Replacing your project accounting system: what to keep from the old one

What should you keep when replacing a project accounting system?#

When replacing a project accounting system, keep all of the history, but not all of it in the new system. A project accounting system migration works best when each record family has one of three destinations: migrate into the new platform, archive in a readable export, or hold for a value review before anyone decides it is disposable.

Most AEC firms migrate open projects, active clients and vendors, employee and rate tables and open receivables, then bring forward opening balances for the rest. That keeps the conversion manageable. The risk is that the detail behind those balances, such as timesheet comments, invoice backup and fee amendment history, stays behind in a system nobody can log into once the contract ends.

Decision table: migrate, archive or review for value#

The decision table assigns each record family a destination before the conversion plan is locked. Agree on it with the implementation partner early, because the archive workstream needs its own time and owner.

Why full history rarely migrates#

Full history rarely migrates because old and new systems structure work differently. Phase and task codes, labor categories, organization units and the chart of accounts all need mapping, and records coded under retired structures resist clean conversion.

Conversion effort is the other reason. Each extra year of migrated detail adds mapping, testing and reconciliation work, so vendors and implementation partners often recommend a cutoff. That is usually sound advice for the new system. It should not be the end of the plan for the old data.

Documents add a further wrinkle. Attachments are often stored outside the database, in a file share or the vendor's document store, and linked by internal keys. Export them together with those keys, or invoice backup and signed fee amendments become orphan files that no one can match to a project.

What to export before the old system is shut off#

Export before access ends, while someone who knows the old system is still on staff. A read-only license or hosted archive may be offered, but its terms, cost and duration vary, so confirm them in writing with the vendor before you give notice.

Do not assume a vendor's built-in export is complete, and check where documents live. Oracle's NetSuite help, for example, says its Full CSV Export does not currently export all data. BQE's published deletion policy says documents stored in CORE are deleted after 60 days under company policy, while documents kept in Google Drive or Dropbox are not affected. Read the equivalent pages for your own system, whether that is Deltek, BQE or a general ERP.

Test the archive by answering a real question from it, such as rebuilding a closed project's fee history. If that requires a vendor support ticket, the archive is not ready.

• 1A full database export or backup, plus the vendor's data dictionary or table documentation.
• 2Time entries with employee, project, phase, task and comment fields intact.
• 3Invoices with line items, backup documents, adjustments and write-off reasons.
• 4Every saved budget and estimate-to-complete revision, not only the latest.
• 5Contract records and fee amendment history with dates and approvers.
• 6Workflow approval and audit logs, which often sit in separate tables.
• 7Attachments, exported with the keys that link them to their records.
• 8Saved report definitions, so key reports can be rebuilt from the archive.

Time and billing records carry personal and client details#

Time and billing records carry personal and client details that shape how the archive should be secured. Timesheets tie named employees to hours and sometimes to notes about leave or performance; cost rates may be linked to salaries; invoices name clients and their contacts.

Limit archive access to finance and leadership, and log who can open it. Retention obligations for financial, payroll and project records can come from tax rules, employment law, client contracts and professional liability considerations, so set the retention schedule with your accountant and counsel rather than accepting a vendor default.

Who should own the archive workstream?#

The archive workstream needs a named owner who is not also running the conversion. Implementation teams are measured on go-live, and archive tasks slip when they compete with cutover deadlines. A controller or senior project accountant who knows the old system's quirks is usually the right choice, with IT handling the exports.

Give the owner three decisions to bring back to the COO: what was exported and in which format, who can access the archive, and how long each part will be kept. Those three answers are also what any later reviewer, whether an auditor, counsel or a data licensing assessment, will ask for first.

Illustrative: an engineering firm retiring an on-premise system#

Illustrative: Harlow and Pierce, a fictional structural and civil engineering firm, is moving from an aging on-premise project accounting system to a cloud ERP built for AEC firms. The implementation plan brings forward open projects and opening balances only.

The COO adds an archive workstream. IT exports the full database, time entries with comments and invoice backup, and finance verifies the export by rebuilding fee histories for a handful of closed projects. Access to the archive is limited to the controller and two principals.

A principal then reviews the archive for value. Time comments and budget revisions on closed projects show how effort actually spreads across phases, which feeds the next round of fee proposals. The same linked history becomes a candidate for a data licensing review, held until rights and privacy checks are complete.

How SourceX fits into a system retirement#

A system retirement is a common moment to assess records, because the export is happening anyway. SourceX starts with a metadata-only fit check that asks which systems hold the records, how many years are accessible and which record families exist; no files are shared at that stage.

If a package proceeds, the SourceX five-step transaction covers Supply, Rights, Preparation, Approval and Delivery. Large exports can stay in the firm's own storage until the firm approves delivery, and the SourceX Evidence Packet records provenance, permitted use, the privacy record and release authorization.