SWITCHING SYSTEMS
Migrating from spreadsheets to Checkbase — without losing a document.
If you run NDIS compliance out of spreadsheets, Drive or Dropbox, this is the weekend project that fixes it. Map, import, upload, review — then every document an auditor asks for is two clicks away, not a folder dig.
Last updated 5 June 2026 · 8 min read
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See how Checkbase keeps your team audit-ready.
1 weekend
Realistic migration time
4 steps
Map · import · upload · review
0
Documents lost if you follow the order
100%
Audit docs in one place after
Why providers switch
A spreadsheet works right up until an auditor asks for a specific document and you're clicking through nested Drive folders at 9pm while they wait. The spreadsheet tracks that a document exists — it doesn't watch expiry dates, doesn't tell you what's missing, and doesn't hold the actual files.
Moving to one system isn't about new features for their own sake. It's about one source of truth: every audit-relevant document, its expiry date, and a live compliance score in one place — so audit prep stops being an archaeology dig. This guide walks the whole migration. Want it as a printable checklist?
Before you start — what to gather
Block out a weekend, not a weeknight. Migration is mostly admin, not thinking — but rushing it is how a document gets skipped. Have these ready:
- Your worker list — names, roles, start dates — a staff spreadsheet or payroll export is fine.
- Your participant list — names, NDIS numbers, service types.
- Your document folders — wherever the files actually live now — Drive, Dropbox, a shared drive, an inbox.
- Your organisation documents — insurance certificates, policies, governance records, registration certificate.
The 4-step migration
One weekend's work, in order. Do them in sequence — importing people before documents is what keeps anything from getting lost.
Map your folders to the catalogue
Checkbase already knows every document an NDIS audit asks for — worker screening, WWCC, service agreements, risk assessments, insurance, policies. Spend 20 minutes matching your existing folder names to the catalogue. Most map one-to-one; the few that don't reveal the gaps the spreadsheet was hiding.
Bulk-import workers + participants
Add your people before any documents. Each worker and participant becomes a record with its own document checklist, so every file you upload next has a home to land in. A staff spreadsheet or payroll export is enough to get started.
Upload documents with auto-expiry
Drag and drop the actual files onto each record and set the expiry date on anything that expires. From here on, Checkbase watches the dates so you don't — the expiry column you used to update by hand updates itself.
Review your compliance score + gap report
Once everything's in, the dashboard shows a live compliance score and a gap report: exactly which documents are missing or expired, per worker and per participant. The gaps the spreadsheet hid become a to-do list.
See the catalogue your folders map onto
Checkbase tracks every audit-relevant document for workers, participants and your organisation. Book a demo to see the migration in action.
What to drop, what to keep
Migration is also a clean-out. As you go, drop the noise and keep what an auditor or incident review would ever need.
Drop
- Duplicate copies of the same document across three folders.
- Superseded versions — last year's service agreement once the current one is signed.
- Expired-and-replaced certificates (keep the current one; the history lives in the record).
- Personal files that were never compliance documents in the first place.
Keep
- Historical incident reports — these have a retention obligation and an auditor may ask.
- Past audit findings and corrective-action records.
- Signed consents and agreements where required for the retention period.
- Anything you're unsure about — storage is cheap; a missing record at audit is not.
After migration — your first 30 days
- 1
Close the gaps the report surfaced
Work the gap report top to bottom. The missing and expired documents the spreadsheet hid are now explicit — chase them down.
- 2
Set up assignments
Assign outstanding documents to the worker or manager responsible, so collection isn't all on you.
- 3
Invite your team
Bring in the people who maintain compliance day-to-day. Workers can upload their own screening and certificates directly.
- 4
Stop updating the spreadsheet
The hardest habit to break. Once everything's in Checkbase, the old spreadsheet is read-only history.
Frequently asked questions
Make this your last spreadsheet weekend.
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