How to leave per-seat team software in 30 days
A week-by-week plan for moving chat, meetings and docs to a flat-cost, self-hosted workspace.
The short answer
Moving a small team off per-seat tools is easier in stages than all at once. A realistic plan is four weeks: audit and count, pilot with one group, move meetings and docs, then move chat and cancel. Keep the old tool until the team has stopped opening it.
The four weeks
Week 1: audit
List every subscription and its monthly cost. Use the savings calculator with your own prices.
Week 2: pilot
Install on a small server and invite one team or project.
Week 3: meetings and docs
Move calls and shared docs. They need no chat history.
Week 4: chat and cancel
Move channels, import history if you can, then cancel the old plan at renewal.
What to check before you start
A server owner
One person responsible for updates, HTTPS and backups.
Renewal dates
Cancel at the right time, not early and not late.
Exports
Take an export from the old tool first.
Must-have integrations
Confirm each one exists or has a workaround.
Where Dock fits
Dock is a self-hosted team workspace for small teams. It has channels and DMs with threads and search, video meetings in the same app (with recording, transcripts and AI summaries), real-time docs, tables, calendar, tasks and a drive. An MCP server lets AI agents such as Claude Code read and post in your channels, and there is a Lark history import.
It runs as one Node process with one SQLite file, so backups and moves are copying a file. There is no per-seat licence; your cost is your own server. You run the server yourself, and the integration list is smaller than the big hosted tools.
Questions
How long does a move take?
Four weeks is realistic for a small team, longer if you have many integrations.
Can I keep history?
Dock imports Lark history. For other tools, take an export and keep it as an archive.
What if the team resists?
Start with meetings and docs. Chat is the habit that takes longest to change.