Switching to Leasebook

This guide is for whoever decides whether your agency switches its book to Leasebook. It explains what happens when you switch, and what does not happen. For the file itself, read the import guide.

What to bring

Bring your spreadsheet, or an export from the system you use now. Save it as CSV.

The import guide lists every column. The empty template is the quickest way to start. You can preview before the file is perfect. The preview shows what still needs fixing.

What Leasebook checks before it writes anything

Every import is a preview first. Nothing is saved until you choose to import.

The preview lists every row. It shows what each row becomes, and it names the rows it cannot read, with the reason.

• Required columns. A row missing a required value is refused, and the preview says which one.
• Money. Expense and agreement amounts are read to the cent: 1,850.50 and €1.850,50 both read as €1,850.50. A dot or comma followed by exactly three digits is a thousands separator, so 12.345 reads as €12,345. A figure that cannot be read to the cent, such as 12.3456, is refused, never rounded. A negative amount is refused too.
• Dates. Dates are read day-first, so 01/09/2025 is 1 September 2025.
• Duplicates. A property, unit, tenancy, contact, contractor or rent period that is already on record is not added twice. The preview names each one as a duplicate.
• Your role. If your role cannot import expense and agreement rows, the preview says so on each of those rows before you import. Your other rows are not affected.

Fix what the preview names, then preview again. When you are ready, import the rows it marks as ready. Rows that were not written are listed afterwards with their row numbers and reasons.

What stays as it is until you switch

Leasebook only reads the file you give it. It does not connect to your current system, so that system stays your record until you decide otherwise.

An import does not send email. No tenant, landlord or contractor hears from Leasebook because a row landed.

You can import in stages. Put properties and contacts in first. Rows in a later file can then name a property or landlord that is already in Leasebook. If your book is larger than 5,000 rows or 10 MB, split it and keep the same order: contacts and properties first, then the rows that depend on them.

Import keys make a second import safe

Expense rows and engagement rows (your fee agreements) carry an importkey column. It is your own stable identifier for the row, for example book-2026:expense-0042.

If you import the same file again, Leasebook compares each keyed row with what it already holds.

• Same key, same target, same values. The row is a duplicate. Nothing is added.
• Same key, different values or a different target. The row is a conflict. Nothing is changed, and the row is reported. A key never updates an existing record.
• A new key. The row is a new record, even if the amount and date match another one.

If your rows have no keys, Leasebook can fill them in. When the preview finds expense or engagement rows with a blank key, it offers Fill in the keys. It adds a key to each blank row, working from that row's own details, so the same row gets the same key each time. This runs on the preview. Nothing is saved.

Then choose Download your sheet with the keys. Keep that copy, and use it for any later import. A row you edit in your original sheet gets a new key, and would import again.

If something looks wrong

Preview as often as you like. A preview writes nothing, so you can correct the file and try again without touching your records.

If you are stuck, email support. The support page has the address and what to include.