Moving from a paper diary to an appointment app: a checklist
For a manual move, organize upcoming appointments and service names first rather than copying an entire old archive without review.
Define the scope of the move
Choose a starting date and separate confirmed appointments after that date from requests awaiting a response. Before transferring old customer notes, consider which information you actually need to organize an appointment.
Set up services before records
Combine different spellings of the same service and define its duration. Keep Rezerve's three-service free-plan limit in mind. Check opening hours before entering the first booking; many entries made with the wrong duration take longer to correct.
Use two people or two checking passes
One person can enter records while another reads back date, time, customer and service. If working alone, compare everything in a separate pass. Matching totals are insufficient: ten bookings on the wrong day still total ten.
| Comparison point | First approach | Second approach |
|---|---|---|
| Records to enter | Upcoming confirmed bookings | Keep pending requests separate |
| Fields to check | Date and starting time | Service, duration and customer |
| Final review | Daily booking count | Details and status of every entry |
Worked example
Monday's example diary contains six confirmed visits and two notes awaiting a reply. Enter and verify the six appointments first; assess the two notes separately without presenting them as confirmed. This is a manual migration guide, not a file-upload feature.
Before you apply this
- Choose a starting date and a responsible person.
- Compare upcoming bookings individually.
- Keep the old diary securely until checking is complete.