Moving from Dubsado: export your data and switch
Export your contacts, projects, invoices and payment history from Dubsado before you cancel, then set up the jobs you have on now in Tellisto.
3 things to set up · about 50 minutes all up
Skip to the setup ↓Still deciding? Read how Tellisto compares to Dubsado first. This page is the how-to for once you have.
The safe order for moving across, in 36 seconds.
What this does
Dubsado exports your contacts and your projects as CSV files, though projects come out one status at a time. Your invoices and payment history export from the Reporting section. Signed contracts have no bulk export, so they download one PDF at a time. Forms, canned email templates and workflows don’t export at all, so you copy those out by hand.
The guide works in this order: get everything out of Dubsado, set up your current work in Tellisto, then cancel. Dubsado’s cancellation policy says it keeps your data for 90 days. It doesn’t say whether exports still work once your account is deactivated, so don’t count on that window. You don’t need to move your whole history into Tellisto on day one. Your exported files are the archive, and Tellisto starts with the jobs you have on now.
Set it up
These steps describe Dubsado as it was in September 2026. Please check their current help pages before you cancel, downgrade or delete anything.
Step 1 of 3 · 30 min
Get everything out of Dubsado
Your contacts, projects, invoices, payment history, and a copy of your signed contracts, saved to your own computer.
- Do all of this on a computer, logged in as the account's admin. Dubsado's exports don't work on a phone, and basic or accountant users get a cut-down file. Export your contacts first. Open the Contacts page and click Export CSV near the top of the list. A dialog lets you choose which columns come with it; every contact is included regardless of what you tick.
- Export your projects. Dubsado only exports one status at a time, so open the Projects tab, pick a status → Export, choose what to include, and export. Then repeat for every other status you use (Lead, Active, Completed, and so on), because each pass only exports what's showing.
- Export your invoices. Go to Reporting → Invoices and click Export as CSV.
- Export your payment history. Go to Reporting → Transactions, set your filters to cover everything you want (all time is safest), click Apply Filters, then Export as CSV. This only exports what's currently filtered, so check the date range before you export.
- Signed contracts have no bulk export, so each one downloads as a single PDF. Don't work through your whole archive. Save the ones for shoots you haven't delivered yet, anything with real money attached, and anything that could turn into a dispute. The rest can wait until you need them.
- Copy out any forms, canned email templates, and workflows you rely on. Dubsado has no export for these, so open each one you actually send and paste the text into a document. Skip the ones you no longer use.
- Don't cancel yet. Dubsado's own policy keeps your data for 90 days after you cancel. It doesn't say whether you can still log in and export during that window once your account is deactivated. Assume exports might stop working the moment you cancel, and check every file above opens properly before you touch your subscription.
Step 2 of 3 · 15 min
Set up your active work in Tellisto
Your current clients, open leads and upcoming shoots set up in Tellisto and ready to use.
- Import the contacts file you just exported. In Tellisto, open Clients → Import, choose Dubsado as the source, check the columns line up, look over the preview and confirm. Names, emails and phone numbers come across in one go. Only contacts are imported, so bookings and invoices stay in your export files. Import contacts
- Then add your open leads. Your Dubsado projects export has a Lead or Job column, so filter to the ones still marked Lead and bring across anyone you've quoted or are still talking to. Put the gist of the conversation in the enquiry detail so the thread isn't lost. Add a lead
- Create your upcoming shoots as bookings. Pick the client you just added, set the date and location, and the deposit and total if there's money attached. Tellisto carries the client's details across, so there's no re-typing. Add a booking
- Now check it. Open your Clients list and look for everyone you're working with this month, each with an email or phone number. From today, that list is the one you work from. Open your Clients list
Step 3 of 3 · 5 min
Keep the archive, then cancel
Your full history saved in your own storage, and your Dubsado subscription cancelled.
- Put the contacts CSV, the project exports, the invoice and transaction CSVs, and any contract PDFs you grabbed somewhere safe: your backup drive, Google Drive, Dropbox. You'll rarely open them, but the day you need a signed contract from 2023, you'll have it.
- Before you cancel, think about timing. Deactivating a Dubsado account also turns off what clients see: your lead-capture forms and client schedulers stop working the moment you're deactivated. Cancel once your leads know to reach you another way, not in the middle of an enquiry.
- Cancel Dubsado from Settings → Billing. Phone and email requests aren't accepted, so it has to happen in the app.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
Can I export my Dubsado data from my phone?
No. Dubsado's exports only work on a computer. Log in as the account's admin too, because basic and accountant users get a shorter file with fewer columns and no choice over what's included.
Can I keep using Dubsado while I set up Tellisto?
Yes, and it's the safest way to switch. Set up your new work in Tellisto while Dubsado stays open, and finish your current jobs where they started. The free plan has no time limit, so there's no clock running while you overlap.
Does Tellisto import my Dubsado projects and invoices?
No, only your contacts. Tellisto reads Dubsado's contacts export by column name, so it copes with whichever columns you chose to include. Projects, invoices and contracts stay in your export files as the record. You add the jobs you have on now as bookings, which takes a few minutes each.
Will importing email my clients?
No. Importing never emails anyone. Clients come in as clients and leads come in as quiet leads, and nothing is sent to either. You decide when a client first hears from Tellisto, usually the next time you send them something.
What happens to a client who is part-way through paying in Dubsado?
Leave it in Dubsado until it's paid. The client keeps paying through the link they already have, and you mark the job done there. Start new jobs in Tellisto. That way nobody gets a second invoice for the same shoot.
Will my clients' signed contracts still count?
Changing software doesn't undo an agreement your client signed. What matters is keeping a copy. Dubsado downloads signed contracts one PDF at a time, so save the ones for unfinished jobs before you cancel. For new bookings, you send the contract from Tellisto and your client signs it online.
What replaces my Dubsado workflows?
You set them up again in Tellisto, and there's less to build. A new enquiry gets an instant reply in your studio's name, on by default. Under Automations you can switch on a booking confirmation, a drafted pre-shoot check-in and after-shoot note, and reminders for unpaid invoices.
What happens to my Dubsado data after I cancel?
Dubsado's cancellation policy says it keeps your data for 90 days after you cancel, then may delete it. It doesn't say whether you can still export during that time, so export everything first. Your forms and schedulers also stop working for clients once the account is deactivated.
What if a step here doesn't match what I see?
Email me at hello@tellisto.co with what you're seeing. Maybe a column doesn't line up in the import, or Dubsado has moved a menu since this guide was written. Either way, I'll help you sort it and fix the guide.