How to Switch CRMs Without Losing Data: A Realtor's Migration Guide
Switching CRMs is the dental appointment of real estate technology -- everyone knows they should do it, nobody wants to, and putting it off only makes it worse. The fear is always the same: what if I lose my contacts, my notes, my transaction history? The reality is that CRM migration, done methodically, is straightforward. This guide walks you through every step.
Written by the Magnate360 Team · Updated May 2026
When It Is Time to Switch
Not every frustration with your CRM means you should switch. But some patterns are clear signals. You should seriously consider migrating when: the platform has not shipped meaningful updates in 12+ months, customer support takes days to respond to critical issues, the mobile experience is unusable (and you work from your phone 80% of the time), the cost has increased without corresponding value, or the system lacks features that have become essential to your workflow (like AI email, showing automation, or compliance tracking).
The most common CRMs that BC realtors migrate from include Follow Up Boss, kvCORE (by Inside Real Estate), Sierra Interactive, LionDesk, Wise Agent, and brokerage-provided systems like Royal LePage's Smart Studio or RE/MAX's internal tools. Each has different export capabilities, which we cover below.
The worst time to switch is during a busy period with active transactions. The best time is during a slower month when you can focus on the migration without the pressure of pending deals. January and August are popular migration months in BC for this reason.
Exporting from Your Current CRM
Before you cancel your old CRM subscription, export everything. Most platforms provide a CSV export of your contact database, but the completeness varies significantly:
Follow Up Boss: Exports contacts as CSV with all custom fields, tags, and notes. Transaction data exports separately. Communication logs (emails, texts) can be exported but require a support request for bulk export. Follow Up Boss is generally the easiest to migrate from because their CSV is clean and well-structured.
kvCORE: Contacts export via the People section with all fields, tags, and smart lists. Transaction data is in a separate export. Communication history export may require contacting Inside Real Estate support. The CSV format uses non-standard column headers, so you will need to map them manually.
Sierra Interactive: Offers a full contact export with custom fields. Email campaign data and drip sequences do not export -- you will need to recreate those in your new system. Notes and tasks export with the contact records.
Brokerage systems: These vary wildly. Some let you export your data freely, others restrict exports to protect their database. Check your brokerage agreement -- in most cases, your contact data belongs to you, but the brokerage may own the transaction records. Get clarity on this before you leave.
Critical step: After exporting, do not cancel your old CRM immediately. Keep it active for at least 30 days after your migration is complete. You will inevitably discover missing data or need to reference something that did not export cleanly. Once you have verified everything transferred correctly, then cancel.
CSV Field Mapping
Every CRM names its fields differently. Follow Up Boss calls it "Lead Type," kvCORE calls it "Contact Type," and Magnate360 calls it "type" (buyer, seller, vendor, other). The mapping step translates your old CRM's column names to your new CRM's expected format.
The essential fields to map are: full name (or first name + last name), email address, phone number, contact type (buyer/seller/both), lifecycle stage, tags or categories, notes, source (where the lead came from), and date added. Optional but valuable: mailing address, preferred communication channel, birthday, and any custom fields you use.
Phone numbers are the most common source of import errors. Your old CRM might store them as "(604) 555-1234" while your new CRM expects "+16045551234". Before importing, standardize all phone numbers to E.164 format (+1 followed by 10 digits, no spaces or punctuation). A simple spreadsheet formula can do this in bulk.
Email addresses need validation too. Look for obvious typos: gmial.com, hotamil.com, yahooo.com. Check for addresses with missing @ signs or domains. Remove any "no-reply" or "do-not-contact" addresses that somehow ended up in your database. A clean import saves hours of bounce-handling later.
Preserving Consent Records
Under CASL, you are required to maintain records of consent for every contact you send commercial electronic messages to. This includes the type of consent (express or implied), when it was obtained, how it was obtained (website form, verbal, written), and what the person consented to receive.
During migration, consent records must transfer intact. If your old CRM tracks consent as a simple checkbox ("opted in: yes/no"), you are missing critical information. At minimum, you need to know whether the consent is express or implied, because implied consent expires (2 years from last transaction, 6 months from inquiry) while express consent does not.
If your old CRM does not track consent details, the migration is an opportunity to fix this. For past clients (closed within the last 2 years), you have implied consent -- record the transaction close date as the consent date. For older past clients, you should send a re-consent email before adding them to marketing sequences in your new CRM. For contacts who explicitly subscribed via a website form, that is express consent -- record the subscription date.
The penalty for non-compliance with CASL is not theoretical. The CRTC has issued fines of up to $1.1 million to individual businesses. A clean consent record for every contact is not just good practice -- it is legal protection.
FINTRAC Data Migration
FINTRAC Individual Identification records are a legal obligation, not just a CRM feature. Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, you must retain these records for at least 5 years following the last transaction with each client. Losing them during a CRM migration is a compliance violation.
