Intro

ChMeetings transfers your data from external systems into our platform, for free, as long as you have a paid account.

If you want to import yourself, here some alternative ways to get help:

We have some very useful tools for quick and easy DIY imports, which minimize manual data entry - all you need is to make sure your data file (.csv) columns correspond to our templates.
We also wrote guides to help you migrate from other ChMS platforms.
Our support team is happy to assist with any questions or concerns.

Let’s now see how our free data transfer service works:

Where can data be imported from?

There are two methods to import your data:

From a source data file, like a .csv spreadsheet. In this case you must provide us with the data file.
From your previous system, which means we will need your access credentials. We will log in and export the required data for you. We can then run the import using the data file we retrieved.

The import process involves 5 simple steps:

Step 1: Sign up for any paid ChMeetings plan. Here are other things to consider before deciding whether you sign up for a free or paid account.
Step 2: Export your data from the system you’re currently using, or make sure it can be exported.
Step 3: Contact us and let us know that you want us to import your data. With your email, please provide a file containing your data or the access credentials we can use to access it online. We support the following file formats: xls, xlsx, csv. We can transfer from any supported file or from online systems, as long as there is a way to export information out of them. We cannot transfer data stored locally on your machine.
Step 4: Our team gives you an estimated date and time when the data transfer will take place. In case we encounter any issues, we will get in touch with you.
Step 5: Your data is imported and ready to use. We’ll get in touch when that’s done.

It’s quite simple:

The process takes 3 to 10 business days. The duration will depend on several factors:

The amount of data you need to transfer.
The processing work we need to undertake in order to make your data compatible with ChMeetings (e.g. formatting.)
The number of customer transfer requests our team is working on when you send yours.

We can transfer the following types of data:

Notes:

Data marked with an asterisk (*) can only be imported in some cases - we’ll let you know if and why anything doesn’t work out for this type of data.
Data marked with two asterisks (**) is only imported upon specific request.
Data marked with three asterisks (***) is only imported upon request and can only be imported in some cases.

People and Families:
- Profile pictures*.
- People profile fields.
- People profile notes*.
- Families.
Giving:
- Contributions - offline and online, except recurring online giving configuration.
- Funds.
- Envelopes.
- Pledges.**
- Contacts.
Groups.***
Events and attendance*.
Accounting:
- Funds
- Income and Expenses Categories
- Payees
- Financial Accounts
- Transactions

We cannot transfer the following types of data:

Data stored on your computer without you sending it to us in compatible files.
Attachments - in both profiles and forms.
Follow ups.
Form data in general.
Recurring online giving history: Recurring online giving transactions are being imported, but not set up as recurring. When switching software, you must also reconfigure recurring giving (and potentially ask donors to set it up again) as this does not carry-over from your previous platform.

We suggest that you do not make adjustments to ChMeetings, in preparation for the transfer (e.g. adding custom fields). Our team will do this for you anyway, and we may even need to work extra to remove your changes, if they do not contribute to properly importing your data.
If you have added any data to ChMeetings prior to the transfer, some duplicates may come up. We will merge any obvious duplicates for you, but we also suggest that you revise your data once we complete the transfer. To merge duplicates, please use the Merge People feature.