MyCase to Clio: how to switch without losing your documents
Clio's complimentary migration team will move your contacts, matters, notes, calendars, tasks, unbilled time and expenses, and outstanding and trust balances out of MyCase for you. Documents aren't in that package — here's a practical playbook for closing that gap, with a fair look at what each option costs.
A MyCase-to-Clio switch is really two migrations
Structured data is a clean handoff. Documents are a separate problem with separate trade-offs.
MyCase is a well-regarded product with consistently strong user reviews. Firms outgrow it for specific reasons — deeper integrations, more billing flexibility, the broader Clio app ecosystem — not because there's anything wrong with the product. So treat the move as a planned upgrade, not an evacuation.
The first migration is the structured one: contacts, matters, contact and matter notes, calendars, tasks, unbilled time and expenses, phone communications, and outstanding and trust balances. Clio's migration team handles all of that as part of the standard migration. They've done the MyCase path many times; the import is well-trodden.
The second migration is documents. MyCase's Full Data Backup is a ZIP of CSVs — no files, no PDFs of invoices. Documents come out a different way, and they go into Clio a different way. This is industry-standard for free legal-SaaS migrations: most vendor migrations exclude unstructured files because document libraries vary so much in volume and structure that they're scoped per firm.
For the broader migration playbook beyond just MyCase, see our general guide to migrating to Clio. The rest of this page focuses on the MyCase-specific moving parts.
What Clio's free migration team handles
An honest scope list for a MyCase-to-Clio handoff.
- ✓ Contacts
- ✓ Matters (case shells with metadata)
- ✓ Contact and matter notes
- ✓ Calendar events and tasks
- ✓ Unbilled time and expense entries
- ✓ Phone communications
- ✓ Outstanding and trust balances (one summative line item per matter or contact)
One MyCase-specific exclusion: emails. Per Clio, emails can't be imported because they can't be exported properly from MyCase. Exact scope for your firm is confirmed by your onboarding rep.
Documents. Per Clio's migration documentation, documents can be migrated but are subject to scoping and additional fees based on volume. Confirm the specifics for your MyCase migration with your Clio onboarding rep — pricing is per-firm, not published.
This is industry-standard. Document libraries vary so much in volume and structure that almost every legal-SaaS migration scopes them separately, regardless of source system.
We'll cover three realistic ways to handle the document side in the next section.
What MyCase actually gives you when you export
Knowing what's in the export — and what isn't — saves a panicked Slack on cutover day.
MyCase's Full Data Backup is a ZIP of CSV exports covering the structured record — accounts, appointments, cases, clients, companies, emails, expenses, fees, invoices, messages, tasks, time entries, trust activity, users, and more (check MyCase's current export for the exact set). Most of what Clio's migration team needs is in there.
What's not in the Full Data Backup: the documents themselves, and PDF copies of your invoices. The export is structured data only. MyCase also rate-limits the Full Backup (commonly to about one request per day — confirm the current behavior before you rely on it), so plan to pull it the day before cutover, not the morning of.
For documents, MyCase gives you two paths:
- Per-case download. On each case page in MyCase, there's a "Download all case documents" action. It produces a folder on your computer named after the case, containing every document attached to that case. Slow if you have hundreds of cases, but it works at every MyCase tier.
- MyCase Drive desktop sync. A dedicated desktop sync app that mirrors all your case documents to a folder on your computer (similar to Dropbox or Google Drive Desktop). It's only available on MyCase's higher tier (MyCase Advanced; confirm current tier pricing with MyCase) — if you're on a lower plan, this isn't an option unless you upgrade for the migration window.
MyCase's help article on the Full Data Backup has the current export contents.
Footnote: AffiniPay (MyCase's parent) rebranded to 8am in late 2025, so some MyCase help URLs now live at supportcenter.mycase.com on the 8am domain. If an older link 404s, search the new help center.
Three realistic paths for your historical documents
Pick the one that matches your firm's size, document volume, and current MyCase tier.
Third-party paid migrator
Specialists like Universal Migrator or Shoveler move documents from MyCase to Clio with version history and folder structure preserved.
BEST FOR
- • Large document libraries
- • Practice areas where versioning is critical
- • Firms that want it done by someone else
License + consultant fees scaled by volume.
