We'll start with what we couldn't find. Successware doesn't publish its help center or export instructions on the open web, and we found no public Successware article showing how to export customers, agreements or your price book. So this guide won't draw made-up menu paths. Instead it lays out the request process step by step, the exact list to send Successware in writing, and the accounting files a Successware shop needs and other shops don't.
What you'll end up with
Here's the kit to aim for, and where each file goes if you move to TradesWork. TradesWork has no dedicated Successware importer; spreadsheets of customers and your price book come in through its Another system or a spreadsheet option. Everything else is your archive or your accountant's.
- Customers and locations (CSV or Excel)ImportsCustomers and service locationsName, phone, email and address matched in the column review. The address becomes the first service location.
- Price book (CSV or Excel)ImportsPrice bookName and price required. Code, description, category and cost carry over if present.
- Database backup (.BAK, .MDB, ZIP)Keep as archiveYour archiveCan't be dropped into TradesWork. Ask for spreadsheets too.
- AgreementsKeep as archiveMemberships you set upUse the list to enroll members with their next visit due.
- Equipment by locationKeep as archiveYour archiveRe-enter for members first.
- Jobs, invoices, paymentsKeep as archiveYour archiveThe spreadsheet importer takes customers and price lists only.
- Trial balance, A/R, A/P, chart of accountsKeep as archiveOpening balances in QuickBooks OnlineYour accountant's job, not the importer's.
How the request process runs
There's no click path to show, so here's the process instead. It's slower than clicking Export, which is why it starts early.
- 1
Find out which Successware you run
Classic or the New Successware Platform, hosted or on your own server. It decides who produces the files.
- 2
Send the written request
From the account holder's company email to your Account Executive and support, with the checklist below.
- 3
Get formats and dates in writing
Which files, which format, when, any fee, and how long access lasts after termination.
- 4
Open every file
Row counts against Successware's screens. A/R totals against the aging report. List what's missing.
- 5
Follow up in writing
Gaps go back the same week. A clear no tells you what to rebuild.
- 6
Final export at cut-over
Re-run customers, agreements, open jobs and A/R. Store two copies.
Step 1: Know which Successware you run
Successware now has a cloud-hosted New Successware Platform that it says keeps the core functionality of Successware Classic.1 How your data is stored affects how it comes out:
| Setup | Who holds the database | What it means for exports |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted (cloud) | Successware | Successware produces the files; you request them |
| Your own server | You | ServiceTitan's article says its data team can pull the data in this case; confirm with Successware what your agreement allows first2 |
Successware's site points existing customers to their Account Executive or 888-272-8009 with questions about the platform.1 That's where your written request goes.
Step 2: Request exports in writing
Here's the list. Send it to your Account Executive and support, before you give notice:
Ask Successware for these, as CSV or Excel
- Customers (billing accounts) with all contact fields and IDs
- Locations (service addresses), linked to customer IDs
- Agreements: type, start and end dates, price, visits remaining, location
- Equipment by location: make, model, serial, install date
- Price book: items, descriptions, prices, costs, sale and expense types
- Jobs and invoices for your full history, with dates, techs and totals
- Payments
- Open A/R aging as of our cut-over date
- A full database backup, with its format
- Whether attachments and photos can be exported
- Timing, any fee, and how long we keep access after termination
Ask them to confirm the file formats and dates in the reply. If something can't be exported, ask them to say so in writing; that tells you what to rebuild.
Step 3: What a competitor says you'll get
ServiceTitan's help center tells Successware shops moving to ServiceTitan to request two files from Successware Customer Support:2
| File | What it holds | Format (per ServiceTitan) |
|---|---|---|
| Backup of your data | Customers, employees and business data | BAK, ZIP, MDB or RTF |
| A/R Aging Report | Unpaid balances and how long they've been outstanding | Excel |
Source: ServiceTitan help center (a competitor), Export your Successware data.2
A .BAK file is a SQL Server backup and an .MDB is an Access database. Neither opens in Excel. A vendor with a database team can read them; a shop owner usually can't. That's why Step 2 asks for spreadsheets as well.
