How easy is it to convert to Xero from another accounting system?
If you’ve been using the same accounting software for years, the idea of switching systems can feel like a big deal.
What happens to all your data?
Will everything carry across?
And is it going to take weeks of your time to sort it out?
These are fair questions. However, converting to Xero is more straightforward than you might expect, but only if you go about it the right way.
Do it properly, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t make the move sooner. Rush it, and you could be untangling problems for months.
Here at Progression Accountancy, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses like yours make the switch from Sage, QuickBooks and plenty of other accounting systems besides. Some came to us at the start of the process, wanting to get it right the first time. Others came to us afterwards, with a migration that hadn’t quite gone to plan. Either way, we know exactly what a smooth conversion looks like and what tends to get in the way.
Here’s what the process involves:
Converting to Xero
At its core, a Xero migration is about moving your key financial data from one system to another, including your customer and supplier contacts, outstanding invoices and bills, bank balances, opening balances and your chart of accounts.
The good news is that Xero is built to receive data migrations. The setup flow is logical, the prompts are clear, and there’s a well-worn path for businesses moving across from other systems.
The bit that trips most people up isn’t the technology. It’s the data preparation.
Your new system is only as good as what you put into it. If your existing records are incomplete or inconsistent, those problems will follow you into Xero, unless you catch them first. That’s why a bit of groundwork before you migrate can pay dividends later.
converting from Sage to Xero
Sage is the system we see most often when businesses come to us for Xero migration support, and for good reason. It’s been around for decades and has a huge user base. But it’s also one of the more involved migrations.
The data structures between Sage and Xero are quite different, which means the fields don’t always map cleanly from one to the other. Your chart of accounts will almost certainly need remapping to reflect how Xero organises things, and it’s worth taking the opportunity to tidy it up at the same time, rather than just replicating your old habits in a new system.
If you’re switching mid-tax year, you’ll need to get your year-to-date figures right before anything else. Your gross pay, tax paid, NI contributions and VAT history all need to be accurately recorded as of your switching date. Miss this step, and your year-end will be painful.
Converting from QuickBooks to Xero
QuickBooks migrations tend to be a bit smoother than Sage, largely because the underlying data structures are closer to Xero’s. Contacts, invoices and bills generally transfer with less friction.
That said, some fields still don’t map perfectly between the two systems, and it’s easy to end up with data that looks right on the surface but doesn’t quite behave as expected once you start working in Xero. Tax codes, payment terms and account categories are the usual suspects.
As with any migration, the quality of what comes out depends heavily on what goes in. If your QuickBooks data is well-maintained, you’re in a strong position. If it’s been a bit neglected, a migration is a good opportunity to start afresh. But you’ll want someone who knows what they’re doing to help you decide what’s worth carrying across and what’s better left behind.
Converting from other accounting systems
Sage and QuickBooks are the two migrations we see most often, but they aren’t the only systems you can switch to Xero from. We’ve helped businesses migrate across from software like FreeAgent, NetSuite, FreshBooks and Kashflow, or even move from paper-based records to Xero.
The general principles are the same regardless of where you’re starting from:
Clean up your data before you migrate.
Agree on a sensible start date.
Map your chart of accounts carefully.
Make sure your opening balances reconcile before you go live.
If you’re moving from something more niche, it’s worth having a conversation with a Xero expert before you commit to a method. Some systems have dedicated migration tools, which you’ll find in the Xero app store. Others need more manual intervention. Either way, knowing what you’re dealing with upfront will save you a lot of head-scratching later.
How tools like MoveMyBooks can help
MoveMyBooks is a dedicated migration tool designed specifically for moving data into Xero. It automates much of the heavy lifting, such as pulling across your contacts, invoices, bills and bank transactions from Sage or QuickBooks, and it does this job well. For businesses with a high volume of data, it’s a significant time-saver compared to doing everything by hand.
It’s a useful tool, and we’d recommend it in the right circumstances. But it’s worth being clear about what it does and doesn’t do.
MoveMyBooks moves data. It doesn’t sense-check it. If your Sage or QuickBooks records contain duplicate contacts, miscoded transactions or a messy chart of accounts, those problems will come across, too. The tool has no way of knowing your data is wrong. It just faithfully reproduces whatever it finds. While it removes a lot of the grunt work, a clean migration still needs a clean starting point.
So, before you transfer anything, it’s worth making sure your existing records are as accurate and tidy as possible. Data issues are where Xero conversions can quietly go wrong, in ways that can cause low-level frustration for months if you don’t catch them at the time.
Opening balances are a common culprit. If they don’t reconcile with your final figures from your old system, your accounts will be off from day one. VAT periods that don’t line up correctly can also cause a headache when it’s time to file. If your payroll history hasn’t carried across properly, your year-end figures won’t stack up. And if your chart of accounts hasn’t been set around how your business works, you’ll end up with reports that don’t tell you much.
These are the kinds of issues that can erode your confidence in your numbers, and fixing them retrospectively is always harder than getting them right at the start.
You can read more about converting to Xero using MoveMyBooks here.
Why get expert help with your Xero conversion?
Converting to Xero is achievable for most businesses, and the benefits of getting there are well worth the effort. A cleaner system, better reporting and far less time spent on your financial admin every week.
There’s nothing to stop you from running a Xero migration yourself. For small, straightforward businesses, it can absolutely work. But there’s a big difference between getting your data into Xero and getting Xero working properly for your business.
At Progression Accountancy, we’ve helped hundreds of small businesses across a wide range of industries to convert from another accounting system to Xero, and we know exactly what to check at every stage. . We can help you identify which data is worth bringing across, which is better left behind, and where the common problems tend to hide. We’ve seen pretty much every variation of the process, including the ones that went wrong before they arrived with us, and we’re here to ensure yours goes as smoothly as possible.
We’ll help ensure your opening balances get reconciled against your old system properly, and your chart of accounts is built around how your business actually operates, so your reports are useful from day one.
And our support won’t stop when your migration is done. We can also train you on Xero, using your own data, so you’re confident working with the software from day one.
So, if you’re weighing up a move and want to know what it would look like for your business, we’re happy to talk it through. Get in touch, and we’ll give you an honest picture of what’s involved.
Happy Xero-ing folks!