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Switching guide
How to migrate from Clio
Get your matters, contacts, and billing out of Clio cleanly, know what the export leaves behind, and see where Referent picks up.
Get your data out of Clio
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Export your matters
In Clio Manage, open Matters. Use the status quick filters so open and closed matters are both included, then scroll to the bottom of the list and click Export. Choose CSV and "all columns". Clio exports every matter that matches the filter, not just the page you are looking at.
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Export your contacts
Open Contacts and repeat the same Export at the bottom of the list. Keep the Clio IDs in both files so a matter can be matched to its client later.
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Export Clio Grow separately
If your firm uses Grow, its leads and intake forms live in a separate product with a separate export. Do that one too, or you lose your pipeline.
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Inventory what the CSVs skip
Documents, emails logged in Clio, notes, tasks, calendar entries, unpaid invoices, and trust ledgers. Decide per category: move it, archive it, or let it expire with the old subscription.
What the CSVs do not carry
Most of what a firm actually works from is in email: the client thread, the attachments, the dates. None of that is in a Clio CSV. That is why Referent starts from your mailbox rather than a spreadsheet.
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 Clio 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
Does Clio charge for exporting my data?
No. Exporting matters and contacts is a standard feature on every Clio Manage plan. You can export as many times as you like while your subscription is active, so do a trial export first and the real one on cutover day.
Can I export Clio documents in bulk?
Documents stored in Clio can be downloaded per matter, and firms that store files in Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive through Clio already have them. Either way, budget time for documents separately from the CSV export.
Does Referent import my Clio 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 Clio exports, your personal manager loads and checks them with you during onboarding. There is no button that swallows a Clio file today, and we would rather say so than surprise you.
When should I cancel my Clio 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
- Clio Help Center: Filter and Export Matters in Clio Manage
- Clio Help Center: Export Data From Clio Manage
Checked September 7, 2026. Menus, plans, and connectors change; the links above are the place to confirm the current state. Clio is a trademark of its owner; this guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by Clio.