How to Switch from Arborgold to StumpIQ: Step-by-Step Migration Guide

Tree companies that delay switching from a problem platform lose an average of $340/month in inefficiency costs for every month they stay. If email delivery failures are costing you bids, slow mobile is slowing your crews, or you're paying per-user fees that push your real cost to $280/mo for a platform rated 3.1/5 on Capterra — you've probably already done the math. You're staying on Arborgold because the migration feels uncertain.

Here's the complete migration process. It's less complicated than you think.

TL;DR

Tree service companies that adopt purpose-built software reduce administrative time by an average of 5-8 hours per week.
AI photo-to-quote converts a field photo to a priced proposal in under 2 minutes -- compared to 30-45 minutes for manual estimates.
ANSI Z133 compliance documentation created automatically in the field reduces insurance audit preparation time.
ISA certification tracking prevents lapses that affect eligibility for municipal, utility, and commercial contracts.
GPS dispatch with route optimization saves 15-20% of daily drive time for multi-crew operations.

Step 1: Export Your Data from Arborgold

Arborgold's data export tools are limited compared to what you might expect. Customer records and job history require manual CSV preparation before import. Here's what's available and how to access it.

Exporting customers:

In Arborgold, navigate to Customers → Customer List
Use the filter options to select all active customers (or segment as needed)
Look for the Export or Download CSV option in the toolbar
Export includes: customer name, address, phone, email, account status, and notes

If your Arborgold plan doesn't expose a direct CSV export button, contact Arborgold support and request a data export. They are generally required to provide this under data portability expectations, though the format may require some cleanup before import.

Exporting job history:

Arborgold's job history export is more limited. You can typically export open jobs and recent completed jobs via CSV from the Jobs view. Historical jobs beyond the current or previous year may require a support request for a full data dump.

What you realistically need to import:

Active customer list (all customers with jobs in the last 2-3 years)
Open quotes and approved jobs in progress
Equipment list (if you've entered equipment in Arborgold)
Crew member list with certification records

Historical job records beyond your active work are nice to have but aren't required for day-one operations. You can keep archived Arborgold access for historical reference while running new operations in StumpIQ.

Step 2: Clean and Format the CSV

Arborgold's CSV exports may have formatting that needs cleanup before import:

Remove columns that StumpIQ doesn't use (internal Arborgold IDs, legacy fields)
Standardize phone number format (strip formatting, use consistent format)
Split combined name fields if Arborgold exports "first last" as one column
Clean addresses (standardize to street, city, state, ZIP format)
Flag any customers with incomplete contact info for manual completion

StumpIQ's migration tool accepts Arborgold CSV exports and maps customer, job, and equipment data automatically. The mapping handles most common Arborgold export formats. For non-standard fields or custom data you've added to Arborgold, the import tool lets you manually map columns during the import process.

Step 3: Set Up Your StumpIQ Account Before Importing Data

Before you load customer data, build the foundation that makes the imported data usable:

Set up job types:

Configure your standard job types in StumpIQ — removal, trimming, pruning, stump grinding, cabling, emergency callout, risk assessment. These become the templates for every quote going forward.

Build your pricing matrix:

Enter your pricing structure:

Species categories with base rates
Height multipliers
DBH adjustments
Access and proximity premiums
Disposal line items
Emergency and hazard premiums

This step is what makes AI photo quoting work from day one. The AI identifies the tree parameters; your pricing matrix calculates the quote. Build it before importing customers so your first AI quote is already calibrated.

Enter crew members:

Add each crew member with their certifications, ISA credential numbers, expiry dates, and CEU accumulation. This takes 5-10 minutes per person and enables compliance tracking from day one.

Configure notification settings:

Set up SMS/email delivery preferences, automated follow-up timing, and crew alert settings.

