Bringing past clients and galleries over
When you move to CoreHue you'll want some history in place: a few past clients, bookings you've already shot, maybe an invoice someone still owes. There's no importer, so it's all added by hand, which is a good reason to bring less than you think. The main thing to get right is not emailing clients about sessions that happened months ago.
Do these two things first
Set your default currency in Settings → Profile. It's chosen once and can't be changed, so set it before you create anything with a price.
Set your invoice numbering. The first time you create an invoice, CoreHue asks you to Set up numbering: your prefixes, the number each sequence starts at, and how many digits it uses. If you're continuing a sequence from your old tool, this is where you carry it on. It's locked once saved. See Invoice defaults, terms and numbering.
How much to bring
| Worth bringing | Not worth the time |
|---|---|
| Clients you're working with now | Every client you've ever had |
| Upcoming bookings | Years of finished bookings |
| Anyone who still owes you money | Old questionnaire answers |
| Galleries clients still open | Galleries nobody has looked at in a year |
A sensible line is the last twelve months, plus anyone with money outstanding. Everyone else will turn up naturally when they get back in touch.
Clients
Add them from Contacts with New contact. For anyone who has already booked or paid you, set Contact type to Client rather than Lead. See Adding a contact.
New people create themselves as contacts when they inquire, book or fill in a contact form, so you don't need to add them ahead of time.
Upcoming bookings
Create them from Bookings → All bookings with New booking, using the real date and time. See Adding a booking yourself. If the client still owes a deposit or balance, switch on Collect payment and add the invoice items, or add an invoice to the booking later.
Sessions that already happened
Add past work the same way, with its real date. There's no special setting to find: when the date has already passed, CoreHue records it as history. You'll see a note that "Historical Bookings are recorded without payment collection or client automation", which means no confirmation email, no reminders and nothing asked of the client. It goes straight in as Completed.
So always use the date the session really happened. That one detail keeps a client from getting an email about last spring's wedding.
Leave Service empty for past bookings, or pick an inquiry service. Direct booking and mini session services can't take a date in the past.
Money still owed
If a client owes you from before, create the invoice in CoreHue and send it. That puts it in your figures and your invoice reminders, and gives them an easy way to pay online. See Creating an invoice.
Already received the money elsewhere? You don't need to recreate past payments. CoreHue's figures start from your first payment here.
Galleries
Only move galleries clients are still using.
- Download the photos from your old tool.
- Create a gallery in CoreHue and link it to the client's contact.
- Upload into chapters that match the old structure. CoreHue takes JPEG and PNG photos up to 100 MB each, RAW files on Pro, and videos on Plus and Pro.
- Check the download settings and PIN, then share the new link.
Re-uploading years of old deliveries uses storage on photos nobody will open, so keep those in your own archive. See How storage works for photos and videos.
When you move a gallery a client still uses, send it from CoreHue's share screen so they get the new link, password and PIN in one email.
Contracts and documents
Keep the signed PDFs from your old tool somewhere safe. Recreating an old contract in CoreHue doesn't make it any more signed. For the future, paste your wording into a contract template so new clients sign through CoreHue.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import clients from a spreadsheet?
No, there's no import. Add the clients you're actively working with by hand, and let the rest arrive as they get in touch.
Will my client get an email if I add an old booking?
No, as long as the date is in the past. CoreHue records past bookings as completed history without emailing the client or sending reminders.
Can I continue my invoice numbers from my old software?
Yes. The first time you create an invoice, set the starting number in Set up numbering. It can't be changed afterwards, so check it first.
Should I move all my old galleries?
No. Move the ones clients still visit, and keep older deliveries in your own archive. It saves time and storage.