ERP & Accounting Software Implementation Checklist Template

Phase 1: Scope, Team & Go-Live Date

Pick the go-live date first. Every other date in the project is counted back from it.

• Name the finance sponsor, project lead and a process owner for each area — general ledger, payables, receivables, payroll, fixed assets, tax and reporting
• Choose a go-live date at a period end — the start of a quarter or financial year is cleanest; avoid the year-end audit
• Record the scope — entities, currencies, modules, and which systems stay outside the new ERP
• Decide how much history to migrate — opening balances only, open items, or detailed transactions for comparatives
• Record whether you will run a parallel period — answer Yes or No; Yes adds Phase 5
• Record whether the company is an SEC registrant — answer Yes or No; Yes adds the internal control disclosure task in Phase 6

Phase 2: Chart of Accounts & Master Data

• Design the new chart of accounts and its segments — entity, department, location and project, built for the reports you need rather than copied from the old system
• Map every legacy account to the new chart — keep the mapping table; no legacy account with a balance may be left unmapped
• Rebuild the reporting structure — management accounts, statutory accounts and tax reporting lines
• Cleanse and load customer master data — remove duplicates and dormant accounts, check credit terms, tax IDs and billing contacts
• Cleanse and load supplier master data — confirm bank details against an independent source before loading, never from the import file alone
• Load fixed assets, items and other master data — cost, accumulated depreciation, in-service dates and useful lives
• Configure tax codes, currencies, periods and posting rules — and have the tax owner review them

Phase 3: Data Migration & Reconciliation

• Run at least one mock migration — load a full set of data into a test environment and reconcile it as if it were live
• Load the opening trial balance through the mapping — and agree it, account by account, to the legacy trial balance
• Load open receivables and payables at invoice level — and reconcile each subledger total to its control account
• Reconcile the migrated fixed asset register — cost, depreciation and net book value by class, to the ledger
• Load and check historical balances for comparatives — monthly balances for at least the prior year, so variance reports work from day one
• Have each process owner sign the reconciliation for their area — with every difference explained and attached
• Keep the legacy data readable — read-only access or an archive for as long as your record retention rules require

Phase 4: Integrations, Testing & Training

• Connect and test bank feeds and payment files — test the payment file with the bank before any live payment run
• Connect and test each integration — payroll, billing, CRM, expenses and e-commerce, each with a named owner and a test posting
• Test end-to-end processes with real scenarios — purchase to payment, order to cash and record to report
• Test the reports finance depends on — trial balance, management pack, aged debt and creditors, and VAT or sales tax reports
• Log every defect and agree which must be fixed before go-live — and who owns the rest
• Train users by role in the test environment — using their own transactions, not the vendor’s demo data

Phase 5: Parallel Run

Shown only when you decide to run a parallel period. It costs a month of double entry, and buys the most confidence.

• Process one full period in both systems — the same transactions entered or imported in old and new
• Compare the trial balances and subledgers — and the tax, payroll and management reports
• Explain every difference — fix configuration or mapping errors in the new system, not in the report
• Decide whether a second parallel period is needed — and record the reason

Phase 6: Controls, Access & Go/No-Go

• Design roles that keep incompatible duties apart — nobody can both create a supplier and pay it, or prepare and approve a journal
• Remove implementation and consultant administrator access — before go-live, or restrict it and log its use
• Configure approval workflows and posting limits — purchase orders, invoices, payments and journals
• Document the key controls in the new system — and update your control descriptions for the auditors
• Assess whether the change must be disclosed as a change in internal control — shown for SEC registrants; agree the conclusion with your auditors
• Finance sponsor approves go-live — Approved or Not approved, based on the reconciliations, open defects and readiness