# Switch to TicketPa from another booking system

Updated 2026-10-29 by the TicketPa team. Source: https://ticketpa.com/help/switch-to-ticketpa

To switch to TicketPa from another booking system or a spreadsheet, set up your activities first. Then import the bookings still to come with a CSV file, and send guests to your new booking page.

## Set up your activities

1. Create each activity with the name you use in your old system. The import matches bookings to activities by name. See [Create an activity](https://ticketpa.com/help/create-an-activity).
2. Add your prices. Give tickets the names your old system uses, like Adult and Child, so the file's tickets match. See [Set prices for an activity](https://ticketpa.com/help/set-prices).
3. Add a schedule, so guests can book your usual times. See [Set a schedule for an activity](https://ticketpa.com/help/set-a-schedule).
4. Check your booking rules and cancellation policy. See [Booking rules and cancellation policy](https://ticketpa.com/help/booking-rules-and-cancellation-policy).

For the rest of the setup, like your booking page and your team, follow [Getting started with TicketPa](https://ticketpa.com/help/getting-started-with-ticketpa).

## Import your bookings

1. Download the bookings still to come from your old system. Most booking systems can export them as a CSV or Excel file, often from their bookings list or reports. If you use a spreadsheet, start from that file.
2. Name the columns the way TicketPa reads them. You need Date, Start, Activity, Guest, Email or Phone, and Guests.
3. Go to **Bookings**, select **Import** and upload the file. You check every booking before it is added.
4. Choose whether TicketPa emails these guests their ticket, reminders and review requests.

Each step is explained in [Import bookings from another system](https://ticketpa.com/help/import-bookings). Appointments can't be imported yet, so add them by hand with **New booking**.

## Switch your booking links

- Go to **Share** and copy your booking page link. Put it wherever the old one was: on your website, your Google listing and your social media.
- Replace your old system's booking button on your website with a **Book now** button. See [Add a Book now button to your website](https://ticketpa.com/help/add-a-book-now-button).
- To take payments online when guests book, connect Stripe. See [Connect Stripe to take online payments](https://ticketpa.com/help/connect-stripe).

## Close your old booking system

- Once your links lead to TicketPa, stop taking bookings in your old system, so the same places can't be sold twice.
- If your old system took new bookings in the meantime, download its bookings again and import the new file. Guests already booked on a time slot in TicketPa are left out, so nobody is booked twice.
- Before you close your old account, download your past bookings and guest details for your records. TicketPa only imports bookings still to come.

## On your first days

- Guests you imported with emails off didn't get a TicketPa ticket. Find them by name on the time slot's guest list and check them in there. See [Check guests in](https://ticketpa.com/help/check-in-guests).
- Invite your team, so they see the new bookings. See [Invite team members](https://ticketpa.com/help/invite-team-members).

## Frequently asked questions

### Do my guests have to book again when I switch?

No. Their bookings stay as they are. If you choose to email them, they get a TicketPa ticket with a QR code. If not, they keep what your old system sent them.

### Can I import my activities, or guests without a booking?

No. You create activities in TicketPa yourself. The import only adds guests who have a booking in the file.

### Does importing cost extra?

No. Importing bookings is part of every plan.