Moving Sage to the cloud
without stopping the business.
Your users keep working on the old system while we build and test the new one. The only pause is one planned evening, and the old server stays ready as a fallback.
What “no downtime” means here
One planned evening, not a lost week.
Any move needs a moment where the old system stops taking new transactions, otherwise the two copies drift apart. We keep that moment as short as possible and put it where it hurts least.
Everything else happens in parallel. Building the servers, restoring your data and testing it all take place while your team works normally on the old system.
Assessment, new environment built, trial move tested by your users.
Normal working on the old system.
Users log off. We move the latest data and reconcile the numbers.
The only pause. Scheduled outside working hours.
Users log in to the new environment.
Normal working, on the cloud.
Old server left untouched for an agreed period.
A way back, if one is ever needed.
The plan
Six steps, each with an owner.
Most of the work is ours. Where we need your team, the step says so, and we agree the dates with you before we start.
- 01
Assessment
We look at the system you run today: database size, user count, branches, integrations, scheduled jobs, the reports that run slowly and your backup history. You get a sizing, a fixed monthly price and a dated move plan.
Your part: access to the current server and an hour with finance and IT.
- 02
Build the new environment
We build your servers in our cloud alongside the old one. Nothing changes for your users while this happens.
Your part: nothing. Business carries on as normal.
- 03
Trial move
We restore a recent copy of your data into the new environment and your key users test it: reports, printing, integrations and a month-end run. Anything that behaves differently is fixed here, not on go-live night.
Your part: two or three people to test for a few days.
- 04
Final sync
In an agreed out-of-hours window, usually a Friday night or a weekend, users log off, we move the latest data across and reconcile balances, open orders and stock.
Your part: approve the window and sign off the balances.
- 05
Go live
Users log in to the new environment on the next working day. The old server is left untouched for an agreed period, so there is a way back if something unexpected shows up.
Your part: confirm go-live with your users.
- 06
Hypercare
We watch performance and tickets closely for the first weeks and through the first month-end close, then hand over to normal support.
For your users
What stays the same
Screens and menus
Users see the same Sage they used yesterday. Sage 300 users get their usual desktop screens, streamed in a browser window.
Reports and forms
Report layouts, invoice forms and statement templates move across and are checked during the trial.
Customisations and add-ons
Third-party modules, custom screens and scripts move with the system, or are listed in the assessment if one needs a change.
Integrations
Bank files, ecommerce, payroll exports and BI tools are reconnected and tested before the final evening.
If something goes wrong
There is always a way back.
- The go/no-go checks are agreed in writing before the final evening: balances, open orders, stock and a set of test transactions.
- If a check fails and cannot be fixed in the window, we stop. Users carry on with the old server the next morning as if nothing happened.
- Nothing is deleted from the old server until you confirm, after the first month-end on the cloud.
Upgrading Sage versions or switching from another ERP? See our migration services
Questions we get asked
Migration questions
How long will our users actually be offline?
Only for the final data sync, which we schedule outside your working hours, usually a Friday night or a weekend. How long the sync takes depends mostly on database size, and we measure it during the trial move so the window is based on a real timing, not a guess.
Can we move during month-end or year-end?
We avoid it. The final sync is planned away from period-end close, payroll runs and audit fieldwork. The first month-end on the cloud is covered by hypercare, with us watching closely.
How do we know the data came across correctly?
We reconcile it with you: trial balance, customer and supplier balances, open orders and stock values, compared line for line between the old and new systems before anyone signs off.
Do our users need training?
Very little. The Sage screens are the same. Users need a new way to log in, which we walk them through, and a short note on printing and file exports.
We also want to upgrade Sage. Should we do both at once?
Sometimes. Doing both in one move saves a second cutover, but it adds testing. The assessment recommends one or the other based on your version, add-ons and customisations. Version upgrades on their own are covered on our migration services page.