Export data from BambooHR: a guide for switching

BambooHR is a US HR system that is less common in Switzerland but is used here too. If you are moving to another solution, you need your data as files: employee data, documents and absences. This guide shows the routes described in the manufacturer's help.

Before you start

Sign in with a user who may create reports and see the documents of all employees. Create a folder to collect all files and treat it as confidential: HR data is particularly sensitive under the Swiss Data Protection Act (nDSG).

Export before you cancel BambooHR. Access ends with the contract, but records relevant to the books, such as payslips, must be kept for ten years (Art. 958f of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO)). Note: the manufacturer's help pages can be read in full only after signing in. The details below rely on excerpts of the help and on the official product updates; the menus may differ slightly in your account.

Step by step: exporting from BambooHR

1. Create a report: open the «Reports» area and create a custom report. Select all fields you want to carry over: master data, start date, working percentage, job title and supervisors.
2. Export the report: export the report as CSV, XLS or PDF. The standard reports can also be exported to Excel. Filters you set in the report appear on the export.
3. Absences: use the «Time Off Schedule» report or add the field «Time Off: Amount Taken (Date Range)» to a custom report. Export this one as CSV, XLS or PDF as well.
4. Documents per person: open the «Documents» tab of a person, click the download button and choose «Download All Documents». You get a ZIP file.
5. Repeat for every person: move to the next person with «Previous» and «Next» and download all documents again. With many employees this is laborious; the full export in the next section is then the alternative.
6. File everything away: save all files unchanged in the folder and note the export date.

Payroll history can be exported only with BambooHR Payroll (USA), via the page «Payroll History». For Swiss businesses this is hardly relevant. Swiss payslips are usually stored as documents with the person or in your payroll accounting.

The full export by the manufacturer

BambooHR offers a service in which the manufacturer exports your data in bulk (Export Services). It is chargeable and available only to the Account Owner or a Full Admin. Once prepared, the package can be retrieved only for a limited time. Ask the manufacturer's support for current terms and costs. For a move to KMU | base, the reports and the document ZIPs are usually enough. If they are not enough for you, tell us: we are happy to show you the export.

Practical example: Bäckerei Moser

Bäckerei Moser is a fictional business with 18 employees in three branches. It switches on 1 January. In early December the owner creates one report with all master data and a second with the holiday days taken this year, both as Excel. She downloads the documents of the 18 people, each as a ZIP. Everything goes to KMU | base. In the trial run the bakery sees what will be created and approves only afterwards.

Sources

• BambooHR product updates on reports, filters and date ranges, accessed on 9 November 2026: bamboohr.com
• BambooHR help: «Export employee and candidate data» and «Export Services», accessed on 9 November 2026: bamboohr.screenstepslive.com
• Swiss Code of Obligations (CO, SR 220), Art. 958f: fedlex.admin.ch (German original)

This guide describes the BambooHR menus according to excerpts of the manufacturer's help; names may change. Information as at 9 November 2026.