MyCase Drive sync, then manual upload
If you're already on MyCase Advanced, MyCase Drive mirrors all case documents to your computer. Drag each case folder into the matching Clio matter via the web UI.
BEST FOR
- • Already on MyCase Advanced
- • Modest document volumes
- • You don't mind manual work
Cheapest path, but folder structure on the Clio side is recreated by hand.
Per-case download + bulk-upload tool
Use MyCase's "Download all case documents" on each case page, then bulk-upload the resulting folders to Clio matters with a tool like Send to Case.
BEST FOR
- • Any MyCase tier
- • Small to mid-size firms
- • Migrating case-by-case
No per-GB fees, no scoping calls — but you do the work.
A native option for the into-Clio side. On paths B and C, once your case folders are on your computer you can also feed them in with Clio Drive's bulk file upload — a desktop app (Windows and Mac) whose bulk feature lets you "upload large quantities of documents or large file sizes in the background," with a "Pending Upload Queue" you can watch. Clio's own guidance cautions that moving large amounts of files in bulk may cause the system to freeze, and suggests moving files in smaller chunks — so batch case-by-case rather than pointing it at everything at once. Confirm current behavior in Clio's help center.
Pre-cutover checklist + six-step playbook
A scannable plan, in order, with the document path baked in.
Pre-cutover checklist
- ☐ Book Clio's free migration consultation. First call sets the timeline and confirms what's in vs. out of scope for your firm.
- ☐ Decide your document-migration path (paid migrator, MyCase Drive + manual, or per-case + bulk-upload tool) before kickoff.
- ☐ Freeze new MyCase entries a few days before cutover — pause new matters, new contacts, new time entries. Communicate the freeze to staff.
- ☐ Reconcile your trust ledger. MyCase trust totals must match bank statements before export — Clio imports balances, not raw transactions.
- ☐ Communicate with your team. Cutover dates, where to log time during the gap, when MyCase becomes read-only.
The six-step playbook
Book Clio's free migration consultation
Schedule it as soon as you've decided to switch. The onboarding rep will scope your structured-data import and quote any document-migration option from Clio's side.
Finish what you reasonably can in MyCase
Send open invoices. Close out trust transactions. Mark resolved cases as closed. Anything in flight is harder to reconcile after cutover.
Export Full Backup the day before cutover
Request the MyCase Full Data Backup from Settings. Remember: it's rate-limited (commonly about one request per day — confirm current behavior). Don't leave this for cutover morning.
Clio's team imports the structured data
Hand over the export. Clio imports contacts, matters, notes, calendars, tasks, unbilled time and expenses, phone communications, and outstanding and trust balances. Review the result before declaring cutover complete.
Pull MyCase documents
Either run MyCase Drive sync to a local folder, or download per-case from each case page. End state: every case's documents in a folder on your computer.
Upload documents to corresponding Clio matters
Move each case folder into the matching Clio matter using your chosen path. Any single file over Clio's 5 GB per-file limit (rare — usually long video or a large native dataset) has to be zipped or stored externally first. If uploads fail, the troubleshooting guide covers the common causes.
Verify nothing dropped before going read-only
Before you make MyCase read-only, reconcile per-case document counts against Clio and spot-check a sample of matters. It's far cheaper to catch a missed folder while the source is still live than weeks later.
Gotchas and common pitfalls
The things that bite firms a week after cutover.
LawPay reconnects independently. If you're using LawPay inside MyCase, that integration doesn't migrate — but it doesn't need to. LawPay attaches to Clio directly during Clio onboarding. There's nothing to "move"; you just re-authorize the connection.
Trust ledger migrates as summative balances, not transaction history. Clio typically imports per-client trust balances rather than every individual deposit and disbursement. That's why pre-cutover reconciliation matters: if your MyCase totals don't match the bank, the imbalance carries into Clio.
Open invoices. Finish and collect open invoices in MyCase before cutover — invoice history does not migrate to Clio. Keep your MyCase exports and invoice PDFs as the archival record for anything billed in MyCase.
Intake forms don't map. MyCase intake forms don't translate into Clio Grow's form builder. Plan to rebuild the forms you actually use — usually a small handful — directly in Clio Grow.
Portal messages are exported but not re-imported. MyCase client-portal messages and text messages appear in your Full Data Backup CSVs, but they don't import into Clio's communications log. Treat them as archival data.
