ERP Go-Live Support

Setting go/no-go criteria before the date arrives

The most dangerous sentence in an ERP project is "we cannot move the date". Once a go-live date has been announced, every warning sign starts to look negotiable. That is why I agree go/no-go criteria with leadership well before the date, when people can still think clearly about risk.

Typical criteria cover:

• Testing: UAT scripts for critical processes passed and signed off by process owners, with no open critical defects.
• Data: trial migration loads completed and reconciled, including balances, open documents and stock.
• Integrations: interfaces with banks, ecommerce, CRM or logistics tested end to end, with monitoring in place.
• People: key users trained and confident, end users trained for their roles, support roster agreed.
• Operations: cutover rehearsed, freeze periods communicated to customers and suppliers, rollback plan understood.

At the go/no-go meeting, each criterion is reviewed against evidence, not opinion. If something is red, the conversation becomes about options: a short delay, a reduced scope, a phased go-live, or a documented workaround with an owner and a deadline. My role is to make that decision transparent. As an independent consultant I have no incentive to push a date for invoicing reasons, which makes it easier for me to say what others may be reluctant to say. Strong testing and UAT is the foundation for this decision.

Building a cutover plan that actually works

A cutover plan is a timed sequence of every action needed to move from the old system to the new one. It is more detailed than most teams expect. A good plan lists each task, its owner, its dependencies, its expected duration and how completion will be verified.

The core elements I include are:

1. Freeze points for master data, transactions and configuration changes in the legacy system.
2. Final data extraction and load for customers, suppliers, items, open orders, open invoices and balances.
3. Reconciliation checkpoints after each load, signed off by finance and operations.
4. Integration switch-over, including disabling old interfaces and activating new ones in the right order.
5. User access and roles activated and tested for each department.
6. Communication to staff, customers and suppliers about any temporary changes.
7. Rollback criteria and steps if a critical issue appears before the point of no return.

I rehearse the cutover at least once in a test environment, timing each step and fixing gaps. Rehearsals reveal issues that are invisible on paper: a load that takes far longer than expected, a dependency nobody noticed, a missing approval. The plan builds on the data work from ERP data migration and the checklist in my ERP migration checklist.

Opening balances and stock: getting the starting numbers right

If the opening position in a new ERP is wrong, every report built on it is wrong too. Opening balances are where finance and operations most often lose confidence in a new system, so I treat them as a project of their own.

Timing matters. Many businesses go live at the start of a month or period and load provisional balances, then true up once the legacy period is closed. I help you decide the approach with your accountant, agree who signs off each number and document the reconciliation so auditors can follow it later. Physical stock counts are planned with the warehouse team so quantities in the ERP match what is on the shelves from the first day.

Hypercare and the first month-end close

Hypercare is the period of heightened support right after go-live. It is when users hit real-world situations that testing did not cover, and when small issues can grow quickly if nobody owns them. I run hypercare with a simple structure:

• A daily stand-up with key users and the implementation team to review new issues.
• One shared issue log, with each item classified as training, data, configuration, integration or process.
• Agreed priorities, so anything blocking orders, shipping, invoicing or payments is handled first.
• Clear escalation paths to the implementation partner or vendor support where needed.
• Defined exit criteria for moving from hypercare to normal support.

The first month-end close is the real test. It is where you find missing accruals, unposted receipts, incorrect tax settings, inventory valuation differences and reports that do not match what management expects. I work through the close checklist with your finance team, reconcile key accounts, and review the first management reports with the people who will rely on them.

Issues found during hypercare often point to longer-term improvements, which can feed into ERP optimization or further ERP training. If your go-live is approaching and you want an independent pair of hands on the plan, contact me to talk it through.