Moving from Sage Business Cloud Accounting to Ledgr

Six exports, in this order

People first, then what you sell, then the trial balance, then what is still owed either way. The order matters: a balance brought forward needs the customer to exist first. In Ledgr, open Import from another system and choose Sage. Each file is checked and shown to you before anything is written.

1. 1

   Customers

   In Sage: Contacts, then Customers. Click Export at the top right and choose CSV.

   Here: Import as Customers.

2. 2

   Suppliers

   In Sage: Contacts, then Suppliers. Export as CSV.

   Here: Import as Suppliers. Same columns as customers — choosing Suppliers is how we know which it is.

3. 3

   Products and services

   In Sage: Products & Services. Click Export and choose CSV.

   Here: Import as Products and services.

4. 4

   Trial balance

   In Sage: Reporting, then Trial Balance. Choose the period ending the day before you start here. Export as CSV.

   Here: Your accountant posts it in the trial balance section. Map the debtors and creditors lines to Opening balances — awaiting allocation, so the invoices and bills below are not counted twice.

5. 5

   Open customer invoices

   In Sage: Sales, then Sales Invoices. Filter the status to Outstanding. Export as CSV.

   Here: Import as Open invoices. Any paid ones in the file are skipped automatically.

6. 6

   Open supplier bills

   In Sage: Purchases, then Purchase Invoices. Filter the status to Outstanding. Export as CSV.

   Here: Import as Open bills.

What to check afterwards

• •Open Customers in Ledgr and skim the list. Names and VAT numbers should match Sage.
• •Compare the aged receivables in Ledgr with Sage's Aged Debtors report on the same date. The totals should agree to the cent. Do the same for creditors.
• •Run the trial balance in Ledgr. The balances you brought in sit under "Opening balances — awaiting allocation" until your accountant allocates them. Once the debtors and creditors lines are mapped to it, that account should be close to nil.
• •Raise your first invoice. If the customer is there and the numbering carries on from where you left off, you are done.

If a total does not agree, the usual reason is a document raised in Sage after the export was taken. Export again and bring it in again — Ledgr recognises what is already here and adds only what is new.

What comes across

Five things. Together they mean the first invoice you raise in Ledgr goes to a customer who already exists, and the first statement you send says exactly what is owed.

• Customers and suppliers

  Names, references, VAT numbers, email, phone and postal address.

• Products and services

  Code, name, description and selling price. Prices come in exactly as exported — check whether they include VAT.

• Open customer invoices

  Everything still unpaid on the day you move, as one balance brought forward per customer. Part-paid invoices come in at what is still owed.

• Open supplier bills

  Everything you still owe on the day you move, one bill each, so you can pay them from here.

• Trial balance

  Your closing balances, posted as opening balances on the day before you start.

What stays behind

We would rather tell you now than have you find out on a Monday.

• •Transaction history. The old system's postings, VAT treatment and category choices stay where they are, as the record of what happened before. You look history up there.
• •Paid invoices and paid bills. They were recognised and taxed in the old system. Bringing them in again would count the sales and the VAT twice.
• •Bank transactions. Your bank's own statement is the better witness. Import it from the bank's file and every line is matched from there.
• •Stock on hand. Items come across; the quantity on the shelf does not. Take a count on the day and enter it once.