General Importing Guidelines

    We can assist with importing your data, whether it be from another system, or perhaps a spreadsheet containing your client records. 

    So you've made the decision to move to Power Diary?  Congratulations and welcome!  

    We know how important this is to you, and our Data Import Team will do everything we can to assist your migration to Power Diary to be as smooth and seamless as possible.  Our goal is to help minimise downtime, maximise the amount and quality of the data migrated for you and hopefully obviate any gaps in your data during the process. We will work with you to plan and execute your migration plan so that it is aligned with your needs.  Please email us at support@powerdiary.com to initiate the conversation.

    • Once you have made the decision to move over to Power Diary, we are able to assist with importing data into your Power Diary account as a once-off complimentary service. There are no charges associated with the import.  This can include certain other instances such as, should a new Practitioner be joining your Clinic, and is bringing data from another system with them. 
    • This article will provide you with general information with regards to getting your data imported into your new Power Diary Account.   Please read through this helpdesk article, regardless of whether you are moving from another system (known or unknown to us),  as this article contains important information generic to all data imports/migrations.  
    • If you are migrating from another system: please check here to see whether we have documented information specific to your current system.  These articles will provide you with information specific to your current system, including but not limited to:
      • What we can import
      • How to extract your data from your current system
      • Important learnings
    • We can import your data regardless of whether we have previously worked with data from your particular system or not, if you can extract your data in a format that our Data Migration Team can work with, as discussed here.  
    • We can also offer to perform an initial analysis of your data for datasets from source systems unfamiliar to us, to ascertain what can and can't be imported, estimated timelines for your import, complexity, etc.  All we need from you is an interim dataset, and for you to let us know what you ideally would like imported from that data.  
    Important: Please read through this article regardless of whether you are moving from another system, known or unknown to us, or perhaps sending us a spreadsheet of data, as it contains information relevant to all data imports/migrations

    Should you need data imported (copied) from another Power Diary Account, please refer to this helpdesk article as this is a different process

    This article covers:

    Importing your Data

    • If you are migrating from another system, please let us know which system you have extracted the data from.  This will assist our Data Import Team when analysing and preparing your data for import.
    • If your migration to Power Diary is time sensitive, please contact us at support@powerdiary.com to discuss the option of booking your import to align with your migration plan. We will do our best to ensure that it gets the priority that it needs. 

    When can I get my data imported?

    We can import your Data once you have made the decision to migrate to Power Diary. 

    If you have not yet made a decision as to whether you are going to be moving over to Power Diary, the best way for you to gauge whether Power Diary will fit your business needs, would be to use your 14-day free Trial Period to assess that, and manually input test data yourself, for a small number of clients.  To keep your account active beyond this time you'll need to convert your account.  Click here to learn how.

    Our Data Import Service is offered only to clients who have decided to migrate over to Power Diary,  Focussing on importing for clients who have decided to migrate, means we can take the time to understand and work with complex data and get a better outcome for people transitioning systems. 

    Hint 💡

    If you have less than, say, 50 clients and not a lot of linked data, we recommend that you input the data yourself. Our Data Import Team often has a pipeline of new imports, and it would be more expedient and quicker for you to input your own data when there is not a lot of it.  

    What we can import

    Depending on the format and the content of the data provided, we are typically able to import the following data into your account:

    • Client details
    • Client tasks (upcoming notifications)
    • Appointments (client, personal, and group)
    • Clinical and Admin Notes
    • Services
    • Products
    • Referrers
    • Referrals
    • Contacts
    • Third Parties (Billers)
    • Communications (SMS, letter, and email)
    • Documents/Files (see requirements here)
    • Financial Information (in some circumstances - see FAQ below);

    If there is any data that is of particular importance to you, to have imported, please let us know, and our Team can check your data to try to locate that data and ascertain if it is viable for import.

    What format does my data need to be in?

      The Data

      • We require the data to be in Excel (XLS or XLSX), CSV, TXT, or XML format. We can also accept database backups in BAK, SQL, or MS Access format.  The data will need to be structured in a table-like format, where each column has a header to denote the type of data within each column. Each entry will span across one row. If data is not structured in this format, we may not be able to work with it for importing into your Power Diary account. **You can zip/compress your data to share it with us.
      • We can't accept Data as HTML files (aside from Clinical notes), iCal appointment files, Word, PDF, or image formats, nor in formats where the patient records are provided as one record per file.       
      • **Data = Client details, Client tasks (upcoming notifications), Appointments (client, personal, and group), Clinical and Admin Notes, Services, Products, Referrers, Referrals, Contacts, Third Parties (Billers), Financial Data (Invoices, sale items and payments)

      Files/Documents and HTML Notes

      • Files/documents that need to be imported to client profiles would generally be provided in client-centric folders, including a unique ID linked to each client (in order to know which client to import them to).  These can be in various formats, eg: PDF or MSWord
      • Notes: Some systems export Clinical Notes in HTML format, which we can also work with.
    If you have your data in a format other than those mentioned above, you are welcome to contact our Data Import Team (email: support@powerdiary.com) who will be able to assist with determining whether your data is viable for import into your Power Diary Account.

