1. Inventory the current estate
- ✓Record GP version, build and module registrations.
- ✓List DYNAMICS and every production, historical, test and inactive company database.
- ✓Record SQL Server version, collation, authentication and database sizes.
- ✓Identify third-party products, integrations, custom tables, VBA, reports and document stores.
- ✓Map business owners for GL, AR, AP, SOP, POP, inventory, payroll and fixed assets.
- ✓Capture retention requirements by record class and jurisdiction.
2. Decide what enters the new ERP
Write the rule for each entity. Examples include active customers only, all open AR transactions, items used in the last three years, current inventory balances and opening GL balances by account and dimension.
- ✓Define the cutoff date and status rules.
- ✓Identify data cleansing owners.
- ✓Preserve source keys for traceability.
- ✓Document currency, unit-of-measure and dimension mapping.
- ✓State how attachments, notes and third-party data are handled.
3. Decide where history will live
Do not leave this as "keep GP for now." Choose the operating model, named owner, access method, security controls, annual cost and planned retirement date.
- ✓List recurring audit, tax, customer and operational history questions.
- ✓Identify users who need self-service access after go-live.
- ✓Select backup-only, read-only GP, hosted history or local archive.
- ✓Define search, query, export and document requirements.
- ✓Agree how historical data will be backed up and recovery-tested.
4. Build and test migration extracts
- ✓Use a read-only source account.
- ✓Version the query or export definition.
- ✓Record filters, extraction time, row counts and control totals.
- ✓Preserve data types and original values before transformation.
- ✓Re-run the same definition through mock cutovers.
- ✓Get business-owner approval for exceptions and cleansing.
A rehearsal historical archive helps here because the migration team can profile source values and create repeatable extracts without repeatedly querying the production GP server.
5. Rehearse the cutover
- ✓Time the final extraction on realistic hardware and network conditions.
- ✓Test restart after an interrupted connection.
- ✓Confirm the GP posting freeze or SQL snapshot procedure.
- ✓Run source-to-destination and source-to-archive reconciliations.
- ✓Practice rollback and define the decision deadline.
- ✓Confirm who communicates status to users and executives.
6. Reconcile the final state
Use independent control totals, not only successful job logs. The exact set depends on scope, but commonly includes source and target row counts, GL trial balance, AR/AP balances, inventory quantities and value, document counts by type and period, and archive/file checksums.
7. Stabilize after go-live
- ✓Keep the old system available for the agreed parallel period.
- ✓Route historical questions through the chosen archive first.
- ✓Log missing views, fields and documents.
- ✓Resolve gaps while source experts and systems remain available.
- ✓Verify backup jobs and restore procedures for the new archive.
8. Approve decommissioning
- ✓Controller approves accounting reconciliation.
- ✓Business owners approve historical access for their modules.
- ✓IT approves permissions, encryption, backups and recovery.
- ✓Legal or compliance approves the retention package where required.
- ✓Executive sponsor accepts residual risks and shutdown timing.
- ✓Infrastructure, license and support cancellations are recorded.
Deliverables to keep with the project
Retain the inventory, mapping decisions, extract definitions, exception log, reconciliation reports, final archive hash, SQL backups, installation information, access-control record, restore test and signed decommission approval.