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Migrating legacy data from AX 2012 to D365 Finance and Operations

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Posted on by Naresh Dhekonda

What is the most proven and successful method for migrating legacy data from AX 2012 to D365 Finance and Operations (D365FO)? Additionally, what are the various methods and tools available for performing this migration?

Please share the strategy for data profiling activity before starting the data migration.

Requirement:

Not a very big organisation.

only 3 legal entities,

only 1 currency - AUD.

Categories:

Dynamics 365 Finance

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Martin Dráb 237,805 Most Valuable Professional on at

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There is on oficial upgrade path from AX 2012 to F&O, which covers the data upgrade as well. Refer to the documentation: Upgrade from AX 2012 to finance and operations.

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Abhilash Warrier 5,402 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi Naresh,

Please refer the link for more information –
Upgrade from AX 2012 to finance and operations - Finance & Operations | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn

The most effective approach is the Microsoft-supported Upgrade Process, which includes the following phases:

Analyze:

Use the Upgrade Analyzer Tool to assess your AX 2012 environment and identify potential issues.

Review your data structure, customizations, and integrations.

Execute:

Leverage Microsoft Lifecycle Services (LCS) for managing the upgrade process.

Use the Data Upgrade Tool to migrate your database and transactional history.

Validate:

Perform thorough testing to ensure data accuracy and system functionality.

Validate financial reports, workflows, and integrations.

Methods and Tools for Migration

Data Upgrade Process:

Supported for AX 2012 R2 and R3 versions.

Migrates full transactional history and customizations.

Requires updating AX 2012 to the latest cumulative update before migration.

Code Upgrade:

Use the Code Upgrade Tool in LCS to bring forward custom application code.

Data Management Framework (DMF):

Ideal for migrating master data and configurations.

Supports data import/export through templates.

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Arvind Bharti 686 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi ,

As mention by Martin there is one standard approach given by Microsoft . This approach is valid when you want to migrate Existing customization + Master Data + Transaction.

Another approach, is when you ust want master data and key configurations

you can use data entity .

1. Identfiy data entites

2. export from ax 2012

3. review

4. Import in d365

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André Arnaud de Cal... 300,915 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi Naresh,

As mentioned below there are various approaches. In case you go for a standard database upgrade, it will move all data and it will make it suitable for Dynamics 365 using upgrade scripts. You need to customize some scripts in case your environment has customizations that should be moved, probably in a bit different way as a customization can be implemented differently in Dynamics 365.
Using this method, you will not be able to reconfigure the application to get the most value out of new features which were not there in AX2012.

Another approach is using data management to import configurations, master data and opening balances. You have all the freedom to reconfigure the application as you will start without transactions. This method also ensures you will not directly have a large database consumption.

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