    When should I switch over to using Power Diary?

    We suggest that your migration plan includes having your Power Diary account set up prior to your data import taking place, and where relevant, Users be trained and ready to start using Power Diary.  
    Once your final data has been extracted from your previous system and provided to us for import, we recommend that you only use Power Diary and not your previous system going forward

    There are some things that aren't included in the data import that you'll need to set up in your Power Diary account.   To help you prepare to be ready to switch over to using Power Diary as soon as your final dataset has been extracted from your current system, we have a very handy suite of Helpdesk Articles to guide you through:  (click here to access them) 

    • The basics of setting up your account, and also an advanced setup guide that provides a deeper insight into the available functionality designed to help you manage your business more efficiently.  
    • The same suite of helpdesk articles contains a couple of very handy modules for training your admin/reception staff and your Practitioners.   

    Should you need any assistance with, or have any questions with regards to the Setup of your account and Training your Users, our Customer Success Team is available to help.  To make contact with them, you can:

    • Reach out via Live Chat, OR
    • Send a separate email to support@powerdiary.com  OR
    • Book a Call or Zoom Meeting, click here, scroll down to "schedule a one-on-one call" and follow the prompts

    How do I share my data with Power Diary?

    If your data is less than 100MB you can upload it directly via your Power Diary account for us to access. To share your data with us, just log into your Power Diary account, go to  Setup → Data Import, and upload all the files you would like imported. 

    If your file is larger than 100MB, we can send you a link to upload your data into Dropbox so that we can access it. Please email us at support@powerdiary.com to obtain a link for uploading your dataset.

    Once your data has been received, our Data Import Team will then be in contact with you to confirm receipt, clarify any questions, and keep you updated on the import progress.

    Important:  Please ensure that any data is unlocked before sending it to us, or otherwise please email the Data Import Team the password to unlock the file (email: support@powerdiary.com). This will ensure that the team can access the data once received and avoid any delays.

    How long will the import take?

    The time frame will vary depending on what data is presented, and also whether or not the data requires much formatting to meet the requirements for importing into our database. A simple import of clients may take only a few hours, but we typically quote 1-2 working days. More complex data requiring formatting and manipulation may take longer, and our Data Import Specialists will keep you updated on their progress.

    Importing files and notes does take a little longer, as this is a more manual and time-consuming process. We would generally set an expectation for files and notes to be imported into your account within a week or two after your data has been imported.  

    Calendars (Practitioners)

    To ensure that we can correctly match the migrated data to the correct calendar/practitioner in Power Diary, we require that the calendar names you create in Power Diary exactly match with those in your current system.
    If you are wanting these names changed, please do so after the data migration has been completed.
    Any practitioners in your current system that are not set up in Power Diary at the time of migration, will be added and set as inactive so that any relevant data can be migrated. You can make a calendar active at any time, click here to learn how.

    *By default, we import data for all calendars/practitioners in the data provided by you.  If you don't want any of these practitioners to be set up or for their data to be migrated please let us know

    Switching Systems

    • Once your final data has been extracted from your previous system and provided to us for import, we recommend that you cease using your old system and only use Power Diary going forward.   Once you export the data out of your current system, any information or changes added will not be reflected in your import. 
    • New clients, appointments, notes, invoices, payments, etc .. can be added into your Power Diary Account directly, whilst we are working on your import, thus allowing your business to continue to function as normal.  Please note any data you add into Power Diary that was already in your current system will be duplicated. If needed, you can merge client profiles into one, by following these steps once your import is fully complete. 
    • All required data must be provided to us at the start of the import, as we do not perform supplemental imports nor add new data once the initial import is completed
    • Where possible, we do recommend retaining access to your old system for a period, thus enabling you to refer back until your migration to Power Diary has been fully completed to your requirements.  This will allow your business to continue to function as normal whilst we work to complete your migration.

    Important

    Duplicate client profiles should not be merged until the import is  fully complete, which includes the importing of documents/notes.  If done prior to this, then the documents/data that have not yet been imported, will likely not end up in the merged profile.

    Post-import enquiries and retention of your data

    We hope that everything comes across as expected.  Please let us know if you do have any queries.  If there is anything you need us to look at / investigate post-import, it would be very helpful if you could provide some specific examples, (screenshots are always useful) so that our Team can investigate further. 

