Migrate to Business Central from Sage, Pastel, Xero or NAV

Where you are moving from

We migrate from accounting packages, older Dynamics products and spreadsheets.

Sage (Pastel, Evolution, Sage 50) and Xero: chart of accounts, customers, vendors, items, open invoices and bills, opening balances

Dynamics NAV: upgrade or re-implement, depending on customisation and version

SAP Business One and other packages: master data and open items

Excel: structured into master data and balances, with validation

What to bring across

The default is master data, open items and opening balances at a cutover date, with history held in the old system or an archive.

Always: chart of accounts, dimensions, customers, vendors, items, open AR and AP, inventory on hand, fixed assets, opening trial balance

Often: budgets, price lists, payroll balances

Sometimes: transaction history by period for comparatives or audit

Rarely: everything

South African specifics

Records. Tax and company records must be kept for a legislated period, generally five years or more, so decide where old data lives and who can access it.

VAT. Your first VAT201 from the new system should be rehearsed in migration and reconciled to the legacy return.

Payroll. Opening PAYE, UIF and SDL balances must reconcile to EMP201 payments before cutover, ideally at the start of a tax period.

Timing. Many organisations plan cutover at the start of a financial year or after the February tax year-end.

How we run it

Discovery and data audit. Mapping and cleansing. At least two migration rehearsals with reconciliation sign-off by finance. A cutover checklist. Hypercare. You receive a reconciliation pack at each rehearsal so the numbers, not a feeling, decide when to go live.

How an engagement runs

It starts with a 45-minute consultation, then a discovery and fit-gap workshop on your own processes. You receive a written fit-gap and a phased plan before a programme is agreed. Four phases follow, each with something you can use and review.

Discover

Process workshops, data audit, and a fit-gap against the standard product.

Design

Solution blueprint, integration map, and the extensions we will actually need.

Deploy

Configuration, migration rehearsal, role-based training, UAT and phased cutover.

Support

Hypercare, managed services, client portal, scheduled optimisation reviews.

What drives the cost: users, legal entities and currencies, integrations, data migration and the gaps found against standard. See how pricing works or run the three-minute readiness score.

Frequently asked questions

Can you migrate from Sage or Pastel to Business Central?

Yes. We migrate master data, open items and opening balances, and agree how much history to bring.

Can you upgrade our old NAV?

Often yes, but the right path depends on version and customisations. We assess in discovery.

Can we keep history in the old system?

Yes. Many organisations keep read-only access or an archive and bring only balances and open items across.

Last reviewed 2026-10-11

Migrating to Dynamics 365 Business Central in South Africa.