Your company just signed off on a new ERP system. Everyone’s excited about better reporting, streamlined processes, and finally getting rid of that old system held together with spreadsheets and workarounds.
But here’s what most companies overlook: picking the right ERP is only half the battle.
The other half? Getting your data into it correctly.
Research shows that 90% of CIOs have experienced failed or disrupted ERP migrations, and the main culprit isn’t bad software, it’s bad data migration planning.
When companies rush this step or treat it as a simple file transfer, they end up with duplicate records, missing information, and financial reports that don’t match reality.
This article covers six strategies that help companies migrate their data cleanly and avoid the problems that derail ERP projects.
Whether you’re moving from QuickBooks, an old on-premise system, or consolidating multiple platforms, these steps will help your implementation stick.
Thinking about an ERP implementation? Contact Cumula 3 Group today to talk with an ERP consultant who can assess your data and build a migration plan that works.
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Why Data Migration Fails When Companies Don’t Plan Ahead
Most ERP projects run into trouble not because the software doesn’t work, but because the data going into it was never properly prepared.
Data migration isn’t dragging files from one folder to another. You’re taking years, sometimes decades, of business records and making sure they fit into a completely different system structure.
If your current data has gaps, duplicates, or inconsistencies, those problems will follow you to the new platform.
When data migration goes wrong, you’ll see:
- Financial statements that don’t match your old system
- Customer records with conflicting information
- Inventory counts that seem off
- Multiple entries for the same vendor or product
- Reports that nobody trusts
The result? People lose confidence in the new system before it even gets a chance to prove itself.
A proper migration plan keeps your system accurate from day one and helps users actually adopt the new platform.
Starting the migration process early helps avoid delaying the ERP deployment and gives you a chance to remove obsolete historical data you’ve been dragging around for years.
Cumula 3 Group has guided dozens of companies through ERP implementations, and we’ve seen firsthand what separates smooth migrations from painful ones.
The companies that succeed treat data migration as a critical project phase, not a technical task to rush through at the end.
For NetSuite implementations specifically, Cumula 3 Group brings additional expertise as an award-winning NetSuite Solution Provider.
Our team includes certified consultants who know the platform inside out and can help you avoid common pitfalls that trip up first-time NetSuite users.
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6 ERP Data Migration Strategies That Prevent Headaches Later
These six strategies form the foundation of a clean, accurate migration.
Each one addresses a specific problem that causes ERP implementations to stumble.
1. Clean Your Data Before You Move It
If you migrate messy data, you’ll have a messy new system. It’s that simple.
Data quality erodes over time, so legacy ERP systems often suffer from errors, inconsistencies, information gaps and duplicate records. The longer you’ve used your current system, the more cleanup you’ll need.
Common data problems include:
- Multiple records for the same customer or vendor
- Products with different naming conventions (“Widget A” vs “WIDGET-A”)
- Missing information like tax IDs, payment terms, or account codes
- Old contacts who no longer work at customer companies
- Outdated pricing or inactive items still in the system
Start with a full audit. Look at your customer list, vendor list, product catalog, chart of accounts, and employee records. Find the duplicates, standardize the naming, fill in the gaps.
Get department heads involved—they know their data better than anyone. Have sales review customer records. Let accounting verify vendor information. Ask operations to confirm product details.
For companies moving to NetSuite, this cleanup phase is especially important because NetSuite’s data structure is more organized than most legacy systems. Taking time to clean your data means you can take full advantage of NetSuite’s reporting and automation features right away.
Cumula 3 Group uses data profiling tools to spot issues before they become problems. We work with your team to establish data standards and make sure records are accurate before anything moves to the new system.
2. Map Your Old Fields to Your New System Carefully
Every ERP system organizes data differently. What lived in one field in your old system might need to split into three fields in your new one. Or the opposite—three fields might combine into one.
Getting this mapping wrong causes import failures, data landing in the wrong places, and fields that stay empty when they should be filled.
Examples of mapping challenges:
- One address field versus separate fields for street, city, state, zip code
- Full names versus split first and last names
- Simple account numbers versus multi-segment account structures
- Different date formats (MM/DD/YYYY versus DD/MM/YYYY)
- Custom fields that don’t exist in the new system
Build a detailed mapping document that shows exactly where each piece of information will go. Include both technical people and business users in this process. Technical people understand the systems, but business users understand how the data gets used.
Your new ERP system may include tools that help automate the process of importing data from systems, although you may first have to rationalize the data and in some cases convert it to a form that the ERP system can recognize.
For NetSuite migrations, field mapping gets easier when you work with experienced consultants. NetSuite has specific requirements for how data needs to be formatted, and knowing these upfront saves hours of troubleshooting. Cumula 3 Group has mapped data from dozens of different systems into NetSuite, so we know the common translation issues and how to handle them.
This documentation becomes your reference guide. When questions come up during testing or after launch, you have a clear record of why data appears where it does.
3. Decide What Actually Needs to Move
Here’s something that surprises people: you don’t have to migrate everything.
The best migrations separate business-critical information from “just in case” history that can live in an archive. Trying to move every historical record slows down your project, increases costs, and makes your new system harder to navigate.
Think strategically about what to migrate:
- Active customers and vendors, not every contact from the past decade
- Open transactions and current balances, not every closed invoice
- Products you still sell, not discontinued items from years ago
- Historical data only where required by law or regulations
- Summary financial data instead of every detailed transaction
Ask yourself: does your sales team really need purchase orders from 2012 in the new system? Will finance reference invoices from eight years ago on a regular basis? Probably not.
