Solutions/Switching from DockMaster

◆ Migration playbook

Switching from DockMaster in 6 weeks. Without losing a selling day.

Every dealer we meet has the same three fears: losing customer data, confusing the staff, and going dark on the website while you cut over. We've done this migration dozens of times. It's not a project — it's a playbook. Here's exactly how it goes.

We migrate you. You don't touch a CSV.
Parallel run for the last 2 weeks — no downtime
Staff training included (4 sessions per location)
30-day money-back if it's not right

Book a 30-min migration call Read Fish Tale's migration

What you keep

Every record. Every photo. Every work order.

Migration fear is almost always data-loss fear. Here's the promise: if it's in DockMaster today, it's in BoaterOS on cut day.

Customers

Every record

Contacts, households, full interaction history. Phone and email preserved.

Inventory

Every hull + photos

Active, sold, archived. Photos, specs, price history, syndication state.

Service

Every WO

Back as far as your DockMaster records go. Parts, labor, warranty.

Financials

Every deal jacket

Offers, trade-ins, F&I, title, registration. Audit trail intact.

The 6-week timeline

Six weeks, week by week.

What actually happens, when it happens, and what you get at the end of each week.

WK 01

Discovery + data audit

We connect to your DockMaster backup (SQL or nightly export — whichever your install supports). We inventory every object: customers, hulls, WOs, deals. We flag quirks — old photo paths, abandoned custom fields, that one location that stopped updating service records in 2019.

Deliverable ·Migration plan · data quality report

WK 02

Schema mapping

Your DockMaster objects map to BoaterOS objects. Where DockMaster has one "Customer" table, we build Contact + Household so repeat buyers finally link up. Photos are deduped, rotated, color-corrected. Custom fields land in a typed custom-field store.

Deliverable ·Staging environment · signed-off mapping doc

WK 03

Parallel run begins

Both systems are live. BoaterOS reads your DockMaster nightly at 2am. Any changes your team makes in DockMaster flow to BoaterOS; changes made in BoaterOS writeback to DockMaster so reports still reconcile. Zero downside for keeping the old system open.

Deliverable ·Parallel-run dashboard · reconciliation report

WK 04

Website cut

The new Next.js dealer website goes live. Inventory serves from BoaterOS. We redirect the old URLs so Google doesn't lose a thing. Schema.org markup refreshes. Page weight drops ~70%. Boat Trader and YachtWorld feeds cut over the same day.

Deliverable ·Live public site · redirect audit · Core Web Vitals baseline

WK 05

Staff training

Four sessions per location — sales, service, F&I, management. Two hours each, hands-on with real data. Recorded so new hires can self-serve. Your CSM is on-site or on Zoom. Cheat sheets printed and laminated for the service counter.

Deliverable ·Trained team · recorded sessions · role-specific quick-refs

WK 06

Full cut

DockMaster goes read-only. BoaterOS is the system of record. Your CSM stays embedded for 30 days. If anything doesn't feel right, we fix it in that window — no tickets, no escalation, direct access.

Deliverable ·Go-live · DockMaster read-only archive · 30-day embedded CSM

01 · Data migration

Your DockMaster schema, mapped by hand.

We don't run a generic importer. A human — our migration engineer — maps every DockMaster object to its BoaterOS counterpart, including the custom fields your F&I manager added over the years. You sign off on the mapping before we cut anything over.

Hand-mapped, not automated — quirks get handled
Every custom field lands in a typed custom-field store
Photos deduped, color-corrected, re-paired to the right hull
Signed-off mapping doc you can take to your CPA

Object mapping · example

DockMaster · Customer BoaterOS · Contact + Household

DockMaster · Unit BoaterOS · Hull

DockMaster · WorkOrder BoaterOS · Service · WO

DockMaster · Deal BoaterOS · Deal Jacket

DockMaster · Custom Fields BoaterOS · Typed CF store

DockMaster · Photos (UNC paths) BoaterOS · S3 · per-hull gallery

Signed off · week 2 ◆ 0 records dropped

Dual cursor · parallel run

● in sync

DockMaster

read · nightly @ 2:00am

BoaterOS

read · write · live

↑ writeback · ↓ sync

◆ Last reconcile · 12 deltas · 0 conflicts · 2:04am

02 · Parallel run

Two weeks where both systems are live.

