Switching Accounting System — Zero downtime plan

Migration roadmap

1. Discovery: scope entities, VAT scheme, payroll, apps, and bank feeds.
2. Data prep: tidy chart of accounts, lock historic periods, export source data.
3. Build: set up new ledger, taxes, users, roles and automations.
4. Import: customers, suppliers, products, opening balances and transactions.
5. Reconcile: bank, VAT control, debtors/creditors; parallel-run if needed.
6. Go‑live: switch feeds, train users, close project with documentation.

This document serves as a concise conceptual guide for transferring data between accounting systems.

Once you have made the decision to transition from your current accounting system to a new one, the following steps can assist you in facilitating the process. This guide is applicable to various types of accounting systems.

Steps to transition from one bookkeeping system to another at your chosen cut-off date, for instance, June 30, 2025

  1) First and foremost, ensure that you have a comprehensive and detailed backup of the existing system.

  2) From the existing system, export the following items in CSV format, dated to your cut-off point, i.e., 30/06/2020 in this example:
   a) Chart of Accounts (COA)
   b) Customer list with contact information and outstanding balances as of the cut-off date.
   c) Creditor list with contact information and outstanding balances as of the cut-off date.
   d) Trial balance (TB)
   e) Profit and loss account (P&L)
   f) Balance sheet (BS)

  3) Next, begin importing the aforementioned data into the new accounting system. Prior to this, review the old chart of accounts alongside the new system’s chart of accounts. If you deem it necessary to import the old COA, proceed with the import. Additionally, if any mapping to the new system’s P&L and BS is required, ensure that it is completed; otherwise, certain old COA codes may not appear in the new system’s P&L and BS. A reliable system will typically prevent the import of COA without appropriate mapping. As a precautionary measure, you can verify the P&L and BS in the new system after all imports are finalized; the balances should correspond with those of the old system.

 4) Transfer the Customers listing from the previous system to the new one. The new system will consolidate the closing customer balances from the old system into a single figure; for instance, if customer A has three outstanding invoices of £250, £350, and £400, the opening balance for the new system will be £1000. There is no requirement to import or re-enter the outstanding invoices again. It is crucial to understand that the new system will perform a double entry in the background, crediting either the Sales account or the suspense account while debiting the Sales ledger. Please take note of this credit aspect, as you will need to address it during the TB import stage.

 5) A similar procedure applies to creditors. The new system will also execute double-entry bookkeeping behind the scenes, recording a credit to the Creditors control account and a debit to purchases or suspense. Again, it is important to note this for managing the debit entry during the TB import stage.

 6) Now, regarding the import of the TB, if the new Chart of Accounts (COA) is imported and properly mapped, the TB import should proceed smoothly. You simply need to ensure that the balance on the Debtors control accounts in the TB is coded to the accounts that take the credit side of the entry mentioned in step 3 above, which would be either the sales account or suspense. Essentially, this will negate the credit aspect of the entry due to the prior recording of the debtors listing; without this, your TB will not balance.

 7) The same principle applies to the creditors balance in the TB, which should be coded to negate the debit aspect of the entry in step 4 by utilizing the code noted above.

 8) If you are not importing the COA and are entering the TB manually, the same concept should be applied for coding debtors and creditors while entering the TB into the new system.

 9) Finally, quickly generate the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports on the new system. Despite any presentational differences, the bottom-line figures for both statements should align with those of the old system.

Actions to take following the import

 1) The new system must be recorded against the opening debtor balances.
 2) Similarly, payments made to creditors after transitioning to the new system should be documented against the opening creditors' balance.
 3) Any VAT liability or refund, as well as PAYE obligations, should be recorded against the opening balance sheet balances for the respective accounts that were imported with the trial balance.
Should you need any additional professional assistance, we are available to support you with the transition of the accounting system at the previously agreed price. Do not hesitate to reach out to us.