Migrating from MAS90 (now known as Sage 100) to QuickBooks Online (QBO) can offer significant benefits such as cloud-based accessibility, improved user interface, and seamless integration with modern business tools.

However, this migration process is complex and requires careful planning, meticulous data extraction, precise conversion, and addressing specific challenges unique to transitioning from a robust on-premise system like MAS90 to a cloud-based solution like QuickBooks Online.

The following steps ensure a successful and smooth transition, maintaining data integrity and operational efficiency throughout the process.

Step 1: Preparing for MAS90 to QuickBooks Online Conversion

Strategic Planning

Carefully assess your current MAS90 setup, identifying which features and data are essential to carry over to QuickBooks Online and which might need alternative solutions.

Establishing a realistic timeline is vital for a smooth transition. Typically, a migration from MAS90 to QuickBooks Online can take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the complexity of your data and processes. Factor in time for data cleaning, testing, and employee training on the new system.

Choose a kick-off date strategically, preferably at the start of a new fiscal period to minimize disruption to your financial reporting.

Data Backup and Security

Before making any changes to your MAS90 system, it’s imperative to create a comprehensive backup of your data. This backup serves as a safety net, allowing you to revert to your original setup if any issues arise during the migration process.

Ensure that your backup includes all modules and data types you plan to migrate, including your chart of accounts, customer and vendor information, inventory data, and historical transactions.

Configure QuickBooks Online Account

Setting up your QuickBooks Online account is more than just entering basic company information. Start by choosing the appropriate QuickBooks Online plan based on your business needs-consider factors like the number of users, inventory tracking requirements, and reporting needs.

Once you’ve selected your plan, begin the initial setup process. This includes entering your company name, industry, and tax information. Set up your fiscal year and accounting method (cash or accrual) to match your current practices in MAS90.

Step 2: MAS90 to QuickBooks Online Conversion Process

Clean and Transform Data

Start by thoroughly reviewing your exported files for accuracy and completeness. Look for any obvious errors, missing data, or inconsistencies. Pay special attention to your chart of accounts, customer and vendor lists, and transaction data.

Next, focus on cleaning the data. This involves removing any duplicate entries that may have accumulated in your MAS90 system over time.

The transformation phase involves restructuring your data to match QuickBooks Online’s required format. This may include:

Simplifying your chart of accounts if MAS90’s structure is more complex than what QuickBooks Online supports.
Mapping MAS90 accounts to appropriate QuickBooks Online account types.
Consolidating or splitting certain data fields to align with QuickBooks Online’s structure.
Ensuring transaction data includes all the fields required by QuickBooks Online, such as proper categorization of income and expenses.

Extract Data from MAS90

Extracting data from MAS90 is a critical and often complex process that requires attention to detail and a thorough understanding of your MAS90 setup.

Navigate to the General Ledger Utilities menu in MAS90 and select General Ledger Exchange. This tool allows you to set up and execute your data exports.

You’ll need to create export settings using the General Ledger Exchange Settings wizard. This process involves several key decisions:

Choose to export data rather than import.
Select the types of data you want to export. This typically includes Budgets and Activity for trial balance information, and Transactions for detailed transaction history.
Specify a name and description for your exchange settings. Use clear, descriptive names to differentiate between multiple exports if needed.
Define account status options, deciding whether to include active accounts only or also inactive ones.
Select which accounts to include in the export-usually, you’ll want to select “All” to ensure comprehensive data transfer.
Choose ASCII as the file type and specify where you want to save the export files. It’s crucial to save these in the SOA folder you created earlier.
Use the “Alternate File Format” option for the export, as this is the format most compatible with data conversion tools.

Import Data into QuickBooks Online

Start with your Chart of Accounts, as this forms the foundation of your financial system. QuickBooks Online allows you to import your chart of accounts via a spreadsheet template.

Next, import your customer and vendor lists. Again, QuickBooks Online provides templates for these imports.

For products and services, you may need to set up your items manually if you have a complex inventory system in MAS90.

Importing historical transactions is often the most challenging part of the process. QuickBooks Online has limitations on the number of transactions that can be imported at once, so you may need to break this into smaller batches.

