Switching to different accounting software: what to migrate and what to archive

The best time to switch to different accounting software is at the start of the accounting period, which for companies with a calendar year means January 1. If that is not possible, then at least on the first day of a month, not in the middle of a month, because of VAT. You usually migrate only the address book, unpaid invoices, inventory and opening account balances into the new program. The history stays in the old program, and you must keep its records: accounting documents for 5 years, VAT tax documents for 10 years.

The import itself is usually the fastest part. Stormware writes that importing data into POHODA takes “on average one afternoon” [1]. The decisions around it take more time: what to migrate, what to clean up, how to reconcile the result and what to do with the old program.

When is the best time to switch accounting software?

At the start of the accounting period. Stormware calls this ideal, because at that point the old program holds a minimum of open receivables and payables. It is not a requirement, though; you can also switch during the year [1]. For switching to ABRA Flexi, ABRA recommends the same, i.e. the end of the year or accounting period, and explicitly advises against migrating in the middle of a month, mainly because of VAT [3].

Well in advance. Stormware handles imports as a priority, roughly within 3 days of ordering. It warns, however, that processing can take longer, typically in January, when demand for these services is higher and the specialists are busy [1]. If you want to switch on January 1, arrange the date already in the fall.

It also works during the year. You just migrate more: besides open items, also the documents of the current period, i.e. invoices, cash, bank or internal documents [1].

What about the new Accounting Act? For a switch on January 1, 2027, the current Act No. 563/1991 Coll. (zákon o účetnictví) applies. The government approved the draft of a new act in November 2025, the Chamber of Deputies discussed it in the first reading in March 2026, and it is expected to take effect on January 1, 2028 [7][8]. When choosing a new program, ask the vendor how they are preparing for the new act.

What can be migrated and what stays in the old program?

It depends on what you are switching from and to. The table is based on Stormware’s materials for migration into POHODA [1] and ABRA’s for migration from POHODA to ABRA Flexi [2].

Data	Migrated?
Address book	yes
Unpaid invoices (balance)	yes
Inventory and price list	yes
Opening account balances	yes
Current-period documents	depends on the program: into POHODA yes (invoices, cash, bank, internal documents); into ABRA Flexi cash yes, bank statements and internal documents no
General journal	rather not: without the source documents you cannot compile the VAT return or the EC Sales List from it, so close VAT in the old program; not migrated into ABRA Flexi
Fixed assets	limited: into POHODA only by writing into the database and not quite completely, each record has to be saved again; not migrated into ABRA Flexi
Payroll	no: employee data are migrated, issued payrolls are not migrated retroactively; into ABRA Flexi neither HR nor payroll is migrated
Orders, stock movements	depends on the program: not migrated from POHODA into ABRA Flexi

In addition, the ABRA Flexi migration tool transfers only the current period. Previous periods are entered into Flexi only as the closing balances of the previous accounting period [2]. ABRA explicitly writes that migration is not a complete 1:1 reconstruction of the accounts [2]. So transfer what you will keep working with. Leave the rest in the old program.

How does the switch work step by step?

1. Agree with your accountant. The cutover date, the VAT closing in the old program, who enters the opening balances and who reconciles them.
2. List what you have where. Address book, open invoices, inventory, assets, payroll, bank accounts. And above all, what is connected to the accounting program: e-shop, bank, POS, CRM. Every connection has to be reconnected to the new program.
3. Decide what to migrate and what to archive. Based on the table above. What you do not migrate stays available in the old program.
4. Clean up the data before you migrate it. Duplicate companies, missing company IDs (IČO), old addresses, unused stock cards. You can check the address book against ARES, where you can look up whether a company exists and what data the source registers hold about it [9]. In the VAT Register (Registr DPH) you can find out whether a company is a VAT payer and whether it is an unreliable payer. The Financial Administration (Finanční správa) also publishes VAT payers’ bank accounts, which your software can read via its web service [10]. Whatever you migrate without cleaning, you will be cleaning in the new program.
5. Export the data in a format the new program accepts. For POHODA, xls/xlsx is the most convenient; database formats such as dbf, mdb or csv also work. A backup of another vendor’s program is not suitable for import [1]. Money S3 imports from XML. It can also load the address book, stock cards, invoice headers, payables and receivables from XLS; other documents have to be converted to XML first [4]. For migration into Flexi, ABRA recommends Excel [3].
6. Send a sample for review and try a dry-run import. Stormware recommends sending the data file for review first [1]. With ABRA Flexi, you migrate into a new, clean company [2]. On the sample, check diacritics, company IDs, prices and rounding before you run the live import.
7. Enter the opening balances and reconcile them. The number of companies in the address book, the sum of unpaid invoices, the stock value and the account balances must come out the same in the old and the new program. Explain any differences before you start posting.
8. Archive the old program. Read-only and with an export to a readable format. How long is answered by the next question.

