Data Migration & Cleansing Services
Data migration specialists and database consultants: we move your business data out of an old system, Access or FileMaker database, or spreadsheets, then clean, map and reconcile it so you can trust the new system on day one.
- 20+ years connecting business systems
- Works with Xero, MYOB and the systems you already use
- Fixed quote after a free chat
Move It, Clean It, Check It
What you get from our data migration services: your customers, suppliers, stock, jobs, open transactions, history and opening balances moved out of the old system and into the new one, with the duplicates and bad codes cleaned up on the way. Every field is mapped, the move is trialled on a test copy first, and the totals are reconciled and signed off before go-live, so your team can trust the new system from day one.
That includes old Access and FileMaker databases, where a data migration specialist who knows how those databases are put together is often the only way to get the data out cleanly. Once the data is in its new home, we can connect it to Xero, MYOB or the other software you use, so it stays right and the old system can finally be switched off. (We move business system data, not email, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 or database hosting.)
Built and supported by Kenomont: founder-led, Gold Coast based, with 20+ years building business systems and integrations, including a forestry export platform we have run since 2012 and real-time weighbridge integration since 2015.
Sound Familiar?
The problems that usually bring people to a database consultant
An Old Database Nobody Can Change
The Same Information in Several Places
Duplicates and Gaps
Worry About Losing Records
What We Migrate
The business data that has to arrive complete and correct for the new system to work
The data
- Customers and contacts, with their terms, price levels and delivery addresses
- Suppliers, with ABNs, payment terms and bank details checked
- Stock items and products: codes, descriptions, units, prices, costs and stock on hand
- Jobs and projects: open jobs, budgets, costs to date and what is still to be billed
- Open transactions: unpaid invoices and bills, open orders and purchase orders
- Opening balances as at the cutover date, agreed with your accountant or bookkeeper
- History: past invoices, orders, jobs and notes, as much as the business actually needs
From and to
- Microsoft Access and FileMaker databases
- Spreadsheets that have become the business’s database
- Older SQL databases behind custom or discontinued software
- Old accounting, job, stock or ERP systems being retired
- Into Xero, MYOB, an ERP, a CRM, a job system or custom software
Moving accounts between packages? See accounting data migration and MYOB to Xero migration.
What You Get
Cleansing, mapping, trial runs, reconciliation and sign-off, so the move can be checked, not just trusted
A data map
Cleansing log
Trial runs
Reconciliation report
Sign-off
Cutover plan and archive
How a Migration Works
From the first conversation to the old system being switched off
1. Free initial chat
2. Look at the data
3. Fixed quote and plan
4. Clean, map and trial
5. Cutover and reconcile
6. Support after go-live
What we need from you: access to the old system or a copy of its data, one person who knows the data well enough to answer questions and check the trial runs, a decision on how much history to keep, and time from your accountant or bookkeeper to agree the opening balances.
Three Ways to Make the Move
Switch Over in One Go
Everything moves across in one planned window, often over a weekend
Good points:
- One switch-over date
- No period of running two systems
- Simplest to plan
Watch for:
- Everything has to be ready at once
- A short pause in using the old system
- You need a tested way back if something goes wrong
Suits: Smaller systems, or ones the business can pause briefly
Move in Stages
One part at a time, for example customers and items first, then open jobs, then history
Good points:
- Less to go wrong at once
- Your team learns as it goes
- Problems found early
Watch for:
- Takes longer overall
- Some double-handling between stages
- More than one go-live
Suits: Larger systems with several parts
Run Both Side by Side
Old and new systems run together for a while, kept in step, until you are confident in the new one
Good points:
- No pause in work
- Easy to step back
- Results compared before the old system is turned off
Watch for:
- More work while both run
- The two must be kept in step
- Costs more
Suits: Systems the business can’t stop using, even for a day
What History to Bring, and What to Archive
Bringing every record from the last twenty years sounds safe, but it usually makes the move slower and the new system messier. The better question is: what does the business actually need to look up, report on or act on in the new system?
Usually brought across
- Active customers, suppliers and stock items
- Open invoices, bills, orders and jobs
- Opening balances as at the cutover date
- Recent history your team uses for pricing, reorders or comparisons
Usually archived
- Customers and items nobody has used in years
- Closed transactions older than the cut-off you agree
- Old notes and attachments kept for reference only
- Records you must keep for tax or legal reasons, but rarely open
Archived data isn't thrown away. It is kept in a read-only archive your team can still search and export, so the old system can be switched off without losing anything you might need later. We agree the cut-off with you and your accountant before anything moves.
Old Access and FileMaker Databases
Plenty of businesses still run quoting, jobs, stock or customer records on an Access or FileMaker database built years ago. It often works, but only one or two people can use it at once, it doesn't work well away from the office, nobody can safely change it, and someone retypes its numbers into Xero or MYOB. You have two sensible options.
Replace it
Connect it to Xero or MYOB
Either way, the first step is the same: get the data out, see what state it's in, and work out which business rules are hiding in the forms and reports. If the old system is being retired by its vendor, see moving off end-of-life systems.
An Example of How It Goes
A hypothetical example, to show the shape of the work. Say a wholesaler runs orders and stock on a FileMaker database, keeps price lists in spreadsheets, and does the accounts in MYOB. They have chosen a new stock and ordering system and want it live before their busy season.
Before: the same customer appears three times under slightly different names. Item codes changed format years ago, so old and new codes sit side by side. Prices in the spreadsheets don't quite match the database. Stock on hand in FileMaker doesn't agree with the stock value in MYOB, and nobody is sure which is right.
