Migrating From Legacy Systems To Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

As more businesses find out about Microsoft 365 Business Central, we've discovered that they usually want to switch over to start using it. However, most of them have been showing concerns about how to get all their data onto the new platform.

And with that said, we'll show you how to migrate from legacy systems to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in this article.

What is Business Central?

This is an ERP system built for small and medium businesses to handle finance and resources. Microsoft 365 Business Central software comes with features like inventory management, expense tracking, budgeting, and much more. And all these are built into a single platform for you to easily access to keep managing your business smoothly.

How to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central?

Here is our six-step guide to help you get everything up and running on the software quickly.

1. Assess your data

Before we talk about moving your data anywhere, you need proper assessment and planning. This is very important for a successful migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. You should evaluate your current system, processes, and data structure. Which part of the data has relationships? What are the most important business data you can't afford to lose? What resources will you need for the migration?

You need to carefully answer these questions to make sure you know exactly what data to transfer.

2. Cleanse the data

The next step is to cleanse your data. You definitely don't want to have the same records flying around. So, find out whether the data contains any duplicates and remove them if you find any. You may also want to throw away old information (or at least not migrate it to the new software) —the aim is to only send the information you'll always need.

3. Backup all your data

Now that everything is ready, let's not forget to back up the data. It's a very good practice to do this every time you want to transfer some data or migrate to a new platform. When to do the backup actually depends on you.

You may decide to only have a copy of the cleaned data, the original data, or even both. The choice is yours. Just make sure you have your data stored somewhere, in case of anything unexpected.

4. Integrate and map data

We now have to start with the first step of integration. Your legacy system has fields that make it easy to store and organize your data efficiently. So, we now have to allow Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to receive and import data from your legacy system. To do that, you'll map each field from your legacy system to corresponding fields in Microsoft Dynamics BC.

With that, you've set up a connection between the two softwares for easy transfer of information.

5. Test the migrated data

You're probably still wondering why we still haven't made the migrations just yet. Well, we're not just trying to move the data over, but we also want to help you catch up on unforeseen issues during migration. That said, you need to first migrate to a separate environment to make sure everything is well set up. If any issue comes up here, it's very possible for it to also show up during the live migration, too. So, you want to fix every issue and make everything ready for the real migration.

6. Migrate

Finally, it's time to migrate. When you're sure you're ready to go, migrate the data and make sure you keep your eyes on the migration process. When the migration is done, you should validate the data to see that everything is transferred successfully.

Let's help you migrate to Business Central

While Dynamics 365 Business Central is a powerful business tool that many businesses want to use, migrating to it with your data seems to be a little complex. However, we've walked you through the steps to migrate your business data to the software successfully.

At onpoint, we understand the intricacies involved in data migration, and our team of experts is dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition, safeguarding your critical business data every step of the way.

With our comprehensive process, we'll meticulously assess, cleanse, backup, integrate, test, and migrate your data, leaving no room for errors or data loss. Partner with onpoint today and unlock a world of streamlined operations, enhanced productivity.