Want To Migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central? Here’s What To Do.
- onpoint ltd
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
The phone call came at 9 PM on a Tuesday. "We need to migrate to Business Central, but we can't afford to shut down operations," the managing director explained. His manufacturing company had outgrown Sage 300, their inventory was tracked in Tally, and critical production data was still in Excel files passed between departments regularly.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. Most Nigerian businesses face this exact challenge: needing to upgrade systems while keeping the lights on and money flowing.
The Migration Reality Check
The truth about system migrations that most consultants won't tell you upfront: the biggest risk isn't technical failure. It's business disruption. Your customers don't care that you're upgrading systems. They want their orders delivered on time, their invoices accurate, and their calls answered promptly.
The good news? With proper planning, you can migrate to Business Central without missing a beat.
Your Step-by-Step Migration Roadmap
Phase 1: Assessment & Planning (Weeks 1-2)
What happens: Complete audit of your current systems, data quality, and business processes.
Your role: Identify which processes absolutely cannot be interrupted and which can tolerate brief downtime.
Risk mitigation: Run parallel systems during critical business periods (month-end, peak season, major project deliveries).
Phase 2: Data Preparation (Weeks 3-4)
What happens: Clean, validate, and prepare your data for migration. This includes customer records, vendor information, inventory data, and financial history.
Your role: Assign team members to verify data accuracy—especially customer contacts and inventory quantities.
Risk mitigation: Keep your existing systems fully operational while preparing data in the background.
Phase 3: System Setup & Testing (Weeks 5-8)
What happens: Configure Business Central to match your business processes, import cleaned data, and conduct thorough testing.
Your role: Test every critical process—from creating quotes to processing payments to generating reports.
Risk mitigation: Use copied data for testing, never your live business data.
Phase 4: Parallel Operations (Weeks 9-10)
What happens: Run both old and new systems simultaneously for all critical operations.
Your role: Enter new transactions in both systems to ensure Business Central handles your real-world scenarios.
Risk mitigation: This is your safety net—if something goes wrong, your old system is still running.
Phase 5: Go-Live & Monitoring (Week 11)
What happens: Switch to Business Central as your primary system while keeping old systems accessible for reference.
Your role: Monitor all processes closely and have your team ready to address any issues immediately.
Risk mitigation: Choose go-live timing carefully—avoid month-end, busy seasons, or major project deadlines.
Managing the Human Side of Change
Technology is only half the battle. Your team's comfort with new processes determines success more than the software itself.
Start training early: Begin user training during Phase 3, not after go-live.
Identify champions: Choose enthusiastic team members to become system experts who can help others.
Plan for productivity dips: Expect 20-30% slower operations for the first two weeks as your team adjusts.
Maintain support: Keep your migration team available for at least 30 days post-go-live.
Timeline Expectations
Simple migrations (QuickBooks to BC with basic needs): 8-10 weeks
Moderate complexity (Multiple systems, custom integrations): 12-16 weeks
Complex migrations (Heavily customized legacy systems): 20-24 weeks
Remember: rushing the timeline creates more risk than taking the time to do it right.
Your Migration Success Strategy
The companies that migrate successfully don't just implement new software. They use the transition as an opportunity to strengthen their operations. They emerge with cleaner data, better processes, and teams that understand their business more deeply.
Ready to plan your seamless migration to Business Central?
Every successful migration starts with understanding your unique situation and building a plan that fits your business rhythm. Don't let fear of disruption keep you stuck with systems that limit your growth.
Let's map out your migration strategy:
Contact us at marketing@onpointserv.com
Our certified Business Central specialists have guided countless Nigerian businesses through successful migrations. We know how to keep your operations running smoothly while building the foundation for your future growth.
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