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Migration guide

Move from Paymo to Pike

Export Paymo table views and time reports, upload them to Pike templates, and connect QuickBooks Online for invoice history. Budget five to six weeks.

Available now

Paymo exports clients, projects, users, expenses and invoices from each list’s Table view as CSV, with the columns and filters you set. Time comes from a report you build under Time Reports.

  1. 1Open Clients, Projects, Users and Expenses, switch each to Table view, pick the columns from the column dropdown, select the rows and click Export as → CSV.
  2. 2Add Project ID, Client, Project Manager and Status to the projects table before you export. The CSV follows the columns and filters on screen.
  3. 3Build a static time report under Time Reports → Add Report for each year you keep. Tick the options to include archived projects and archived users, and turn on time entry notes under Advanced report settings.
  4. 4Upload customers, projects, members, tasks, time entries and expenses under Workspace settings → Integrations → CSV, using the Paymo column mapping.

Paymo’s help centre documents no export format for time reports and no CSV export for tasks. If your account shows no file export on a report or on the task table, pull time entries and tasks from the Paymo API, which records time entry duration in seconds.

Available now

Paymo lists QuickBooks Online as its accounting integration and exports invoices to it. Connect QuickBooks to Pike, and Pike imports customers and invoice history from the ledger.

  1. 1In Pike, go to Workspace settings → Integrations, add QuickBooks and run Import data before you upload any Paymo file.
  2. 2Use the QuickBooks customer numbers as `customerNumber` in your Paymo client and project files. Paymo requires each client to be matched to a QuickBooks customer before it exports an invoice, so the match already exists.
  3. 3At cutover, stop exporting invoices from Paymo to QuickBooks, so only Pike sends invoices to the ledger from Monday.

If your team invoices from Paymo without QuickBooks, export the invoice table as CSV for your archive and connect the ledger your finance team posts to.

Entity map

What each Paymo record becomes in Pike

Column one uses Paymo’s own labels. Paymo stores time entry duration in seconds, and Pike matches people on each Paymo user’s email.

Clients

Pike: Customers

Carries over: Client name and the table columns you choose, such as status, active and archived projects, and unbilled AR.

You set in Pike: A customer number for each client. Take it from your ledger where QuickBooks is connected.

Template columns: customerName, customerNumber

Client contacts

Pike: Customer contacts

Carries over: People attached to each client.

You set in Pike: Check whether your client export includes contacts. The Paymo API lists client contacts as their own resource.

Template columns: customerNumber, name, email

Projects

Pike: Projects

Carries over: Project ID, name, client, project manager, status, hours worked, unbilled AR.

You set in Pike: Billing Method and Budget Hours, unless you add them to the table before export. Check whether your export includes both.

Template columns: projectNumber, title, customerNumber, leadEmail, status, billingType, budgetHours, hourlyRate

Task lists

Pike: Phases

Carries over: Task list name and project.

You set in Pike: Start and end dates.

Template columns: projectNumber, phase

Tasks

Pike: Tasks

Carries over: Task name, task list, assignees, billing type, estimated time budget.

You set in Pike: One assignee per row, and the billing type as `billableStatus`.

Template columns: title, projectNumber, phase, assigneeEmail, status, dueDate, billableStatus

Users

Pike: Members

Carries over: Name, email, position, hourly rate.

You set in Pike: Workspace role, team and cost profile.

Template columns: email, displayName, position

Time entries (Time Reports)

Pike: Time entries

Carries over: Date, duration, user, project, task, notes, billed flag (billed in the API).

You set in Pike: Approval state, where your team uses Time Approval. Check whether your report includes it.

Template columns: date, hours, email, projectNumber, taskTitle, note, billableStatus, approvalStatus, invoiced

Expenses

Pike: Expenses

Carries over: Project, added by, amount, date, status, tags, notes.

You set in Pike: An expense category for each Paymo tag you use.

Template columns: date, amount, projectNumber, email, category, description

Invoices

Pike: Invoice history from accounting

Carries over: Paymo exports invoice tables as CSV, or as a ZIP of PDFs. Pike imports invoices from QuickBooks Online.

You set in Pike: Nothing. The CSV route does not import invoices.

Paymo entityPike entityWhat carries overWhat you set in PikeTemplate columns
ClientsCustomersClient name and the table columns you choose, such as status, active and archived projects, and unbilled AR.A customer number for each client. Take it from your ledger where QuickBooks is connected.customerName, customerNumber
Client contactsCustomer contactsPeople attached to each client.Check whether your client export includes contacts. The Paymo API lists client contacts as their own resource.customerNumber, name, email
ProjectsProjectsProject ID, name, client, project manager, status, hours worked, unbilled AR.Billing Method and Budget Hours, unless you add them to the table before export. Check whether your export includes both.projectNumber, title, customerNumber, leadEmail, status, billingType, budgetHours, hourlyRate
Task listsPhasesTask list name and project.Start and end dates.projectNumber, phase
TasksTasksTask name, task list, assignees, billing type, estimated time budget.One assignee per row, and the billing type as `billableStatus`.title, projectNumber, phase, assigneeEmail, status, dueDate, billableStatus
UsersMembersName, email, position, hourly rate.Workspace role, team and cost profile.email, displayName, position
Time entries (Time Reports)Time entriesDate, duration, user, project, task, notes, billed flag (billed in the API).Approval state, where your team uses Time Approval. Check whether your report includes it.date, hours, email, projectNumber, taskTitle, note, billableStatus, approvalStatus, invoiced
ExpensesExpensesProject, added by, amount, date, status, tags, notes.An expense category for each Paymo tag you use.date, amount, projectNumber, email, category, description
InvoicesInvoice history from accountingPaymo exports invoice tables as CSV, or as a ZIP of PDFs. Pike imports invoices from QuickBooks Online.Nothing. The CSV route does not import invoices.

Paymo resolves a bill rate from four levels: company, user, project and task, with a client rate that new projects inherit. Each Time and Materials project picks its billing priority. Enter the rate the project bills at as `hourlyRate`, and set task rates in Pike where Paymo used task rate priority.

Map Time and Materials to `timeAndMaterials`, Flat Rate to `fixedFee` with the agreed price as `budgetAmount`, and Non-billable to `nonBillable`. Projects with Budget Hours carry that number to `budgetHours`. Retainer projects import as projects, and an admin turns on the retainer in Pike with the monthly price.

Paymo records a billable rate and a cost rate for each user for profitability. Set each member’s Pike cost profile from the Paymo cost rate before the pilot.

The plan

Seven steps out of Paymo

The same steps as the main migration guide, with this tool's screens and settings.

  1. Week 1

    Migration owner, finance

    1

    1Week 1 · Migration owner, finance

    Freeze scope and export

    The first export is your migration data. Write down its date, because you export the time after it again at cutover.

    • Pick a cutover Friday after the month’s Paymo invoices go to QuickBooks.
    • Export Clients, Projects, Users, Expenses and Invoices from Table view as CSV, with every column you need ticked.
    • Build a static time report per year with archived projects and archived users included, and save every raw file unchanged in one folder.
    exports / rawdo not edit
    • customers.csvraw
    • projects.csvraw
    • tasks.csvraw
    • time-entries.csvraw
    • invoices.csvraw
    Cutover: Friday, week 5

    Done when: Raw Paymo exports in one dated folder, and a cutover Friday on the calendar.

  2. Week 1 to 2

    Operations lead

    2

    2Week 1 to 2 · Operations lead

    Clean the exported files

    Clean the CSV files. Nobody edits Paymo after export day.

    • Give every client a customer number and copy it onto each project row. Use Project ID as `projectNumber`.
    • Convert time from seconds or hh:mm to decimal hours, and map the billed flag to `invoiced`.
    • Write each project’s Billing Method and bill rate into the file, following the billing priority the project uses in Paymo.
    customers.csvbefore / after
    • Acme
    • ACME Ltd
    • Acme retainer

    Acme

    C-104 · T&M · 1,250/h

    Done when: Every project row has a project number, a customer number, a billing type and a rate.

  3. Week 2

    Workspace admin

    3

    3Week 2 · Workspace admin

    Build the workspace shell

    Connect QuickBooks first, so the customer numbers in your Paymo files match the customers Pike imports from the ledger.

    • Create teams and workspace roles, and invite admins and project leads only.
    • Connect QuickBooks and run Import data for customers and invoice history.
    • Set a cost profile for each member from their Paymo cost rate.
    Workspace setup
    • Teams and roles
    • Templates and labels
    • Cost profiles12 of 12
    • Accounting connected
    • Invite everyoneweek 4

    Done when: Finance sees the QuickBooks invoices in Pike. Every billable person has a cost profile.

  4. Week 2 to 3

    Workspace admin

    4

    4Week 2 to 3 · Workspace admin

    Upload in dependency order

    Customers, then projects and phases, then members, then tasks, time entries and expenses. Pike reports a row it cannot match with its line number.

    • Upload each file with the Paymo column mapping, and fix rejected rows by line number.
    • Check that time totals per project match the Hours worked column in your Paymo project export.
    • Open one Time and Materials, one Flat Rate and one retainer project and compare rate, budget and last month’s hours with Paymo.
    Import datain order
    • Customers48
    • Projects112
    • Members19
    • Tasks1,430
    • Time entries
    • Deals

    Done when: Client, project, user and last-month hour counts match Paymo.

