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ERP Data Migration Checklist: Master Data and Opening Balances

By HYP ERP · Updated 27 October 2026

Migrate master data first: chart of accounts, customers, suppliers, items and fixed assets. Then load opening balances at one cut-off date: the trial balance, plus the open items behind it, such as unpaid invoices, stock and bank balances. Every balance must tie back to the old system before go-live; detailed history stays in the old system.

What data should you migrate to a new ERP, and what should you leave?

Migrate what you need to keep trading from day one, summarise what you need for comparisons, and archive the rest in a form you can still read.

Migrate in full	Summarise	Archive in the old system
Chart of accounts (redesigned)	Monthly trial balances for prior years	Individual past invoices and journals
Active customers, suppliers and items	Sales by customer and item for last year	Closed purchase and sales orders
Open invoices, credit notes and advances		Old stock movements
Stock quantities and values at cut-off		Past payroll runs
Fixed asset register		Past VAT working papers
Open sales and purchase orders
Bank balances

The rule of thumb: if no one will act on a record after go-live, don't migrate it.

Which master data fields need checking before import?

Every list needs an owner who cleans it and signs it off. Check these fields before each trial load.

Chart of accounts

Each old ledger mapped to one new account
Dormant accounts closed, not migrated

Customers and suppliers

No duplicates (same name, phone or TRN under two codes)
Legal name in English and Arabic, as it should appear on invoices
VAT registration number (TRN in the UAE) for every registered business
Payment terms and credit limits agreed with finance
Supplier bank details, including IBAN, verified against an official document

Items

One code per item; inactive items excluded
Description in English and Arabic
Units of measure and conversions (carton, piece, kilo)
Barcodes and VAT category
Costing method and reorder levels

Fixed assets

Cost, acquisition date, accumulated depreciation, remaining life and location for each asset

Run at least two trial loads. The first finds the structural problems; the second proves they are fixed.

Which opening balances do you need at cut-off?

The full trial balance at the cut-off date, and for each control account, the detail behind it. The detail must add up to the control account to the dirham.

Trial balance at the cut-off date, after all entries for the last period
Unpaid customer invoices and credit notes, by customer, adding up to receivables
Unpaid supplier invoices and advances, by supplier, adding up to payables
Stock by item and warehouse from a physical count, adding up to inventory
Fixed assets, adding up to cost and accumulated depreciation
Bank balances, reconciled to statements
VAT payable or receivable for the period still to be filed
Foreign currency balances, at the rate used in the old books
Accruals, prepayments and provisions

Year-end audit entries often arrive weeks after go-live: post them in the old system first, then carry the difference into the new one with a single dated adjustment.

How do you prove opening balances tie out? A worked example

Compare each control account in the old trial balance with the detail loaded into the new system, and explain and fix every difference before sign-off.

Here is the first trial load for a Dubai trading company with a 31 March cut-off:

Account	Old trial balance (AED)	Detail loaded (AED)	Difference (AED)	Cause and fix
Receivables	2,450,300	2,438,900	11,400	A journal posted straight to the receivables account with no customer attached; reposted to the right customer in the old system and reloaded
Payables	1,120,000	1,120,000	0	–
Inventory	3,060,000	2,987,500	72,500	Stock count lower than the books; count adjustment posted in the old system before cut-off
Fixed assets, net	840,000	840,000	0	–
Bank	615,200	615,200	0	Reconciled to statements

Two of five accounts were off. Both were fixed in the old system, not in the new one, so the old books, the new opening balances and the audit trail all tell the same story.

How long must you keep the old system's records in the UAE and Saudi Arabia?

For years after the switch, so keep the old system, or a readable archive of it, for the full retention period. To stay on the safe side, use the longest period that applies.

Records	UAE	Saudi Arabia
General tax records, including VAT	At least 7 years: VAT's general minimum is 5, but Corporate Tax requires 7	6 years from the end of the tax period
Corporate tax or Zakat records	7 years after the end of the tax period	At least 10 years for Zakat
Capital assets	At least 10 years	11 years for VAT
Real estate	15 years	15 years for VAT
Language	English accepted; the FTA can ask for a certified Arabic translation	Arabic
Location	Must be produced in readable form on request	Kept in the Kingdom

In practice: keep a read-only licence or a full export of the old system, and test that you can open it. Confirm the periods that apply to you with your tax adviser.

Where does data migration usually go wrong?

In the migrations HYP runs, three problems come up often: lists cleaned by IT instead of the people who use them, opening stock taken from the books instead of a count, and differences "fixed" in the new system where nobody can trace them. Our guide to moving from Tally or spreadsheets covers the wider switch, and our ERP Implementation & Migration page explains how HYP runs migrations.

Sources

Last updated: 27 October 2026

Frequently asked questions

How many years of history should we migrate?

Usually none in detail. Load opening balances and open items, plus monthly totals for comparison if you need them.

What is a cut-off date?

The date after which every new transaction goes into the new system. Opening balances are taken at that date.

Start your HYP ERP implementation with a clear scope

Talk to our team about your current systems, your data and the modules you plan to move to HYP ERP.

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