Exporting & Backing Up Your Data
Your clinic's data belongs to you, and flow.vet makes it easy to take a copy with you whenever you want. You can download your records as spreadsheets, pull all your uploaded files into one archive, or grab a full export of everything. Behind the scenes, your live data is backed up automatically, so it stays safe even if something goes wrong.
Where to Find It
There are two places to start an export:
- Reports → Export & Download — the main hub, with one card for each kind of export.
- The Clients list — open the Tools menu (top right) for quick Export Clients and Export Pets shortcuts.
What You Can Export
| Export | What You Get | How It Arrives |
|---|---|---|
| Export Clients | Every client with their contact details, as a CSV spreadsheet | Downloads straight away |
| Export Pets | Every pet with its owner, as a CSV | Downloads straight away |
| Download Files | All your uploaded documents, photos, and attachments, in one ZIP | Built in the background, emailed when ready |
| Download All Data | A full copy of your whole clinic — clients, pets, vaccinations, exams, treatments, appointments, and notes — as a set of CSV files in one ZIP | Built in the background, emailed when ready |
The two CSV shortcuts open right away in your browser. Download Files and Download All Data can be large, so flow.vet prepares them quietly in the background and emails you a download link the moment they're ready.
CSV files open in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets, and Greek text comes through correctly, so accented names stay intact.
How a Full Export Works
When you click Download Files or Download All Data, you'll see a short confirmation: "Export requested. You'll receive an email when it's ready." You can carry on working — there's no need to wait on the page.
A few things worth knowing:
- The download link is valid for
48hours. After that it expires; just request the export again to get a fresh copy. - One export per type every
48hours. If you ask for the same export again too soon, flow.vet tells you when the next one can be requested. - A failed export never locks you out. If something goes wrong, you can retry straight away instead of waiting.
Your Data Is Always Safe
Exporting is about keeping your own copy. Protecting the live data is our job, and we use several independent layers so a single failure can never lose your records:
- Automatic daily backups, stored off-site. Your entire database is backed up every day and copied to secure cloud storage in a separate location from the app itself.
- A long backup history. Backups are kept on a rolling daily, weekly, and monthly schedule — so there's always a recoverable copy, not just from last night but going back a long way.
- Redundant file storage. Documents, photos, and attachments live in durable cloud storage that keeps multiple copies of every file.
- Backups that are actually tested. We restore and verify backups on a schedule, because a backup that's never been restored isn't really a backup.
- Your own copy, anytime. On top of all that, Download All Data lets you keep an independent copy whenever you like.
You don't need to switch any of this on — it's always running in the background.
Common Questions
Who can run an export?
Any team member with access to the clinic can run an export from the Reports page or the Clients list.
Will exporting slow down the app?
No. Large exports run separately in the background, so the rest of flow.vet stays responsive while yours is being prepared.
Can I bring data back in?
Yes — the Clients list Tools menu also has an Import CSV option for bringing data in from a spreadsheet.