How long does switching from A paper notebook actually take?

An evening for most accounts. The export from A paper notebook is the slow step - the import side runs in minutes once the field mapping is settled. Larger teams (50+ seats with custom field schemas) sometimes split it across two sessions: import first, reorganise the next day.

Will I lose data when I switch?

Nothing structural. The CSV/JSON export from A paper notebook preserves the data: records, fields, history, and attachments come over intact. What doesn't transfer is anything tied to A paper notebook-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved searches, in-app annotations) - those don't sit in the export, they sit in the source product's UI. Plan an evening to rebuild your most-used views once you're in.

What about my existing A paper notebook subscription?

Run both side-by-side until you're confident, then cancel A paper notebook from their side. We don't lock you in - export from Sourdough Tracker is one click in account settings, same as import.

Is the import path free?

The import button is open on every plan, including the free tier - we don't paywall the way out of a competitor. The data going in still has to fit your plan's per-type quotas (the free-tier caps are listed on /sales); paid plans raise those caps. If you're moving a large set, check the caps first or write to /support and we can advise.

Can I get help with the switch?

Yes. Write to /support - both founders see those threads directly. Reply within a working day. For the field-mapping itself we typically resolve things in one or two exchanges; if your dataset is unusually large or A paper notebook's export shape is unfamiliar, we'll say so up front.

Sourdough Tracker Tools

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Sourdough Tracker: the alternative to A paper notebook

What moving from A paper notebook to Sourdough Tracker actually looks like in 2026.

Switching

Comparison

Notebook

Finn GlasCo-Founder + Engineering

·January 8, 2026·

2 min read

Sourdough Tracker is what people use when A paper notebook stops fitting. Below is the honest side-by-side - same product surface, different posture: hosted in Germany, no third-party trackers, one honest price - plus the migration mechanics that decide whether the switch lands in an evening or in a quarter.

At a glance

Paper has a real advantage: nothing more honest than a flour-dusted page that's been near the dough. It also has a real disadvantage: you can't search it, you can't sort it, you can't filter feeds vs bakes, and the photos live in a separate device. Sourdough Tracker is the digital equivalent that respects what paper does well - one-tap entries, no nag, your data stays yours - while adding what paper can't: search, filtering, photos in line with the entry they belong to, and per-starter sharing. Many bakers happily run both.

Switching

What moving from A paper notebook actually looks like

The switch goes in three rough phases: export from A paper notebook, import into Sourdough Tracker, and reorganise what came over. Most people allocate an evening for it. The export side is where the time goes - A paper notebook hands you a CSV/JSON dump and the field mapping isn't always obvious; once that's resolved the import is a couple of minutes. We don't paywall the import path or pretend it's a pro-only feature, and you can run both side-by-side while you decide.

Sourdough Tracker vs A paper notebook: feature comparison

	Ours Sourdough Tracker	Theirs A paper notebook
Tactile + flour-friendly
Searchable across entries
Photos inline with entries
Sortable feed vs bake feed
Survives a coffee spill		Maybe
Share one starter w/ a friend
Battery / wifi required	Yes

When to pick which

Pick Sourdough Tracker when

You bake more than once a month and want patterns to emerge.

Photos matter to you - and you want them on the same page as the entry.

You want a friend (or your kitchen co-baker) to see one starter without the rest.

Pick A paper notebook when

You want zero screens at the kitchen counter, period.

You bake once or twice a year as a hobby and don't need search.

Why "the best way to track your starter" usually means an app

The honest reason most bakers end up with a sourdough starter tracker app isn't the photos - it's the questions a notebook can't answer. Is my starter dead, or just slow? When should I feed it? A paper page holds the history, but it can't reason over it. When you ask "is my starter dead" at 7am, an app can look at your last feeds, the ambient temperature, and the rise pattern and give you a read; a notebook just shows you yesterday's handwriting. That's the line between a record and a companion.

It matters most exactly when a notebook lets you down: after a starter has sat in the fridge for weeks. The revival path - feed, warm, watch, repeat - is easy to get wrong from memory. Our guide to storing and reviving a starter from the fridge walks the diagnostic, and the app times each feed for you so you're not guessing whether 24 hours have passed.

The hybrid that works

Many of the bakers I admire run both: a digital journal as the system of record (search, photos, sharing) and a paper one for the feel of writing at the counter. Pick whichever feels alive and right; you can always export the digital one to a CSV later if you want to migrate. If you're weighing the app against other tools rather than paper, the alternatives hub lays out every comparison side by side.

Step by step

Export from A paper notebook

Find the export option in A paper notebook's account settings. Most tools provide a CSV or JSON download. Save the dump locally - that's the source of truth for the next step.

Account settings → Export / Download data

Pick the broadest format the tool offers (usually JSON)

Map fields in Sourdough Tracker

Open the import tool in Sourdough Tracker. A paper notebook's field names rarely match Sourdough Tracker' 1:1; the import flags any unmapped columns so you can pair them up before anything commits.

Account settings → Import

Resolve the mapping prompts the tool surfaces

Run the import

Run the import. Sourdough Tracker shows a preview of the first parsed rows in the import dialog so you can sanity-check the column mapping + a sample of records before anything commits. If you're nervous about a large dump, import a small subset first, verify it landed the way you expected, then run the full file.

Re-create your views, tags, saved searches

A paper notebook-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved filters, in-app annotations) doesn't transfer with the data export. Spend an evening rebuilding the views you used most - usually a 30-minute job once you've done it once.

Cancel A paper notebook when you're confident

Run both side-by-side for a couple of weeks if you want to be sure. When you're confident, cancel the A paper notebook subscription from their side. Sourdough Tracker keeps your export option self-serve in account settings - no lock-in either direction.

Switching from A paper notebook

The five questions we get most often before someone moves their data over.

Start with Sourdough Tracker

Free plan, no credit card. We host in Germany. Export + delete are self-serve.

Written by

Finn Glas

Co-Founder + Engineering

Finn is one of the Co-Founders. He owns the engineering side, the infrastructure, and most of the late-night fixes that ship before anyone notices.

finn.glas at aicuflow dot comLinkedIn Website