How to switch off Mindbody without losing your clients

The hardest part of leaving Mindbody isn't deciding to leave. It's the fear that you'll break something on the way out. Recurring charges that bounce. A class pack that disappears. A member who can't find your new booking link and just stops coming. The risks are real, but they're all addressable with one weekend of planning.

What you'll lose if you don't plan it

Four things break in a sloppy Mindbody migration. Handle these and the rest is easy.

1. Recurring membership charges

Active membership subscriptions live on Mindbody's payment processor. They do not export. You cannot move them to your new platform's Stripe with one CSV. You either let them ride out on Mindbody until each member voluntarily switches, or you cancel + re-enroll each one on the new platform manually.

2. Class pack remaining balances

Members who bought a 10-class pack and have 4 classes left don't want to lose those 4 classes. Mindbody exports the count, but the new platform has to honor it manually. Plan to credit each member their remaining balance when you import them.

3. Gift cards

Gift cards are even messier than class packs because they have a dollar value and rules about expiration. Most platforms don't support importing them at all. Track outstanding gift cards manually during the transition.

4. Class history (for taxes/reporting)

Past bookings, payments, and attendance records mostly don't migrate. Export them as CSV before you cancel, you may need them at tax time, for member disputes, or to remember which class went well in March.

One week before, the prep checklist

Don't do this in a panic on a Saturday morning. Spread it out.

Day 7 (one week out)

• Open an account on your new platform. Fill in studio details, pricing, location info. Don't schedule classes yet.
• Connect your payment processor. If it's Stripe, this takes ~5 minutes including identity verification.
• Run a test booking on the new platform yourself. Buy a $1 class with a test card. Make sure the email confirmations look right.

Day 5

• Audit your Mindbody data. Make a list of: active members, current class packs (by remaining count), active memberships, outstanding gift cards.
• Decide your cutover date. Pick a low-volume week (mid-month, not start of a billing cycle).

Day 3

• Build your weekly class template(s) in the new platform. Schedule out the next 4 weeks of classes.
• Set up your pack and membership offerings to match what you sell on Mindbody. Pricing should match exactly; don't change rates during a migration.

Day 1 (the day before)

• Export your client CSV from Mindbody. (Mindbody > Clients > Export.) Save to a safe location.
• Draft your member email. Use the template below.
• Plan a 30-day overlap. You'll keep Mindbody alive for 30 days after launch. Set a calendar reminder for the cancellation date.

Export day walkthrough

The actual execution. This takes 2-4 hours, mostly waiting for things to import.

Step 1: Export client list from Mindbody (10 min)

Mindbody dashboard > Clients > All Clients > Export (top right). Choose CSV format. Download.

The CSV will include: first/last name, email, phone, address, signup date, status. It will not include: passwords (they have to re-set), payment methods on file, class pack balances (separate export), or membership statuses (separate export).

Step 2: Export packs and memberships (15 min)

Mindbody > Pricing Options > Reports > Active Pricing Options. Export. This gives you who has what pack/membership and the remaining count or end date.

Step 3: Import clients to the new platform (30 min)

Most modern platforms accept Mindbody's CSV format directly. If yours requires a different format, the columns to map are: email (primary key), first name, last name, phone, status. Other fields are optional.

After import, members will exist as accounts but won't have passwords set. The next member email they get from the new platform will include a “set your password” link.

Step 4: Credit existing pack balances (~1 hour for 50 members)

Open the packs export. For each member with a remaining balance, go to their profile in the new platform and manually grant them the same number of class credits. This is tedious but it's the move that earns you the most goodwill.

Step 5: Send the member email

Use your normal email tool (or the new platform's built-in member email feature if it has one). Personalize at least the first name. Template below.

The member communication email (copy-paste)

Subject line that works: “Quick update on how to book your classes”

Why this email works:

• It assumes the answer is yes. No “please re-enroll” or “please confirm.” Just “here's the new link.”
• It pre-empties their biggest worry (“what about my unused classes?”) in line two.
• It leaves the old system reachable for the next 30 days as a fallback. Members feel safe, not stranded.
• It's short. No marketing language about why the new platform is better. They don't care.

The run-both-for-30-days safety net

Do not cancel Mindbody the same day you launch the new platform. Run them in parallel for 30 days. Here's why:

• Members with classes already booked under the old system don't lose them.
• Recurring memberships keep paying on Mindbody until each member individually migrates.
• If something breaks on the new platform in the first week, you have an immediate fallback that members know how to use.
• You buy time to handle edge cases (gift cards, complicated pack histories, that one client who only books by phone).

During the overlap, schedule new classes only on the new platform. Don't add anything to Mindbody. Existing Mindbody-booked classes just play out naturally over the 30 days.

What to do at day 15 (the halfway check)

• Count how many members have booked at least one class on the new platform.
• Send a second, lighter-touch email to anyone who hasn't: “noticed you haven't booked on the new system yet, here's the link again.”
• Identify members with recurring memberships still on Mindbody. Decide if you cancel + re-enroll them or let it ride.

Cancelling Mindbody (and avoiding the fees)

Mindbody contracts vary, but most include an early-termination fee on annual plans. Three things to check before you cancel:

1. Your contract term and renewal date. If you're 11 months in on a 12-month contract, wait a month and cancel at renewal, zero fee.
2. The required notice period. Some plans require 30 days' notice. Cancelling on day 30 of your overlap means you needed to give notice on day 1.
3. Pending payouts. Mindbody's payment processor holds funds for a few days after the last transaction. Don't cancel until your last payout is in your bank.

Cancel through your account rep or via the in-app cancellation flow (depending on tier). Get the cancellation confirmation in writing. Save it. There are documented cases of accounts continuing to charge after “verbal” cancellations, written record protects you.

FAQ

How long does the full migration take?

Active work: about one weekend if you have under 200 members. Add 2-3 hours per 100 additional members for pack-credit work. Total elapsed time including the 30-day overlap: 5-6 weeks from start to fully off Mindbody.

What about my Mindbody “Branded App”?

It'll stop working when you cancel. Members who downloaded it will need to delete it and install whatever member-facing app your new platform uses (or just bookmark the booking URL).

Will Google reviews about my studio survive?

Yes. Google reviews live on your Google Business Profile, not on Mindbody. Yelp reviews are the same. Reviews on Mindbody's own consumer marketplace will disappear when you leave; not many studios get meaningful traffic from there anyway.

Should I switch processors at the same time?

Not unless you have to. Mindbody's proprietary processor is the only way you can keep existing recurring memberships running during the overlap. If your new platform requires Stripe, that's fine, but the Mindbody-side subscriptions you don't migrate will keep running on Mindbody's processor until they end naturally.

What if I have multiple locations on one Mindbody account?

Migration gets more complex. Best approach is to migrate one location at a time, starting with the smallest, and treat each as a separate “site” in the new platform. Don't try to migrate all locations the same day.