    Our Team will retain your data for 60 days after your import has been completed, allowing a lapse period, should you need something investigated related to your data import, at which point your data will be permanently deleted.  We also recommend that you don't edit/ change/ merge the imported data until such time that you have ascertained that you are happy with what has been imported.  This can complicate/hinder the resolution of any post-import inquiries/issues that are raised with our Team

    Additional information:

    • Switching to Power Diary, (includes articles addressing importing data from various Source Systems): click here
    • Importing your data - FAQ: click here
    • Are you ready to switch over to Power Diary? click here
    • Setting up your Account and Training Users: click here

    Important Notes

    •  All data must be provided to us together at the start of the import as we do not perform supplemental imports or add new data once the initial import is completed.
    • Once you export the data out of your current system, any information or changes added to that system will not be reflected in your import. New clients and appointments can be added into Power Diary directly while we are working on your import, but please note any data you add into Power Diary that was in your previous system will be duplicated. If needed, you can merge client profiles into one following these steps once your import is fully complete, (including importing of files / notes).
    • What we can import may vary on an individual basis. Should there be any questions or anything that needs to be clarified, the Data Import Team will be in contact to discuss this with you. 
    • Any fields that are not compatible with a specific field in the client profile are added to the Additional Comments section of the profile.
    • Clients with the status of archived or deceased will be archived by default. Read more about archiving client profiles here.
    • The various formats of client documents and attachments will be uploaded in bulk into the relevant client profiles (under Records → Files). 
    • Appointments must contain a clear link to the client for the appointments to be able to be imported as client appointments. This is typically provided with a column containing the unique client ID or the client's full name related to the appointment (should there be duplicate client profiles by full name, another unique identifier is required to be able to import appointments against the correct client profile). If there is no clear link to the client, the data will be imported as personal appointments with the details of the appointment in the appointment title.
    • Recurring appointments are not maintained in the import. This is because the way that this information is stored is very different between systems making it unviable for import. Appointments in a recurring series will instead be imported as individual appointments.
    • Appointment Reminders: Imported clients and appointments will not have automated appointment reminders configured. 
      • If you'd like to switch on automatic reminders for future appointments this can be done in the Setup menu via Setup → Configuration → Reminders → Switch off 'Automatically send appointment reminders to clients' → Save Changes → Switch the setting back on → Save Changes → Click 'Yes' on the confirmation prompt to apply the change to all existing clients. 
      • This will update all existing and imported clients with these reminder settings, as well as ensure that future appointments will receive an automated reminder. 
      • Read more about Configuring Appointment Reminders here. 
      • ** if you already have customised reminders for existing clients, this action will reset those to the default reminder as well.  If this is the case, you will need to switch on each imported client's reminder settings manually, otherwise you are welcome to reach out to us if there are too many to do this, as we may be able to assist in these instances.
    • Appointment Flags:  When importing data, if there are appointment flags or the equivalent included in the data, and there is no matching flag in your account, then our team will create the required Appointment Flags and default them to black in colour.  You can edit the colour of the Appointment Flags, in the main menu, select setup > custom lists > appointment flags.   To read more about Appointment Flags, click here.    
    • Clinical Notes: Notes will be imported as follows:
      • HTML Format: in instances where the source data Notes are presented in HTML format, they will be imported to the Records > Files area of each relevant client profiles, and tagged as "Notes" to enable them to be found easily (and the note date will be retained/transposed wherever possible).  In these instances, the HTML format allows the notes to be viewed as a replica of what they were in your previous system.
      • PDF / Document Format: will be imported to the Records > Files area of each relevant client profile, and tagged as "Notes" to enable them to be found easily (and the document date will be retained/transposed wherever possible). 
      • Text / Json / other text-based formats: Notes presented in these or similar formats within your source data, will be sanitised / cleaned to the best of our Teams' ability, to be able to import your notes in a legible and easy-to-read format.   These will be imported to the Records > Notes area of each relevant client profile. ** should our Team run into any challenges with regards to transforming your notes into a legible format, they will make contact with you to discuss.  Please note that once these Notes have been imported into your account, the only way for our team to make any adjustments would be to completely remove the notes, remedy and re-import them.  This is due to your Notes being encrypted in the database, in the interest of Data Security and Privacy.  
    • The upload of documents to client profiles takes a week or two after your data has been imported, as this process is naturally time-consuming, and involves uploading each document into our server. We recommend you keep a copy of the documents as a reference in the interim while we work on this.
    • Session Packs and related data: Session packs and instances thereof cannot currently be imported.  If you do have session packs included in your data, our suite of helpdesk articles addressing session packs can be used to guide you on how to manually input this data. 
    • Waitlists: cannot currently be imported.  If you need to transpose your waitlist from your previous system to your new Power Diary account, this will need to be input manually by yourselves.
    • Invoice numbers. If invoices have been provided for import we may be able to preserve the invoice number from your old system. The invoice number must be specified in the data provided to us, and must meet our requirements (a unique number with no characters). If the numbering does not meet our requirements then the invoice number will be numbered sequentially based on the last invoice number generated in your PD account. The last invoice number can be set in Setup > Configuration > Invoices > "Last Invoice Number". Please ensure that this number matches the last invoice number generated in your previous system to avoid any duplicate invoice numbers being generated in your account as this will impact the import of invoice numbers. The next invoice you create in your PD account will then be numbered sequentially (i.e. if your last invoice number is 1000, the next invoice number generated in PD will be 1001). If there is a clash between the invoice numbers in the data from your old system and the invoices created in your PD account the import team will be in contact to ask your preference of either changing the invoice numbers in the data we import or changing the invoice numbers in your PD account to be unique.  

    If you have any questions, please contact us at support@powerdiary.com

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