A lot of people still pay for Act! every month for one reason: their history is in it. They barely use it day to day, but cancelling feels like throwing away twenty years of contacts and notes. You do not have to choose. Export the data first, then decide.
Here is a simple checklist for getting your data out of Act! before you cancel, switch CRMs, or retire an old computer.
1. Find every database you have
Long-time Act! users often have more than one database: a main one, an archive, maybe one for a side business. In Act! Cloud, the database list appears when you sign in. Write them all down. Each one needs its own export.
2. Write down your record counts
Before exporting, note how many contacts Act! shows in each database. After the export, compare. If the numbers do not match, something was missed. This one step catches most export problems.
3. Export your contacts
To export contacts from Act!, use File > Export in Act! desktop, or the export option on the contact list in Act! Cloud. Either gives you a file of contact records you can open in Excel. If you only need names and addresses, you can stop here.
4. Do not forget notes and history
This is the step most people miss. The contact export does not include notes, history, activities or opportunities. Those live in separate tables, and they are usually the reason you kept Act! in the first place. See how to export notes from Act! for the details.
5. Check that the files are readable
Open each file and spot check a few contacts you know well. Look at a long note. Act! often stores note and email text in rich text format, which shows up in Excel as a wall of code unless it is converted to plain text during the export.
6. Keep the data somewhere you can use it
A folder of CSV files is a safe backup, but it is not easy to search. If you still want to look people up by name or company, a simple local database works better than a pile of spreadsheets. I set clients up with Contact Vault, a small database that runs on your own PC with no monthly fee, search that forgives typos, and Christmas card labels built in.
7. Then cancel
Only once the counts match and the files open cleanly. Not before.
The short version
- Every database, every record type, counts checked.
- Contacts are easy. Notes and history take more work.
- Export before your subscription ends, not after.
Rather have someone do it for you?
I export every contact, note and history entry from Act! and check the counts against Act! itself. $200 per database.
Related: How to export Act! to Excel.
Act! is a trademark of its owner. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Act!.
