Start with why you’re moving
Write down what’s actually going wrong: typing the same thing in twice, reports you can’t trust, no proper sign-off on payments, missing project detail or apps that won’t talk to each other. Then say what good looks like after the first two month ends in the new system. Without that, it’s easy to rebuild the old problems in a shiny new product.
Pick a switch-over date and what moves
Agree the last month you’ll close in the old system and the first in the new one. Then list what needs to move: chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, unpaid invoices and bills, bank and card balances, VAT and payroll balances, fixed assets and any tracking categories. Decide whether you need full transaction history or can keep the old system as a read-only archive. Plan how long you’ll keep access, and who can get in.
Check the balances, don’t assume them
Before you import anything, clear out duplicates and old balances nobody can explain. Afterwards, compare the trial balance, what customers owe, what you owe suppliers, open bank items and VAT and payroll balances against the signed-off figures from the old system. Write down every difference, who’s looking into it and how it was fixed. Never post a balancing figure just to make the opening position agree.
Test real work before the first deadline
Run real examples through the new system: supplier bills, customer invoices, card and payment-provider payouts, payroll journals, bank reconciliations and the reports you rely on. Check who can approve what and who can see what. Leave enough time before the first VAT return, payroll and month end to fix anything that breaks. Keep a named person on hand until the first month end has closed.
Example: an online homeware shop takes orders on one platform, gets card payouts through another and builds its reports in a spreadsheet. The new system can pull in all three feeds and still get it wrong if refunds and fees land in the wrong accounts. Being connected isn’t the test. The test is tracing one real order, one refund and one payout through to the bank and the monthly report, with opening balances that agree.
After you go live
The first month end in the new system is where problems show up. Leave extra time for it. Check that sales, costs and VAT look like a normal month, that bank feeds are matching properly and that the reports people use each month still make sense. Fix the small things then, before they turn into habits everyone works around.
What to check
- A written reason for changing system
- The reports the new setup must produce
- A switch-over date and access to old records
- Opening balances checked and signed off
- Real test transactions before the first deadline
Where to start
Ask anyone helping with the move for a switch-over plan, balance checks, test cases, training and support through the first month end, with subscriptions and project fees priced separately. If you’re moving to Xero, Xero Central’s guide to converting from another accounting system is worth a read.