When picking a migration date you should pick a date that:
- Is at least 30 days prior to the legacy system getting turned off.
- Is at least 30 days prior to having to provide a notice of non-renewal to the legacy provider
The best times to start a migration are:
- Thursday @ 3:00PM (Best)
- Tuesday @ 3:00PM (Alternative)
These times are good because:
- Most firms are front-loaded with Monday being the busiest day and Friday being slower.
- If a backup starts on Thursday, they can be using the new software Friday morning.
- This lets them use Friday as a soft-launch/warm up day.
- The firm can see the data restoring into their new system.
- The work is starting during business hours
The following backup start dates are terrible:
- Friday evenings / Weekends / Holidays
If you make a habit of this, your family life and mental health will suffer and the firm will have a rough Monday because, on their busiest day of the week, they'll be trying to figure out new software.
- The first/last day of a billing cycle/month/year.
These dates make the migration time sensitive which creates unnecessary pressure on the project. If billing cycles are a consideration, we recommend doing the migration mid-cycle so all the firm members can get comfortable with entering time and running bills in the new software.