Moving to Same-QR: How to transfer your QR codes from another provider

The most important thing first: What can be moved and what cannot

A dynamic QR code does not contain your actual destination, but rather a short address of your provider. Only their server redirects the scan to your website, your menu, or your PDF. This is practical because you can change the destination at any time – but it also means: The printed QR codes technically belong to the domain of your old provider. No new provider can simply take them over.

What you can move are your destinations, names and structure – that is, everything behind the QR codes. You gradually replace the printed QR codes themselves with new ones. The following steps show how to do this without guests or customers landing on an error page in the process.

Step 1: Inventory with the old provider

Before you cancel anything, write down what you have. Log in to your previous provider and record for each QR code:

• the name or description of the QR code,
• the current destination (the address to which the QR code redirects),
• where the QR code is printed – table stands, flyers, packaging, window displays, business cards,
• how many scans it had last, so you know which QR codes are really important.

Many providers offer an export as a CSV or Excel file. If not, a simple table is sufficient. The only important thing is that every destination is included.

Step 2: Create QR codes in Same-QR via CSV

For a small number of QR codes, you create them individually in the dashboard. From a few dozen QR codes, the CSV import becomes worthwhile: download the template in the dashboard, enter your QR codes, and upload the file again. The template has three columns:

• Name – what you want the QR code to be called, for example "Menu Table" or "Spring Flyer".
• Target URL – the destination from your inventory.
• Labels – optional, multiple separated by a vertical bar, for example "Branch North|Tables". Labels that do not yet exist are created during import.

Excel files saved as CSV UTF-8 work directly, whether separated by commas or semicolons. This way, you have the same structure as before within minutes – now in Same-QR.

For individual important QR codes, you can choose a custom, descriptive link when creating them, such as sameqr.com/r/speisekarte-mitte. It is then fixed because it is embedded in the printed QR code, so choose it carefully.

Step 3: Redirect the old QR codes to the new ones

Now comes the trick that makes the move possible without downtime: As long as your old contract is still active, you change the target of each QR code with the old provider to the new Same-QR code. A scan then runs through both stations and still ends up in the right place.

From this moment on, you manage your destinations only in Same-QR. If something changes – new menu, new campaign, new website – you update it in one place, and all QR codes follow, including the old printed ones.

Step 4: Gradually replace printed materials

Download the new QR codes individually or collectively as a ZIP file and replace them wherever new printing is already taking place: on the next menu, the next flyer run, or the next standee. Start with the QR codes that have the most scans according to the inventory.

Packaging, labels and signage that stay in use for a long time go to the top of the list. Flyers and promotional material that will soon be gone anyway can simply run out.

Step 5: Only cancel when nothing old is still in circulation

Cancel the old provider only when you are sure that no important old QR codes are being scanned anymore. A look at the scan statistics of the old provider helps: if scans are going to zero, it is time. If the contract expires earlier, ask for a cheaper rate for the transition period – this is almost always cheaper than a complete reprint all at once.

Good to know: What "Read an existing QR code" does

With "Read an existing QR code", Same-QR reads a photo or file of an existing QR code and extracts its content. For static QR codes, that is your destination itself. For dynamic QR codes from another provider, however, it only contains their short link – the actual destination can then be found in your account there. That is why the inventory in step 1 is so important.

After the move: Keep an eye on your destinations

Same-QR queries the target of each QR code at night. If a page is no longer accessible – for example after a website relaunch – you receive an email with suggestions for the new address. Nothing changes automatically; you decide with a click.

With the free plan, you can test the move calmly with 20 QR codes before switching everything over.

Frequently asked questions