1. Decide what has to come with you
Before exporting anything, list what you can't afford to lose. For most schools that's:
- Students and their status: active, trial, frozen or inactive.
- Families and who pays for whom.
- Programs and current ranks.
- Contact details for students and parents.
- Membership rates and what each family pays today.
Attendance history and old payments matter less than you'd think on day one. Keep a full export archived, and bring across what you'll use day to day.
2. Export everything to CSV
Most school software, including Kicksite, can export students to a CSV file. Export the full list, including inactive students, and keep the original file untouched as your backup. If you run several locations, export per school so each file maps to one location.
3. Clean it before you import
Old systems collect junk: duplicate students, missing names, ranks spelled three different ways. A good importer should show you these problems before saving anything. In Tenbelt, the importer:
- Matches your columns automatically.
- Previews every row before anything is written.
- Flags missing names, unknown ranks and duplicates row by row.
- Brings across students, families, programs, ranks and kiosk PINs together.
4. Pick a quiet switch date
Avoid testing weeks, the start of a new term and the days around your billing date. A Sunday or the middle of a quiet month is ideal. Tell staff the date a week ahead, and run both systems side by side for a few days if you can.
5. Check the first week
- Do active student counts match the old system, school by school?
- Can every student check in at the kiosk?
- Are ranks correct for students close to their next test?
- Does every staff member see what they need, and nothing more?
Frequently asked questions
How long does a switch take?
For a single school with clean data, the import itself takes minutes. Most of the time goes into cleaning the export and training staff.
Will my students notice?
Mostly at check-in. Keep their existing kiosk PINs and the change is almost invisible to them.
Can you help us move?
Yes. We walk every school through its migration as part of early access. Book a demo and bring your export.