Throughout the import process, take advantage of QuickBooks Online’s preview features to catch any mapping errors or inconsistencies before finalizing the imports.

Verify and Reconcile Data

Begin by checking your account balances. Compare the ending balances from your MAS90 system to the opening balances in QuickBooks Online.

Reconcile your financial statements by generating reports in both MAS90 and QuickBooks Online for the same period. Compare your balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and other key reports to ensure they match.

Step 3: Handling Common MAS90 to QuickBooks Online Conversion Challenges

Complex Chart of Accounts

MAS90 often employs a more complex and detailed chart of accounts compared to what QuickBooks Online typically supports. This difference can present significant challenges during migration.

In MAS90, you might have used a hierarchical account structure or extensive segmentation to track various aspects of your business. QuickBooks Online, while flexible, has limitations on account numbering and hierarchies.

To address this:

Review your MAS90 chart of accounts critically. Identify accounts that can be consolidated without losing important financial tracking capabilities.
Consider using QuickBooks Online’s class and location tracking features as alternatives to account segmentation.
If you have a large number of accounts, prioritize the most actively used and important ones for detailed tracking in QuickBooks Online.
For very complex structures, you might need to use third-party apps that integrate with QuickBooks Online to achieve the level of detail you had in MAS90.

Historical Data Limitations

QuickBooks Online has limitations on importing detailed historical transactions, which can be a significant challenge when migrating from a system like MAS90 that may contain years of detailed transaction history.

To manage this:

Determine a cut-off date for detailed transaction history. This is often the start of the current fiscal year or the last closed period.
For periods before the cut-off, consider importing summary journal entries instead of individual transactions. This approach maintains your overall financial position without overwhelming QuickBooks Online with excessive historical detail.
If detailed historical data is crucial, explore third-party data migration tools that specialize in moving large volumes of transactions into QuickBooks Online.
For analytical purposes, consider keeping your MAS90 system accessible (in read-only mode) for a period after migration to reference historical details when needed.
Export detailed historical reports from MAS90 and store them securely for future reference.

Custom Fields and Reporting

MAS90 offers extensive customization options for fields and reporting, which may not have direct equivalents in QuickBooks Online. This can impact how you track and report on specific business metrics.

To address this:

Identify which custom fields and reports are crucial for your business operations.
Explore QuickBooks Online’s native customization options, including custom fields for customers, vendors, and employees.
Utilize QuickBooks Online’s class and location tracking features to replicate some of the custom tracking you had in MAS90.
For complex reporting needs, consider using third-party reporting tools that integrate with QuickBooks Online and offer more advanced customization options.
Some custom data may need to be tracked outside of QuickBooks Online in supplementary systems or spreadsheets. Ensure you have a plan for maintaining and integrating this information with your QuickBooks Online data.

Inventory Management

If your business relies heavily on MAS90’s advanced inventory features, transitioning to QuickBooks Online may require some adjustments to your inventory management processes.

Consider the following:

Evaluate QuickBooks Online’s inventory tracking capabilities against your needs. QuickBooks Online does offer basic inventory tracking, but it may not match the complexity available in MAS90.
For advanced needs like serialized inventory, lot tracking, or complex costing methods, explore QuickBooks Online compatible inventory management add-ons.
You may need to simplify some of your inventory processes to fit within QuickBooks Online’s framework.
Plan for how you’ll handle inventory valuation during the migration, especially if you’re using LIFO or other complex costing methods in MAS90.

Data Volume

MAS90 is designed to handle large volumes of data, which can be a challenge when migrating to QuickBooks Online, which has certain limitations on data volume and list sizes.

To manage this:

Be prepared to archive older, inactive data rather than migrating it all to QuickBooks Online.
For businesses with high transaction volumes or large numbers of customers/vendors, consider QuickBooks Online Advanced, which offers higher limits.
Implement a data management strategy in QuickBooks Online to regularly archive or summarize older data, keeping your active dataset within manageable limits.
For very large datasets, you might need to explore enterprise-level cloud ERP solutions as an alternative to QuickBooks Online.