for stragglers.
For cleaners, a 15-minute walkthrough beats a long email: where today's jobs are, where entry notes live, and how to mark a job complete (with auto-charge on, that's what triggers payment). Our guide to training cleaning staff covers making new processes stick.
Step 6: Reconcile, then cancel
Before you cancel, count. The number that proves nobody slipped through: recurring clients active in the old system on cut-over day = recurring clients with a completed visit in the new system. Track three ticks per client: visit completed, card on file, new link received. Anyone missing a tick gets a personal call.
Then take a final export, save it, and cancel before the next billing date.
Post-switch checklist
☐ Final export saved in two places
☐ Recurring client count matches (old vs new)
☐ Every recurring client has completed a visit in the new system
☐ Existing Stripe account connected (if you already use Stripe), or card re-entry / transfer plan ready
☐ Every auto-charged client has a working card on file
☐ Entry codes visible to assigned cleaners only
☐ Booking links updated everywhere
☐ Reminders and cancellation policy working
☐ Open balances, credits and gift cards carried over
☐ Old subscription cancelled before renewal
After the switch, keeping clients is the same work as any other week. See our client retention guide.
Where ConvertLabs fits
ConvertLabs is booking, payments and website software for residential cleaning companies. Clients book and pay through your online form. Weekly, biweekly and monthly cleans generate future bookings automatically, and the saved card is charged on each completed visit. Client records hold multiple addresses, saved cards, booking history, internal notes and tags. Plans are Basic $67/mo, Professional $197/mo (adds the scheduler, auto-charge, SMS and the provider app) and Enterprise $397/mo, with no contracts, no per-booking fees and a 7-day trial (pricing). See how online booking works, or keep comparing with ZenMaid alternatives, Jobber vs ConvertLabs and maid booking software.
The ConvertLabs team can walk you through bringing your clients and bookings over.
Ready to see it for yourself? Start your ConvertLabs trial
FAQ
How long does it take to switch cleaning business software?
Plan on one to two weeks of setup and a two- to four-week overlap. Your least frequent recurring client sets the overlap.
Will my clients have to re-enter their cards?
Not if you connect the same Stripe account you already use. ConvertLabs connects to your existing Stripe account, so the cards saved there stay put. Clients do need to re-enter a card if you're moving to a different Stripe account or a different processor and a transfer isn't ready in time.
Will my clients' saved cards transfer?
It depends where the cards live. Same Stripe account: connect it to ConvertLabs and the cards are already there. Different Stripe account: Stripe's copy tool can move them. Different processor (Square or a built-in payments partner): Stripe can import them once that processor sends the data, which can take days to months. Otherwise, clients re-enter a card once through a secure link.
How do I switch from ZenMaid?
Export Contacts, Appointments and Charges from Reports → Export data (ZenMaid says this requires Pro Max). Ask your new vendor about your Stripe or Square cards, then rebuild recurring series and follow the timeline above.
How do I switch from Jobber?
As an admin, export clients (Clients → More Actions → Export Clients) and your recurring schedule (Insights → Reports → Recurring jobs → Export to CSV). Both arrive by email. Jobber says these are on select plans.
Can I cancel my old software right away?
No. Wait until every recurring client has completed a visit in the new system and you've saved a final export.
