How to migrate to UniAsset from another system

There is no implementation project and no configuration wizard. Most organizations are operational within a day.

Requirements

• Available on: All plans — assets are unlimited on every plan, including Nova
• Roles: Owner or Admin to import

You will never hit a paywall for having too many assets. Import your entire inventory on day one, on the free plan.

The order that works

Import fails when referenced records do not exist yet, so build the structure first.

1. Clear the demo data

If you opted into demo data at sign-up, remove it before adding real assets. Settings → Organization → Delete Demo Data removes everything flagged as demo and nothing else.

Mixed real and demo records make every report misleading.

2. Set your financial configuration

Settings → Organization — country, currency, and financial year start. These affect every financial figure, so set them before recording purchase costs.

3. Build the structure

In this order:

1. Categories — including depreciation configuration per category
2. Locations — as a hierarchy
3. Departments
4. People — anyone assets are assigned to
5. Custom fields (Orbit and above) — for anything your old system tracked that UniAsset does not have a field for

Import matches these by name. Anything missing fails the row.

4. Prepare your file

Export from your old system, then split it by what each row actually is:

Each has its own template carrying only the columns it accepts, so a mixed file will have rows refused. Download the template for each kind from the import dialog — the Individual Assets and Consumables templates include your own custom field columns.

See the column reference.

Important Document Assets cannot be imported by CSV. They require an expiry date and are created in the Documents module.

Clean the data while it is in a spreadsheet. It is much easier there than afterwards:

• Standardise category and location names to match what you created
• Remove currency symbols from cost columns
• Format dates as YYYY-MM-DD
• Resolve duplicate serial numbers

5. Import ten rows

Fix whatever fails. Ten rows tells you everything a thousand would.

6. Import the rest

Files are capped at 1 MB, so split large inventories into several imports.

7. Then build the operational layer

Once assets exist:

• Preventive maintenance rules (Orbit and above) — put them on categories rather than individual assets
• Documents — warranties and certificates, with expiry dates
• Invite your team

What will not come across

Be realistic about this up front.

Historical maintenance records have to be entered as service records if you need them. Many organizations import a summary rather than every past job.

Attachments are uploaded per asset; there is no bulk document import.

Your old system's audit trail does not transfer. UniAsset's history starts at import.

Decide what history you genuinely need. "Everything" is rarely the right answer, and the cost of it is usually the reason migrations stall.

Deciding what to bring

Do not import assets you no longer own. A migration is a good moment to stop tracking things that left years ago.

Do not create one record per interchangeable unit. Twenty identical spare keyboards belong in Asset Stock as one record with a quantity, not twenty assets.

Put supplies in Consumables, not Assets.

See Understanding the four asset types.

Common mistakes

Importing before creating categories and locations. Every row fails.

Importing the full inventory as a first attempt. Test with ten.

Re-importing to fix mistakes. Import creates assets — re-running it creates duplicates. Archive the duplicates and correct the originals.

Leaving demo data in place. Delete it first.

Skipping purchase cost and date. They drive depreciation, net book value, total cost of ownership, and cost risk. A migration is your one easy chance to capture them in bulk.

Related articles

• How to import assets from CSV
• CSV import column and error reference
• How to fix CSV import errors
• Quick start guide
• Understanding the four asset types
• Organization structure best practices