Migration
Moving from spreadsheets and paper to ServiceM8
There is no export to run when you move off spreadsheets and paper, so you build the import file yourself. ServiceM8 bulk imports clients and materials from its own CSV template with a mapping step, and its Forms tool recreates a paper form from a Word template, per ServiceM8's own help pages, the practical way to bring paper records into a usable form.
Last checked 25 Sep 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this page.
Moves cleanly
- Client contact details, typed or pasted into ServiceM8's own Clients CSV template with its field mapping and preview step
- Xero, QuickBooks Online or MYOB contacts and items, imported automatically once you connect that account, if you already invoice through one of them
- Price list items, typed into ServiceM8's Materials & Services CSV template using the same mapping and preview process
Moves with work
- Client records with duplicates or inconsistent formatting, which need cleaning up in your own spreadsheet before the CSV import, since ServiceM8's import process does not merge duplicates for you
- Job history worth keeping (warranty, certification or repeat customer jobs), built as a CSV and brought in through ServiceM8's job history import as text records
- Asset and equipment registers already in a spreadsheet, imported one Asset Type and one Client at a time through ServiceM8's asset CSV import
Does not move
- Anything: there is no vendor export to run, since the source is a spreadsheet or paper, not a system with an export feature
- Paper forms and checklists as a bulk conversion (ServiceM8's Forms tool has no scan-to-form feature; each one is rebuilt from a Word template)
- Routine job history with no ongoing relevance (retyping every past job is rarely worth the time; be selective)
How long it takes
| Business size | Realistic time |
|---|---|
| Sole trader | FFP estimate: 1 to 3 days of your time, mostly cleaning up the client list before import |
| 3 to 5 person crew with a few paper forms | FFP estimate: 1 to 2 weeks, including rebuilding your two or three most used forms |
| 10+ staff with years of paper records | FFP estimate: 3 to 6 weeks, driven by deciding what history is worth keying in and rebuilding every regularly used form |
Start with the client list, because it is the one file worth getting right
ServiceM8's client and materials import both use a downloadable CSV template: you replace the column headings in your own spreadsheet with the template's headings, upload it, and ServiceM8 maps your columns to its fields before you confirm the import. That mapping step is your clean up moment. Fix duplicate customers, inconsistent addresses and missing phone numbers in your own spreadsheet first, because ServiceM8's import documentation does not describe merging duplicates after the fact. If you already send invoices through Xero, QuickBooks Online or MYOB, connecting that account imports your contacts and items automatically, which is usually faster and more accurate than typing up a spreadsheet from scratch.
Decide what job history is actually worth keying in
A box of paper job sheets or a spreadsheet of past jobs is not something to retype in full. ServiceM8's job history import takes a CSV of text records, started from the green notice on its Online Dashboard Home screen, and turns it into searchable history, not a reopenable job with materials and payments. That makes it well suited to warranty relevant work (installs, certifications, anything you might need to look up an address for in two years) and a poor use of time for routine jobs with no ongoing relevance. Build your history CSV from the jobs you would actually search for, not from every job you have ever done.
Paper forms become ServiceM8 Forms, one template at a time
ServiceM8's Forms tool is built from a Microsoft Word template: you add questions (text, multi line text, number, date, multiple choice, signature or photo) through its Form Editor, generate a sample template with the merge fields already in place, then customise that document to match your paper form's layout. There is no bulk conversion from a scanned or printed form, so treat this as a rebuild, form by form, starting with whatever you use most often. Once a form is built it attaches to a job type with a badge, which is the trigger your paper checklist never had.
Field map: Spreadsheets and paper records to ServiceM8
Exports available from Spreadsheets and paper records: None: spreadsheets and paper have no export to run; you build the ServiceM8 import CSV yourself from your own records, ServiceM8's own downloadable CSV templates for Clients and Materials & Services, with a field mapping and preview step before import, ServiceM8's downloadable sample Word template for Forms, generated with the merge fields for your questions already in place.
| Spreadsheets and paper records | ServiceM8 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Your spreadsheet's customer name column, however it is labelled | ServiceM8 Client name (template column) | Rename your column to match ServiceM8's template heading rather than relying on automatic detection. |
| Phone and email, wherever they sit in your spreadsheet | ServiceM8 client contact fields | Split multiple phone numbers or emails into separate ServiceM8 contacts on the client rather than one crowded field. |
| Site or job address, if different from the billing address | ServiceM8 job address | Decide before you import whether each site becomes its own client or an address on an existing one. |
| Paper job sheet or spreadsheet row (date, address, description) | Job history text record | Only worth building for jobs you would realistically need to look up later. |
| Price list, however you keep it today | ServiceM8 Material item number, name, price | Set Price Includes Taxes to match whether your listed price already includes GST. |
| Paper form or checklist layout | ServiceM8 Form question list | Rebuild question by question in the Form Editor; there is no import for an existing paper layout. |
Gotchas
- Clean up duplicates, inconsistent addresses and missing details in your own spreadsheet before the ServiceM8 import. Its mapping step does not merge duplicate clients for you.
- If you already invoice through Xero, QuickBooks Online or MYOB, connect that first. It imports contacts and items automatically and may make a manual client CSV unnecessary.
- Do not retype every past job. ServiceM8's job history import gives you searchable text records, not reopenable jobs, so be selective about what is actually worth the typing.
- Rebuild your paper forms one at a time in ServiceM8's Form Editor, starting with the one you use on every job. There is no bulk or scan based conversion.
- Match ServiceM8's exact CSV template column headings before you upload. The import documentation is explicit that you replace your headings with the template's, not the other way around.
- Test your first import (a handful of clients, then a small job history batch) in ServiceM8's free 14 day trial before loading everything.
- Set Price Includes Taxes correctly on your materials import so your existing GST inclusive or exclusive pricing carries across as intended.
Sources
- ServiceM8's Clients and Materials & Services bulk import uses a downloadable CSV template: replace your spreadsheet's column headings with the template's, upload the file, and map the data to the correct fields before confirming the import. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- Accounts connected to Xero, QuickBooks Online or MYOB have their clients and items imported automatically from that accounting software, without a manual CSV import. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 can import text records of job history from a CSV export, started from the green notice on the Online Dashboard Home screen, at no charge, and it can be tried during the free 14 day trial. ServiceM8, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 bulk imports assets from a CSV spreadsheet, one Asset Type for one Client per import, using a downloadable sample CSV to format the data. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.
- ServiceM8 Forms are built from a Microsoft Word template, with question types including text, multi line text, number, date, multiple choice, signature and photo, and a downloadable sample template is generated with the merge fields for your questions already in place. ServiceM8 Help Center, checked 25 Sep 2026.