Implementing New ERP: Ensuring ERP Data Conversion Success

What ERP Data Conversion Means for Healthcare

An ERP data conversion is the process that occurs when hospitals and health systems modernize their IT infrastructure, implement a new ERP, and sunset their legacy systems. One of the most common misconceptions about ERP data conversion, however, is that it’s plug and play, and migrating the legacy data into the new system is a simple process. Yet an ERP data conversion process is complex and nuanced. Without the right strategy and vendor support, health systems are left vulnerable to risks such as compliance issues, a lack of interoperability, and downstream workflow issues, and added strain to already overwhelmed internal teams. By following ERP data migration best practices, however, these challenges can be avoided.

The Major Categories of ERP Data

Healthcare ERP systems house complex data sets across various departments, including HR, payroll, financial, and patient-adjacent workflows. Conducting an audit to ensure no data is overlooked and everything is either moved to the new ERP system or archived is important. The major categories of ERP data include:

• Master data, including employees, vendors, and the chart of accounts.
• Transactional records such as p , AP/AR, and general ledger (GL) activity.
• Historical HR, payroll, and financial data. State, federal, and IRS retention timelines should also be considered.
• Documents & unstructured data, including discrete data and non-discrete data. Since the non-discrete data in PDFs, for example, can’t be extracted or used for reporting and can only be accessed by reading the document itself, they must be categorized and metadata-mappe

Practical Rules for ERP Data Conversion: Migrate vs. Archive

Practical Rules for ERP Data Conversion: Migrate vs. Archive

During the conversion, not all of the ERP data must be preserved, however, conducting an audit and determining the various types of data and how they will be used is important. Organizations must identify which data should be migrated, archived, or retired.

Migrated data or conversion refers to information actively transferred to the new ERP system for ongoing use. This data is essential for day-to-day operations and includes:

• Active employee data: records currently in use for payroll, HR, and other operational purposes.
• Open transactions: unfinished or pending transactions, such as invoices, purchase orders, or payments that need to be processed in the new system.
• Current general ledger (GL) & chart of accounts: the active financial structure and accounts used for ongoing financial reporting and management.
• Live vendor/supplier files: the current vendor and supplier information required for procurement and payment processes.

Archived data is data that is stored securely and is actively available for compliance, historical reference, and audit purposes, but is not actively used in the new system. This data typically includes:

• Historical employee data: records of former employees or inactive employee details required for audits or legal purposes.
• Closed financial periods: financial records from completed reporting periods.
• Historical payroll and HR records: older records that exceed the chosen retention period but must be preserved for regulatory or compliance needs.
• Documents not needed for current operations: files that are no longer relevant to day-to-day workflows but may still hold historical or compliance value.

ERP data archiving allows hospitals and health systems to eliminate outdated systems and unnecessary licensing fees, and protect sensitive data—ensuring compliance, security, and reliable access to legacy data.

ERP Data That Can Be Safely Retired

While the majority of data will either be migrated/converted or archived, some data is no longer necessary to maintain and can be retired. This data includes:

• Redundant legacy fields
• Obsolete system codes
• System tables that no longer serve operational workflows

ERP Data Conversion Best Practices for Healthcare CIOs

Start with a unified ERP data inventory

Define ERP data migration requirements by category

After the initial planning, organizations must develop an ERP data migration plan and define the migration requirements for each category. The plan should account for structured and unstructured data, critical dependencies such as benefits, payroll, and finance, and state, federal, and IRS retention timelines, and internal governance policies. Developing a logic for datasets that will require translation, or a crosswalk, between applications is also critical.

Build archiving into the healthcare data conversion plan

Developing an archival strategy is an important part of ERP data conversion to ensure health systems stay compliant and have access to archived data sets for audits, reporting, and compliance inquiries. Platforms that allow organizations to retain and easily retrieve active and legacy data allows the data to be available whenever it’s needed.

Validate early and often

Defining validation checkpoints prevents duplication, mis-mapping, compliance issues, rework, and failures after the go-live. Validation checkpoints should include access, auditability, accuracy, and sample ranges throughout the data extraction, transformation, and post-migration stages. Migration cycles should also include formal approvals and escalation paths if discrepancies arise. 

Why Healthcare Data Conversion Demands Enterprise Expertise