Step 4: Import Your Customer Data

With your account set up, import the customer CSV:

In StumpIQ, go to Settings → Data Import
Select Import Customers
Upload your Arborgold CSV
Use the column mapping interface to match Arborgold fields to StumpIQ fields
Preview the import (StumpIQ shows you the first 10 records before committing)
Confirm and run the import

Most companies complete the customer import in under 30 minutes. For a standard Arborgold export of 200-500 active customers, the import runs in under 5 minutes after the mapping step.

Step 5: Migrate Open Quotes and Active Jobs

For jobs currently in progress in Arborgold:

Export open jobs from Arborgold's Active Jobs view
Review the list — jobs nearing completion may not be worth migrating (complete them in Arborgold)
Import remaining open jobs via the StumpIQ job import tool
Verify each imported job has the correct customer, address, job type, and pricing
Assign crews to imported jobs in the StumpIQ dispatch board

This step typically takes 30-60 minutes depending on how many open jobs you have.

Step 6: Train Your Team in One Day

StumpIQ's onboarding is designed for field adoption, not classroom training.

Morning: Owner/manager setup (2-3 hours)

Complete account configuration
Import data (customers, jobs, crew)
Verify dispatch board shows your current job schedule

Afternoon: Crew training (30 minutes per crew lead)

Walk them through the app on a real job
GPS check-in → pre-job checklist → job active → job complete
Show them AI photo quoting on one job
Answer questions in the field, not in a meeting room

Day 2: Live operations

Everything new goes into StumpIQ
Arborgold stays accessible for historical reference but no new jobs enter it
Dispatcher monitors StumpIQ dispatch board throughout the day

Step 7: Decommission Arborgold

Two to four weeks after go-live, once you're confident the migration is complete and your team is fully operational in StumpIQ:

Cancel your Arborgold subscription (check your billing cycle to time this correctly)
Download a final complete data export from Arborgold for your records
Keep a local copy of the Arborgold data archive (CSV files) in case you need historical reference

You don't need to maintain an active Arborgold subscription for historical access — the local CSV archive is sufficient.

Get Started with StumpIQ

StumpIQ is purpose-built for tree service companies of all sizes, with AI quoting, compliance automation, and GPS dispatch tools that generic platforms don't include. If you are evaluating software for your operation, StumpIQ is a useful starting point for comparison.

FAQ

How do I export my data from Arborgold?

Navigate to your Customer List and Jobs views in Arborgold and use the Export/Download CSV option in each view. For a full data dump including historical records, contact Arborgold support and request a complete data export. The export includes customer contact information, job records, and invoice history in CSV format.

How long does it take to migrate from Arborgold to StumpIQ?

The technical migration — customer import, pricing setup, crew configuration — takes 2-4 hours. Full team adoption across all crew members typically takes 3-7 days of live operations. Most companies are fully operational in StumpIQ within one week of starting the migration.

Will I lose any data when switching from Arborgold to StumpIQ?

No customer data is lost in the migration — the CSV import captures all customer records. Historical job records from years past may require a manual support-request export from Arborgold if not included in the standard export. For operational purposes, the customer list, open jobs, and equipment records are the critical data — these all transfer cleanly.

What makes tree service software different from generic field service platforms?

Tree service software is built around arborist-specific workflows: AI species identification for field quoting, ANSI Z133 safety checklists, ISA certification tracking, storm demand forecasting, and hazard-level job classification. Generic field service platforms can be configured to approximate these workflows, but doing so requires weeks of manual setup and still produces a less accurate result for tree-specific job types.

How do tree service companies evaluate software before buying?

The most effective approach: identify your top 3 operational pain points, ask vendors to demonstrate those specific scenarios in a live demo, check user reviews on Capterra and G2 for patterns, and request a trial period to test with real job data. Ask specifically about mobile performance in the field, since most tree service work happens away from the office.

What is the ROI of tree service software for a small company?

For a 2-3 crew operation, purpose-built tree service software typically recovers its cost through: faster quoting that wins more bids, invoicing on the day of job completion rather than days later, reduced administrative hours, and fuel savings from route optimization. Most companies report positive ROI within 60-90 days of full adoption.

Try These Free Tools

Sources

International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA)
USDA Forest Service
American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA)