Switching from paper, a spreadsheet or another app? Guvnor lets you paste your data straight in from Excel or Google Sheets. This is much easier on a desktop or laptop than on a phone.
Where to find the import tools
Open Settings (the gear icon on your home screen) and scroll to Import Data. You'll find three options:
- Import Clients — your customer list
- Import Completed Jobs — past work you've already done
- Add Bulk Payments — money already received (see the Recording & taking payments guide)
Each importer is a grid you paste into. On desktop you can copy a block of cells straight out of Excel or Google Sheets and paste it in. On mobile you can still type rows in by hand, but pasting from a spreadsheet is a desktop job.
Importing your clients
Open Import Clients. Each row is one customer. The required columns are:
- Name
- Address Line 1
- Quote (£) — the price per visit
- Visit Frequency — e.g. 4 for every 4 weeks, or one-off
- Starting Date — the first visit, as DD/MM/YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD
Optional columns include town, postcode, mobile, email, round order, account number, source, starting balance, a runsheet note and account notes. Leave round order or account number blank and Guvnor assigns them automatically.
- Paste or type your rows into the grid (use Add Rows if you need more).
- Check the Status on each row — it shows Valid or Invalid with the reason (e.g. a bad date).
- Tap Import. Guvnor skips empty rows, lists any invalid ones, and creates the rest.
- Each new client's recurring visits are then scheduled forward automatically, so they appear on your runsheet straight away.
On the free plan you can hold up to 20 clients, so an import is capped at that limit. Premium removes the cap — see the Free vs Premium guide.
Importing past completed jobs
Import Completed Jobs lets you bring across work you've already done, so your accounts and history start off correct. Each row needs an Account Number, a Date (DD/MM/YYYY) and an Amount (£). The account number must match a client you've already added, so import your clients first.
Every row has to be valid before the import will run — fix any rows marked invalid (usually an account number that doesn't match, or a bad date) and try again.
A sensible order to do it in
- Import your clients first.
- Import any past completed jobs (matched by account number).
- Add bulk payments for money already received.
- Open the runsheet and accounts to check everything looks right.
If you have an established round to bring over, the Established window cleaners: set-up guide covers the same ground with a migration focus.