Switching from Housecall Pro to Jobber: what to export, import and rebuild

Prove the reason to switch before preparing files

Going the other way? Use our Jobber to Housecall Pro cut-over guide for Jobber exports, HCP field mappings and open-invoice ownership.

Make the switch solve a problem the crew can name. Pick the handoff that fails today, put Jobber through that sequence and decide whether the improvement is worth moving the records. If HCP already runs the shop well, tune the setup and keep going.

Our Jobber vs Housecall Pro comparison covers the product choice. This guide addresses the next decision: what to carry out of an existing HCP account, how to map it to Jobber and which operating details still need verification.

If the existing HCP workflow already works, improving its setup may be the smaller change.

Export the source and preserve the originals

Housecall Pro’s customers and jobs export guide requires an admin. For each list, use Customers or Jobs → Actions → Export, confirm the recipient and send the file. The documented result is an emailed CSV.

The price-book export instructions use a different route: Settings → Price Book, select Services or Materials, then Export. The CSV goes to the account’s email address. Export both item types when the business uses both.

Keep the originals unchanged and map copies, logging export time, file name, scope and filters. Inspect each file’s headers and a representative record. The HCP article also describes imports into HCP; those inbound capabilities are not a specification for what every outbound CSV contains.

Inventory attachments, approved estimates, signed records and payment information separately. Ask support which export covers each record and how to retain anything outside it; plan the move as separate mapped imports rather than a one-click account conversion.

Source material	Destination work to plan	Acceptance question
HCP customer CSV	Jobber client/property mapping	Does the correct customer have the correct service addresses?
HCP Services and Materials CSVs	Jobber products/services template	Are descriptions, prices, item types and tax settings correct?
HCP jobs CSV	Jobber job template	Are dates, assignments and recurring work correct?
Invoice records and open balances	Separate invoice mapping and reconciliation	Is each amount owed represented once?
Settings, documents and connected services	Verify retention, rebuilding or separate support scope	What is documented as transferred, and what remains unresolved?

Map each file to the destination template before uploading.

Match customers and properties first

Jobber’s client importer is admin-only and unavailable in a private/incognito browser. Its documented route starts from Clients → More Actions → Import Clients, not a generic settings-import screen. Use its supported headers and review the preview.

A blank Street field creates no property. Pay particular attention to customers with several service addresses, billing addresses that differ from the job site and inconsistent names. If the same clients already live in QuickBooks, the guide recommends bringing them through the appropriate sync first to avoid duplicate CSV imports; confirm the integration and source-of-truth decision with the person maintaining the books.

Trace a customer from the untouched export through the mapped file to the Jobber profile, then match the property before importing related work.

Convert the price book deliberately

Use the current Jobber products and services sample format. Its Category values distinguish Product and Service and are case-sensitive. Unit cost and price fields need numeric values without dollar signs. Set Taxable explicitly: a blank value defaults to taxable.

Review the source’s tax and item categories against the destination instead of treating similarly named columns as interchangeable. Jobber’s option to update existing items can overwrite their fields. If QuickBooks controls the item list, follow the documented sync ownership rather than making competing changes in both systems.

Test a commonly sold service, a material item and an exception, then have the quoting and tax-configuration owner approve the results. Match the destination’s defaults explicitly.

Bring jobs and invoices across separately

The Jobber job importer is an admin-only beta accepting one-off and recurring jobs, up to 1,000 per batch. Match client names and full property addresses, including country; unmatched data can create new clients or properties. Past jobs within the documented ten-year limit are completed and archived, not active work merely because they are recent.

Confirm future dates and assignments after import. Job-level custom fields are not supported by this importer, and reminder settings can cause imported work to send reminders. Resolve the intended customer-communication behavior before loading active jobs.

Jobber also documents a separate invoice importer. Preserve the current sample headers. Existing Jobber client IDs provide a matching route; otherwise the documented email/name/company rules require careful consistency. Properties also need matching IDs or exact addresses. Unmatched records can create new profiles.

Treat Draft, Sent and Paid as invoice statuses; map payment, deposit and refund transactions separately with the accountant. Represent each amount owed once, using either the carried-forward balance or the underlying invoices.

Rebuild operating rules before handing over live work

Treat employee access, automations, recurring-job details, customer messages, booking links and connected accounting or payment services as a separate acceptance list. Assign each setting or credential a supported transfer route or a rebuild task.

Name one owner for each open job and invoice during the overlap. Keep a short exception log: source record, destination record, issue, responsible person and resolution. Give each customer message one sending system.

The job-import documentation offers a ten-minute revert window after completion. It removes created jobs, clients and properties, and can also remove other work added to those newly created clients. Keep the source records and review a batch before adding dependent work, so you can use that narrow rollback window deliberately.

Cut over when the checks pass

Use this checklist to hand over the live work:

1. The required customer and property records are mapped, with duplicates and missing addresses resolved.
2. Common price-book items produce the expected descriptions, prices and tax configuration.
3. Upcoming work, recurring visits and employee assignments have an accountable home.
4. Open invoices and deposits reconcile to the agreed accounting record without double counting.
5. Customer-message behavior and connected services have been verified through a supported test process.
6. Records outside the transfer scope have an agreed retention or access plan.
7. Staff know where to create new work and whom to call when a record does not match.

Our paper-to-app rollout guide covers staging a broader process change; this vendor switch still needs its own scoped file mapping and cutover decisions.

Postpone the switch if the workflow gain is unclear or financial exceptions remain open. If the case is sound, visit Jobber with the sample files and required workflow, and get the available import assistance and any fees confirmed. Keep access to the source until the required evidence and operating records are secure under the plan agreed with the vendors and accountant.