How to Switch Driving Instructor Software Without Losing Pupils (2026)

Most instructors stay on an app they have outgrown because moving feels like a week of typing. It usually isn't. Here is how to get your diary and pupils across, app by app.

This guide works for any move, from any app to any other. Where we mention what a rival app lets you export, it comes from that company's own website, checked on 19 September 2026. We build PassReady, and the PassReady steps are at the end.

What you are actually moving

• Your pupil list: names, phone numbers, email addresses, pickup postcodes.
• Your upcoming diary: the lessons already booked, usually the next four to eight weeks.
• Balances: prepaid blocks, credit and anything owed.
• Progress records: where each pupil is against the DVSA syllabus.
• Your money records: income, expenses and mileage for tax.

The first two matter on day one. Balances need settling before you switch. Progress can be caught up lesson by lesson. Money records mostly stay where they are as a download, because HMRC says you must keep business records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year they relate to.

What each app lets you take out

From each vendor's own pages, 19 September 2026. If your app isn't listed, look in its settings for anything called Export, Sync, Calendar, iCal or Backup.

Step by step

1. Export your pupil list

Most apps give you a spreadsheet (CSV) of pupils. If yours doesn't, your phone contacts are often the fastest source, since most instructors text pupils from their own phone.

2. Get your diary into a calendar

Switch on your current app's calendar sync or export, and wait until your booked lessons show up in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook. That calendar is the bridge between the two apps.

3. Bring both into the new app

Import the calendar and the pupil list, then check the next two weeks line by line against the old app. Names and times are what go wrong most often, usually because a lesson title didn't include the pupil's full name.

4. Settle balances

Write down every prepaid block and every amount owed on the day you switch, and add them in the new app or honour them from your notes. Pupils notice money mistakes more than anything else.

5. Tell pupils

Send each pupil the new booking link with a short line explaining nothing else changes: same instructor, same price, same pickup. Keep it to one message.

6. Cancel the old subscription at the right time

Check the old app's billing terms. Many run to the end of the paid month. Download everything you need for your tax records before the account closes.

Moving to PassReady

PassReady's diary import has three routes, and you can use whichever suits:

• Connect Google Calendar. Read-only access; you choose which calendar we read. Works for anyone whose current app syncs to Google, including Total Drive and MyDriveTime.
• Upload a file. A calendar file (.ics) or a CSV export from your current software.
• Paste a calendar link. For Outlook and other calendars that publish an .ics link.

You see a preview of what we found before anything is added. For pupils, you can add them in a couple of taps, paste a whole list at once, or, on Android, pick them from your phone contacts.

And if you'd rather not type anything: email a photo or screenshot of your diary to hello@passready.co.uk and we'll add your pupils for you, free. That covers paper diaries and apps with no export at all.

Once you're in, PassReady costs £0 a month. The only fee is a booking fee on online card payments, paid by the pupil: PassReady's 4.2% plus card processing, rounded up to the next whole pound. On a £40 lesson the pupil pays £43 and you receive £40.23. Cash lessons are free to log. Details on the pricing page. If you ever leave, you can export your lessons, earnings, pupils and expenses as CSV files.

Still choosing where to move to?

See every UK driving instructor app compared for all fifteen apps with prices checked on 19 September 2026, or the best driving instructor software guide for the shorter version. If you already know which app you're leaving, see Total Drive alternatives, GoRoadie alternatives or MyDriveTime alternatives.

Common questions

How long does it take to switch driving instructor app?

If your current app syncs to a calendar, the import itself takes minutes. Most of the time goes on checking the next couple of weeks and telling pupils the new booking link.

Will I lose my pupils if I change app?

No. Your pupils are your contacts, and the diary can come across as a calendar. Send each pupil the new booking link and tell them nothing else changes.

Can PassReady import my diary?

Yes. It reads a calendar file (.ics), a CSV, a published calendar link or your Google Calendar (read-only), and shows a preview first. Or email a photo of your diary to hello@passready.co.uk and we'll add your pupils for you, free.

Sources (checked 19 September 2026)

• Total Drive: totaldrive.co.uk homepage
• MyDriveTime: mydrivetime.co.uk/diary-management/ and /finance-management/
• GoRoadie: goroadie.com/pro
• Passly: passly.co.uk/instructor
• Passdesk: passdesk.co.uk/pricing/
• Waypilot: waypilot.co.uk/pricing
• HMRC record keeping: gov.uk/self-employed-records/how-long-to-keep-your-records