Common pitfalls
- Starting cutover before reconciling trust — the imbalance carries into Clio.
- Downloading documents after cancelling MyCase access — once you cancel, you're locked out.
- Assuming Clio Grow imports MyCase intake forms — it doesn't; rebuild them.
An honest cost note
Many firms report Clio costs more than MyCase at most tiers, and a paid document migration adds to that. Firms make the switch when integration depth, billing flexibility, or the broader Clio app ecosystem outweighs the cost difference — not because Clio is cheaper. If cost is your only concern, MyCase is hard to beat. If you're switching because you've outgrown what MyCase supports, the math usually works out over a couple of years. See Send to Case pricing.
How Send to Case fits
Send to Case is a free Chrome extension that uploads files from your browser into a Clio matter. It is not a migration service — it doesn't move matters, contacts, calendars, or billing data. Once your documents are on your computer (per-case download or MyCase Drive sync), Send to Case lets you drag a whole folder in and bulk-upload it to the right Clio matter, or pull files straight from the browser without downloading them first.
That's the only role it plays in a MyCase-to-Clio switch: closing the document side after Clio's free team handles structured data. Learn more about the extension or see how bulk upload works.
Coming from a different practice management system? See the migrating-to-Clio pillar, the LEAP, PracticePanther, Smokeball, or PCLaw guides.
Does Clio's free migration include documents from MyCase?
+Per Clio's migration documentation, documents can be migrated but are subject to scoping and additional fees based on volume — they aren't bundled into the standard migration. The standard MyCase migration covers contacts, matters, contact and matter notes, calendars, tasks, unbilled time and expenses, phone communications, and outstanding and trust balances (as summative line items). This is industry-standard for free legal-SaaS migrations, not a Clio-specific gotcha. Confirm exact scope for your MyCase migration with your Clio onboarding rep.
How do I export all my documents from MyCase?
+MyCase's Full Data Backup is a ZIP of CSVs and does not include documents or invoice PDFs. To get documents, you have two options: (1) on each case page in MyCase, use the "Download all case documents" action, which produces a folder named after the case; or (2) if you're on MyCase Advanced, install MyCase Drive — the desktop sync app — which mirrors all case documents to a folder on your computer.
Will my LawPay setup keep working after switching to Clio?
+Yes. LawPay reconnects independently to Clio — it isn't a MyCase-to-Clio dependency. You'll re-authorize LawPay inside Clio's payments settings during onboarding. There's no payment data to migrate; transaction history stays inside LawPay.
What happens to my open invoices and trust balances during migration?
+Finish and collect open invoices in MyCase before cutover — invoice and billing history does not migrate to Clio, so keep your MyCase exports and invoice PDFs as the archival record. Trust balances migrate as a summative line item per matter or contact, not transaction-by-transaction — which is why you should reconcile the trust ledger to your bank statements before handing data to Clio. If your trust history needs to be preserved transaction-by-transaction in Clio, raise it with your onboarding rep early.
How long does a MyCase to Clio migration take?
+Plan for roughly two weeks of active work, plus document-upload time after cutover. The structured-data import itself is usually a few business days once Clio has your Full Backup. Pre-cutover cleanup (trust reconciliation, finishing open invoices, deciding your document path) and post-cutover document upload are usually the longest phases.
Do I have to stop using MyCase the day I start using Clio?
+No — and you shouldn't. Keep MyCase live until your historical documents are fully pulled and uploaded. Cancelling MyCase before that point locks you out of your own files. Most firms run a short parallel period where new work goes into Clio while MyCase stays read-only for reference and document export.
Can I bulk-upload my MyCase documents to Clio without paying for a doc-migration service?
+Yes. Once your MyCase documents are on your computer (per-case download or MyCase Drive sync), you can drag-and-drop a case folder into Clio's web UI — or use a free Chrome extension like Send to Case to bulk-upload a folder to a specific Clio matter. For very large libraries or when version history must be preserved, a paid migrator like Universal Migrator is usually a better fit.
Keep going
Managing documents in Clio
Once your MyCase files land in Clio — organizing matter documents end to end.
Read guide →Clio folder structure
A default folder template so migrated documents have a consistent home.
Read guide →Document naming conventions
Rename migrated files into a convention that sorts and scans.
Read guide →Migrating from MyCase?
Don't upload a year of documents one at a time.