# Migration Journey

This path is for teams moving from Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, Drip, WordPress transactional sending, or another email platform.

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## Goal {{ id: 'goal' }}

Move useful contacts, consent state, and sending workflows into Bento without importing stale risk or accidentally emailing people who opted out.


> ⚠️ **Warning**
> The riskiest migration mistake is importing every address as active. Preserve unsubscribes, bounces, complaints, and suppression state.


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## Recommended Path {{ id: 'recommended-path' }}

1. Read [Contacts And Consent](/docs/operations/contacts-consent).
2. Export active contacts, unsubscribers, bounces, complaints, tags, and key fields.
3. Use the provider-specific migration guide where available.
4. Import a clean active list with [Import Contacts](/docs/migrations/import).
5. Rebuild only the automations you still need.
6. Send first to recently engaged contacts.

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## What To Preserve {{ id: 'what-to-preserve' }}

Preserve:

- Active subscriber status.
- Unsubscribe status.
- Bounces and complaints.
- Purchase or lifecycle tags.
- Essential custom fields.
- Preference center data.
- Suppression lists.

Defer old campaign history unless you need it for reporting or compliance.

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## Cutover Checklist {{ id: 'cutover-checklist' }}

- Old provider exports are archived.
- Unsubscribers are excluded from active imports.
- DNS is configured for Bento.
- First send uses a conservative audience.
- Old automations are paused only after Bento equivalents are tested.
- Support can find the migration source for any disputed subscriber.

## Related docs

- [Migration Overview](/docs/migrations)
- [Import Contacts](/docs/migrations/import)
- [Mailchimp Migration](/docs/migrations/mailchimp)
- [Klaviyo Migration](/docs/migrations/klaviyo)