Data migration

Move in from the desktop system you used before (a vendor's app on SQL Server, Tally, Al-Ameen, Onyx, QuickBooks Desktop or Excel): its invoices, returns and bills with what is still owed, and its opening trial balance. Every row is checked, the totals are compared with the old system's own reports, and nothing is committed until every figure matches. The old documents stay read-only under Old documents and are never reported to ZATCA again. Part of the Data migration add-on.

Steps

  1. Bring products, customers and vendors first with Settings → Import from another system. Then open Settings → Data migration, pick the old system and the cut-over date (best the last day of a VAT period) and press Start migration.
  2. Export the sales and purchase registers and the trial balance from the old system to Excel or CSV. Pick each file, check which column holds the number, date, customer, VAT, total and what is still owed, and press Stage. Rows with a problem are listed with the reason.
  3. Type the totals from the old system's own reports (number of documents, sales, VAT, receivables, payables, trial balance) and press Check. Each figure shows the old system's value, the staged value and the difference.
  4. When everything matches, press Commit migration. The documents appear under Settings → Old documents, where you can search them by number, name or VAT number.
  5. Or let the desktop agent read the old system for you: on the Data migration screen pick the AI model that maps an unknown database (each choice shows its cost, or No AI for the free column-name rules), download the agent for Windows, press Make a key, then run the agent on the PC with the old program and paste the key. It opens SQL Server read only, or Tally through its XML port (Tally: F1 Help → Settings → Connectivity, port 9000), and stages the documents and the trial balance here for the same check.
  6. The AI model sees only table and column names, their types and row counts, never a customer, an amount or an invoice. A paid model is charged by its provider on your own key; the screen shows what the mapping cost.

Tips

  • Arabic CSV files saved by Excel in the Arabic Windows code page are read correctly, and garbled text such as ال is put right. Text the old database already shows as ???? was lost there and is listed so you can retype it.
  • A committed migration can be undone with a reason: its old documents are taken out again. Keep the old system's backup for at least six years, as Saudi VAT rules require for tax invoices.
  • StartAI can tell you how far a migration is and run the check again; only you commit or undo it.

In the app, press F1 or ? on this screen to open this guide next to your work.

This guide belongs to the Data migration module. Learn more

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