For everything else, set up a secure archive that people can access when needed. This keeps historical data available without cluttering your live environment.
You may not need to migrate every single transaction from your legacy system. Instead, you can migrate summary-level data, such as monthly financial statements, and keep detailed transaction-level data in your legacy system for reference purposes.
Cumula 3 Group helps clients make these decisions during planning. We look at your compliance requirements, operational needs, and system performance to figure out the right migration scope. For NetSuite clients, we also consider how data volume affects subscription costs and system speed.
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4. Test Everything With Real Data Before Go-Live
Testing is what separates smooth launches from disasters. You need to see how your data behaves in the new system before you flip the switch, not after.
Start testing of the new system with small amounts of your migrated data as early as possible, and gradually build up to more comprehensive testing over time.
What thorough testing looks like:
- Load complete datasets, not just a few sample records
- Run all your standard reports and compare them to old system outputs
- Test key workflows—order entry, invoicing, payment processing
- Check that relationships between records stay intact
- Have actual users validate their data and try their normal tasks
Many companies test with a handful of records and think they’re done. That might show you that imports technically work, but it won’t reveal problems that only appear with real data volumes.
Plan for multiple test rounds. Your first test will find issues. Your second will confirm fixes. Your third will prove everything works correctly.
For NetSuite implementations, testing is particularly important because NetSuite handles certain transactions differently than traditional ERPs. Cumula 3 Group follows NetSuite’s proven implementation methodology, which includes structured testing phases. We build test scenarios based on your actual business processes to make sure everything works exactly how you need it to.
5. Validate Data Accuracy After Migration
Once data lands in your new system, you need to verify it matches what you had before. This step catches errors that testing might have missed and confirms nothing got lost or corrupted during the actual migration.
Data validation ensures that all the data has been correctly transferred and transformed without loss or corruption. This phase is where you prove your migration worked.
Key validation activities include:
- Comparing record counts between old and new systems
- Reconciling financial balances and transaction totals
- Spot-checking individual records for accuracy
- Running side-by-side reports from both systems to verify they match
- Having end users confirm their data looks correct
Set up validation rules to ensure data integrity post-migration. Create test cases to validate data accuracy against your mapping documents.
Don’t skip this step or rush through it. Validation is your proof that the migration succeeded and your safety net before you shut down the old system. If discrepancies show up, you need to know about them while you still have access to the source data.
Cumula 3 Group builds comprehensive validation into every migration plan. We create automated comparison scripts where possible and work with your team to manually verify critical records. For NetSuite projects, we use NetSuite’s built-in tools alongside third-party validation software to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
6. Have a Backup Plan If Something Goes Wrong
Even perfectly planned migrations can hit unexpected problems. You need a way to step back if necessary.
Thorough testing protects data integrity and guards against costly errors after go-live. Teams validate field-level accuracy and reconcile record counts and balances between old and new systems.
Your safety net should include:
- Complete backups of your current system data
- Final export files from right before migration
- Documentation of import sequences and how records connect
- Instructions for reverting to the pre-migration state
- Specific people assigned to execute rollback procedures
Think of this as insurance. You probably won’t need it, but if you do, it’s the difference between a minor delay and days of downtime while you scramble to fix things.
The final stage includes a last sync of transactions that occurred during the migration, supported by reliable backups, followed by a carefully planned cutover to the new system.
Cumula 3 Group builds this contingency planning into every implementation. We make sure backups are current, rollback procedures are documented, and your team knows exactly what to do if issues pop up. This preparation gives everyone confidence going into launch day.
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Why the Right Implementation Partner Changes Everything
ERP data migration is complicated. You’re dealing with years of business data, different system architectures, complex workflows, and tight deadlines. Trying to figure it all out on your own is a gamble.
What experienced consultants bring to the table:
- They’ve done this before and know where projects typically run into trouble
- They understand both the technical side and how businesses actually use their data
- They can spot problems early before they become expensive mistakes
- They know the specific quirks and requirements of your new ERP platform
- They provide support from planning all the way through post-launch stabilization
Partnering with outside specialists usually proves to be an exceptionally wise investment for organizations in your shoes, especially when you’re implementing an ERP for the first time.
Cumula 3 Group specializes in ERP implementations with a particular focus on NetSuite.
Our team includes MBAs, CPAs, software developers, and project managers who understand ERPs from multiple angles, technical, financial, and operational.
We don’t just move data from point A to point B. We make sure it’s clean, organized, and ready to support your business goals.
For NetSuite clients, we handle platform-specific challenges like CSV import templates, record dependencies, validation rules, and performance optimization.
As an award-winning NetSuite Solution Provider, Cumula 3 Group has successfully delivered implementations across software companies, distribution businesses, and various other industries. We know what works and what doesn’t.
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Conclusion – ERP Data Migration Strategies
Your ERP implementation will only be as good as the data you put into it.
The six strategies covered here, cleaning your data first, careful field mapping, strategic selection of what to migrate, thorough testing, data validation, and backup planning, give you a framework that actually works.
These aren’t theoretical best practices. They’re practical steps that prevent the problems most companies run into.
When you get data migration right, your new ERP delivers value immediately. Reports are accurate from day one. Users trust the system. Your business keeps running without disruption.
Don’t let data migration become the weak point in your ERP project. With the right planning and the right partner, you can move forward confidently.
Contact Cumula 3 Group today to schedule a consultation and get a customized migration plan for your business. Whether you’re considering NetSuite or another platform, we’ll help you get your data ready for a successful launch.
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