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Business Software Move Readiness Checklist
Thinking about moving off old, outdated business software? Work through this before you talk to any vendor. It's vendor-neutral — useful whether or not you ever work with us — and it'll make every conversation sharper.
1 · Take inventory
- List every system that holds your business data today (accounting, sales and customer records, spreadsheets, and any single-purpose apps).
- Note who owns each system and who actually uses it day to day.
- Capture your current yearly software spend, any fee for every employee who logs in, and renewal dates.
- Flag any contracts with notice periods or auto-renewal clauses.
2 · Assess your data
- Identify the main place you keep records for customers, items, suppliers, and your chart of accounts.
- Estimate record volumes (transactions, documents, attachments) per module.
- Spot duplicate, stale, or inconsistent data to clean before — not during — the move.
- Decide how much history you actually need to migrate vs. archive.
- Confirm you can export your data (and that you have the rights to).
3 · Map processes & customizations
- Document the core workflows that must keep working on day one (from quote to getting paid, from ordering to paying suppliers, and so on).
- List custom fields, scripts, reports, and connections to other tools you depend on.
- Identify any legal or record-keeping rules the new system must satisfy.
- Separate "must-have the day you go live" from "nice-to-have later" to keep the plan honest.
4 · Line up people & timing
- Name an internal owner who can make decisions during the project.
- Pick a day to go live that avoids your busiest season and your month or quarter close.
- Plan who checks the data and signs off before the switch-over.
- Budget time for training so the team is ready, not surprised.
5 · Cloud, security & ownership
- Decide where the system will live — and confirm you (not the vendor) will own it.
- Require your own private, walled-off section of the cloud that no other company shares, where you hold the only keys to your data.
- Confirm you keep your data and software if you ever change providers, so you are never locked in.
- Check that backups, a fast way to get running again after a problem, and security updates are covered and tested.
6 · Take the risk out of the switch-over
- Insist on a practice run against a copy before touching your live system.
- Check that the key totals (money owed to you, money you owe, inventory, and your books) match between old and new, line for line.
- Have a written plan to go back to the old system if the day you go live hits a snag.
- Run both systems side by side for a short while if the risk warrants it, then retire the old one cleanly.
Want us to handle the hard part?
Help with your move starts at $750, priced to your data — we've moved 300,000+ records with nothing lost in the switch-over. Or start on Foundation at $1,000 a month and move at your own pace.
