What replacing a SaaS platform involves
Replacing an outgrown SaaS platform means moving the work it does into a system you own, without stopping trading. We put an API layer between your website and the platform, build the new system behind that layer, migrate the data, and switch over. Customers see the same site throughout.
Signs you have outgrown it
- A fee per booking, per user or per transaction that grows faster than the business.
- Rules the platform can't hold, kept in a spreadsheet beside it.
- Three or four tools bridged by hand: the platform, a CRM folder, a chat widget, an inbox.
- Customer data you can see but can't easily get out.
- Feature requests to the vendor that never arrive.
How we replace it in stages
The trick is to stop your website and tools depending on the platform directly. Once they talk to a layer you own, what sits behind it can change.
Put a layer in front
Build an API layer that your website, customer area and office tools talk to. At first it simply passes requests through to the old platform.
Build behind it
Build the new system behind the layer, one part at a time, with a demo every week.
Migrate and rehearse
Move customers, bookings and payments across in rehearsals, and count them on both sides each time.
Switch the layer
Point the layer at the new system. The website doesn't change, so customers don't notice.
Cancel the subscription
Once the figures agree, export a final archive from the old platform and close the account.
An example
An activity holiday operator came to us with a booking platform, a CRM kept in shared folders, a third-party chat widget and an inbox pipeline built from email labels, all bridged by hand.
We built the API layer first, then the bespoke booking system to sit behind it: inventory, a rates engine, extras, cancellation rules, deposits and instalments, with Stripe as the record of every payment and invoices posted to Xero. The data migration and cut-over are planned as the steps above.
Is it worth replacing?
Usually yes, when
- The platform fees, plus the hours spent on workarounds, keep rising.
- The rules that make your business different are the ones it can't hold.
- You need your data in one place to run the business properly.
Configure it before you replace it
Plenty of platforms do more than people have switched on. If a settings change, an add-on or a better plan fixes the problem, do that. We'll look before recommending a rebuild.
Questions about replacing SaaS platforms
Will customers notice the switch?
They shouldn't. Your website talks to an API layer we build, so when the system behind it changes, the pages customers use stay the same.
Can we keep using the old platform during the build?
Yes. The old platform keeps running behind the layer until the new system is ready and the migrated data has been checked. You trade normally the whole time.
What happens to our data in the old platform?
We export it, migrate it into the new system and count it on both sides. Before you close the old account, we take a final archive so nothing is lost.
Do we have to replace everything at once?
No. Because the layer sits in front, parts can move one at a time. Many clients replace the booking engine first and the CRM later.
Tell us what you are paying for
On a free call, tell us which platform you use and where it stops fitting. We'll tell you whether configuring it, changing plan or replacing it makes most sense.