Switching ATS: how to move to a new applicant tracking system without losing candidates (2026)

A migration plan for a small company changing applicant tracking systems: what to export, what will not transfer, how to run both for two weeks, and what to tell candidates mid-process. With guides for leaving Freshteam, Greenhouse, Lever and Breezy HR.

Last updated 3 September 2026. Competitor pricing and plan limits are re-verified against each vendor’s own pages.

Switch applicant tracking systems in four steps: export everything from the old system first, set up the new one and republish open jobs, move only the candidates who are in active stages, and run both systems for two weeks before closing the old one.

Closed applications, notes and email history rarely transfer cleanly between products; export them as files and keep them, rather than trying to recreate them.

ofper has no CSV import today, so candidates in active stages are added by hand with their resumes; for a small pipeline that is an afternoon, and the per-vendor guides below say what will and will not come across.

Step 1: export before you cancel

Most vendors cut access at the end of the billing period, and some remove data soon after. Before anything else, export candidates, applications, notes and attachments in whatever format the old system offers, and check the files open. Keep them: they are your record of past hiring decisions whether or not they ever enter the new system.

Step 2: set up the new system and republish open jobs

Create the workspace, verify the domain, connect the mailbox, and recreate each open job with its description and screening questions. Publish it, then update every place the old job link was posted — your website, job boards, social posts — to point at the new page. Old links that keep working for a while are fine; old links that lead to a cancelled system are lost candidates.

Step 3: move only active candidates

Candidates in Pool, Shortlisted or an interview stage move to the new system with their resume and a one-line note of where they were. Rejected and hired candidates stay in the export. Moving a whole history by hand is the step that makes people give up on migrations; moving twenty active candidates is an hour.

Step 4: run both for two weeks, then close

Applications will keep arriving in the old system from links you missed. Check it daily for two weeks, forward anything new, then cancel. Tell candidates in an interview stage that the scheduling link or email address may change; nothing else needs announcing.

Guides for specific products

Leaving Freshteam: the product is discontinued; export while the account still opens
Leaving Greenhouse: what the export contains and what a small team will not miss
Leaving Lever: candidates, notes and the TRM data that has no equivalent
Leaving Breezy HR: the free-plan candidate visibility window and what to export first

Questions, answered straight

Will my old candidates be able to see the move?

Only candidates in an active stage notice anything, and only if the scheduling link or sender address changes. A short email telling them so is enough.

Can I import a CSV into ofper?

Not yet. Active candidates are added by hand with their resume, which the browser reads to pre-fill the form. Past applications stay in your export.

How long does switching take for a small company?

Setup is an afternoon. Moving active candidates is an hour or two. The two-week overlap is calendar time, not work.