# The #1 Question Stores Have for Us > https://rundoo.ai/insights/switching/ [Insights](/insights/index.md) /Switching Switching # The #1 Question Stores Have for Us What actually happens when you switch to Rundoo? We walk through the entire process: your dedicated implementation manager, data migration, hardware, training, and go-live day. [![Nick Hershey](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/nick-hershey.jpeg)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershey-nick/) [Nick Hershey](https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershey-nick/), Co-Founder & CEO April 1, 2026 Last updated July 31, 2026 Whenever a store reaches out interested in Rundoo, the biggest question on their mind is this: **what happens when I switch?** It makes sense. You're running a business, you don't have time to shut down for two weeks while someone installs software, and you've probably heard a horror story or two from a friend who switched to something and regretted it. So let me walk you through exactly what happens, because we've done this hundreds of times now, and it's not nearly as scary as you're thinking. ### 🤝 You Get a Person As soon as you sign, you're assigned a dedicated implementation manager who holds your hand through the entire process. Not a chatbot, not a help article, a real person. Almost all of our implementation managers have prior experience working at a supply store: paint, hardware, farm & feed. They've stood behind the counter and they know what it's like when a contractor is tapping their foot while you're trying to figure out a new system. That context matters, and it shows up in the way they run your implementation. ![The Rundoo Customer Experience team](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/switching-cx-team-2026.jpg) ### 📋 Three Things Happen Once you're paired up with your implementation manager, there are three things to get done before go-live: data, hardware, and training. **1. Data** Data is the lifeline of your business, and we treat it that way. As soon as you sign, we ask for access to your current system and start pulling everything over: products, customers, vendors, historical sales, inventory balances, and customer balances. We can't guarantee we can extract data from every system out there, but we're able to do this over 90% of the time. Once your data is in, you get a test environment to start playing around with. Poke at it, break things, click every button you can find. That's exactly what it's for. All of that test data gets deleted and re-pulled the night before go-live, so you're starting fresh with up-to-date numbers on day one. **2. Hardware** Good news: *most* of your existing hardware will work with Rundoo: keyboards, mice, full-page printers, cash boxes. For computers, barcode scanners, and thermal printers, your implementation manager will help you confirm compatibility with Rundoo. Some stores choose to upgrade equipment during the switch, but that's a want, not a need. The one requirement is new card readers. We use [Stripe S710 readers](https://docs.stripe.com/terminal/payments/setup-reader/stripe-reader-s700-s710), and they need to be ours. Other than that, you're probably good to go with what you already have. **3. Training** We find it works best to designate one admin at your store who will be the point person for the whole implementation, and then we train the trainer. Training is tailored to what you're trying to achieve. The full flow runs four sessions: system unveil, daily fundamentals, admin side, and hardware setup. Each session is supported by videos to watch in advance, a sandbox to practice in, and a document you can share with your team, so when you meet with your Implementation Manager, you're having a real conversation about your specific processes rather than covering basics. ### ⏱️ The Timeline Our typical timeline is one month, with four preparation meetings (one per week) in the lead-up. That said, we've had clients go as fast as one week, and our largest clients with 30+ locations can take up to a year to fully roll out. Most stores land right around that four-week mark. ### 🏁 Go-Live Day is the Starting Line Here's something that surprises people: go-live day is the starting line, not the finish line. We don't just set you up and drop you off a cliff. ![Go-live days across Rundoo clients](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/switching-golive-collage.jpg) Your implementation manager stays with you until you're steady, which is usually about two weeks or until you've completed an end-of-month statement run if you do B2B with charge accounts, whichever comes later. And even after that handoff, you're not done with us. You can call, text, or email our support team any time, and we resolve 96% of cases within 24 hours. Our support team is all US-based and, like our implementation managers, they've got real store experience. If you don't reach out to us, we'll reach out to you. We aim to check in with every client at least once a quarter. So the full handoff looks like this: your account executive gets you in the door, your implementation manager gets you up and running, support is there whenever you need it, and your client success manager checks in regularly to make sure things are going well. ### 👕 The Shirt Tradition Go-live day is a big day, and we like to commemorate it. We ask you to sign a Rundoo t-shirt, and we take a photo together. Those shirts get hung up in our office as a reminder of every client we serve. They're always in the room while we're building. ![Signed client t-shirts hanging in the Rundoo office](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/office-shirts.jpg) ### 🤷 So, How Bad Is It? Honestly? Four meetings beforehand, one stressful but kind of fun go-live day, and a couple weeks of getting your sea legs. That's the whole thing. We've done this hundreds of times, and the answer to "what's the switch like?" is always the same: a lot less painful than you expected. Data, hardware, training, boom. If you're weighing whether the switch is worth it, we broke down the numbers in [How Rundoo Delivers ROI](/insights/roi-of-switching/index.md), covering the revenue growth, receivables reduction, and margin improvement stores see after going live. And once you're up and running, our [practical guide to AI for store owners](/insights/ai-for-store-owners/index.md) walks through what's possible from day one. Share Topics [Switching](/insights/index.md#switching) [← All insights](/insights/index.md) ## Find out what Rundoo can do for your business Learn how Rundoo can help you save time, money and hassle running your business. [Book a demo](/signup/index.md) ! ## See Rundoo in action [Product ### Tour the platform POS, inventory, payments, and AI for independent supply stores, in one system.](/product/index.md) [Customers ### Read customer stories See how real paint, hardware, farm, garden, and lumber stores run on Rundoo.](/clients/index.md) ## Keep reading [![The best POS systems for garden centers and nurseries in 2026](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/best-pos-for-garden-centers-thumb.png) Switching ### The best POS systems for garden centers and nurseries in 2026 A buyer's guide to the POS systems garden centers and nurseries run in 2026, from Comcash and Rain to Rapid Garden POS, Square, and Rundoo, weighed against living inventory, bulk goods, and a spring rush that arrives whether you are ready or not.](/insights/best-pos-for-garden-centers/index.md) [![Ordering from Bradley Caldwell, PACOA, and your farm-and-home distributors](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/pos-for-bradley-caldwell-pacoa-dealers-thumb.png) Product ### Ordering from Bradley Caldwell, PACOA, and your farm-and-home distributors How farm, feed, and pet-supply stores that buy from Bradley Caldwell, PACOA, Wallace, and Orgill turn distributor ordering into a search and a scan instead of a portal and a clipboard.](/insights/pos-for-bradley-caldwell-pacoa-dealers/index.md) [![Net-30 without the headache: contractor charge accounts for paint stores](https://pub-5247264bd04e4ebeaecbbedb3bebb9f8.r2.dev/static/images/articles/contractor-charge-accounts-paint-stores-thumb.png) Product ### Net-30 without the headache: contractor charge accounts for paint stores Contractor charge accounts are the financial backbone of a paint store, and doing them right means house accounts, per-customer pricing, clean statements, real aging, and a way for painters to pay from their phone instead of the shoebox-and-spreadsheet workaround a general POS forces on you.](/insights/contractor-charge-accounts-paint-stores/index.md)