There’s a sense of a new beginning when you make the change to an accounting system. A better platform might have better reporting, quicker bank recon, be more automated and be more accessible to other members of the team. But if the records are not already organized, the move can become difficult. The major pitfall with new software is that they think the software will solve their old bookkeeping issues. It will not. Duplicate contacts, incorrect balances, unpaid invoices and incorrectly structured accounts can all follow the business into the new system. A little preparation before the migration can save many hours later.
Decide What Is Worth Moving
Older accounting files often contain years of information that no longer has much practical value. There may be inactive customers, former suppliers, unused product codes and several versions of the same contact. Moving every record into the new system can make it cluttered from the beginning. Before using Accounting software switching services, decide which information is still needed for daily work.
The majority of companies would wish to move existing contacts, such as clients and suppliers, along with outstanding invoices, unpaid bills, bank balances, tax records, payroll records and recent transaction records. There may be specific legal and/or tax reasons why older records must also be kept, but they can sometimes be stored in a separate archive rather than being imported.
Reconcile Every Important Account
The balances in the old platform should be reliable before anything is moved. If the bank account, credit card, loan or payment gateway is already incorrect, the same difference will appear in the new software. Reconcile each account up to the agreed migration date. Check that all deposits and payments have been recorded, internal transfers are matched and unexplained entries have been investigated.
Old unreconciled items should not simply be carried forward because nobody knows what they are. It is much easier to investigate a problem while the original records and supporting documents are still available in the old system.
Remove Duplicate and Outdated Contacts
Customer and supplier lists often become untidy over time. A supplier might appear under a legal name, a trading name and an abbreviation. A customer may have several records because different employees entered the details in different ways.
Review the list before migration and merge duplicates where appropriate. Check names, email addresses, billing details, tax numbers and payment terms. Inactive contacts can be removed from daily use, provided the information remains available where required for historical reporting.
Clean records will make invoicing, payment reminders and supplier reporting easier once the new platform is active.
Simplify the Chart of Accounts
The chart of accounts determines how income, expenses, assets and liabilities appear in financial reports. If it has too many categories, the reports can become difficult to read. A common example is travel spending being posted to several similar accounts, such as “Travel,” “Transport,” “Business Travel” and “Mileage.” The figures may all be correct, but the report becomes fragmented.
Before moving systems, decide which accounts should remain and which can be combined. This is also a good time to add categories that better reflect how the business operates today. A company planning to Hire XERO accountant support may find it useful to have the chart reviewed before the new Xero file is created. A cleaner structure makes future reporting more consistent.
Check Unpaid Invoices and Bills
Outstanding customer invoices and supplier bills need careful attention. Confirm that each balance is genuine and that payments have not been entered elsewhere. Some invoices may have been paid but left open by mistake. Credit notes might not have been applied, while duplicated bills can overstate what the business owes.
Correcting these issues before migration helps ensure that aged receivable and payable reports are accurate from the first day. Any disputed invoices, payment arrangements or unusual balances should be listed separately for review.
Choose a Clear Date to Switch Systems
A clean reduction-blocking date avoids confusion about which tool to use. Many companies choose month-end, region or budgets for 12 months because it is simpler to ascertain the balance. The team should know when entries in the old software will stop, when opening balances will be loaded and when normal bookkeeping will begin in the new platform.
Avoid entering the same transactions in both systems unless there is a carefully managed process. Duplicate entries can be difficult to trace and may cause reports to disagree.
Check the Data After Import
Once the transfer is complete, compare the important reports in both systems. Bank balances, customer debts, supplier balances, tax accounts and the trial balance should agree with the closing figures from the old software. Open a sample of customer and supplier records to check that contact details, invoices and payment records appear correctly. It is better to find a mapping problem during testing than after the new system has been used for several weeks.
Final Thoughts
When all accounting records are clean, accurate, and organized, it is simple to transfer to new accounting software. Creating a more reliable starting point includes reconciling, removing duplicates, reviewing unpaid invoices and simplifying the chart of accounts. When a clear cut-off date is established and careful testing is conducted, there is less possibility for confusion when the new platform is up and running. Businesses dealing with several years of data or complicated balances may benefit from professional support. Further information about bookkeeping and software migration is available at squareaccounting.com.
