VetMedGuide

Vet Med Guide

Practice2026-05-14 · 13 min read

PIMS Data Export Checklist: What to Confirm Before Leaving Your Old Veterinary Software

A field-tested checklist for exporting patient records, financial data, and medical history from your current veterinary PIMS — covering data formats, common migration traps, contract exit clauses.

Ran Chen
Ran Chen
Founder, VetMedGuide. Life-sciences operator and 10× global market-access lead.
Published

Switching practice management software is one of the highest-stakes projects a veterinary clinic can undertake. The decision itself — which platform to move to — gets the most attention. The data export gets the least, and it is the step where practices lose patient histories, financial records, and years of clinical documentation.

This article is not about which PIMS to choose. It is about what happens between the decision and the go-live: how to confirm your data can actually come out of your current system, what format it will be in, what will not survive the move, and what to negotiate into your contract before you sign.

Why data export is the most underrated risk in a PIMS switch

Industry surveys and practitioner reports consistently identify data migration as the single most common source of unexpected cost and frustration in any PIMS transition. Practices discover too late that:

  • SOAP notes were converted to flat text or PDF files — searchable only by reading, not by querying.
  • Attached documents (lab results, radiology reports, referral letters) did not migrate at all.
  • Historical financial records were summarized rather than preserved at the transaction level.
  • Image files (digital radiography, photos) were left behind because the export format did not support them.

A case documented by ezyVet involved a Dallas practice whose patient records were converted to plain PDF during a prior migration — rendering the data functionally unusable. The practice had to manually reconstruct records from printed backups. This is not an unusual scenario; it is a common one that vendors rarely volunteer during the sales process.

The pre-decision checklist: confirm before you commit

Before signing a contract with a new PIMS vendor, get answers to these questions in writing.

Data you own vs. data you can access

Question Why it matters
Can I export my full patient, client, and financial data at any time, in a standard format? Some vendors lock data behind proprietary formats or charge export fees that were not disclosed.
What export formats are available? (CSV, XML, SQL backup, HL7, FHIR) CSV exports are the minimum. SQL-level access or structured XML/JSON is better for complex data like medical records with embedded images.
Are document attachments (PDFs, images, lab result files) included in the export? Many older PIMS platforms store attachments as binary blobs in proprietary databases. If the export does not handle them, years of lab results and imaging can be lost.
What is the export process — self-service, or do I need to request it from support? Self-service export means you control the timeline. Support-dependent export means you wait on vendor turnaround.
Is there a fee for data export? Some vendors waive it. Others charge. Some charge more if you are leaving (as opposed to upgrading within their ecosystem). Know this before you negotiate the new contract.
How long does the vendor retain data after account closure? State veterinary record retention requirements range from 2 to 7+ years after the last patient visit. If the vendor deletes your data 30 days after contract termination — which some do — you have a compliance problem.

Data the new vendor will accept

Question Why it matters
What data fields will the new vendor import? Most vendors will import client demographics, patient records, and basic medical history. Many will not import custom form data, template-specific SOAP structures, or practice-specific inventory configurations.
What data fields will not migrate cleanly? Ask directly. Every vendor has a list. Get it in writing.
What happens to historical lab results and imaging? Do they come in as attachable documents, as structured data with trending capability, or not at all?
Who performs the migration — the vendor, a third party, or the practice? Vendor-performed migration is standard for major platforms, but the scope varies. Some include it; others scope it as a separate project with its own cost.
What is the migration timeline? Typical timelines range from 2–6 weeks for the data itself, plus additional time for validation and parallel running.

Data categories: what to export and how to verify

Client and patient demographics

This is the most reliably migrated data category. It includes client names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, patient names, species, breed, date of birth, and status flags (active/inactive/deceased).

Verify: Spot-check 50–100 records after migration. Compare client contact details and patient identifiers against the source system. Pay attention to merged records (two client files for the same owner) and duplicate patient records, which often multiply during migration.

