Most businesses start with a spreadsheet, a notebook at the counter, and a long Messenger history. By the time you switch to a booking system, your client list lives in all three, with the same person spelled four ways.
This guide covers how to clean the list once, bring over what clients have already paid for, and switch on a set date so no booking falls between the old way and the new.
Gather every list you have
Before you clean anything, collect it all in one spreadsheet, one row per client.
- The spreadsheet or booking notebook, typed up if it is on paper.
- Your phone contacts and chat threads for clients who only ever messaged.
- Package and membership records: who has sessions left, and until when.
- Future bookings already promised, with the date, time, service, and who is doing it.
Keep only the columns you will use
A new system is a chance to stop collecting what nobody reads. Most service businesses need a short list.
| Keep | Why |
|---|---|
| Full name | So the front desk finds the right person |
| Mobile number | For calls, chat, and finding duplicates |
| For booking confirmations and reminders | |
| Birthday | Only if you will use it, such as a birthday offer |
| Notes | Allergies, preferences, the stylist they always ask for |
| Sessions left and expiry | So prepaid clients keep what they paid for |
Collect personal data only for a reason you can name, and keep it only as long as you need it. The Data Privacy Act of 2012 applies to client lists too; ask your lawyer what it means for yours.
Clean the list in one sitting
- Write every mobile number the same way, such as 11 digits starting with 09 and no spaces, so duplicates line up.
- Sort by mobile number, then by name, and merge rows that are the same person.
- Keep two rows when two people really share a number, such as a parent booking for a child.
- Fix obvious email typos, such as gmial.com, because a wrong email means no confirmations.
- Mark clients who asked to hear about offers. Everyone else gets booking messages only.
Carry over what clients already paid for
The quickest way to lose a regular is to forget the six sessions they prepaid. List every client with credits left, the number, and the expiry, and agree with your team that this list is final before you enter it.
Enter each balance with a short reason, such as "Carried over from the old system", so anyone who looks later knows where the credits came from and nobody gives them twice.
Switch on a set date
Running two systems side by side is how double bookings happen. Pick a switch-over date, usually the start of a quiet week, and work back from it.
- Enter every future booking from the switch-over date onward in the new system.
- From that day, the front desk books only in the new system.
- Put your new booking link on Instagram, Facebook, and Google, and send it to regulars. See how to move bookings out of Messenger.
- Keep the old spreadsheet, read-only, for a few months to answer "I think I had one session left".
Tell clients what changes for them
Clients don't need to know about your spreadsheet. They need to know how to book now. Keep the message short and about them.
- Say what is easier: they can see open times and book any time, without waiting for a reply.
- Say what stays the same: their sessions left, their usual provider, and that they can still message you.
- Give the link, and offer to book the first one for them at the counter if they would rather not.
Make sure you can take it with you
Your client list is your business. Before you commit to any system, check that you can export your clients to a spreadsheet whenever you want. See how to choose booking software.
With Onsuki, you can send your current booking page link or files, such as a price list and a client list export, from Bring your business over, and a person at Onsuki sets it up for you for free, usually within one working day. Clients can also be added one by one, duplicates merged, and prepaid sessions entered as credits with a reason. Export clients downloads your whole list as a CSV at any time. See Clients.
