Switching Limo Dispatch Software Without Losing Bookings: Operator Checklist

Before you sign

• Get setup fee, monthly fee, per-vehicle or per-user charges and app costs in one written quote
• Confirm the data export format and notice period of the platform you are leaving
• Confirm who rebuilds rate rules and whether it is included
• Agree a go-live date outside your busiest four weeks

Data

• Reservations including cancellations, in yearly files
• Customers de-duplicated on email and phone
• Corporate accounts with terms, cost centres and negotiated rates
• Rates, zones, surcharges, waiting time and tolls
• Vehicles and drivers with licence and insurance expiry dates

People

Software migrations fail on people far more often than on data. Book a paid one-hour driver session and install the app in the room. Give your dispatcher two hours of unstructured play in the new console before they have to use it live. Tell account clients in writing two weeks ahead, with a sample of the new confirmation email and invoice.

Cutover week

• Monday: new bookings into the new system only
• Tuesday–Wednesday: work both systems, reconcile job counts each evening
• Thursday: booking site, QR codes and payment processing switch over
• Friday: run the first invoice batch and check three account invoices by hand
• Keep the old system read-only for 90 days

Week one after go-live

Expect a 10–20% dip in dispatcher speed for about five days. That is normal and recovers. What is not normal is missing jobs, wrong fares or drivers calling the office instead of using the app — treat any of those as a same-day escalation, not a training issue.