Medical records (SOAP notes, histories, diagnoses)

This is where most migrations lose fidelity. The structure of a medical record in one PIMS rarely maps one-to-one onto another.

  • SOAP notes may flatten to plain text, losing the S/O/A/P structure and any embedded formatting.
  • Problem lists may not transfer as structured data — they may become free-text entries in the new system.
  • Diagnosis codes (if your current system uses them) may not map to the new system's code set.
  • Treatment plans and templates almost never transfer directly.

Verify: Pull 20 representative medical records from the old system and compare them side-by-side with the migrated versions. Check that the full text is present, that dates are correct, and that the assigned clinician name was preserved.

Financial and billing data

  • Invoice-level detail (individual line items) may be preserved or may be summarized to invoice totals only.
  • Payment history usually migrates, but the link between a specific payment and a specific invoice may not survive.
  • Inventory pricing and cost data is practice-specific and typically needs to be rebuilt in the new system.
  • Accounts receivable balances should be reconciled before migration. Carrying open AR balances into a new system with a different billing structure creates reconciliation headaches.

Verify: Run an accounts receivable aging report in the old system and compare it to the migrated data. Check that total AR matches. Check that the oldest outstanding invoices are present.

Appointments and scheduling history

Historical appointment data is often excluded from migration because it is considered operational rather than medical. If your practice relies on appointment history for recall reminders or compliance tracking, confirm that it will transfer or that you have a separate export for it.

Document attachments and images

This is the single biggest gap in most migrations. Lab result PDFs, digital radiographs, clinical photographs, consent forms, and referral letters may be stored in:

  • A proprietary attachment system within the PIMS database.
  • A linked document management system.
  • Local hard drives or network shares with file-path references in the PIMS.

Verify: Before migration, generate a report showing how many attachments exist per patient and what file types they are. After migration, check a sample of patients with multiple attachments to confirm the files are present and accessible.

Reminders and compliance data

Vaccination reminders, heartworm preventive compliance tracking, and wellness plan schedules are often tied to the old system's reminder logic. If the new system uses a different reminder engine, the data may need to be reconfigured rather than simply transferred.

Contract exit clauses: negotiate before you sign the new deal

Before committing to a new PIMS, confirm these points in both the old and new vendor contracts:

In the old vendor's contract:

  1. Data portability clause. Explicit statement that you own your data and can export it in a usable format at any time, without penalty.
  2. Data retention period after termination. Must meet your state's veterinary record retention requirements. If the vendor's standard is 30 days and your state requires 5 years, you need a different arrangement.
  3. Export format guarantee. Specify that data will be provided in CSV or another standard format, not just a vendor-proprietary backup file.
  4. No data-hostage clause. Some vendor contracts include language that ties data access to continued subscription. This is a red flag. Your patient records are your legal responsibility, not the vendor's retention tool.

In the new vendor's contract:

  1. Migration scope document. Before signing, get a written document listing exactly what data fields will be migrated, what will not, and what the timeline looks like.
  2. Migration cost. Is it included, or is it a separate line item? If separate, what triggers additional charges (e.g., data complexity, volume, custom field mapping)?
  3. Parallel-run period. Can you run both systems simultaneously for 30–60 days while you validate the migration? This is standard practice and should be negotiable.
  4. Exit clause symmetry. The same data portability guarantees you are demanding from your old vendor should be in your new vendor's contract. You will leave this system eventually too.

Platform-specific export notes

The veterinary PIMS market is dominated by a handful of platforms. Here is what the publicly available information says about data export from the most common systems:

AVImark (Covetrus)

AVImark is a server-based system installed on local Windows hardware. Because the data lives on your server, you technically have direct database access. However, AVImark uses a proprietary database structure, and the export tools provided by Covetrus vary in scope. Practices report that:

  • Client, patient, and basic medical history export is generally available.
  • Custom templates, document attachments, and imaging files require additional steps.
  • Third-party migration services (e.g., MSV Consulting, Sundance Data) specialize in extracting data from AVImark's proprietary format.

IDEXX Cornerstone

Cornerstone runs on a Microsoft SQL Server database locally. This means a practice with IT support can generate SQL backups independently. IDEXX also provides data export tools for practices transitioning to IDEXX Neo (their cloud platform). Practices moving to non-IDEXX platforms report that:

  • Structured data exports are available but may require IDEXX support involvement.
  • Image attachments and document files need separate export procedures.
  • IDEXX's migration support is more seamless when staying within the IDEXX ecosystem (Cornerstone to Neo) than when moving to a third-party platform.

ezyVet (cloud-native)

As a cloud platform, ezyVet stores data on AWS infrastructure and provides API access. Practices report that:

  • REST API access allows structured data export.
  • Migration from ezyVet to another platform is technically straightforward but may require vendor cooperation for bulk export.
  • The new vendor typically handles the extraction via API.

IDEXX Neo, Shepherd, Covetrus Pulse, and other cloud platforms

Most modern cloud-native platforms provide API-based export or structured CSV downloads. The practical limitation is usually not technical — it is contractual and procedural. Ask:

  • Whether the API documentation is publicly available.
  • Whether bulk export requires support ticket approval.
  • Whether there are rate limits that slow down a full practice export.

Realistic migration timelines by source platform

Covetrus Pulse's published data conversion guide provides concrete timelines for data extraction from common source PIMS platforms. These timelines reflect the reality of pulling data out of established systems:

Source PIMS Data pull method Time to initial data release Final conversion processing
AVImark Automated (Covetrus Connect) ~1 week 1–4 hours
Cornerstone Automated (Covetrus Connect) ~1 week 4–7+ hours
ezyVet Cloud vendor links ~3 weeks 1–4 hours
ImproMed Infinity Manual extract via sFTP ~2 weeks 4–7+ hours
DVMax Manual extract via sFTP ~2 weeks 4–7+ hours
ClienTrax Manual extract via sFTP ~3 weeks 4–7+ hours

Cloud-to-cloud migrations (ezyVet to another cloud platform) take longer for initial data release despite shorter final processing, because the extraction relies on the source vendor's API rate limits and cooperation. Server-based systems like AVImark and Cornerstone can be pulled faster because the data is locally accessible — but the conversion processing time is longer because the proprietary data structures require more transformation. Plan your timeline accordingly.

The validation protocol

After migration, before decommissioning the old system, run this validation checklist:

  1. Record count reconciliation. Compare total client, patient, and invoice counts between old and new systems. A mismatch of more than 1–2% warrants investigation.
  2. Random record audit. Pull 30 random patient records from the old system. Verify that each one exists in the new system with complete medical history, correct dates, and intact attachments.
  3. High-value record audit. Manually verify the 20 most complex patients — those with chronic conditions, multiple specialists, or extensive surgical histories. These are the records where gaps cause the most harm.
  4. Financial reconciliation. Run AR aging reports in both systems. Total balances should match.
  5. Attachment spot-check. Open 20 records that had attachments in the old system. Confirm the files open correctly in the new one.
  6. Go-live parallel period. Run both systems for at least 2–4 weeks. Enter new data in the new system only, but keep the old system accessible for lookups. This catches edge cases the validation audits miss.

Common migration traps

  • "The vendor said they migrate everything." They do not. Get the exclusion list in writing.
  • "We will just keep the old server running for reference." That works for a few months. After a year, the server fails, the backup corrupts, and nobody remembers the admin password. If the data matters, export it before you cancel.
  • "We will scan paper records into the new system later." Later never comes. If you have significant paper records that need digitization, budget for it as part of the migration project.
  • "The new system's migration tool handles custom fields." It probably does not. Custom fields are the first thing that breaks in a migration. Map them manually or accept that they will be lost.
  • "We can handle the migration ourselves to save money." You can, for simple practices with clean data. For practices with 10+ years of history, multiple doctors, and custom templates, a specialized migration service is usually worth the cost.

Sources

Topics
AI & Practice TechClinic Workflow & OperationsPractice Finance & ROI
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