Can Symplicity give us a full copy of our CSM database?

Symplicity's UK G-Cloud 14 listings for CSM say a customer can request a .sql (MySQL) copy of its database at any time during the contract, at extra charge, scoped by Symplicity professional services. A US school's signed contract may differ, so ask your Symplicity account manager whether yours allows it, what it costs and how long it takes.

What are the Symplicity CSM API limits?

Symplicity's developer FAQ and API docs list a bucket of 100 calls that drains at 10 calls a second, plus 10,000 calls per 24 hours per token, resetting at midnight. Pages return up to 500 records. Symplicity says higher limits are not available, so a large pull of files can take days.

Should we cancel Symplicity CSM as soon as we have our data?

No. The G-Cloud listings say that after data retrieval the instance and its data are deleted, unless the law requires secure archiving. Keep CSM running until Prentus confirms the import and your students are invited.

Can Prentus import a Symplicity database copy or report files?

Yes. Prentus accepts whatever format your school has, including CSV, XLSX and ZIP files of documents, then maps the data to its structure and loads it. Teams that prefer can use the Prentus APIs themselves.

How long does a move from Symplicity CSM to Prentus take?

The export side depends on your reports, your API pace and any professional-services request to Symplicity. Once Prentus receives your files, students can be live in as little as 24 hours.

Does Prentus charge to import our Symplicity data?

No. The one-time import is free for every Prentus customer. Re-runs are handled case by case.

How to Migrate From Symplicity CSM to Prentus

To move from Symplicity CSM to Prentus, export your CSM reports to Excel or CSV, ask your Symplicity account manager whether your contract allows a full database copy, and share the files with Prentus. Prentus maps and loads students, appointments and notes, employers, jobs, applications, events, outcomes, documents and custom fields.

What does a Symplicity CSM to Prentus migration involve? It is a one-time move of your career services records out of Symplicity CSM and into Prentus. Symplicity's public G-Cloud listings say the CSM reporting engine can query all data in the system and save reports as Excel files, and they list CSV, TXT and PDF as export formats. The same listings say a customer can request a full .sql (MySQL) copy of its database at any time during the contract, as a paid professional service. CSM also has a public REST API, capped at 10,000 calls a day per token. The listings are UK public-sector documents, so ask your Symplicity account manager what your own contract allows. Prentus then maps your files to its structure and loads them, matching students by student ID or email. The import is free for every Prentus customer, and students can be live in as little as 24 hours after Prentus receives your files.

This guide is based on Symplicity's public API reference, its developer FAQ and its UK G-Cloud 14 listings as we read them on October 14, 2026. Symplicity's help center is not public, so this guide gives no CSM menu names. Your signed contract has the final word.

What you can export from Symplicity CSM yourself

Reports to Excel or CSV

Symplicity describes the CSM reporting engine as able to "query all data within the system". Reports can be printed, saved as Excel files, regenerated or scheduled, and dashboard search results can be exported to Excel. The listings name CSV, TXT and PDF as export formats (CSM Foundation listing, CSM Enterprise listing). The exact menu steps sit behind Symplicity's login, so ask your account manager or Symplicity support how to run them in your instance.

The CSM REST API

CSM has a public REST API, version 1, at https://{school}.symplicity.com/api/public. Your career center contact asks Symplicity support for a token, and the Help Desk issues it. Use is limited to customers and members of Symplicity's official Partner Program (Symplicity developer FAQ). The documented routes include the ones below (CSM API reference).

Students. The students route returns student records. Adding customFields=1 includes your custom fields.
Appointments. The counseling route returns appointments by date range, with notes and studentNotes fields.
Documents. The files route, /v1/files/{id}, returns the actual file. Job application materials come through the student job applications route.
Employers, contacts and jobs. Each has its own route, along with employer registrations.
Events. Calendar events, career fairs with employer registrations, information sessions and workshops are all readable.
Career outcomes. The career outcomes route returns co-op, internship and post-graduation records by the types your school defined.
Saved reports. You can run a saved report job through the API and read its data back as CSV or Excel. This is the cleanest programmatic route to report output.

API limits to plan around

Each token gets a bucket of 100 calls that drains at 10 calls a second, plus 10,000 calls per 24 hours, resetting at midnight. Calls over the limit return a 429 error, and Symplicity says, "Higher limits aren't available at this time." Pages return 20 records by default and 500 at most (developer FAQ, API reference). At that pace, a large pull of documents can take days. Start early or use the database copy below.

