Import, download & demo data

These tools help you set up, explore, or reset your data. Import, download, and delete live in Settings → Data & Storage; demo data comes from the setup wizard.

Import data (device → cloud)

If you've been using This Device storage and want your data in the Cloud, you can import it in one step.

What it does

• Copies your on-device data into your signed-in cloud account.
• Keeps relationships intact (invoices keep their lines, payments keep their invoices, and so on).
• Leaves your device data untouched — it's a copy, not a move.

When it's available

The import is offered only when it's safe to run:

• the active storage is Cloud and you're signed in,
• your device actually has data, and
• your cloud account is empty (so nothing is overwritten).

One-way and one-time

Import is meant for the initial move into an empty cloud account. It won't merge into an account that already has data.

Download to this device (cloud → device)

The reverse of the import: copy everything from your Cloud account onto This Device. Use it to take your data with you when you leave the Cloud plan, or to keep an occasional local snapshot for peace of mind while you're on it.

A copy is not a sync

The app works against one storage at a time. A download is a snapshot, frozen at the moment you take it. While you stay on Cloud, your live data is the cloud: new entries, invoices, and payments land only there, and the snapshot on your device just gets older. Nothing ever keeps the two sides matched up, in either direction.

What it does

• Copies your cloud data onto this device's storage.
• Keeps relationships intact (invoices keep their lines, payments keep their invoices, and so on).
• Leaves your cloud data untouched — it's a copy, not a move.
• When it finishes, offers to switch your active storage to This Device.

When it's available

• the active storage is Cloud and you're signed in,
• your cloud account has data, and
• Advanced mode is on (the Basic / Adv. toggle at the top of Settings).

If this device already has data

You won't lose it. Before anything is copied, the wizard saves everything already on this device as a backup — stored under a name you choose (prefilled with the date, like timewellspent-backup-2026-07-19). Only after the backup succeeds is the cloud copy brought in. The backup isn't visible inside the app yet, but it stays on this device until you delete it.

Where backups live — and how to see them

Your on-device data is kept in your browser's IndexedDB storage. The live data is a database named timewellspent; each backup is its own separate database under the name you chose. To see them:

• Chrome / Edge: press F12, open the Application tab, then Storage → IndexedDB.
• Firefox: press F12, open the Storage tab, then Indexed DB.
• Safari: turn on the Develop menu (Safari Settings → Advanced), then Develop → Show Web Inspector → Storage.

Backups are part of your browser's site data

Clearing this browser's site data deletes your backups along with the live data, and deleting a database in the developer tools is permanent. Restoring a backup from inside the app isn't available yet — it's a safety net that keeps your previous data safe, not a way to switch back and forth. We may add restore later, but even then it would replace what's on the device — never merge or sync.

A one-way street

Moving between This Device and the Cloud is a one-way street each time you travel it — copies move forward, and nothing ever merges or syncs:

1. You start free, on This Device. Your data lives only in this browser.
2. You go Cloud. The import pushes your device data into your empty cloud account. From here on, the cloud is your live data — every device you sign in from sees it.
3. While you're subscribed, you can download a snapshot to this device now and then for safekeeping. You're still living on the cloud — the snapshot doesn't follow along, and working from it would only confuse things.
4. When your subscription ends, your data isn't held hostage: the cloud copy stays readable for a time, so download everything and switch to This Device. Don't put it off — it isn't kept forever. Once you switch, the device copy is your live data, and it starts drifting apart from whatever is still in the cloud.

If you come back to Cloud

Resubscribing doesn't merge anything — which copy you resume depends on timing:

• While your cloud data is still there, resubscribing puts you right back on your cloud data, exactly where it left off. Anything you entered on This Device in the meantime stays on the device — it does not carry over.
• After the cloud copy has been removed, the street starts over from the top: your device data is the real one now, and you import it into your fresh cloud account just like the first time.

Generate demo data

Demo data fills an account with realistic samples — clients with recurring schedules, time entries, expenses (like a hotel and dinner), monthly invoices, and payments (both paid-in-full and partial) — so you can explore every feature without entering anything by hand.

It comes from the welcome wizard: choose Try it with demo data on its opening step. The wizard runs on a brand-new account, and you can start it again anytime from Settings → Data & Storage → Run Setup Wizard — on an account that already has data it offers to clear everything first.

Delete all data

Delete all data wipes every record for the current storage. Use it to start over or to clear out demo data.

This is irreversible

Delete all data removes everything for the active storage and cannot be undone. If you might want any of it later, export or import it somewhere safe first.