Starting the Migration process from GP to Business Central

Hello All!  Today I want to walk thru what the migration from GP to BC looks like, and some things to look for to ensure you are getting the results of a successful migration.

Here are some basic steps for you to follow to get started:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/business-central/dev-itpro/administration/migration-tool

Although they are a great way to start, I wanted to offer some details that can help as you work thru the migration process.

Step 1: Navigate to Assisted Setup

a. Use the Set-up Cloud Migration wizard to connect BC to the GP SQL database.

You will need your SQL string for the GP database that would look something like this:

Server=DESEREEK0801;DATABASE=DYNAMICS;User Id=sa;Password=yourpassword;

                        *It is very touchy, don’t leave out any semi-colons or equal signs.

b. You will be creating an IR connection during this process – keep track of this!

- If you are using an existing IR, this sometimes can be tricky but doable. You want to ensure the IR is running and located on the machine that holds the GP SQL database.  If you want to test your SQL string, find the Microsoft Integration Runtime Configuration Manager, then navigate to the Diagnostics menu option.  From here you can test to see if the connection is good:

c. Once the IR has been validated in the tool, you will have the option to pick what companies you would like to migrate, and if you want to migration inactive Customers and Vendors.

d. You will also need to define your Account String that you have in GP, and how you want that to come over in BC.  Account segments will need to be defined as an account dimensions in BC.  

At this point, be patient while the shell company is created in BC. (this can take up to an hour) 

Step 2: Navigate to the Cloud Migration Management page in a company other than the company you are attempting to migrate, and select Run Migration Now. (i.e. Cronus) Have all users out of the GP database and the BC database.

• You will stay on this page through this step.  As the process runs, you will notice the Status change which will start with ‘In Progress’.  The next status you may see would be ‘Data Repair Pending’.  This will happen for all migrations but if you do not refresh this page, you may not see this status update at all (and that’s OK).  When you see ‘Data Repair Pending’, we are sanitizing the data in the staging tables in preparation of moving the data.  At this point, please be patient, the tool is working.  When the data has been completely moved to the BC staging tables, you will see a status of ‘Upgrade Pending’.

BEFORE PROCEEDING: Create a copy of the newly migrated GP to BC database to a Sandbox environment.  This can be done within the Business Central Admin Center.  Doing so will allow you to re-migrate the data from GP repeatedly without starting from scratch, saving valuable time.

Step 3: From the Cloud Migration Management page, select Run Data Upgrade Now (Do this in the Sandbox first)

• The tool is moving the staged GP data into the permanent Business Central tables.  This wording could be changing down the road, but for now, let’s just know it’s the third step. 

In the company you are attempting to migrate, navigate to the Data Migration Overview. (Yes, it is ok to be in the company now, just refrain from running transactions or reports) From this page, you can see the progress of the data being moved and if errors are detected.  When all data has been moved successfully, the Overview will look like this:

This page will show you what came from GP, (Migrated Number) and what made it to BC (Total Number). If you do not see 100%-Completed for all modules that are currently being migrated, the process was either not successful and you should see errors, or the migration is still running. 

• If you have errors, these need to be addressed in GP before the migration can be run again. Please see my previous blog to assist with common data issues that can been seen in GP.

https://community.dynamics.com/business/b/d365businesscentral/posts/dynamics-gp-to-dynamics-business-central-migration-tips

There are 3 types of migrations and those are defined here:

• Diagnostic - this will not copy data to Saas from the SQL database.  This is for a test run only.
• Full - this option will do a full replication to Saas.
• Normal - this option would take into account the SQL change tracking version of the previous migration, and try to migrate only the delta, the changes that happened after that tracking version.

Once you have successfully migrated your GP data over to Business Central, you are ready to being your implementation of BC.  The last step of the migration process is to break the connection between GP and BC.  To do so, navigate to the Table Migration Success Rate page, and from the Actions menu, select Disable Cloud Migration. This will allow you to change permissions for all users linked to the ‘intelligent cloud’ Permission Set, to their appropriate BC Permission Set.   This can be done from the Actions menu.  It is not recommended to do any setup or data entry in your BC database until you are done migrating from GP.  Each time the tool is run, it is deleting tables and migrating the information again, so you could lose the data you have entered. 

Once you have changed the permission set, simply choose the disclaimer on the bottom of the page, then ‘Disable Cloud Migration’ from the menu.  This is a vital action to perform as if you don’t, and someone attempts to run the migration again in error, it will wipe out anything that has been set up in BC after the GP data has been migrated over.  Each time you run the migration, we are wiping the outstanding documents for vendors and customers, your GL account numbers and inventory items from the BC database.  These will be written again during the migration from GP.  For example, if you enter a vendor, in BC that does not exist in GP, that vendor will be removed during the migration so it’s important to not enter new information until you are happy with what as been brought over from GP.

The Migration tool was designed to get a great starting with information from GP.  There will be some instances where the tool is not the way to go.  Things to keep in mind, when you migrate, it is all or nothing.  For example, if you have a highly complex GL structure that will need to be addressed before you start in Business Central, the tool will not be a good fit for you.  Currently, we migrate the GL, Vendors, Customers and Inventory items.  If you are unable to process the GL, then you will not be able to do Vendors, Customers and Inventory items.  There is no way to choose which modules you would like to include. 

I hope this information helps get you thru the GP migration process.  Happy migrating!