How long do you have to keep data from the old program?

Under Section 31 of the Accounting Act, financial statements and annual reports are kept for 10 years. Accounting documents, accounting books, depreciation plans, inventory lists, the chart of accounts and summaries for 5 years. The period runs from the end of the accounting period to which the records relate [5]. If the records also serve another purpose, for example tax, they are kept for the period set by that other regulation as well (Section 32) [5].

The VAT Act (zákon o DPH), in Section 35, requires tax documents to be kept for 10 years from the end of the tax period in which the supply took place [6].

In practice, this means that data from the old program must remain openable for years after the switch. The law allows an accounting record to be converted from one form to another. However, the converted record must correspond in content to the original (Section 33(3)) [5]. Before you cancel the old program’s license, check with the vendor whether you will at least be able to view the data.

This is not legal advice; for a specific case, consult your accountant or tax advisor.

Can you handle the switch with the vendor’s technician, or do you need help?

Often you can manage it with the vendor. For importing the address book with unpaid receivables and payables, Stormware states about 2–3 hours of a technician’s work, for inventory about 2 hours [1]. With Money S3, a technician can do the migration: they convert the data on their side and deliver it in Money format [4]. ABRA estimates roughly 2–3 hours per record type [3]. When you have one program, one company and data in good order, the vendor’s tool or technician is usually enough.

Additional help makes sense when:

• you need to clean the data before migrating (duplicates, missing company IDs, outdated addresses),
• you are changing several systems at once, for example accounting, CRM and e-shop, and need one key (company ID, stock code) across all of them,
• you want the result reconciled in a protocol: record counts, balance and stock value in the old and new program,
• the old program has connections that must be reconnected to the new one.

How we do it

The accounting program is just one case of moving data. We moved our own company from separate Gmail accounts to Google Workspace with the packlabs.cz domain. For switching to different accounting software, we propose the process from the steps above: find out what lies where, clean up, transfer on a trial basis and compare the source with the target.

Sources

1. Stormware – Vyměňte staré účetnictví za nové, pohodové (Přechod na program POHODA, PDF): ideal timing, technician’s working times, formats, what cannot be migrated, workload in January. https://www.stormware.cz/dnload/Prechod-na-program-POHODA.pdf
2. ABRA Flexi – Data migration from POHODA system: what is and is not migrated, current period only, new clean company. https://podpora.flexibee.eu/en/articles/9799594-data-migration-from-pohoda-system
3. ABRA Flexi – Migrating data from another system to ABRA Flexi: timing of the switch, do not migrate mid-month because of VAT, Excel, 2–3 hours per record type. https://podpora.flexibee.eu/en/articles/5172423-migrating-data-from-another-system-to-abra-flexi
4. Money – Převody dat z a do Money S3: XML, XLS, migration by a technician. https://money.cz/navod/money-s3-prevody-dat/
5. Act No. 563/1991 Coll., on Accounting, Sections 31, 32 and 33. https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/1991-563
6. Act No. 235/2004 Coll., on Value Added Tax, Section 35. https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/2004-235
7. EY – Nový zákon o účetnictví a změnový zákon míří do Poslanecké sněmovny (12/2025): approval by the government, planned effective date January 1, 2028. https://www.ey.com/cs_cz/technical/tax/tax-alerts/2025/12/novy-zakon-o-ucetnictvi-a-zmenovy-zakon-miri-do-poslanecke-snemovny
8. DAUC – Poslanecká sněmovna projednala v prvním čtení nový zákon o účetnictví (March 12, 2026). https://www.dauc.cz/aktuality/1827/poslanecka-snemovna-projednala-v-prvnim-cteni-novy-zakon-o-ucetnictvi
9. Ministry of Finance – ARES (Administrative Register of Economic Entities). https://mf.gov.cz/cs/ministerstvo/informacni-systemy/ares
10. Financial Administration – VAT Payer Register (unreliable payer, published accounts). https://financnisprava.gov.cz/cs/dane/dane-elektronicky/danovy-portal/registr-dph

Planning to switch accounting software?

In a free 30-minute audit, we will go through what you are switching from and to, what is connected to the old program and what state the data are in. We will also tell you when the vendor’s technician is enough. If you are switching to POHODA or staying with it, see how we connect POHODA to the e-shop, warehouse and other systems. We handle other combinations under system integration.