Inventory the records and dependencies
List records, attachments, comments, history, user permissions and integrations. Identify who owns each dataset and which records must remain accessible. Check retention needs with the appropriate person in your organisation rather than assuming everything should be copied or deleted.
Map the workflows connected to the system: forms, reports, email notifications, automations and external accounting or HR tools. A successful import can still leave the business with broken handovers if those dependencies are missed.
Prove export and import before committing
Export a representative sample while you still have access to the old product. Confirm that attachments and linked records are included where needed. Test how the destination handles dates, identifiers, currencies, owners and custom fields.
Keep a mapping document: old field, new field, transformation and known limitation. Record anything that cannot be migrated. If an essential audit history cannot be imported, agree a secure, usable archive before cancellation.
Reconcile meaning, not just row counts
Compare counts by record type, then check important totals and a sample of individual records. Ten thousand imported rows are not enough if amounts have changed currency or records are assigned to the wrong owner.
Use a reconciliation log with expected result, actual result, reviewer and resolution. Check permissions using ordinary user accounts as well as an administrator account. Confirm integrations do not create duplicates when they reconnect.
Define cutover and a rollback trigger
Choose a cutover window and tell staff where new work should be entered. If data is still changing, decide how to transfer the final changes. Avoid uncontrolled editing in two systems: it makes reconciliation and recovery much harder.
Define the conditions that would stop the rollout, who can make that decision and how the old process would resume. Keep a verified export and preserve access to the old system until the acceptance checks are complete. A rollback plan needs an owner and a practical procedure, not just a promise to fix issues later.
Retire the old system deliberately
Obtain sign-off from the people responsible for the workflows and data. Check recurring billing, contract notice periods and outstanding integrations. Remove obsolete connections and access when they are no longer needed.
Confirm where retained archives are stored, who can retrieve them and how deletion requests will be handled. Complete any agreed deletion with the vendor and keep its confirmation. Review the new system after the first normal reporting cycle to catch problems that a short cutover test may miss.
Before you decide
- Representative export and import proven
- Field mapping and retained archive agreed
- Counts, totals, permissions and integrations reconciled
- Cutover, rollback and cancellation owners named