ERP Transition Without Losing Your Data: How Vivid Reports Simplifies the Process
Upgrading to a new ERP is an exciting step—one that promises greater efficiency, automation, and streamlined processes. But many organizations encounter an unexpected challenge: what happens to your historical transactional data?
Most ERP implementations limit the migration dataset to active data. Active data consists of financial transactions which are not yet complete at the time of migration – active transactional data, active master data and general ledger balances, leaving behind years of financial transactions. This “clean slate” approach often creates major reporting, audit, and compliance challenges—forcing companies to either maintain two systems or build expensive data warehouses just to access past records.
The Challenge of Historical Data in ERP Transitions
Most ERP implementations prioritize future-facing functionality, bringing in only opening balances and master records while leaving detailed historical transactions behind. This approach, while common, creates significant business challenges:
- Dual Database Maintenance – Compliance regulations (such as Canada’s seven-year record retention requirement) force businesses to maintain access to legacy systems, leading to additional licensing, support, and IT costs.
- Lost Efficiency – Employees must search across multiple systems to retrieve past transactions, slowing down audits, reporting, and decision-making.
- Workarounds & Extra Costs – Many businesses resort to Excel tracking or invest in costly data warehouses to bridge the gap—adding complexity rather than streamlining operations.
Why ERP Implementations Don’t Migrate Historical Data
The common practice of leaving behind historical GL transactions isn’t an oversight—it’s a complex technical and financial challenge:
- Referential Integrity – ERP systems enforce strict data linkages, making it difficult to recreate past transactions without breaking dependencies.
- Data Compatibility – Legacy systems often store information in different formats, making a clean transfer to the new ERP impractical.
- Cost & Complexity – Full historical data migration can be as expensive and time-consuming as the ERP implementation itself – on average 15-25% of the implementation budget (KPMG).
A Smarter Approach: Vivid Reports Bridges the Gap
Instead of maintaining multiple systems or investing in costly custom solutions, Vivid Reports acts as a financial data warehouse, consolidating historical and current ERP financial data into a single reporting platform.
- Multi-ERP Integration – Whether migrating from Microsoft Dynamics GP or any of 60+ ERPs, Vivid ensures a smooth transition while maintaining access to past data.
- Seamless Timing – Implement before, during, or after an ERP migration, ensuring zero disruption to financial reporting.
- Excel-Based Access – Drill down from familiar Excel reports to GL accounts, transaction details, and even stored document images—without opening and maintaining multiple ERP systems.
- Chart of Accounts Mapping – Even if old and new ERPs have different structures, Vivid ensures historical data remains searchable and usable.
Continuity in Reporting
One of the biggest hurdles in switching ERPs is setting up financial reporting in the new system.
With Vivid Reports, you don’t have to start from scratch. We take the Excel-based formats you’ve been using for years and automate them. Not only do we preserve all your historical data, but we also ensure your reports are ready to go, in the exact layouts you’ve fine-tuned over time. This means:
- No reformatting, no lost reports—just the same familiar structure you trust, but with automation.
- A seamless transition—keeping what works while eliminating manual effort.
- Less downtime, more productivity—ensuring your team can focus on business, not rebuilding reports.
Future-Proof Your ERP Transition
Even if an ERP switch isn’t on the horizon yet, preparing in advance can eliminate future risks. With Vivid Reports, businesses can:
- Ensure historical data is always accessible, regardless of ERP changes.
- Eliminate last-minute reporting disruptions when transitioning systems.
- Avoid costly IT workarounds, keeping financial reporting streamlined.
Don’t Let Your ERP Transition Disrupt Your Data
Losing access to historical transactions shouldn’t be the cost of upgrading your ERP. With Vivid Reports, you can transition smoothly, maintain your financial history, and ensure your team has the full picture without extra effort.
Thinking about an ERP transition—now or in the future? Let’s talk about how Vivid Reports can keep your data accessible and your reporting seamless.