The final days before an ERP launch bring a practical question into focus: can the business pick up its work in the new system with the right records, people, and approvals in place? A clear ERP cutover plan helps the team answer that question.
An ERP cutover plan sets out how that transition will happen. It covers the tasks required to stop work in the old system, move the necessary data, check the production setup, and authorize the business to begin using it.
On The ABCs of ERP & Beyond, Nirav Shah and Peter Nicholson discuss the cutover stage of an ERP implementation. Their conversation offers five useful checks for business leaders preparing for the switch.
1. Build your ERP cutover plan with owners and deadlines
A task such as “move the open orders” leaves too much unanswered. Who prepares the records? Who enters or imports them? When must that happen, and what needs to be finished first?
Build those details into the cutover plan. Include internal employees, the implementation partner, and any third-party vendors involved. Confirm that each person can be available when their task is due, including outside normal working hours if necessary.
Finance may need to run reports after data has been loaded. Sales staff may need to enter outstanding orders. An integration provider may need to finish its production setup. Those commitments need agreement before the cutover window arrives.
Check the wider business calendar, too. Holidays, trade shows, and busy trading periods can limit the people and attention available. Choose a window when transactions can be paused and the necessary team can participate. A weekend may suit some businesses, but availability and operating patterns should guide the decision.
2. Check production data in your ERP cutover plan
The production company is the live ERP setup employees will use after launch. Prepare it early enough to check its configuration, master data, and connected applications.
Copying a tested environment may provide a starting point. It does not establish that every record is current. Customers, vendors, and items added while the implementation was underway may be missing from an older snapshot.
Review the master records needed for day-to-day work, including item units of measure and the chart of accounts. Confirm that third-party applications are configured for production, with the appropriate licenses, rather than simply installed.
The episode describes an implementation where incorrect units of measure affected inventory quantities during cutover. The broader lesson is to check the details that give data its meaning. A quantity can look valid while representing the wrong unit.
3. Decide what data needs to move
An older ERP system may contain years of transactions. Agree which records the new system needs for ongoing work and which historical information can remain accessible elsewhere.
Start with open activity. Review outstanding customer invoices, supplier balances, and orders. Where normal business processes allow, resolve or complete work before cutover instead of moving unnecessary open records into the new system.
Keep those decisions with the appropriate business owners. A migration deadline should not become a reason to make unsupported accounting adjustments or close work that is still genuinely outstanding.
Then consider reporting needs. Which historical general ledger balances will finance need for comparisons? Does the business need closed transaction detail in the new ERP, or a way to consult it in the old system?
Document the agreed scope. The goal is a usable starting position for the business, with a clear way to access the history it still needs.
4. Choose migration methods for your ERP cutover plan
The episode discusses several ways to move data, including imports, direct connections, and manual entry. A single method may not suit every record.
Data structure matters. An open sales order can contain fully completed lines, partially shipped lines, and items still awaiting shipment. Moving the original order without understanding that status can misrepresent the work remaining.
Review the detail before choosing the method. Consider the volume, the reliability of the source records, and the effort needed to prepare and check them. Manual entry may be practical for a limited set of complicated orders; an import may suit more straightforward records.
Include preparation and checking in the plan, whichever method you choose. The business needs the correct outstanding work in the new system, not simply confirmation that a file was loaded.
5. Make financial reconciliation an explicit approval step
Before employees begin posting transactions, finance should review the migrated balances and their supporting reports.
The episode highlights three comparisons:
- Open accounts receivable against the corresponding general ledger balance.
- Open accounts payable against the corresponding general ledger balance.
- Inventory valuation against the corresponding general ledger balance.
Name the person responsible for this review and make sure they are available. Record their approval as a distinct step in the ERP cutover plan rather than assuming a completed data load means the business is ready.
Keep the supporting safeguards visible
These checks sit alongside three preparations emphasized in the conversation: formal pilot-testing approval, a documented fallback if cutover cannot proceed, and clear communication with third-party vendors.
Use the final review to challenge assumptions. Are the required people available? Is the production data current? Has finance approved the balances? Does everyone know what happens if a critical problem prevents the switch?
Preparing for an ERP cutover? Contact AdCirrus ERP to discuss the people, data, and approval steps in your plan.
Watch the original cutover episode of The ABCs of ERP & Beyond for the full discussion.