If your old CRM stores FINTRAC data digitally (client name, DOB, ID type, ID number, expiry date, verification date, verifier name), export these records and import them into your new system. Map each FINTRAC record to the correct contact and, if possible, to the specific transaction it was created for.
If your old CRM does not store FINTRAC data (many general-purpose CRMs do not), your FINTRAC records are probably in paper files or PDF scans at your brokerage. In this case, migration is an opportunity to digitize them. Enter the key fields into your new CRM's FINTRAC module for each past client whose retention period has not expired.
Retention tip: The 5-year clock starts from the date of the last transaction, not the date you collected the ID. If you sold a home for a client in 2023, their FINTRAC record must be retained until at least 2028. If you did another transaction for them in 2025, the clock resets to 2030. Track both the verification date and the last transaction date.
Communication History
Communication history -- emails sent and received, text messages, call notes, meeting notes -- is the hardest data to migrate cleanly. Every CRM stores this differently, and the import formats rarely match.
The pragmatic approach is to prioritize what matters. You probably do not need every automated drip email from 2019 in your new system. What you do need: notes from significant client conversations (pricing discussions, showing feedback, offer negotiations), the last 6-12 months of communication for active contacts, and any communications related to active or recent transactions.
If your old CRM exports communications as a CSV with date, contact name/email, direction (sent/received), channel (email/SMS/call), and message body, your new CRM may be able to import them. If not, the fallback is to export the communications as a PDF or text file per contact and attach them as notes. Not ideal, but it preserves the record.
For email specifically, if your old CRM was synced with Gmail, your email history is already in Gmail regardless of the CRM. When you connect your new CRM to the same Gmail account, most of that history becomes searchable again. This is one advantage of using CRMs that integrate with your email provider rather than using the CRM's built-in email exclusively.
Testing After Migration
Never assume the migration worked perfectly. Always test. Here is a post-migration checklist:
- Contact count: Compare the number of contacts in your old CRM to the number imported. If there is a significant difference, find out which records were skipped and why.
- Spot check 20 contacts: Pick 10 recent and 10 older contacts at random. Verify that their name, email, phone, type, tags, and notes all transferred correctly.
- Phone number format: Send a test SMS to your own number from the new CRM. Verify the sender ID and message format are correct.
- Email deliverability: Send a test email to yourself. Check that it does not land in spam and that the formatting, links, and unsubscribe mechanism all work.
- Consent records: Verify that consent type and date transferred for at least 10 contacts. Check that unsubscribed contacts are properly flagged.
- FINTRAC records: For your most recent transactions, verify the FINTRAC data (name, DOB, ID type, expiry) is present and linked to the correct contact.
- Active transactions: If you migrated listing or transaction data, verify that active deals show the correct status, dates, and associated contacts.
Plan to run your old and new CRMs in parallel for 2-4 weeks. During this overlap period, enter new data only in the new CRM but keep the old one active for reference. Once you are confident the migration is complete and correct, cancel the old subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a CRM migration typically take?
For a solo agent with under 1,000 contacts, plan for 1-2 weeks from export to fully operational. The actual data transfer takes hours, not days -- the time goes to cleaning your data before import, mapping fields correctly, verifying the import results, and getting comfortable with the new system. For teams with 5,000+ contacts and complex workflows, budget 3-4 weeks. Do not rush it. A bad migration creates months of cleanup.
Will I lose my communication history when switching CRMs?
It depends on both your old CRM and your new one. Most CRMs allow you to export communication logs (emails, texts, call notes) as CSV or JSON. The challenge is importing them into the new system and linking them to the correct contacts. Some CRM-to-CRM migrations lose formatting, attachments, and threading. Before you export, check what your new CRM can import -- at minimum, you want the date, direction (sent/received), channel, and message body linked to each contact.
Do I need to re-obtain consent from my contacts after switching CRMs?
No, CASL consent transfers with the contact, not the platform. If someone gave you express consent to receive marketing emails, that consent remains valid regardless of which CRM you use to send them. However, you must maintain the consent record -- the type of consent (express or implied), the date it was obtained, the method (written, verbal, electronic), and the purpose. Export these records from your old CRM and import them into your new one. If your old CRM does not track consent details, this is a compliance gap you should address during migration.
What about my FINTRAC records when switching CRMs?
FINTRAC Individual Identification records have a legal retention requirement of at least 5 years after the last transaction. If your old CRM stores these records digitally, you need to either export them and import them into your new system, or maintain access to your old system for the retention period. Do not delete your old CRM account until you have verified that all FINTRAC records have been successfully transferred. Your brokerage should also have copies, but relying solely on the brokerage is risky.
Should I clean my data before or after migration?
Before. Always before. Migrating dirty data into a clean system just makes the new system dirty. Before you export, remove duplicate contacts, standardize phone number formats (all +1 with 10 digits), fix obvious email typos (gmial.com, yahooo.com), update lifecycle stages for contacts you know are no longer active, and remove contacts who have unsubscribed. It is much easier to clean 800 records in a spreadsheet than to fix them one by one in a new CRM.
Related Resources
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