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ReadData migration is one of the most critical — and most overlooked — phases of ERP implementation. Here's how IDS ensures a clean, verified migration every time.
After months of configuration, testing, and training, many ERP projects stumble at the final hurdle: moving the actual business data from old systems into the new ERP.
Poor data migration leads to:
At IDS, we treat data migration as a critical project phase — not an afterthought.
Before any data moves anywhere, we conduct a thorough assessment:
What data do you have?
What data do you need?
Mapping: Each field in the old system is mapped to the corresponding field in Odoo. This mapping document becomes the blueprint for the migration.
This is often the most time-consuming phase — and the most valuable. Raw business data accumulated over years typically contains:
IDS works with the client team to clean this data before migration. We provide templates and tools that help business users review and correct their own data — because they know the data better than anyone.
With clean, mapped data, the technical migration process begins:
Extraction: Data is extracted from source systems using exports, APIs, or direct database queries.
Transformation: Data is converted to match Odoo's data structure, formats, and required fields. Custom scripts handle the transformation logic.
Loading: Data is loaded into Odoo using the appropriate import mechanism — Odoo's built-in import tools for standard data, and custom scripts for complex or large-volume migrations.
This is where most migration approaches fall short. Loading data is not enough — you must verify it.
Our verification process includes:
Count verification: The number of records loaded matches the expected count from the source system.
Financial reconciliation:
Spot checking: Business users review samples of migrated records to confirm accuracy.
Test transactions: The team processes real transactions (sales order, purchase order, payment) using migrated data to confirm everything works correctly.
On go-live day, the final migration is executed:
1. Final data extract from old system (as of cutover date)
2. Load final data to Odoo
3. Reconcile final balances
4. Business users confirm sign-off
5. Go-live proceeds
Migrating too much historical data: Bringing years of closed transactions into a new system adds complexity and risk. Typically, only open transactions (unpaid invoices, open orders) and current balances need to migrate. Historical data can often remain in the old system for reporting.
Skipping the cleaning phase: Moving dirty data into a new system doesn't fix the problem — it just transfers it.
Not involving business users: IT-led migrations that don't involve the people who know the data fail more often than not.
Testing on sample data only: Always test with real production data volumes before go-live.
IDS has developed a proven migration methodology refined across dozens of ERP implementations. We provide:
Contact us to discuss your specific migration requirements.
IDS Editorial Team
Odoo ERP Experts