Migration strategy: what moves and when
You will be able to: Choose between opening balances only, open documents, full history and archive; Pick a cut-over date and name a data owner for each data set; Match each option to the Zeyto tool that supports it.
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Data migration is the part of a project clients underestimate most. Start with three questions: what data moves, how much history comes with it, and on which date does the old system stop and Zeyto start? The answers drive every later plan.
Four layers of data
- Masters: chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, items, price lists, units, warehouses.
- Opening balances: the balance of each account, each open customer and supplier invoice, and stock, as at the cut-over date.
- Open items: unpaid invoices and bills, cheques not yet cleared, orders not yet delivered.
- History: closed invoices, receipts and stock movements of past periods.
The options
| Option | What moves | Zeyto means | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Masters and opening balances | Lists plus balances at the cut-over date, bill by bill | Import Center and Accounting, Openings | Default for most clients |
| B Option A plus open orders | Also orders still to deliver, re-entered as documents | Manual entry or import where supported, planned in the blueprint | Distributors with big open orders |
| C Full history replay | Every past document posted again through Zeyto | Migration Tool, for Emeron only | Only when transaction-level history is required in Zeyto |
| D Read-only archive | Old system kept for reference | Restored backup, exported reports, PDFs | Always, alongside A or B |
Replaying history is not free. Every old document must be clean enough to post, so history multiplies cleansing and review work. Most clients are satisfied by correct balances plus a read-only copy of the old system. Ask the accountant what the client really needs for audit and tax records, and write the answer in the blueprint.
Choosing the cut-over date
Pick a date that is easy to prove: a month end, ideally a financial year end. Balances at that date should be available from the old system as a trial balance, an ageing listing and a stock valuation. In Zeyto the Opening Date must fall inside an open fiscal year, so check Fiscal Years first.
Who owns the data
Name a client owner for each data set: the accountant for the chart and balances, the sales manager for customers, the purchasing manager for suppliers, the storekeeper for items and stock. Owners clean and approve the files. The consultant maps and loads.
Practise in the demo
- Write a one-page migration strategy for an imaginary client: options chosen, cut-over date, data owners and archive plan.
- In the demo open Settings, then Import Center and list the lists that can be imported. Note which are masters and which are opening balances.
- Open https://demo.zeyto.app/demo-app/ and sign in with the demo login. This is a public demo with sample data, so nothing you do there affects a real business.
Public demo company, sign in as admin / demoAdmin123. Data refreshes nightly.
- Decide what moves, how much history and the cut-over date before any file is prepared.
- Most clients need masters, bill-by-bill opening balances and a read-only archive.
- Name a client owner for each data set.
Check yourself
4 questions on this lesson. Not timed, not the exam, and you can try again. Score 60% or more, and read the lesson, to complete it.