SELECTED WORK / COMPLETED SYSTEM MIGRATION
A Navision-to-Xero migration for a £5m business
A completed migration in approximately one month, bringing together data cleansing, chart-of-accounts mapping, opening-balance reconciliations and team training.
- Business size
- Approximately £5m turnover
- Project duration
- Approximately one month
- My role
- Independent migration lead
I independently led a Microsoft Navision to Xero migration for a business with approximately £5m turnover. The work combined the technical transfer with the accounting checks, revised processes and training needed to use the new system.
The assignment
Move the finance system from legacy Microsoft Navision to Xero. My remit covered data preparation, chart-of-accounts and balance migration, reconciliations, process redesign and team training.
The difficult part: opening balances
Reconciling opening balances against the chart of accounts was a difficult part of the project. The account mapping and balance migration had to be considered together so the opening accounting position could be checked in Xero.
The work I carried out
I cleansed the data, mapped the chart of accounts and migrated balances. I then reconciled the accounting position as part of completing the transition. This connected the transfer of records with the financial checks needed to use them.
Preparing people for the change
The project included process redesign and training for the team using Xero. The handover therefore covered how people would work in the new system as well as the information held in it.
WHAT CHANGED
A completed move, with the accounting and team transition handled
The migration was completed in approximately one month, with data cleansing, balance reconciliation, revised processes and team training included in the delivery.
View an illustrative deliverable format
The sample below uses fictional figures. It illustrates a format, not this project’s records or results.
ILLUSTRATIVE DELIVERABLE
See what a migration control pack could contain
Fictional figures and test statuses. This is a sample format, not the records or results of the Navision-to-Xero project described above.
A migration should leave a clear record of what moved, what was checked and what still needs attention. The example below deliberately includes an unresolved item.
| Check | Source | Target | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer records | 120 | 120 | Count matched |
| Receivables total | £84,250 | £84,250 | Total matched |
| Payables total | £46,100 | £46,100 | Total matched |
| Opening bank balance | £32,500 | £32,500 | Total matched |
| Unmapped account codes | 2 flagged | Excluded from trial load | Resolve before rerun |
From exceptions to an agreed handover
- Data issues: record each exception, its owner, the correction and the evidence from the next test.
- Accounting checks: reconcile the trial balance, control accounts, open items and agreed history. Matching totals alone does not prove that every record is correct.
- User testing: check everyday workflows, permissions and reporting with the people who will use them.
- Cutover: agree the freeze, final checks, go/no-go owner and recovery plan before changing systems.
- Handover: document training, open issues, responsibilities and the support arrangements after launch.
Sample decision: not ready for cutover. The unmapped accounts and remaining acceptance checks must be resolved and reviewed first.
Discuss the controls for your migration