  5. Week 3 to 5

    Delivery lead, finance

    5

    5Week 3 to 5 · Delivery lead, finance

    One team in Pike, the rest in Paymo

    On CSV there is no ongoing sync. The pilot team logs time in Pike only, and everyone else tracks in Paymo until cutover.

    • Pick a team with an active client project and an invoice due. They stop running Paymo timers from Monday.
    • Finance approves pilot time in Time admin and sends one invoice from Pike to QuickBooks in place of Paymo.
    • Compare the pilot project’s profit with the same project in Paymo’s profitability view. A gap means a rate or cost profile needs a fix in Pike.

    Old tool

    Rest of team

    logs as before

    keep syncing

    Pike

    Pilot team

    approved, invoiced

    Done when: One invoice sent from Pike. No pilot team time in Paymo after the pilot start date.

  6. Week 5 to 6

    Migration owner

    6

    6Week 5 to 6 · Migration owner

    Cutover weekend

    Close Paymo on Friday evening and upload the time logged since your first export.

    • Friday: admins approve the last submitted timesheets in Paymo, where Time Approval is on.
    • Build a time report from the day after your first export to Friday and upload those rows to Pike.
    • Archive users in place of deleting them. Deleting a Paymo user removes their time entries, tasks and files for good. Then lower the plan under Subscription and billing.

    Fri

    Approve. Sync. Read-only.

    Sat, Sun

    Rest.

    Mon

    All in Pike. Demo at 10:00.

    Done when: Time admin shows every active member by Monday afternoon. Paymo shows no time after Friday.

  7. Week 6 to 9

    Finance

    7

    7Week 6 to 9 · Finance

    First month-end in Pike

    Done when finance closes a month without opening Paymo.

    • Approve all time, invoice every billable project from Pike and check each invoice reaches QuickBooks.
    • Cancel under Subscription and billing. Paymo states that cancelling does not affect the data in your account.
    • Run every export again for the archive before anyone uses Delete company. Paymo states deleted data cannot be recovered.
    Baselinebefore / Pike
    Days to invoice
    Unbilled hours at close
    Margin by project

    Done when: Month closed in Pike. Final Paymo exports saved with two owners. Paymo subscription cancelled.

Rebuild

Set these up in Pike by hand

  • Retainer projectsTurn on the retainer for each Paymo retainer project and set its period and monthly fee.Pike docs
  • Flat Rate and task ratesSet the project type and the rates that Paymo’s billing priority applied.Pike docs
  • User cost ratesEnter each member’s Paymo cost rate in their cost profile.Pike docs
  • Time ApprovalChoose who approves time for each team in place of Paymo admins.Pike docs
  • Invoice templatesSet numbering, terms and layout in invoice settings.Pike docs

Questions

Moving from Paymo: common questions

Which Paymo rate do we put in `hourlyRate`?

The one the project’s billing priority uses: user, task, project or company rate. Where a project bills each person at their own user rate, set the rates on Pike tasks or members after upload.

Why are some projects missing from our time report?

Paymo time reports include archived projects and archived users only when you tick those options under Get timesheet data for. Rebuild the report with both ticked, or past time references projects Pike cannot find.

How do we mark time that is already on a Paymo invoice?

Paymo flags a time entry as billed once its time is added to an invoice. Map billed entries to `invoiced` = `yes`, and Pike leaves them off new invoices.

Can Pike import our Paymo invoices?

Not through CSV. Paymo exports invoices to QuickBooks Online, so connect QuickBooks to Pike and Pike imports invoice history from the ledger.

What happens to time if we delete a Paymo user?

Paymo deletes that user’s time entries, comments, tasks, files and milestones, and the data cannot be recovered. Archive leavers and export their time first.

Support through the move and after it

Migration support comes with every plan: we map your exports, run the imports with you and check the counts before cutover. After go-live, hypercare until the first month-end closes in Pike. Then we hand over to your admins and stay close for as long as you use Pike. Email hello@usepike.com with your source tool and we will say which route fits.

  • Switch playbook
  • Migration guide for every tool

Paymo documentation used for this guide

  • Paymo: How do I export the projects list?
  • Paymo: Projects Table View
  • Paymo: How do I export my Client list?
  • Paymo: Clients Table View
  • Paymo: Users Table View
  • Paymo: Expenses Table View
  • Paymo: How do I export invoices?
  • Paymo: How do I create a Time Report?
  • Paymo: Types of projects in Paymo
  • Paymo: How do I add a project?
  • Paymo: How the billing hourly rate hierarchy works
  • Paymo: Client, Project & Employee Profitability
  • Paymo: How to use timesheet approvals
  • Paymo: QuickBooks Online Integration
  • Paymo: How do I delete a user?
  • Paymo: How do I cancel my subscription?
  • Paymo: How do I delete my account?
  • Paymo API: Time Entries

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