Manage a Migration Process Team

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively manage a migration project team for QuickBooks Online. Here’s a snapshot of what you’ll learn:

1. Identify the Right People: Learn how to assemble a team that will ensure a smooth and successful migration to QuickBooks Online.
2. Manage the Change: Discover how to lead and support your team during the migration process.

Note: This post is for accounting firms and businesses transitioning their software to QuickBooks Online and managing the migration process in-house. If you're planning to outsource data migration, skip to the next section.

Identify the Right People for Dream Migration Team

A successful QuickBooks migration project starts with:

• Selecting the right team members
• Identifying key roles
• Assigning the right individuals

Key Roles in Your Data Migration Team

To ensure a successful migration, consider these essential roles:

Executive Sponsor(s) 🕴️

Choose at least one senior partner, ideally a board member, who will champion the migration. They ensure that the project moves forward without obstacles and provide top-level support.

Project Lead(s) 💪

Appoint a dedicated project lead who will oversee the migration process. This role is best filled by a full-time employee, but in smaller practices, a part-time project lead can suffice if they are regularly available. It's beneficial if they are a QuickBooks ProAdvisor.

Champion(s) 🏆

Your champions are your in-house QuickBooks experts. They should be certified ProAdvisors with substantial experience using QuickBooks Online. They act as the main point of contact between your team and QuickBooks support.

Staff Members 🫂

This includes anyone affected by the migration, such as client-facing staff, data processors, and payroll staff. They should all be familiar with QuickBooks Online, ideally holding ProAdvisor certification.

Structuring Your Team

The size of your practice will determine whether one person might need to fulfill multiple roles. It’s important to clearly define and assign these roles to ensure each aspect of the migration is covered effectively.

For instance, in NextGen Accounting, a fictional accounting firm, senior partner Jane Doe acts as the executive sponsor.

She supports project lead John Smith, who manages the migration with help from their QuickBooks champion, Sarah Lee, who's also a certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor.

Sarah trains the client-facing staff to ensure they are ready for the transition.

Manage the Change

During the transition, you want to ensure that your team is up-to-date with QuickBooks Online and possesses the necessary knowledge and skills to utilize the software for solving daily business and accounting challenges.

Enhancing QuickBooks Expertise

Equipping your team with the necessary QuickBooks skills is vital for a successful migration. Providing the right training will build confidence, assuring your clients that their business is in capable hands.

Increasing Knowledge and Skills

Use QuickBooks resources to train your team. QuickBooks Central offers a wealth of training materials and support to help your staff become proficient in using QuickBooks Online.

For example, NextGen Accounting uses QuickBooks Central to provide their team with the latest training on QuickBooks Online features, ensuring they are well-prepared for the migration.

• Harness Knowledge: Continuously educate your team on QuickBooks functionalities.
• Effective Training: Provide practical training sessions to enhance skills.
• Maintain Momentum: Keep the team motivated and on track throughout the migration.

Read: Best Books to Learn QuickBooks Online

Managing Resistance to Change

Some staff members might resist transitioning to QuickBooks Online due to their comfort with an existing accounting system, and their reluctance to invest time in learning a new tool.

But if you've already assessed the costs and benefits of switching to QuickBooks Online, it's crucial to address each staff member's concerns and to reassure them of the advantages of switching to the new accounting solution.

You can go through the Getting to Know QuickBooks Online section of this course for information that concerned staff members may require.

Overcoming Barriers and Objections

Here’s a tried-and-true approach to addressing objections and managing change:

1. Recognize Barriers: Identify common objections and develop strategies to overcome them.
2. Lack of Resources: Provide the necessary tools and support such as online courses
3. Insufficient Information: Educate your team on the benefits of QuickBooks Online.
4. Unwillingness to Change: Showcase the advantages of the new system, such as time-saving features like automated bank feeds.

For example, when NextGen Accounting encountered resistance, they addressed concerns by demonstrating the efficiency of QuickBooks Online, highlighting how it simplifies tasks like bulk transaction editing.

To assist in managing change, download our guide on overcoming barriers and pain points.

Putting Your New Skills into Practice

Follow these steps to apply your newfound knowledge:

1. Assess Staff Skills: Evaluate the accounting skills and experience of your staff to assemble your migration team.
2. Gauge QuickBooks Knowledge: Assess your team’s current QuickBooks knowledge and identify areas for improvement. If you've a team of bookkeepers and accountants in-house, you can help them take the QuickBooks ProAdvisor certification test, which covers the basics.
3. Utilize QuickBooks Central: Find and implement appropriate training programs for your team. Intuit offers several resources for free, and you can further look at courses on platforms such as Udemy and LinkedIn Learning.
4. Address Objections: Anticipate potential barriers and plan strategies to manage them effectively. Take a few minutes to talk to each member who raises an objection.

Summary and Next Steps

In this lesson, we covered:

1. Identifying the Right People: How to build a strong data migration team.
2. Managing the Change: Strategies for leading your team through the migration process.

Further Learning

To learn more about the topics discussed in this lesson, explore these resources:

• QuickBooks Online Course: We'll soon be launching a QuickBooks Online course, so stay tuned.
• Effectively manage clients: Learn how to engage clients effectively during the migration process.

Next Activity

Focus on boosting your clients’ confidence by ensuring they have the right QuickBooks Online plan for their needs. Start by building and managing a project team that can lead a successful migration to QuickBooks Online.