Transitions - What is the Process?

16/10/2023
Knowledge

How To

The transition of data is a complex process of analysing how your current data is stored in your legacy practice management system and preparing it for import into LEAP.

Data is stored differently across all software platforms, and we are therefore not able to import all data. You will most likely have to input some data manually; however, we suggest that you use this to your advantage. It is an excellent time to put firm-wide policies in place on how to input data, ensuring that your data in LEAP is clean and up to date.

Although every effort is made to get your data as close as possible to your legacy practice management system, the reality is that no transition can be perfect. It is essential to set realistic expectations with your staff and partners.

While the results may be imperfect, compared to the costs and potential errors associated with doing the task manually, a transition is a far more efficient and cost-effective solution. The details of the option and type transition you have selected are on the Transitions to LEAP Order Form that you have signed.

Data transitions are costly to perform, and costs are contained through standardised procedures. LEAP cannot cater for additional demands during the transition process as bespoke transition work would cost substantially more.

The entire process of transitioning data to LEAP is outlined in stages below:

Stage One: Initial Consultation

	Task	Responsibility	Comments
1	Transition to LEAP Order Form Received	LEAP	A member of the LEAP Transitions Team will contact you to discuss the next steps
2	Transitions Introductory Call	LEAP & Client	Within two working days after receiving your order, we: Confirm which third party practice management system you are using. Confirm the type and scope of the transition you have requested. Explain the process leading up to data installation. Provide you with further documentation, including our ‘Housekeeping’ and ‘Data Expectation’ documents.

Stage Two: Preparing for Your Transition

	Task	Responsibility	Comments
1	Review Transition documentation	Client	It is vital to review the Transition Documentation to ensure that you understand what data the transition includes and do not include.
2	System Requirements Check	Client	We will contact you to run our system audit tool on all your PC’s to ensure that it meets our minimum system requirements.
3	Arrange dates	Consultant, LEAP & Client	Please liaise with your LEAP Transitions Coordinator to book a date for your trial (if required) and live transition.
4	Perform Housekeeping	Client	Within the documents provided by LEAP, you will find the 'Housekeeping' document. It includes steps that ensure that the transition of your data is as tidy and accurate as possible. Please return the housekeeping document to us before the date of your data collection.
5	Complete and return Pre-Installation Pack to the LEAP Consultant	Consultant & Client	The LEAP Consultant requires the completed Pre-Installation Pack to set up your new LEAP datafile. It contains information such as your registered firm name and the names of all users.
6	Sign up to Xero/MYOB and arrange setup and balances transfer with a Xero/MYOB consultant.	Client	Xero/MYOB should be set up by the date of installation. Setup and training are not part of the LEAP transition process and is the responsibility of the client.
7	Accessing and Testing your data	LEAP & Client	Three weeks before the transition If your third-party system is available on the Transition to LEAP Order Form and your data is held: On in-house servers – we require access to the database and any matter related documents. On a hosted server – you must arrange for your hosted supplier to provide the data/documents ready for the agreed data collection date. If not included on the Transition to LEAP Order Form or if there is a significantly large amount of data, we may request a trial transition, where we will perform a test extraction and import into LEAP, checking your data is: relevant \| accurate \| complete \| consistent \| accessible.
8	Running final checks pre-transition	LEAP & Client	Just before the data collection date, we: Review your Housekeeping document with you. Confirm your availability on the day to provide: Access to the data to be collected. Reports for verifying the accuracy of the transition. A point of contact for any queries that may arise during the transition.

Stage Three: Trial Transition (If Required)

	Task	Responsibility	Comments
1	Ensure all postings are up to date	Client	The transition to LEAP does not include any postings made in your legacy practice management system after data collection. It is furthermore essential to have your bank reconciliation up to date and note the point you posted up to when the data is collected.
2	Prepare reports for data collection	Client	At the point of data collection, you must ensure that you generate the required reports. Please retain a copy of these reports to compare data in LEAP post-transition. These reports typically are: Trial Balance Matter listing with balances (Trust Account, Debtors, Unbilled Disbursements, Time/Work in Progress); Aged Debtors / Outstanding Invoices Unbilled Disbursements Unbilled Time / Work in Progress 10 Random Matter Ledger printouts Unpresented Bank Entries / Unreconciled Items if available
3	Access legacy system via LogMeIn Rescue	LEAP & Client	To minimise downtime during the data collection period, please be prepared for when LEAP access your system on the allocated date and time. A delay in delivery may result in the trial transition ‘missing its time slot’, which may cause it to be postponed. On the scheduled data collection date, we will contact you and log in to the server where your data is held using ‘LogMeIn Rescue’. During this session, all users are required to exit from your system.
4	Performing the trial transition	LEAP	On the data collection date, our highly skilled and trained Data Transition Specialists extract your data from the legacy practice management software and collect relevant reports. Once we have your data, our Data Transition Specialists conducts a series of housekeeping routines, including: Import agreed on data into our transition environment. Review the integrity of all your data to ensure there is no data corruption. Ensure that the correct data type is in each data field (e.g., number/text in the correct fields). Run a special program on your accounting data to ensure it balances and that all the links between the data are in place. Confirm all the matter balances with you and explain variances if any are found. Once your data is certified for transition: A special program then creates and applies a unique number (known as a GUID) to every file that will be imported into LEAP; We complete a final manual check of all key information to validate the quality of the data; At this point, the transition process starts, and the data is imported into a trial datafile ‘in the cloud’. We constantly monitor this process. The duration of the trial data transition depends on the volume of your data. The whole process usually takes 8 – 10 business days to complete. Once your data is imported to LEAP, key information is again given a final check to ensure accuracy. The work is complex, and the amount of work to be done is directly related to the size of your data.
5	Trial presentation and review	LEAP & Client	The Transitions Team schedules a meeting with you to present the trial transition data in LEAP. During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to review the data and request amendments. At this stage, the trial transition must be signed off, and all amendments agreed and finalised. The trial transition creates the template for the live transition.

