The Challenge with Accounting Conversions

I have helped several clients going through various accounting software conversions lately as their businesses have grown. Here are a few tips from those conversions that may save you some grief and aggravation…

But understand: The nature of an accounting software conversion is that it gets worse before it gets better. Things will feel awkward and uncomfortable until you get familiar with the new system. A software conversion is an opportunity for positive change.

New software often has new features that can make your life easier. However, you need to explore the program and sometimes dig a bit to find them. Ask lots of questions and try and think outside the box of “this is how we have always done it” in the old system.

1. Make a list of all of the things you want to be sure to test before you go live with your new accounting system. This ranges from setting up customers and vendors, to entering invoices and credit memos, to printing checks and doing cash receipts. Can you print your financial statements in the format you like? What reports are you going to need to use to reconcile accounts and give to third parties?
2. Be sure to have a test company that is a duplicate of your live company to allow for testing and training. You want to be able to run a complete test payroll at least once without having to worry if it will be correct or not. You will need to test holiday and vacation pay, earned time calculations, and dummy paychecks.
3. Train before the go live date! Use the lists from step #1 to help with training. Take some sample documents (some easy, some challenging) and make copies and use them as testing and training items. Can you get them into the new software correctly? Does the information flow through to G/L correctly?
4. Pay particular attention to the challenging areas of your business. Is it payroll, or inventory, or accounts receivable that is your special challenge? Each business has an accounting area that is especially challenging and other areas that are straight forward. You want to make sure that the challenges can be handled smoothly. This may take some digging, but if you work from some old “problem” paperwork it will help you test processes out.
5. Understand – as I said before, it will get worse before it gets better. But it will get better. As you are learning and setting up a new accounting system you are actually doubling your work! You have to do your normal work, and then do it again in a system you are struggling to learn. It’s hard. But it is an opportunity to make improvements, get things to work smoother and more efficiently.
6. And finally, know that it is OK to ask for help. The folks who are training you on the new software may be a source for help, or other professionals that support your accounting department be it outside consultants or your CPA firm.

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