# What to check before switching reporting tools

Inventory your reports, preserve the history you need and run one cycle in parallel before switching.

Canonical page: https://quillwell.com/guides/switching-reporting-tools/
Updated 2026-10-29
Publisher: Quillwell Guides (https://quillwell.com/guides/about/). Editorial standards: https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/

## Inventory the work you would have to move

List the reports your team and clients use before you switch. For each report, list its owner and audience. Record the delivery schedule, data sources and important calculations. Include scheduled emails and shared links. Record exports and reports built outside the main template.

Identify the accounts that require a client’s permission to reconnect. Access can become the longest part of a migration even when the new reporting tool is quick to set up.

Save a copy of the last complete reporting period. That gives you something stable to compare while the old and new systems run in parallel.

## Check what happens to historical data

Ask what the new connection can retrieve. Check how far back it reaches and which fields are available. Do not assume historical coverage is the same for every source.

Separate data held by the source platform from calculations or annotations held only in your current tool. Export the latter before cancellation, and open the exported files to confirm they contain usable information.

Decide how you will explain any discontinuity. A report that changes definitions halfway through a quarter needs an annotation a future reader can understand.

## Check what the export preserves

Ask exactly what the exported file contains. A PDF preserves what someone saw; a CSV preserves selected data. Check whether either preserves editable dashboards and user permissions. Also check scheduled deliveries and report calculations.

For example, [AgencyAnalytics documents an account-to-account transfer](https://help.agencyanalytics.com/en/articles/8602801-manage-exports-and-transfer-clients) using rankings and integration settings. Custom dashboards, reports and users must be recreated. Ask the new vendor which files it can import.

In your trial, open the export in the destination you intend to use. List which objects survive and which need rebuilding. Ask the person who will maintain the reports to confirm that the result is workable.

## Run one reporting cycle in parallel

Pick one representative client and produce the same report in both systems. Reconcile the source data before comparing the presentation.

- Match dates and timezones. Match currencies and filters too.
- Confirm whether conversions use the same definition and attribution window.
- Check delayed updates and the time of the last successful refresh.
- Investigate discrepancies by metric, rather than accepting a similar-looking total.

Write down any differences and who will investigate them. Wait to move the rest of your clients until the important discrepancies are understood.

## Plan the client and team handoff

Prepare the new report links and permissions. Set the delivery schedule and explain visible changes. Test the links from a restricted client account before sending them.

Give the account manager a runbook for reconnecting a source and checking a failed refresh. Include how to edit a template. Make sure the people who rely on the reports can maintain them, too.

Agree on a fallback for the first delivery. A retained PDF or an old report available for a limited overlap period can help, depending on the tools and contracts involved.

## Cancel only after the exit checks pass

Confirm that required exports open correctly and new schedules run. Check that your team knows who owns the connections. Review the current vendor’s cancellation terms and billing date directly.

Then remove access and retire old links according to your team’s process. Keep your comparison notes with the reporting documentation so your team can refer back to them.

A cheaper subscription may still be worthwhile. Include the time it takes to rebuild reports and maintain the new setup when you compare the costs.

## About this guide

Product-specific examples come from the vendor documentation linked in the guide, checked October 29, 2026. Confirm current capabilities and terms with the vendor before making a decision.

Quillwell also builds Adswell, a paid-media product. [Read our editorial standards](https://quillwell.com/guides/editorial/).

Something missing or out of date? [Suggest a correction](https://quillwell.com/guides/request/?type=correction&page=/guides/switching-reporting-tools/).