Moving to a New Accounting System: How to Transfer Data Without Losses

Moving to a new CRM is a moment when you can either bring order or further confuse your accounting. The most common mistake during migration is trying to “upload” everything as it is from an old Excel spreadsheet without checking for duplicates and errors.

Let’s look at how to prepare data so the move goes smoothly.

Step 1: Preparing Templates

Don’t try to create a CSV file “from scratch” from memory. In every WorkPan directory (products, customers, parts), there is an “Import” button where you can download an import template. This is a ready-made file with the necessary column headers that the system is guaranteed to understand.

Fill in your data exactly in this template.

Step 2: Cleaning Data Before Import

The system doesn’t know that “Ivanov I.I.” and “Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich” are the same person. If you upload both variants, you will have duplicates that will later have to be merged manually.

What to do before uploading:

1. Remove duplicates. Check your customer database for repeating phone numbers or names.
2. Use a unified format. Phone numbers should be in the same format; prices should not have unnecessary symbols (only digits and a dot/comma depending on settings).
3. Check required fields. Every product must have an SKU or name; every customer must have a phone number. Without these, the import may fail with an error.

Step 3: Technical CSV Nuances

CSV is a simple text format, but it is sensitive to encoding and separators. If you see “garbled text” instead of letters when opening the file, it means there are encoding issues.

Safe import rules:

• Encoding: Unicode UTF-8. This is the standard for WorkPan.
• Separator: Comma “,”.
• Text separator: Double quotes ‘“’.

OpenOffice or LibreOffice are best for working with import files — they allow you to specify all these parameters (encoding, separators) when saving the file so the system reads the data correctly.

Step 4: Import Order

You cannot upload everything at once. There is a critical order that will save you from connection errors:

1. Directories. Cities, offices, warehouses are loaded first.
2. Products and Parts. Then — products, parts, and brands/models.
3. Customers. Importing the customer base.
4. Stock Balances. Only after products are loaded can you import stock balances for warehouses.

What to Do If Something Goes Wrong

If you have uploaded a file and see errors in the system — don’t panic.

• Firstly, Export will help you download the current data to see how the system “sees” it now.
• Secondly, the import knows how to update existing items. If you realize you uploaded prices with an error, just correct the file and upload it again — the system will update the data where necessary.

Moving to a new system is a good reason for “spring cleaning” in your business. The cleaner the data you upload to WorkPan the first time, the more accurate your analytics will be in the future.