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October 4, 20269 min read

Record retention if you change AML software

AML data export when switching vendor is the copy you take before the old login ends. The record-keeping duty stays with the firm.

Quick answer

List the records your program says you must keep, export them while you still can, and store them where the firm controls access. A new login does not recreate a file the old vendor deletes, and price comparisons are a different page. The firm suite is A$0, and the client pays the next check.

People search “AML data export when switching vendor” when a two-partner firm is leaving a vendor and discovers the customer file lives only inside that login. Checked against AUSTRAC’s obligations and compliance page on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. What the platform itself is for is what a free AML tool should include. A vendor’s price is a different question, on AML Guard pricing. The sector map is /tranche-2.

The login is not the record

Customer due diligence records belong to the reporting entity. They do not belong to the software firm that displayed them. AUSTRAC’s obligations page is the compliance frame. This page does not reproduce the record-keeping rules and it does not set a retention period.

Switching vendor is a project with a cut-off. Before that cut-off, export what your program says you must be able to show: who was checked, when, the result you relied on, and the program version you were following. After the old account closes, a screenshot you meant to take is not a record.

  • Export while the login still works. Ask for the files before you send a closure note. A promise that “support can retrieve it” is not a copy in your cabinet.
  • Match the export to the program. Take the fields your program says you keep. A marketing dump of names is not the customer file.
  • Store it where you control access. The archive should open without the old vendor’s password. Name a person who can find a file a year later.
  • Do not mix this with price. What another vendor charges, including AML Guard, is a pricing page. It does not tell you whether your export is complete.

What to take, and what can wait

A two-partner firm does not need a perfect data room on day one. It does need the records a reviewer would ask for if a file from last year were questioned. Separate those from the clutter.

A sorting aid for an AML vendor change. This table does not reproduce AUSTRAC’s record-keeping rules.

ItemTake it before cutoffLeave it
Check result you relied onYes, with the date and the customerA dashboard chart with no names
Who approved a high-risk fileYes, if the program required that approvalThe vendor’s marketing emails
The program version then in forceYes, so the file matches the rules you hadA draft you never approved
The next new customerRun them on the new arrangementRe-typing history you already exported

Where the export page stops

This page is the copy you take when you leave. It is not a feature list and it is not a price comparison. Those are what a free AML tool should include and AML Guard pricing.

What the client pays

On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. Use KYB when the customer is a company or a trust. An export of past records is not included in the firm suite, and the suite does not store another vendor’s archive for you. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not keep your records after you leave a vendor or export another firm’s files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Switch the next check. Keep the old records yourself.

The firm suite is A$0. The client pays the next verification. Export the history before you close the old login.

View pricing

Questions: team@freeaml.com.au