Stage Four: Live Transition

	Task	Responsibility	Comments
1	Ensure all postings are up to date	Client	The transition to LEAP does not include any postings made in your legacy practice management system after data collection. It is furthermore essential to have your bank reconciliation up to date and note the point you posted up to when the data is collected.
2	Prepare reports for data collection	Client	At the point of data collection, you must ensure that you generate the required reports. Please retain a copy of these reports to compare data in LEAP post-transition. These reports typically are: Trial Balance Matter listing with balances (Trust Account, Debtors, Unbilled Disbursements, Time/Work in Progress); Aged Debtors / Outstanding Invoices; Unbilled Disbursements; Unbilled Time / Work in Progress 10 Random Matter Ledger printouts Unpresented Bank Entries / Unreconciled Items if available
3	Access legacy system via LogMeIn Rescue	LEAP & Client	To minimise downtime during the data collection period, please be prepared for when LEAP access your system on the allocated date and time. A delay in delivery may result in the transition ‘missing its time slot’, which may cause the transition to be postponed. On the scheduled data collection date, we will contact you and log in to the server where your data is held using ’LogMeIn Rescue’. During this session, all users are required to exit from your system.
4	Performing the transition	LEAP	On the data collection date, our highly skilled and trained Data Transition Specialists extract your data from the legacy practice management software and collect relevant reports. Once we have your data, our Transitions Team conducts a series of housekeeping routines, including: Import agreed on data into our transition environment. Review the integrity of all your data to ensure there is no data corruption. Ensure that the correct data type is in each data field (e.g. number/text in the correct fields). Run a special program on your accounting data to ensure it balances and that all the links between the data are in place. Confirm all the matter balances with you and explain variances if any are found. Once your data is certified for transition: A special program then creates and applies a unique number (known as a GUID) to every file that will be imported into LEAP; We complete a final manual check of all key information to validate the quality of the data; At this point, the transition process starts, and the data is imported into your new empty firm datafile ‘in the cloud’. We constantly monitor this process. The duration of the data transition depends on the volume of your data. The whole process usually takes 4-7 business days to complete. Once your data is imported to LEAP, key information is again given a final check to ensure accuracy. The work is complex, and the amount of work to be done is directly related to the size of your data.
5	Recording transactions during the transition	Client	Please keep a record of any postings you do after data collection; these entries will need to be entered into LEAP by you after the installation.

Stage Five: LEAP Installation

	Task	Responsibility	Comments
1	Installation & training of LEAP	Consultant	A LEAP Consultant will carry out the installation and training of LEAP on the agreed date.
2	Review data and sign Transition Approval Report	Client	After the transition, you will receive a Transition Approval Report. Please review and sign this document during the implementation of LEAP return to the LEAP Consultant or Coordinator.

FAQs

Question	Answer
I have requested additional services. When will these be completed?	If any additional services have been agreed with the transitions team, it will begin post-transition. You will be able to work in LEAP during this period.
Has your Xero/MYOB Data file been set up with opening balances?	Please note after your data has been collected for the transition, you must not change anything in the Chart of Accounts in Xero/MYOB. If these accounts are changed, it is likely that data may be posted to an incorrect General Ledger Account following the transition. If any changes have been made to your Xero/MYOB data file, please notify your LEAP Consultant on the day of installation.
What do I do during the transition?	You have two options on how to operate during the time between when LEAP collects your data for your transition, i.e. the “cut-off” date, and when LEAP delivers the data back to you. You can choose to continue working in your current system, but you must keep a record of any clients you add, matters opened, or postings made to add these to LEAP once it is up and running, or; You can choose to stop working in your current system and keep a manual record of any clients, matters, or postings you need to record in LEAP once it is up and running.

For more information on exactly what will be brought through from your current practice management system, please do not hesitate to contact the transitions team via email at transitions@leap.com.au.