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Overview of the Requirement:

A client in a unique service industry had spent several years developing a custom ERP system to support every aspect of their business. After undergoing a worldwide expansion Sage AccPac was purchased to assist with multi-currency and consolidation challenges, at which time they were faced with the decision of whether or not to replace the existing legacy system with AccPac modules.

Ultimately it was decided that the legacy system would remain and invoices would continue to be generated from there for the following reasons:

• Many of the company's ISO processes were encapsulated in the legacy software. Abandoning the software would make it difficult to enforce critical business rules.
• Because the legacy application touched every stage in the customer relationship, moving quoting and invoicing to AccPac modules would be extremely difficult and adversely affect the overall customer experience.
• One of the company's competitive advantages was its web site, which linked very closely to its ERP system. Removing functionality from the ERP system would result in the loss of customer-facing functionality that played a pivotal role in the company's success.

Description of the Solution:

It was decided that the quotes and invoices would continue to be generated in the legacy system and that an automatic data migration process was required to migrate data into AccPac on a regular basis. The legacy system generated hundreds of invoices daily from multiple locations in several currencies, so manually exporting the invoices each day was not a viable option. An automated process was engineered that generated the required AccPac import files to transmit the following elements:

• Customer data
• Invoices
• Receipts
• Credits (refunds and discounts)

.CSV import files were constructed by a Microsoft .Net Windows service. Included with the data extraction were .PDF copies of the invoices for quick reference by accounting staff along with a list of exceptions for invoices that could not be processed. A batch summary report was also provided to allow accounting staff to compare batch import totals in AccPac to the export amounts for quick reconciliation.

The end result was a simple process for accounting to transmit hundreds of invoices into the correct AccPac companies and G/L accounts, along with a detailed history of what was transferred for audit purposes. The company was able to benefit from tracking its receivables in AccPac without having to completely dismantle its existing business processes and legacy systems.

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