Ask your account manager about a full database copy

Symplicity is the one vendor in this series with a published statement on a full data copy. Its G-Cloud 14 listings say customers can extract data with the built-in reporting tool, and that a .sql (MySQL) file can be requested "at any time during the contract". A full SQL copy "would entail an extra charge" and is scoped by Symplicity professional services. After retrieval, the listings say the instance and its data are deleted, unless a legal requirement forces secure archiving (G-Cloud 14 listing).

These listings are UK public-sector documents. A US school's signed contract may say something different. Put these questions to your Symplicity account manager in one email.

Does our contract allow a full .sql copy, and what does it cost?
How long does Symplicity take to deliver it once we ask?
Will the copy include student documents and resumes, or only database tables?
How do we list every document in a student’s library through the API? The public reference we read does not show this.
What does our agreement say about deleting our instance after the copy is delivered?

Things to plan for

Do not switch off CSM early. Because the instance is deleted after retrieval, keep CSM running until Prentus confirms the import.
Applications made outside CSM are not there. The API reflects only jobs students applied for inside CSM (API reference).
Names are stored twice. CSM keeps a full name and the name parts separately, so expect some inconsistent name columns. Prentus maps them during the load.
A database copy still needs mapping. A .sql file is raw tables. Prentus accepts it in the format Symplicity provides and maps it to the Prentus structure.
Tell students to save their documents. When Queens College retired its Symplicity site on July 1, 2024, it told students to download their resumes and cover letters before June 28 (Queens College).
ProNet. The API exposes ProNet profiles only. No mentoring-connection export is documented, so ask your account manager if you use it.

Plan your move

Map your CSM reports to Prentus before you ask for the copy

Book a demo and we will look at your CSM reports, what to request from Symplicity, and how each object lands in Prentus.

Book a Demo Get a Free Outcomes Scan

What moves from Symplicity CSM to Prentus

Everything in this table can come over. The middle column shows the documented CSM route for each object.

What moves from Symplicity CSM to Prentus, how to export each object, and what Prentus does with it
What moves	How you export it from Symplicity CSM	What Prentus does with it
Students and alumni	Reports to Excel or CSV, or the students route with custom fields	Matched by student ID or email, then loaded as student records
Appointments and notes	Reports, or the counseling route with notes and student notes	Loaded as appointment history with notes
Employers and contacts	Reports, or the employers and contacts routes	Loaded as employers and their contacts
Jobs and applications	Reports, or the jobs and student job applications routes. Only applications made in CSM exist	Loaded as jobs with their applications
Events and attendance	Reports, or the calendar event, career fair, information session and workshop routes	Loaded as events with attendance
First-destination outcomes	Reports, or the career outcomes route	Loaded as first-destination outcomes
Resumes and documents	The files route by ID, or included in a database copy. Ask your account manager	Loaded with the matching student
Custom fields	The students route with custom fields switched on, or report columns	Mapped to Prentus fields

Step-by-step plan

Ask about the database copy first. It is a professional-services request, so email your Symplicity account manager before anything else.
Run your reports in parallel. Export students, appointments, employers, contacts, jobs, events and outcomes to Excel or CSV.
Plan documents. Request an API token and pull files by ID, or ask Symplicity to include documents in the copy. Tell students to download their own documents before your cutoff.
Share the files with Prentus. Use whatever transfer method suits your team.
Prentus maps and loads. Students are matched by student ID or email. Your team approves any transfers from existing Prentus accounts.
Review and sign off. Spot-check counts and a few student records against CSM.
Invite students. Students can be live in as little as 24 hours after Prentus receives your files. Keep CSM running until Prentus confirms the import.

What Prentus does on its side

Your team exports what it can, or asks the Symplicity account manager for a full export, and signs off on the result. Prentus maps the data to its structure and loads it.

Any format. Prentus accepts what your export produces, including CSV, XLSX and ZIP files of documents.
Student matching. Students are matched by your student ID when you have one, otherwise by email.
Existing Prentus users. Students who already have a Prentus account move into your community through a transfer queue that your team approves.
File handling. Share the files however you like. Prentus stores them once and deletes them after the import.
Timing. From the time Prentus receives your files, students can be live in as little as 24 hours.
Cost. The one-time import is free for every customer. Re-runs are handled case by case.
Your own pull. Teams that prefer to do the work themselves can use the Prentus APIs. See Prentus integrations.

The import is one part of a wider rollout. See how Prentus works with your team. If you are still comparing platforms, read our ranking of career services software for colleges and universities, and see how schools compare first-destination surveys with automated outcomes scanning.

Moving from a different system

Sources

All sources read October 14, 2026.

Symplicity is a trademark of its owner. This guide describes public documentation and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Symplicity.