Start here
Define the job before comparing the tools
Most migration failures start before the cutover. The team has not agreed on which records matter, which system owns each field, what counts as correct, or who can stop the launch. The import simply reveals those missing decisions under pressure.
Plan the change in small stages. Protect and inspect the current system, clean only what must move, prove the hardest workflow in a safe environment, rehearse the cutover, and keep the old path available until the new one is accepted.
The starting point
Write a one-sentence outcome and a clear non-goal. For example: move live order fulfillment to the new system without changing the product catalog or accounting method. This keeps a migration from turning into an uncontrolled redesign.
The process
Work through the decision in a sensible order
Assign owners and decision rights
Name one migration owner, a business owner for every critical workflow, and the person who can delay or reverse launch.
- • Project owner
- • Data and integration owners
- • Finance, security, and privacy reviewers
- • Stop and rollback authority
Inventory data and connections
List records, fields, identifiers, files, apps, APIs, webhooks, users, reports, automations, and outside partners. Mark the source of truth for each item.
- • Objects and history
- • Unique IDs and relationships
- • Inbound and outbound integrations
- • Retention and archive needs
Protect and clean the source
Create a tested backup or export before transformation. Remove only known duplicates and obsolete data; keep a record of every cleanup rule.
- • Backup or export date
- • Restore or replay evidence
- • Cleanup rules
- • Reconciliation totals
Build and test safely
Use a sandbox or isolated copy. Start with the hardest representative workflow and add integrations one at a time so failures have an obvious source.
- • Normal and exception cases
- • Role permissions
- • Failure alerts
- • No unintended customer action
Set acceptance checks
Define the numbers and actions that must match before launch: record totals, money, inventory, order status, customer messages, reports, and exports.
- • Who signs each check
- • Allowed difference
- • Evidence saved
- • Deadline for correction
Rehearse cutover and rollback
Practice the final export, freeze window, import, connection change, smoke test, monitoring, and reversal. Time the rehearsal and update the runbook.
- • Exact sequence
- • Credential and DNS access
- • Communication plan
- • Rollback trigger and time limit
Launch small and stabilize
Prefer a low-risk window or limited scope. Watch orders, payments, inventory, messages, integrations, and support queues until ordinary and peak work is stable.
- • Live owner coverage
- • First-record checks
- • Daily reconciliation
- • Old-system retirement date
Owner worksheet
Write down these decisions
| Item | What to record |
|---|---|
| Outcome | What will work differently after migration and what will not change. |
| Source of truth | The owner for every critical record and field before, during, and after cutover. |
| Acceptance | Exact counts, totals, workflows, permissions, and reports that must pass. |
| Stop trigger | The condition that pauses launch before more customers or records are affected. |
| Rollback | The ordered steps, owner, credentials, and time window for returning to the old path. |
| Retirement | When the old subscription, credentials, exports, and archive can be closed safely. |
Red flags
Slow down when any of these appear
- The migration has a launch date but no acceptance owner.
- Data is being cleaned without saved rules or reconciliation totals.
- Every integration is enabled at once.
- The test uses only perfect records and skips the exceptions staff handle every week.
- Rollback means restoring a backup that has never been tested.
- The old system will be canceled immediately after the first successful login.
Action plan
Turn the guide into a short piece of work
- Write the outcome, non-goal, scope, owners, and stop authority.
- Inventory data, connections, users, reports, and retention needs.
- Protect the source and reconcile a clean test extract.
- Prove the hardest workflow and then the surrounding integrations.
- Run a timed cutover and rollback rehearsal.
- Launch with monitoring and retire the old system only after acceptance.
Editorial method
How this guide was prepared
Commerce Stack Guide reviewed the official sources below and translated the decision into a small-business workflow. The guide does not claim hands-on testing and does not replace accounting, legal, privacy, security, or other professional advice where those reviews are needed.
Product prices and limits change. Use the worksheet to verify current details with representative data and a reversible test before committing.
Sources