Step 4: Run what you can yourself
ServiceTitan's article also mentions Successware screens and reports you may see in your own system: a Job Manager that can be filtered by date range to find open jobs, an Invoice List report in the AR Invoice Reports group of the Report Gallery for unposted invoices, and a Find and Merge utility under Main Menu, Utilities, Maintenance Tools that flags possible duplicate locations and billing accounts.2
We couldn't verify these on Successware's own site, and your version may differ, so we don't illustrate them as click paths. If you see them, use them. If you don't, ask support. Either way, save what you run to Excel with the date in the file name.
Step 5: The accounting files most shops forget
Successware describes fully integrated accounting: accounts receivable and payable, credit card account management, invoices, income statements and balance sheets, with price book items tied to sale and expense types that decide how they post to the general ledger.3 If you use it, your general ledger lives in Successware. Before you leave, your accountant needs, as of your cut-over date:
- Trial balance and balance sheet
- Chart of accounts, with how your sale and expense types map to it
- A/R detail by customer and invoice
- A/P detail by vendor and bill
- Income statements for the current and prior year
- Inventory on hand, if you track it in Successware
Get these as Excel where offered, and as PDF as a backup. They become the opening balances in your next accounting system.
Step 6: Clean up before the final export
Two clean-ups make every file better. Close jobs that are finished but still open; ServiceTitan's article notes there's no mass-close option, so it's one at a time.2 And merge duplicate customers. Do both before the final export, not after.
What you can't export yourself
| Item | Why not | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Saved cards | Successware Payments is in-house, integrated processing;4 card data stays with the processor | List customers with saved payment methods; they re-enter them |
| Photos and documents in bulk | Not documented | Ask in your request; otherwise download what you need for open warranties |
| Marketing campaigns, automations, report designs | Settings don't move between systems | Write down the ones you rely on |
| Phone numbers | Numbers move by porting through carriers | Start the port early with your new provider |
Permissions and timing
We couldn't verify which Successware roles can run which reports. Have the owner or the person named on the Successware agreement send the request, from a company email address, and copy your bookkeeper. Vendors move faster when the account holder asks, and you'll want the reply on record.
8–12 weeks before you leave
Send the written request
The full list above, with formats, timing, cost and post-termination access.
6–8 weeks before
Check the first files
Open everything. Count rows, compare A/R and list what's missing. Follow up in writing.
4–6 weeks before
Accountant pulls the books
Trial balance, chart of accounts, A/R and A/P detail for the planned cut-over date.
Cut-over week
Final exports
Re-run customers, agreements, open jobs and A/R aging. Store two copies.
These lead times are a suggestion, not Successware's. We couldn't find Successware's contract terms on its website, so read your own agreement for any post-termination data window, and don't plan around one you haven't seen in writing.
Your Successware export kit
- Written request sent and answered
- Customers and locations as CSV or Excel
- Price book as CSV or Excel
- Agreements list with next visit dates
- Equipment by location
- Jobs, invoices and payments history
- A/R aging on your cut-over date
- Trial balance, chart of accounts, A/R and A/P detail
- Full database backup, format noted
- List of customers with saved payment methods
- Two copies stored outside Successware, one offline
How TradesWork imports these files
Once you have spreadsheets, choose Another system or a spreadsheet on the TradesWork import page, drop the customer and price book files, confirm what each is, match the columns and see a preview before anything is saved. A .BAK or .MDB backup can't be dropped in directly. Your books move to QuickBooks Online. The Successware to TradesWork migration guide shows each screen, and TradesWork vs Successware covers whether to switch.
Footnotes
-
Successware, The New Successware Platform. https://www.successware.com/successware-new-platform/ ↩ ↩2
-
ServiceTitan help center (a competitor), Export your Successware data. https://help.servicetitan.com/residential-s-r/docs/export-your-successware-data ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
-
Successware, Integrated accounting. https://www.successware.com/features/integrated-accounting/ ↩
-
Successware, HVAC software. https://www.successware.com/industries/hvac-software/ ↩
