Exporting from ConnectWise Automate

Whether you are leaving ConnectWise Automate or just want a copy of your estate, this is what it actually hands over, where to find each export, and what no export will ever carry.

Written with respect. We ran an MSP on several of the products we compare, we rate them, and without them Helios would not exist. These pages are here because buyers deserve the facts, not because we want a fight.

Computers: Dataviews, then Excel

In the Control Center, expand Automation, Dataview, and open the view you want. Options, Export all to Excel saves everything in the current view.

The file is Excel XML. Open it in Excel, check the columns, then save a copy as CSV. That CSV is the file you take anywhere else.

Choose where the Dataview starts. From Operations it covers the whole system. From a right-click on a client or group it covers only that.

Reports

The Report Designer exports to CSV, PDF, Excel and more. It takes longer to set up, but it gives you a CSV straight away and a layout you control.

What never transfers, whatever anyone tells you

• Scripts and automation. Every platform models these differently. They are rewritten, not imported, and this is usually the biggest job.
• Policies and alert thresholds. The thresholds you tuned over years will not match the defaults at the other end.
• Device history. Performance trends and patch history start again at zero. Export the reports clients will ask for before you switch off.
• Ticket history, in practice. Decide early whether you need old tickets live in the new system or archived and searchable. The second is far cheaper.

Loading the export into Helios

If Helios is where you are going, this is all you need to bring your clients across.

1. In Automate, open a Dataview from Operations, use Options, Export all to Excel, then open the file in Excel and save it as CSV.
2. In Helios, open Clients and choose Import from another RMM, then drop the file in.
3. Helios shows you what it found before anything is written: how many companies, how many machines, and anything it could not read. Nothing changes until you press Import.
4. Each client becomes a client, with its machines listed under it. Run it again with a fuller file and it updates rather than duplicates.

Helios needs one column that names each machine's client. It reads Company, Customer, Client, Organization or Site. If your file calls it something else, rename that heading before you import, and the preview will tell you if it still cannot find one.

Imported machines are listed, not managed. ConnectWise Automate's agent is ConnectWise Automate's software, so each machine starts reporting to Helios when our agent is installed on it. The dashboard counts your progress, for example 12 of 40 imported machines now reporting, so the rollout has a finish line.

Where you are going is your call. If you want the honest comparison first, the Helios and ConnectWise Automate comparison is the page for that.

The sequence that works

1. Export everything read-only first, while you still have full access.
2. Rebuild scripts and alert thresholds on the new platform against a handful of your own machines. This sets your real timeline.
3. Run both platforms side by side across one complete patch cycle. A patch cycle is when an RMM tells you the truth about itself.
4. Move clients in batches, quietest first. Keep the old agent until the new one has reported healthy for that batch.
5. Only then cancel, and check your notice period before you pick the date.

And if you ever leave Helios

The same courtesy runs the other way. Any admin can export devices or clients to CSV from the report builder, with the columns they choose. No API key, no support ticket, no exit fee.

What we could not verify

• Which default Dataview holds client name, computer name, OS and serial together. That depends on your version and your own views.
• Whether a ConnectWise contract can end mid-term. Ask before you plan the date.

Common questions

How do I export a computer list from ConnectWise Automate?

Open a Dataview, from Operations for the whole system or by right-clicking a client for one client. Then use Options, Export all to Excel, open the .xml file in Excel and save it as CSV.

Why is my Automate export an XML file?

Export all to Excel saves Excel XML rather than CSV. Open it in Excel and save a copy as CSV. The Report Designer can export CSV directly if you prefer.

Can I import a ConnectWise Automate export into Helios?

Yes, once it is saved as CSV with a column naming the client. Drop it into Import from another RMM in Helios. It previews everything before anything is written.

Details of other products on this page were checked on 28 September 2026 against their public documentation, and may have changed since. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@heliosmsp.io and we will fix it.