How to switch from Gingr without losing customer or pet data
A guide to moving your customers, pets, bookings, records, and other essential business information from Gingr to Tato.
Short answer: Your new software provider should own the switch—not hand you another project to manage. They should help you list the information your business relies on, make a safe copy of it, move it into the new system, check that everything arrived correctly, and let your team review it before anything changes for your customers. Keep Gingr available until you are comfortable that the new system is ready.
Can you take your data with you when you leave Gingr?
Yes. Gingr lets you download a database backup and export information about owners and pets. To create the backup, use an account with the Can Backup Database and Can Export/Backup Data permissions. If you do not see the backup option, ask the person who manages your Gingr permissions.
What information should come with you?
Tato can bring over the information your team needs to recognize a customer, care for their pet, and keep the day running normally.
Information | What that can include | What you should be able to review |
|---|---|---|
Customers and pets | Names, contact information, care details, and connected family members | The right pets appear under the right customers |
Vaccines and records | Vaccine names, expiration dates, and uploaded documents | Dates and records are complete and easy for staff to find |
Bookings | Upcoming reservations and past visits | Appointments are attached to the right customer, pet, service, and location |
Packages, memberships, and balances | Active plans, remaining visits, expiration dates, and account balances | Customers have the correct benefits and balances |
Notes and preferences | Customer notes, pet notes, and care instructions | Important details appear where your team expects to see them |
Tags and alerts | Customer and pet tags, behavior flags, restrictions, and special statuses | The labels your staff relies on are still attached to the right records |
Contacts | Emergency contacts, secondary contacts, and veterinarian information | Names and phone numbers are complete and connected to the right customer or pet |
Forms and files | Signed agreements, waivers, photos, and uploaded documents | Important files are available in Tato |
Business setup | Services, prices, staff accounts, hours, and location settings | The new system reflects how your business actually operates |
Easy-to-forget details deserve their own check. Custom fields only appear in some owner and pet exports when they have been configured to show there, and uploaded files require a separate Gingr backup. Tato reviews tags, alerts, forms, files, and special instructions with you so they are included in the migration.
What does switching from Gingr to Tato look like?
1. We learn how your business works
We start by understanding your services, locations, team, and the information you use every day. Together, we agree on what needs to move and choose a time for the switch that creates the least disruption. We usually recommend Monday so your team and ours have the full week to make adjustments together.
2. We make a safe copy of your Gingr data
We download a copy of your Gingr database without changing the information in your live account. We also create the separate file backup needed for owner files, pet images, report-card files, and other uploads. This gives us something reliable to check against throughout the move.
3. We set up Tato with your information
We first bring your data into a private version of Tato that is not yet live for customers. This gives us time to find missing information, duplicates, or anything that does not look the way your team expects.
4. We review everything with you
You and your team get to look around before you switch. We check the totals and the details together, including:
whether customers are connected to the right pets;
whether upcoming bookings are correct;
whether vaccine dates and records are easy to find;
whether packages, memberships, and balances look right;
whether important notes and care instructions are in the right place.
Your staff’s review matters. The people working with customers and pets every day are often the first to notice when something feels unfamiliar or is missing.
5. We get your team and customers ready
Before launch, your team practices the tasks they will use on day one—finding a customer, checking a vaccine, updating a booking, using a package, and handling an exception.
When it is time to switch, we bring over the latest changes and update the booking and account links on your website so customers reach Tato. If you give us access, the Tato team can turn off Gingr and update those website links for you.
6. You decide when to go live
Nothing changes for your customers until you approve it. If something does not look right, we fix it and review it again. You go live only when your team is comfortable using Tato and the information you rely on is in place. After launch, your migrated history remains available in Tato and our team stays close by to help.
Tato recently moved a dog bar with 25,000 pet profiles from Gingr overnight. Moving quickly keeps the interruption short, but speed is only useful when you can see that the result is right.
What happens to saved cards and payments?
Saved cards need their own plan because they are managed by the payment company behind your software. Whether they can move depends on which payment provider you use today and which one you will use next.
Before you switch, your new provider should explain what can move, whether there are any fees or extra steps, and whether customers will need to enter their card again. They should also help you account for memberships, packages, deposits, refunds, and open balances so there are no surprises after launch.
If you use CardPointe, Tato can securely receive and import an export of your saved payment methods. CardPointe says its export process can take about 30 days and may include a fee, so it is worth starting early.
If you use Gingr Payments, Tato cannot import the saved payment methods unless Gingr first helps authorize and provide an export. A request must be submitted to Gingr, which means the timing is outside Tato’s control. If the export cannot be completed, we help your customers add their payment methods again—with extra attention to anyone on an auto-renewing membership or package.
How will you know you are ready to switch?
You are ready when your team can find the customers and pets they expect, upcoming bookings are correct, vaccines and care notes are easy to use, and packages and balances look right.
Most importantly, someone who knows your operation should review and approve the result. If a check does not pass, pause and fix it. That is exactly what the review is for.
You should not have to manage the migration yourself
Switching software should not mean spending weeks coordinating exports, checking spreadsheets, training staff, and changing website links on your own. The new provider should take responsibility for the work and give you clear opportunities to review it.
Tato handles the migration, reviews your information with your team, and can manage the final changeover. See how switching from Gingr would work for your business.
Disclosure: This guide is written by Tato, a pet care software provider and Gingr alternative. Tato product claims are based on its current migration process. Gingr features and instructions can change, so we check its current documentation before publishing updates.
First-party sources checked September 1, 2026:
Switching from Gingr?
Tato handles the export, reviews the data with your team, and can manage the final changeover for you.
