Switching practice software, honestly
No vendor makes leaving pleasant, and no vendor's importer is as magic as its brochure. Here is what moving to SideClick actually involves — CSV imports for the records that matter, attachments for the rest — and why it is the last switch that should ever feel risky.
- CSV import
- Patients + historical notes
- Prior documents
- Attach to the chart
- Your exports later
- Every format, every licence state
- Trial overlap
- 30 days to run both systems
What moving in looks like
Two things import directly: your patient list and your historical session notes, via CSV templates you fill from your old system's export. Imported notes land read-only on each chart, marked with the system they came from — migrated records are historical fact, not editable drafts. Everything else your old system exports — PDFs, letters, scans — attaches to each patient's chart as documents, so history stays one click away while new work starts clean in SideClick's structure.
We still won't pretend there is a one-click importer for every legacy database, because there isn't, from anyone; mapping another product's schema faithfully is precisely the kind of promise that breaks quietly. The honest unit of migration is a CSV you can verify in a spreadsheet — backed by a preview that shows every problem row and likely duplicate before anything is written.
How a switch actually runs
Practices typically run the 30-day evaluation alongside the old system: the patient list is imported on day one, new sessions are documented in SideClick from the start, and the old system goes read-only in practice. Historical notes come across as a CSV import when the old system can export them, and each returning patient's remaining paperwork is attached at their first new appointment. After a month the active caseload has crossed on its own schedule, and the old subscription's last job is to produce its final export.
The last switch that feels like this
The reason to endure a switch once is to never fear one again. SideClick is leaving-friendly on purpose: encrypted .cfbak backups, FHIR, PDF and CSV export all work in every licence state, including after you stop paying, forever. Nothing is ever deleted behind you — the pricing page publishes the exact capability matrix.
The question to ask every vendor
Whatever software you're weighing against whatever you have, put one question to both: "What exactly still works when I stop paying?" Demand the answer as a table, not a paragraph. Ours is public, row by row; a vendor whose answer is vaguer than that has answered a different question — about who really owns the records.
Questions, answered
Can SideClick import my database from my current system?
It imports what matters most — the patient list and historical session notes — from CSV templates you fill from your old system's export, with a preview before anything is written. It does not claim to swallow another product's database whole: appointments and financials don't import, and prior PDFs attach to the chart as documents.
How long does switching take in practice?
About an evaluation month for the active caseload: new sessions in SideClick immediately, each patient's history attached at their next visit. Dormant files can stay as attachments indefinitely.
Do I lose my old records if the old vendor cuts me off?
Take your exports before cancelling — that is true of every system. Once attached in SideClick they are inside your encrypted record, covered by your backups and export rights forever.
What if I later want to leave SideClick?
Then the design pays you back: full backups, FHIR, PDF and CSV export in every licence state, no deletion, no time limit. Leaving-friendly was the point.
Try SideClick free for 30 days
Full capability, no card required. Your data stays on your machine either way.
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