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Switching guide
How to migrate from Actionstep
Get your matters, contacts, and billing out of Actionstep cleanly, know what the export leaves behind, and see where Referent picks up.
Get your data out of Actionstep
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Run the Data Export Report
Reports > Matter Reports, then Data Export Report in the Export section. Select the data sources you want. Each selection becomes its own CSV.
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Include participants
Participants are your contacts. The CSV carries IDs, names, addresses, phones, and emails. Matters carry the participant IDs that link them.
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Decode workflow steps
Matters export with a current step ID and matter type ID. Export or screenshot the step names so the IDs mean something later.
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Use the Matter Data Dump for detail
The Matter Data Dump Report lets you filter by participant type and data collections when the plain export is not enough.
What the CSVs do not carry
Actionstep is workflow-heavy. Referent replaces most of that scaffolding with AI agents that run intake and follow-ups from the inbox, so you bring the records and drop the flowcharts.
Before you cancel anything, run the same five checks every firm should: record counts against the screen, client-to-matter links, a few documents opened on the right matter, balances reconciled with your bookkeeper, and an untouched copy of every export kept as the archive. Download the checklist (CSV) and tick it off as you go.
Where Referent fits
Move the records. Let your inbox do the rest.
Referent is practice management rebuilt AI-native. You connect your email, calendar, and documents; the AI reads the correspondence and builds your clients and matters from it. From there, agents run intake, follow-ups, deadlines, and billing prep, and you approve every client-facing step.
- Workspace built from your inbox. The thread history a Actionstep CSV never had.
- A person on your side. Bring the exports to a 20-minute onboarding call; your manager sets the workspace up with you.
- Your data stays yours. No training on firm data, full audit trail, delete means delete.
Frequently asked questions
Can I export Actionstep documents in bulk?
Documents live per matter, or in your connected document store. Plan them separately from the Data Export Report.
Does Referent import my Actionstep data automatically?
Not from a CSV, no. Referent builds your workspace from the mailbox, calendar, and documents you connect: the AI reads your correspondence and sets up clients, matters, and files from it. For the Actionstep exports, your personal manager loads and checks them with you during onboarding. There is no button that swallows a Actionstep file today, and we would rather say so than surprise you.
When should I cancel my Actionstep subscription?
After you have counted records in the new system against your exports, opened a few documents on the right matters, and reconciled balances with your bookkeeper. Keep read access for a month past cutover if the contract allows it. Export first, cancel last.
Sources
Checked September 7, 2026. Menus, plans, and connectors change; the links above are the place to confirm the current state. Actionstep is a trademark of its owner; this guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Actionstep.