Before migrating accounting software, what opening balances and evidence need review?

Define cut-off and close the legacy system first

Set the date/time at which transactions stop entering the legacy system and begin in the new one, with a cutover log for late invoices and payments. Reconcile relevant bank/cash, AR/AP control accounts, inventory, assets and period-end adjustments before extracting final balances.

ERPNext migration guidance recommends completing approved transactions, reconciling bank/cash, stock and receivable/payable controls, running a final Trial Balance and schedules, then locking the legacy period. The broader principle is that the new opening should reproduce an approved closing position rather than a mid-process snapshot.

References: [2]

Use separate opening packages for different data types

Outstanding receivables and payables need invoice reference, party, due date, currency and outstanding amount so ageing and later allocation continue. Inventory, fixed assets, advances and residual ledger balances require different supporting detail.

ERPNext Opening Balance guidance recommends outstanding invoices through the Opening Invoice Creation Tool, stock through Stock Reconciliation, assets through opening asset records and remaining ledger balances through Opening Journal Entry, while avoiding duplicate control-account balances already created by detailed openings.

References: [1]

Map master data before importing transaction balances

Build mappings for accounts, customers, suppliers, items, tax codes, cost centres/projects and currencies from legacy IDs to canonical target IDs. Preserve legacy identifiers for audit and route ambiguous duplicates to review instead of automatically merging or creating records.

Opening invoices are only useful when they reference the correct party. ERPNext guidance recommends preparing reviewed Customer and Supplier masters and reconciling party/currency totals before import.

References: [3]

Reconcile more than the grand Trial Balance

After each batch, compare Trial Balance but also AR/AP ageing, bank balances, inventory quantity/value, fixed assets, advances and foreign currency balances where relevant. A correct grand total with wrong party or ageing detail still prevents normal work.

ERPNext Opening Balance guidance recommends comparing every account to the approved source Trial Balance, checking financial statements and control schedules, and ensuring Temporary Opening or migration-clearing balances are zero or explicitly explained and approved.

References: [1]

Prepare acceptance evidence and a correction path before go-live

Retain approved source extracts, mapping version, import batch IDs, failure logs, reconciliation reports and sign-off. Correct approved import files and rerun controlled batches rather than making undocumented direct database edits.

After sign-off, freeze the cut-off period according to policy and define an authorised opening-correction process with referenced approvals and rerun of affected reconciliations. ERPNext migration guidance similarly separates reconciliation from final freeze and controlled reopening.

References: [2]

Apply it to your business

A successful migration does more than import data. It gives the new system a traceable starting position from which teams can continue collection, payment, reconciliation and reporting after cut-over.