One of the biggest concerns in undertaking an ERP migration project is movement of a company's data from the old system to the new one. Migrating to a new software systems is a bit like moving to a new house. Yes, it can be a bit of a chore (yes, there is even cleaning involved), but ultimately your team is going to have access to a host of new amenities and be able to work more comfortably and productively. While the scope of every migration project is different, the preparation for migrating data follows the basic process outlined below.
Collect Your Data
The first step to moving is to start inventorying your things; coffee maker, take, box of tv cables from 2003, toss. For an ERP migration that means you’ll start the data migration process by collecting data from your legacy system for populating into your new Sage Intacct environment. First you’ll need to determine which data you want to migrate (i.e., master data, GL history, and open AP and AR transactions, etc.). Then you’ll work with our team to extract the data from your legacy system and populate Sage Intacct upload templates.
Scrub Your Data
Somehow when it’s time to move we all realize that we’ve accumulated 82 coffee mugs, 6 snow shovels, and a 3 inch stack of takeout menus. Unfortunately, the same is likely true for your legacy data. Once you’ve figured out which items you need to keep, it’s time to scrub that data down to singular, active records. This is the time to purge any data you know is no longer used and combine any data that might have accidentally been duplicated in your legacy software.
This scrubbing data is best done by you, as you know your data better than anyone. Sorry. We know it’s not fun, but is a critical part of the process to make sure you start fresh in Sage Intacct with clean data.
Populate Sage Intacct Data Templates
So now it’s time to start organizing and packing up. The same way that you would have boxes labeled ‘Kitchen’ and ‘Kids Room’ for your big move, Sage Intacct provides data upload templates for each module to use in order to upload your data successfully. This process may include creating cross-reference tables between your legacy system and Sage Intacct and adding new dimensions and data fields for tracking within Sage Intacct.
Sage Intacct core financials projects typically include the following upload templates (although of course, your needs may differ):
Company
- Locations
- Departments
- General Ledger (GL)
- Chart of Accounts
- Journal Entries
- Accounts Payable (AP)
- Vendors
- Open AP Bills
- Accounts Receivable (AR)
- Customers
- Open AR Invoices
Make Peace with the Data That Will Not Be Making the Journey to Sage Intacct
Some data from your legacy software is rarely converted to Sage Intacct, including:
- Fully paid, historical transaction details from Accounts Payable, and
- Fully paid, historical transaction details from Accounts Receivable
Converting this data from your old software and importing into Sage Intacct (or any other system) is quite complex, and usually cost prohibitive. The ROI is questionable at best. As a workaround, we recommend that you retain a copy of the existing accounting solution on selected workstations to support historical inquiry requirements.
That’s it!
Now you get to move into your nice shiny new house ERP solution. Given the time that you spent using your legacy system, considering a migration can be an adjustment, not just for your data but for your entire team. We’re here to make sure that the technical aspects of your migration go smoothly and that your employees get the training they need for success. In the end, you’re giving them the best tools for the job, empowering them to work more smoothly and efficiently.
