Moving to new accounting software can feel risky — what happens to years of history? Done carefully, very little is lost, and the new system can be set up better than the old one.
What usually moves across
- Your chart of accounts (often tidied up on the way)
- Customers, suppliers and contact details
- Opening balances and outstanding invoices and bills
- Employee details and year-to-date payroll figures
Pick a clean starting point
The easiest time to switch is at the start of a BAS period — and the start of the financial year (1 July) is easiest of all. Your old reports stay neat, and the new file starts fresh.
Keep the old file
Keep read-only access to your old software (or export full reports to PDF) so you can look back at old detail when you need it.
A simple switch checklist
- Reconcile and close off the old file to the switch date.
- Export reports: balance sheet, profit and loss, aged receivables and payables, payroll summaries.
- Set up the new file — accounts, tax codes, bank feeds and bank rules.
- Enter opening balances and check they match the old file to the cent.
- Run both side by side for the first few weeks if you can.
Donna works in Xero, QuickBooks, MYOB, Reckon and Sage, so she can move you either way.