We will start with the part most migration guides bury: Kavanah has no Basecamp importer, and no connector or sync. Basecamp's export is a full HTML copy of your account, which is easy for a person to read and not something Kavanah can turn into projects. That does not make the move hard, but it does change its shape. You archive everything, then move only the work that is still active. This guide covers both halves.
1. Archive Everything First
Basecamp's help centre says only account owners can export, and that the export is a full HTML copy of Basecamp data. You can export the whole account or choose projects, including archived ones and projects you have not been added to. Exports can take a while for a large account, and you get an email when the download is ready. Its one warning matters most: if you are planning to cancel, let the download finish first, because cancelling mid-download stops the export and you will need support to retrieve it. Store the archive where the team can read it.
2. Decide What Is Active
List the projects that still have open to-dos, upcoming dates or clients waiting on you. Everything else can stay in the archive, readable but not migrated. For most teams this is a short list, and moving a short list by hand is faster and cleaner than any importer, because you leave behind finished work and stale to-dos.
3. Move To-dos: Paste or CSV
For a short list, copy a Basecamp to-do list, paste it into Kavanah's AI agent chat, and ask it to create the tasks in a project with their assignees and due dates. For a long one, build a CSV with Task Name, Assignee, Due Date and Status columns and import it from the project, up to 1,000 rows at a time. Then link the tasks that block each other, and set up recurring tasks or automations for routines that used to live in Basecamp check-ins.
4. Move Clients and Conversation
Invite clients to the client portal for the projects they belong to; they can follow progress, upload files, join discussions and approve work, and they are not charged as seats. Start each project's discussion threads in Kavanah, and link back to the Basecamp archive for history instead of copying old message boards across. Campfire's job goes to Kavanah's team chat.
5. What You Will Leave Behind
Message board history, Campfire transcripts, Hill Chart positions, Docs & Files and comment threads stay in the HTML archive. Kavanah has no Hill Charts. Be clear with the team about where the old record lives, run two weeks in Kavanah, and only then change your Basecamp plan. Basecamp allows self-serve cancellation and prorates annual plans back to your card, but it does not let you downgrade to Free.
A move off Basecamp is an archive plus a short list of active work, not a bulk import. For the full comparison of Kavanah, Basecamp, Asana and ClickUp, including which tools import Basecamp directly, see our Basecamp alternative page.
