Accounting Data Transfer Checklist: What to Backup Initially

At the same time, when it comes to a business, migrating accounting data is one of the most fragile projects. Decisions, compliance and reporting are all based on financial records — and losing or damaging them during a migration can be an expensive and time-consuming mistake. An organized, prioritized backup checklist will set a tone that you are protecting what is important, streamlining downtime and keeping your stakeholders at ease throughout the entire transition.

PointSheet: So why is backup priority important?

But not all data is created equal. There are records that you’re legally required to maintain, ones that are absolutely essential for the continuity of your business, and others that it’d be nice to hang onto — if only they were not replaceable. Firstly prioritising files to be backed up decreases risk by ensuring the most important information is saved first. It also simplifies verification and recovery in case something wrong happens during migration.

Pre-migration planning: the essentials

• Assign ownership and responsibilities: Identify a migration lead to point the way, and clearly indicate who is in charge of each backup task, verification step and communication with stakeholders.
• Define scope and timeline Determine which accounts, periods, and record types you will move to the new system and create a schedule that allows additional time for proofing.
• Define storage and retention parameters: Decide where backups will be stored (on-premise, off-premise, encrypted in the cloud) and for how long they need to be kept for compliance or internal purposes.
• Document document structure and customizations (or include a chart of accounts with a list of your custom fields, templates or special configurations). This is useful for accurately mapping data during migration.

What to back up first: a hit list of priorities

Master data and setup (Highest priority)

• Chart of accounts: The foundation of financial reporting. Back up account name, number, type and hierarchy.
• Customer and vendor master data: Names, contact info, payment terms, tax IDs and any classification tags.
• Products & Service lists: Item names, SKU numbers, Price, UOM and Inventory settings.
• Tax and payroll settings: Use them to specify the rates, benefits or withholding rule.
• Company configuration: Fiscal Year, Accounting Method and Periods for reporting.
• Why front: These records define how transactional data gets parsed. And without them, the transactions cannot be appropriately reaggregated or understood.

Open Trades and Balances (High priority)

• Bank and credit balances: Statements and reconciliations of all accounts as at the migration date.
• AR & AP ledgers: Aging & Detailed report, open invoices and supplier bills.
• Inventory counting and valuation: Including physical quantities of inventory on hand, available for sale and valuation methods.
• Payroll liabilities & employee balances: Unpaid Wages, taxes owed, accrued benefits or vested interest but still unpaid.
• Why next: This is current liabilities and cash. Preservation of them insulates against misinformation and operational disruption.

transaction-data-medium-priority" class="text-2xl font-bold my-4 scroll-mt-24">Historical transaction data (Medium priority)

• General ledger History: Periodic journal entries, adjustments and closing entries to maintain consistency of reporting.
• Sales and purchase histories: Invoices, credit memos, purchase orders and receipts that help explain balances.
• Fixed asset registers: Detailing descriptions of the asset, purchase date, the depreciation policy as well as details regarding disposal.
• Why: Historical data provides continuance for audits, trending and comparative reporting. Determine how many years of history you require in the new system and in archive storage.

Appendices and other file attachments (Medium/Low priority)

• Contracts, invoices, receipts, bank statements and legal documents: Connections to certain transactions may be crucial for audits or disputes.
• Notes and memos: ‘H’ for internal explanations of irregular transactions or manual adjustments.
• Why: While frequently voluminous, supporting files are an essential part of regulatory compliance and reconstruction in certain circumstances. Order by regulatory requirements and audit exposure.

Reports and templates (Low priority)

• Report templates and export settings: Save layout definitions and customize filters or groupings your team use regularly.
• Why: It can be long and cumbersome to replicate complex reports. And waiting in the wings, standing by to maintain productivity post-migration.

Backup formats and export tips

• Opt for open formats that the original software can read (CSV,XML) to facilitate re-import and checking.
• Export ledger at full detail or consolidated at summary so you can reconcile in a snap.
• Keep filename and modified date of attached files to export.
• Try to keep all folders and files consistent: YYYYMMDD_account_ledgers. csv) so that files are easy to be located.

Check/verification: backups need to be working.

• Verify files: Make sure file hashes and sizes of what you have match this. An incorrect export is worse off than no export.
• Import into sandbox: Test the import if you can in a new instance to validate mapping, format and completeness.
• Reconciliation totals: Audit your exported totals against system balance and independently compiled statements (e.g., bank statements) to ensure that the sums are consistent.
• Preservation of audit trail: Make sure that logs or change history are retained, including changes made during the migration window sometime.

Communication and documentation

• Announce planned backups and migration windows to stakeholders. This consists of finance teams, external accountants, and department heads.
• Keep a log of migrations: Document the name of the person who created each backup, the time and date it was created, where it’s stored and whether it passed verification.
• Document easy recovery steps: Also cover the instructions on what you need to do in order to restore items if you eventually need to roll some of them back.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Limited scope: Not accounting for tax settings or custom fields can lead to incomplete reporting. Create a detailed inventory early.
• Single backup point: The more you bet on one, the greater the risk. Use several different backups to multiple dispersed locations.
• Not tested exports at all: Exports that are untested may become unreadable to migrate. Test a restore of your backups all the time.
• Not accommodating compliance requirements: Some records may have unique formats or longer time retention. Check the legal landscape before cutting the past.

Final checklist (quick reference)

• Assign migration conductor and duties
• Export master data and settings
• Export opened balances, and reconciled files (PDF of the bank statements)
• Export historical ledgers, and fixed assets registers as required
• Priority should be there to export supporting documents and attachments.
• Save custom reports/templates
• Backup copies to 2+ locations - 29) Multiple safe depot storage of backups
• Checksum your files and test imports
• Balance export totals to original system
• Document everything and involve stakeholders

Next steps

Having all your backups identified, prioritized and verified, you can now start mapping and importing with confidence. Consider the backup stage as an essential insurance policy: it ensures your company’s financial sustainability and sets out a straightforward recovery path if anything doesn’t go to plan. A systematic, considered process not only saves time and maintains trust, but also involves an approach to migration that accommodates growth rather than disturbing the present.