Testing a migration with a closed accounting period

Rehearse a migration against a period whose source books and reports have already been reviewed. Keep a fixed source snapshot, load the agreed scope into a test destination and compare the result before relying on the new ledger.

A closed period supplies a stable expected position; it does not make an import correct by itself.

Define the test boundary

Choose a complete period with a reviewed trial balance and bank reconciliation. Record the entity, dates, accounting basis, report filters, year-end entries and opening position needed to interpret the period. Keep the source files and reports unchanged during the rehearsal.

Use a separate test company or controlled copy where the product permits one. Record the destination product, plan, settings, mapping version and import batch. This exercise tests the business's migration data and conversion rules. It has a different purpose from trying fictional transactions while choosing software.

Select revealing cases

Include an invoice and receipt, bill and payment, credit, part-paid item, transaction near the period boundary, corrected or reversed entry, and an item with a document. Add stock, payroll or foreign-currency cases only if they are in the migration scope. State the expected treatment before loading.

If the selected route brings across only balances and unpaid items, test those outputs and retrieval of excluded history. Do not expect closed invoices to appear in destination transaction search merely because earlier comparative balances are available.

Compare and investigate

Check rejected rows and import warnings first. Compare counts and signed totals for the agreed scope, then the trial balance and aged lists. Finally trace selected entries from source document to destination record and report. An equal grand total can hide a missing item offset by a duplicate or wrong account.

Place the fixed source report beside each destination report. Align entity, dates, basis, filters and mapped account groupings before calling a difference an error.

MYOB's migration guide says to run checks after importing to make sure everything matches, and notes that some transactions, such as unpaid invoices, may need to be added manually. Intuit's Australian post-conversion guidance likewise directs users to compare balance sheet, trial balance, customer and supplier balances for its described route.

Migration testing workflow with a closed period

Migration test validation metrics

Test corrections in the copy

Apply a controlled late correction to the test copy and determine whether the approved process calls for a revised import, a destination adjustment or no change to the migrated period. Record both references and rerun affected comparisons. Before testing a repeated batch, establish what the first load created; check whether a second delivery would duplicate records.

Log each difference, cause, owner and resolution. If an approved or lodged period may be affected, ask the accountant or BAS adviser to decide the accounting and GST response. Complete the rehearsal when the agreed scope reconciles, excluded history remains retrievable and any accepted difference is documented.