During weeks 3–5, BoaterOS reads DockMaster nightly and writes back any changes your team makes in BoaterOS. Your floor keeps selling in whichever system feels comfortable. Reports still reconcile. Nobody holds their breath.

Nightly reads from DockMaster · 2am sync window
Writeback to DockMaster for accounting reconciliation
Reconciliation dashboard — daily deltas, zero drift
Pick your cut day; we don't rush you

03 · What changes

What breaks (a little), and what doesn't (at all).

We'd rather tell you up front. A handful of small things change for your staff. Most of your world stays exactly the same. This is the honest list we send every prospect.

5 known changes, all low-impact, all documented
Hardware (scanners, printers) keeps working with quick re-pair
Your phone, email, domain — untouched
Your financing partners — unchanged

What actually changes

Kiosk receipt printer	Epson TM-T88 driver swap, one-time setup	low
Custom DockMaster crystal reports	Rebuilt as saved views; 95% covered, the rest on request	med
The F&I "Deal Recap" PDF	New template — cleaner layout, same data	low
Barcode scanner at parts counter	Same scanner, re-paired to iPad	low
QuickBooks export	Native QBO integration — no more CSV	low

What doesn't change

Your phone numbers, email addresses, business hours
Your domain, your DNS, your Google Business listing
Your customer records, every one
Your financing partners and credit workflows
Your Boat Trader + YachtWorld accounts (we just plug into them)

Migration FAQs

The six questions every dealer asks in the first demo.

Will my staff need new training?

Yes — and it's included. We run four hands-on sessions per location in week 5: sales, service, F&I, management. Two hours each, recorded so new hires can self-serve. Most teams are productive on day one of the cut because they've already been in the system for two weeks during parallel run.

What about my custom DockMaster reports?

We audit them in week 1. About 95% rebuild cleanly as saved views in BoaterOS — often with better filtering and live updates instead of overnight refreshes. The remaining 5% we rebuild on request during the 30-day embedded period. If there's a report your controller lives by, tell us in the first week.

What if we need to roll back?

Your DockMaster stays read-only after cut, untouched. If in 30 days it's not working for you, we refund the migration and the first month's subscription, and you return to DockMaster with no data loss — any changes from the parallel run are writeback-reconciled. We've never had a dealer exercise this.

Do we keep our phone numbers and email addresses?

Yes. We don't touch your phone system, your email, your domain. We plug into them via Twilio for call/SMS tracking (your existing numbers port if you want) and your existing email (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365). Nothing in your day-to-day comms changes.

What does migration cost?

Included. Dock ($10k/mo), Marina ($18.5k/mo), and Fleet (custom) all include migration, website rebuild, staff training, and 30 days of embedded CSM at no extra cost. We'd rather over-invest in a clean cut than nickel-and-dime you on setup and then fight you for renewal.

What about SalesPad, Lightspeed EVO, or IDS Astra instead of DockMaster?

Same playbook. We've done IDS Astra and Lightspeed EVO migrations. SalesPad is slightly different because it's a GP shell — we work with your IT on the backup. Timelines are within a week of the DockMaster 6-week path. If you're on something more exotic, tell us on the demo call.

Risk mitigation

We carry the risk, not you.

Switching DMS is a big decision. Here's how we take the downside off the table.

◆ The 30-day guarantee

If it's not working in 30 days, full refund. You go back to DockMaster with everything intact.

Your DockMaster install stays read-only, untouched. Any changes from the parallel-run window writeback so your books reconcile. We refund the migration cost and the first month's subscription. In 4 years we've never had a dealer cash this check.

99.9% uptime SLA

Production guarantee, credits if we miss it

<4hr support response

Business hours for Dock, 24/7 for Marina + Fleet

30-day money-back

If it's not working, full refund of migration + first month

Data portability

Your data exports to SQL or Parquet, any time, no surcharge