Agree these four things before migration
- One accountable owner, with separate office and finance reviewers
- An exact date and time for the data cutoff
- A scope covering learners, passes and unfinished work
- An owner, explanation and confirmation for every difference
1. Decide what moves and what remains available for reference
Current learner rights, historical transactions and attachments may require different approaches. Establish what the old system can export and what the new one can receive. Importing current balances is a different task from recreating years of business history.
- Needed for current operations: active learners, guardian relationships, valid passes, remaining credits or money, validity and current classes.
- Unfinished work: future bookings, make-up classes, pending refunds or transfers and unsettled orders.
- Historical reference: orders, payments, credit use and changes; agree whether these migrate or remain in an accessible archive.
- Limit access to people involved in migration. Do not upload learner-level records into a public enquiry form.
2. Use the same cutoff for every comparison
“Stop entering new activity in the old system after 22:00 on 15 September” is an example of a cutover agreement, not a recommended date. Log and reconcile any payments, refunds or late entries after the agreed cutoff. Exports taken at different times cannot be compared directly.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Field | Definition to agree |
|---|---|
| Learner identity | Old identifier, name and guardian relationships; do not merge matching names automatically |
| Remaining credits | Purchased versus bonus credits, negative balances and freezes |
| Stored balance | Paid versus bonus amounts and the services they can cover |
| Validity | Start and end dates, holds, extensions and expiry status |
| Unfinished work | Which system completes each item, preventing duplicate make-ups, deductions or refunds |
3. Test edge cases as well as straightforward records
Choose a sample that covers your main pass types and exceptions. Reconcile it in an agreed test environment and confirm that the test will not trigger live payments, notifications or duplicate transactions. Plan any live-data import separately.
- One guardian with several learners, or different learners with the same name.
- One learner with multiple passes, including bonus credits, expired passes or different eligible classes.
- Learners with leave, make-ups, transfers, refunds, extensions or freezes.
- Cross-location attendance or future bookings still to complete.
- Zero, negative or disputed balances: flag these for review instead of silently correcting them.
4. Reconcile both totals and individual records
Compare record counts and balances grouped by location and pass type, then check individual sample records. Matching totals do not prove each learner is correct: opposite errors may cancel each other out. Do not add credits with different units or rules into one undifferentiated total.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Level | What to check | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Totals | Learner and pass counts, credits by pass type, money by balance category | Old value, new value, difference and cutoff |
| Individual | Identity, pass type, validity, remaining rights and open tasks | Sample list and item-by-item results |
| Differences | Missing records, duplicates, rule mapping or post-cutoff activity | Cause, owner, resolution and reviewer |
5. Sign off before changing the daily entry point
Office staff confirm classes and learner rights, finance confirms money and the owner accepts open issues and their handling. Give employees a short handover: when to use the new system, which old records they may still need and who handles a discrepancy.
- Retain readable original exports, field definitions and acceptance records.
- Confirm how old records will remain accessible before ending everyday use of the old system.
- Agree a temporary recording method and who enters it later, so the same activity is not recorded in both systems.
- Reconcile again after the first full cycle of classes and payments, especially old passes used in the new system, make-ups and refunds.
6. Avoid three shortcuts that create later disputes
Explain and review differences rather than changing figures to make them agree for launch. Pause the affected item when entitlement or money is disputed and confirm its source.
- Importing “10 sessions remaining” without validity, eligible classes or bonus-credit rules.
- Recording historical payments as new receipts in the current period, duplicating revenue reports.
- Treating an imported balance as proof of success without retaining original records and the discrepancy log.
Questions from studio teams
Can we assess migration if the old system only exports Excel?
Start with a field list and a few examples without personal data. Review which learner, pass, balance and historical fields can move. Import feasibility, preparation, cost and timing require a separate assessment; the file format alone is not enough.
Can we import opening balances and add history later?
It is an option to assess, provided opening balances and the cutoff are clearly identified, historical evidence remains accessible and later history cannot affect balances or income twice. Confirm the approach with the implementation team and your finance reviewer.
trainingOS
Put one workflow to the test in trainingOS.
trainingOS keeps learner, pass, attendance, order, payment and refund records available for reconciliation. Test the handling of a sample learner during the trial. Historical-data scope, preparation and formal go-live need a separate agreement.
This guide does not promise one-click migration, compatibility with every historical record or automatic correction of old accounts. Resolve money, entitlements and disputes using traceable business records and an agreed review.