Switching from Total Drive.
What actually happens to your diary when you move: what to export, what gets imported for you, and how to compare both platforms on your own learners before deciding anything.
Why instructors are reviewing it now
In March 2025, Total Drive Software Limited was acquired by Software Circle plc, a listed group that buys and holds software businesses, in a deal announced at up to £7.5m. That is not a reason to panic — the product keeps trading and keeps its strengths. But a change of ownership is the natural moment to review pricing, support and direction, and it lands on top of the standing reasons instructors were already citing:
- Online booking sits at the £23 tier rather than being included from the entry price.
- The tooling is instructor-first, so a school adding its third or fourth instructor can outgrow the shape of it.
- There is no published API or webhooks, which matters if you want your diary talking to anything else.
If you are still weighing options rather than planning a move, start with the alternatives page — it covers the whole market, not just us.
What moves across
Passdesk's importers cover the records a working diary actually contains. You export; the import is done for you, at no charge.
| In your export | Where it lands in Passdesk |
|---|---|
| Learners and contact details | Students, with guardian details where you hold them |
| Diary and lesson history | Schedule — past lessons land as completed history |
| Packages and payment records | Purchases, with remaining balances carried over |
| Progress and reflective logs | Progress records against the DVSA-aligned rubric |
| Test outcomes | Test attempts, so pass history stays on the learner |
The move, step by step
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Export everything while your subscription is live
Learners and their contact details, lesson history, payment records, progress logs. Access usually ends when a subscription does, so export first and cancel later — never the other way round.
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Start a Passdesk trial
Fourteen days, full product. A card is asked for at signup but nothing is charged during the trial.
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Send the export over
Passdesk imports it for you, at no charge — learners, lesson history, packages and payments, progress and test results. Nothing gets retyped, and an oddly-shaped file is still worth sending; the importers handle a fair range of formats.
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Run both side by side
Keep Total Drive running for a week or two and compare your own diary in both, not a demo. This is the honest test, and it is the reason the import happens before you decide.
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Move your learners, then cancel
Invite your learners — their history is already waiting for them — and cancel the old subscription at your renewal date once you are sure.
Worth knowing before you commit
In the interests of the same fairness the rest of this page runs on: Passdesk asks for a card at trial signup where Total Drive does not, and it is newer to the market with a smaller installed base. What you gain on landing: recorded practice routes tied to real test centres, a waitlist that refills cancelled slots on its own, card payments and Direct Debit instalment plans, and one platform that still fits if you grow from a solo diary into a multi-instructor school. The full side-by-side, with figures read from both vendors' pages on 24 August 2026, is on the comparison page.
Common questions
What does it cost to switch from Total Drive to Passdesk?
The import itself costs nothing — send the export and it is set up for you. On subscription, Passdesk starts at £19/mo. Total Drive's published pricing: Four tiers, £18 to £26 a month including VAT. Online booking arrives at the £23 tier. Multi-car discounts offered. Both read from the vendors' own pages on 24 August 2026.
Do my learners have to do anything?
Very little. Their lesson history, progress and any remaining package balance are imported before they ever sign in, so when you invite them the account already looks like theirs. They accept the invite, and booking carries on.
What happens if I am mid-month on Total Drive?
Run both in parallel. The Passdesk trial is fourteen days, so you can import, compare and move learners across well inside a billing month, then cancel Total Drive at your renewal date rather than losing paid-for time.
Was Total Drive really acquired?
Yes — Total Drive Software Limited was acquired by Software Circle plc, a listed software group, in March 2025, in a deal the buyer announced at up to £7.5m. That is a matter of public record, not a criticism: the product keeps trading, and its strengths are set out on this page. An ownership change is simply the moment many instructors choose to review what they run.
Can I leave Passdesk just as easily?
Yes. Your data exports from Passdesk too — learners, lessons, payments and progress. A switching guide that ends in lock-in would not be much of a guide.
Compare your own diary, not a demo
Fourteen days, with the import done before you decide. If it is not for you, your data exports right back out.