How to Transfer Clients via Bulk Actions

The **Transfer Clients** bulk action sends a filtered list of clients to another agency in one run, so you choose the destination agency, pick which related record types travel with each client, and decide what happens to the clients in your agency afterward.

### Overview

- **What it is:** A bulk action type described in the app as "Transfer clients to another agency." You select a **To Agency**, choose record types in the **Related Records** list, and set two options, **Sync with Target Agency** and **Archive After Transfer is Complete**.
- **Why it matters:** When a caseload moves to another jurisdiction, transferring records one client at a time is slow. A bulk action applies the same transfer settings to every client your search returns.
- **Who uses it:** Staff who can create and update bulk actions and who coordinate transfers between agencies.
- **Expected outcomes:** Every client in the search results, minus the ones you exclude, is sent to the destination agency along with the related record types you selected.

### Prerequisites

- You must be signed in to the agency that holds the clients (the agency switcher button at the top right shows the current agency name)
- You must be able to create and update bulk actions
- The destination agency must be listed in **Allow Transfers To** under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Transfers**, because the **To Agency** list is built from that setting
- The **Bulk Actions** navigation item must be visible for your account

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Create the bulk action

1. Click **Bulk Actions** in the top navigation.
2. Enter a name in the **Action Name** field of the **Create Bulk Action** card.
3. Select **Transfer Clients** in the **Action Type** dropdown.
4. Click **Create** to open the new bulk action.

#### Step 2: Configure the transfer settings

Find the **Bulk Action Settings** card on the left side of the page.

1. Select the destination agency in the **To Agency** dropdown.
2. Select one or more record types in the **Related Records** list. The list contains addresses, bonds, cases, citations, comments, contacts, documents, events, payments, photos, sent_files, tasks, and warrants.
3. Check **Sync with Target Agency** if you want records that already exist in the destination agency to be updated. Leave it unchecked and those records are skipped instead.
4. Check **Archive After Transfer is Complete** if you want the clients archived in your agency once the transfer finishes.
5. Click **Save**.

#### Step 3: Filter the clients to transfer

Scroll to the **Search Clients** card below the settings.

1. Enter text in the **Search** field to match specific clients.
2. Enter a number in the **Limit** field to cap how many results the search returns.
3. Select a **Client Status**, an **Assigned Users** value, or a **Client Type** to narrow the results further.
4. Click a client group badge to include that group in the search.
5. Click **Search** to save the action and refresh the results.

#### Step 4: Review the results

1. Check the client count above the results table, which reads as the number shown out of the total found.
2. Review the rows in the results table.
3. Click the green check button in the **INCLUDE** column next to any client you want to leave out. The button turns red and the client is excluded.
4. Click **CLIENTS CSV** to download the list if you want a record of it.

#### Step 5: Run the transfer

1. Click **Live Run** to start the transfer now.
2. Click **Schedule Run** instead if you want it to run later, set the **Scheduled Date** and **Scheduled Time**, then click **Schedule Run** in the modal.

### What to Expect

A confirmation message reads "Running Bulk Action" and the status badge next to the client count updates. Bulk action statuses are dispatching, processing, complete, scheduled, and canceled.

- **Related Records:** Only the record types you highlighted are sent with each client.
- **Sync with Target Agency checked:** If the client and related records already exist in the destination agency, they are updated. Otherwise they are created.
- **Sync with Target Agency unchecked:** If the client or related records already exist in the destination agency, they are skipped. Otherwise they are created.
- **Archive After Transfer is Complete checked:** The clients are archived in your agency after the transfer finishes.

Once the action has run, the **Live Run**, **Schedule Run**, and **Search** buttons no longer appear, and the count changes to the number of clients the action processed. **Tools** > **Replay** becomes available so you can queue the action again.

The **Agency Transfers** settings section also holds a **Notify on Transfers** field that accepts a comma separated list of emails and phones.

### Best Practices

- Coordinate with the receiving agency before you run the transfer, since the transfer creates records in their agency
- Set a small **Limit** and run one batch first, because **Transfer Clients** has no simulate mode
- Select only the **Related Records** types the receiving agency actually needs
- Leave **Sync with Target Agency** unchecked for a one time transfer so existing records in the destination agency are skipped rather than rewritten
- Download **CLIENTS CSV** before running so you keep a list of exactly who was included

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Where does the To Agency list come from?**

A: From the **Allow Transfers To** setting in **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Transfers**, which holds a comma separated list of agency UUIDs. The bulk action loads each of those agencies and sorts them by name.

**Q: What happens if I do not select anything in Related Records?**

A: Only the client record is sent. Any record type you leave unselected stays in your agency.

**Q: Can I test a transfer before running it for real?**

A: No. **Simulate Mode** and the **Simulate Run** option appear only on **Send a Message** bulk actions, so use the **Limit** field to run a small batch first.

**Q: Can I transfer one client without building a bulk action?**

A: Yes. Open the client, click **Tools** > **Transfer**, choose a **To Agency** and **Related Records** in the **Transfer Client** window, then click **Transfer Client**.

**Q: Can a transfer be reversed?**

A: There is no undo button. The receiving agency can run their own **Transfer Clients** action back to you, as long as your agency is listed in their **Allow Transfers To** setting.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** No **To Agency** dropdown appears.

**Symptoms:** The bulk action shows "Loading configured agencies..." and then a warning that reads "Set transfer agencies in Settings", or a warning that reads "The configured transfer agencies could not be loaded."

**Solution:**

1. Go to **Admin** > **Settings** and type transfers in the **Search Settings** field.
2. Add the destination agency UUIDs to **Allow Transfers To** as a comma separated list, then save.
3. Reopen the bulk action. If the warning says the agencies could not be loaded, the UUIDs are set but could not be read, so confirm each one is correct.

**Issue:** Related records are missing in the destination agency.

**Symptoms:** The clients arrived, but events, payments, or other records did not.

**Solution:**

1. Open the bulk action and confirm those record types were highlighted in the **Related Records** list before the run.
2. Check whether the records already existed in the destination agency. With **Sync with Target Agency** unchecked, existing records are skipped instead of updated.

**Issue:** The **Live Run** button is missing.

**Symptoms:** The buttons above the results table do not include **Live Run** or **Schedule Run**.

**Solution:**

1. Check the status badge. An action that has already run hides both buttons, so use **Tools** > **Replay** to queue it again.
2. Check whether the action is archived or trashed. Restore it from the **Tools** menu to bring the run buttons back.

If the transfer still does not behave as expected, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How Bulk Actions Work](/how-bulk-actions-work)
- [How to Archive Clients via Bulk Actions](/how-to-archive-clients-via-bulk-actions)
- [How to Manage Clients](/how-to-manage-clients)
- [How to Manage Client Groups](/how-to-manage-client-groups)
- [How to Schedule Recurring Bulk Actions](/how-to-schedule-recurring-bulk-actions)
- [How to Copy Settings From One Agency to Another](/how-to-copy-settings-from-one-agency-to-another)