Switching to PackOffice

Founding trainers don't do this alone. Their two-hour setup call includes importing clients and dogs and setting up services with them. Apply for founding access.

The seven steps

Export your clients. Most booking apps can download clients as a CSV file, and any spreadsheet can be saved as one. Owner names, emails, mobiles, suburbs and dog names are what matter most.
Import them. In PackOffice, open Clients and choose Import a CSV. Match your columns to client and dog fields. A single "Name" column is split into first and last names for you. The getting started guide shows the import from Google Contacts, Square, Acuity and spreadsheets step by step.
Set up what you sell. Add your services, packages, programs and classes with your prices, cancellation policy and the times you work. Intake questions go on your enquiry form, so answers land straight in the client file.
Set up payments. Create your own Stripe account from PackOffice in a few minutes for card payments, and add your bank details so invoices show them for transfers.
Move clients who are midway. For anyone partway through a program, payment plan or class term, add what is still to run: the sessions left and the instalments still owing. Reminders and instalments then carry on from there.
Swap your booking link. Put your PackOffice booking page on your website, Instagram bio, Google Business Profile and message templates. If you have a website, one line of code adds a Book now button.
Run both side by side. Leave bookings already made in your old system to run out there, while every new booking comes into PackOffice. When the old diary is empty, export what you need and cancel it.

Pick your switch date

Switch at the start of a BAS quarter if you can: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. That way each quarter's GST sits in one system and your BAS comes from one place. Upload a bank statement from your switch date as CSV, OFX or QFX and PackOffice matches payments to invoices from there.

If you use Xero or QuickBooks now, keep your export of its history. Business records have to be kept for five years. Do dog trainers need Xero?

What to expect

Day one

Clients imported, services set up, booking page live. New enquiries start landing in PackOffice.

Weeks one to three

Two systems for a while. New bookings in PackOffice, old ones finishing in your old app.

Weeks four to six

The new routine feels normal. Reminders and instalments run on their own and the old subscription can go.

Any new tool feels slower for the first fortnight because your hands know the old one. That passes. If something gets in your way, email [email protected] and a person on the team will help.

And if you leave

Your data is yours. Export clients, dogs, invoices and payments any time. If you cancel, you keep read-only access and exports for 90 days. There is no lock-in contract.

Questions

How long does it take to switch to PackOffice?

Importing clients takes a few minutes and setting up services takes an afternoon. Most trainers run both systems side by side for a few weeks until their old bookings run out, and it takes four to six weeks for the new routine to feel normal.

Can you move my clients across for me?

Yes, for founding trainers. Their two-hour setup call includes importing clients and dogs and setting up services with them.

When is the best time to switch?

At the start of a BAS quarter, so each quarter's GST sits in one system. 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October are the cleanest dates.

What if I want to leave PackOffice later?

Export your clients, dogs, invoices and payments any time. If you cancel, you keep read-only access and exports for 90 days.

Have it done for you

Founding trainers get a two-hour setup call where we import their clients and set up their services with them, and keep today's prices for as long as they stay subscribed.

Apply for founding access Take the tour