The work: we take a copy of the FileMaker data and the spreadsheets, list the duplicates and odd codes, and agree with the owner which customer record wins and how old codes map to new ones. The move is trialled into a test copy of the new system. The warehouse checks stock for a handful of items they know well; accounts checks customer balances against MYOB. Differences are traced and fixed, and the trial is run again.
After: on cutover weekend the final run uses the same steps as the trials. Counts and totals are reconciled, the owner signs off, and the team starts Monday in the new system with one customer list, one set of item codes and stock figures that agree with the accounts. The FileMaker database stays available read-only for looking up old orders.
Who This Is For
- Businesses with roughly 10 to 200 staff moving to a new business system
- Anyone retiring an old Access, FileMaker or custom database the business still depends on
- Teams whose customer, supplier or item lists no longer match between systems
- Owners and finance managers who need to show the numbers came across intact
- Software vendors' customers whose vendor will load the data, but not clean or check it
When You Don't Need Us
- Your new software vendor offers a standard import or conversion service and your data is already clean. Use it.
- It's a small list (a few hundred contacts, say) that an import template handles fine.
- You're moving a database between hosting providers or servers. That's an IT infrastructure job.
- You want email, SharePoint or file server migration. Your IT provider is the right call.
If we think a cheaper route will do, we'll say so in the first chat.
Who Does the Work
Kenomont is founder-led. The work is done by Aaron Chambers, based on the Gold Coast, with more than 20 years building and connecting business systems. You deal with the person doing the mapping and the checks, not an account manager.
That experience includes a forestry export and port management system used by Australian forestry companies since 2012, real-time weighbridge integration with it since 2015, and a purchase order approval system for a large retirement living provider since 2014. Systems that have to keep their records right year after year.
We work with businesses across Australia remotely, and travel when a project needs it.
Cost and Timing
Every data migration is scoped and given a fixed quote after a free initial chat. What drives the cost: how many systems the data comes from, how many records and how much history you bring, how messy the data is, how many trial runs are needed, and whether systems need to stay connected afterwards.
Timing depends on the same things, plus how quickly your team can check trial runs. We plan the cutover around your busy periods and month-end, and usually run it outside business hours.
Not sure yet what to move, or which system to move to? The $5,000 Process & Systems Audit maps your processes and systems and gives you a written report first. Otherwise, book a free chat.
The Technical Side
For whoever looks after your systems: how we make sure nothing is lost.
Mapping
Every field in the old system is matched to a field in the new one, including codes, categories, lookup tables and custom fields. Value changes (old tax codes to new ones, merged item codes) are kept in mapping tables, so the same rules apply on every run.
Repeatable runs
The move is a script, not a one-off copy and paste. That means the trial runs and the final run use exactly the same steps, and the final run on cutover day holds no surprises.
Reconciliation
Record counts and control totals (balances, open invoices, stock on hand, job costs) are compared between old and new at each run, and any difference is traced to a record and explained before go-live.
Traceability
Each new record keeps a reference to its old ID, so anything can be traced back to where it came from, and re-runs update records instead of creating duplicates.
Access and FileMaker
We read the tables, relationships and stored values directly, and check the forms and reports too, because business rules often live there rather than in the data. Calculated fields are rebuilt or recorded, not silently dropped.
Ongoing connections
Where systems need to stay in step after the move, we connect them through their APIs (the official way software talks to other software), with errors logged and mismatches flagged to a person.
Data Migration Questions
What does a data migration cost?
It depends on how many systems are involved, how many records and how much history you bring, and how messy the data is. We look at a copy of the data, then give you a fixed quote after a free initial chat. If you are not yet sure what to fix or which system to move to, our $5,000 Process & Systems Audit maps your processes and systems first.
How long does a data migration take?
A single system with clean data is quicker than several systems with years of duplicates. Most of the time goes into cleaning, mapping and trial runs, not the final move. We give you a plan with dates when we quote, and the cutover itself is usually done outside business hours.
Do we need our own developer or IT person?
No. We do the technical work. What we need from you is someone who knows the data, usually from accounts or operations, to answer questions, check the trial runs and sign off. If you have an IT provider, we only need them for access to the old system.
Will it work with our existing systems?
We migrate business data out of Access, FileMaker, older SQL databases, spreadsheets and old accounting, job, stock or ERP systems, into Xero, MYOB, an ERP, a CRM or custom software. If data can be read out of the old system, we can usually move it. We say so in the first chat if we can’t.
How much history should we bring across?
Usually less than people expect. Open transactions, current balances and recent history come across in full. Older history often goes into a read-only archive you can still search, which keeps the new system clean and the move simpler. We agree the cut-off with you and your accountant.
Can you work with our accountant or bookkeeper?
Yes, and we prefer to. Opening balances and the reconciliation at cutover should be agreed with whoever looks after your accounts. We can also work alongside your MYOB or Xero partner or your new software vendor.
What if the software vendor changes its API?
This only matters if we connect systems that keep talking after the move. We build those connections on the vendor’s official API, log errors so problems show up early, and can look after updates when the vendor announces changes. A one-off migration is finished once it is signed off.
Can you clean our data without moving systems?
Yes. Data cleansing on its own is common: duplicates merged, bad codes fixed, missing details filled and formats made consistent, then connected so the systems stay in step and the mess doesn’t come back.
Do you move email, SharePoint or servers?
No. We move business system data: customers, suppliers, stock, jobs, transactions and history. Email, SharePoint, file servers and database hosting moves are a job for your IT provider.
What Needs Moving or Cleaning Up?
Tell us where the data is, where it needs to go and what state it's in. We'll tell you plainly what a clean, checked move involves.
Choosing new software? We'll check the vendor's integration and data claims against your systems before you sign. What to ask
Free initial chat. No sales pressure - if we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
Prefer to talk? Call 1300 470 091
Got a spec or files? Email [email protected]