Charlie Blomkvist
Switching ERP systems is one of the bigger decisions a growing company makes, often when it has outgrown Fortnox, Visma Administration or another small-business accounting program (both are common in Sweden) and is facing a move to an ERP such as Visma Net. It is rarely the system that makes things go wrong. It is the project: it drags on, costs more than it should and leaves finance stuck between two systems. Here are seven things to consider before you start, and how we keep the switch short and predictable.
Short answer: what should you consider when switching ERP systems?
- Start with how work and money move today, not with a list of features.
- Decide what should come along: master data, history and how you want to follow up.
- Choose a pricing model and see who carries the risk if the project drags on.
- Keep the project short, with setup, testing and training in parallel.
- Train during the project, on your own data, not afterward.
- Plan go-live and the weeks after, not just the switch itself.
- Decide on ongoing management before the project ends.
Start with the flows, not the systems
The most common trap is starting with a list of features. Instead, start with how work and money move in your business today: how an order becomes an invoice, how a supplier invoice gets approved and paid, and what happens at closing. That is where you see what takes time, what gets done twice and what the new system really has to handle.
We draw up your flows as they will run in the new system, with what will be standard, what needs to be adapted and why. That is the blueprint the rest of the project builds on, and it is yours whatever you choose afterward.
Decide what should come along
Not everything needs to move. Three decisions usually determine how smoothly the switch goes:
Chart of accounts, customers, suppliers and items. Clean it up before it moves, so duplicates and broken references stay in the old system.
Decide how much of the old accounting you need in the new system, and how you will access the rest for comparisons and audits.
Decide from the start how you want to follow up. In Visma Net the subaccount sits on every line, so every cost and revenue can be followed up by department, project or location.
We convert master data with our own conversion tool, Straviont Cloud Bridge. It accepts data from Visma Administration, Fortnox, Spiris and custom exports, among others, and the data is cleaned and validated before it lands in Visma Net. The conversion is included in the price. We have written more about choosing the timing and approach for the move itself in From legacy ERP to the cloud without disrupting the business.
Choose a pricing model, and see who carries the risk
An ERP project can be priced in two ways, and the difference only shows when something takes longer than planned.
Calculated as you go, based on time spent.
Set before you say yes, based on your flows.
The customer pays for the extra hours.
The implementer carries the cost.
That you track the hours continuously.
That documents arrive on time and the right people are available.
A fixed price is a promise about who carries the risk.
We work at a fixed price. The price is set before you decide, and it does not change because the project takes longer than we thought. If it drags on, the risk is ours. Shared risk also means both sides do their part: we need the documents in week one and the right people from your side during the project.
Keep the project short
What makes an implementation long is rarely the amount of work, but the waiting in between: first configuration, then silence, then a test week in a system you have barely seen. Instead, run setup, testing and training side by side, and test on your own data from week one. What you find changes the configuration the same week, not at go-live.
- Workshop
- Flows mapped
- Fixed price
- From four weeks, in parallel
- Go-live
Master data is converted first, and you test on your own data while we configure.
Also keep standard and add-ons apart. Set up the system with the standard flows first, and plan integrations and custom apps as a separate step. With us, that is Visma Net Core for the standard and Visma Net Bespoke for what builds on top of it.
Train during the project, not after
A training day in the last week is rarely enough. Let training happen every week, in the environment you will work in and on your own data, so day one is not the first time. That way you know the flows you actually use, not just the system. We have written about how to bring the rest of the organization along in Change management during a system switch.
Plan go-live, and the weeks after
Go-live is not the end of the project. Plan who will be on hand in the first days, how the first closing in the new system will work and what happens to the old system. With us, you run the system yourselves from go-live, and we stand beside you and handle whatever comes up the same day.
Decide on ongoing management before the project ends
Someone has to look after the system after go-live: new users, changed flows and updates. Decide who that is, what it covers and what it costs before the project ends, not after. With us, ongoing management is handled by the same people who built the environment, so you never have to explain your own setup to someone new.
Frequently asked questions
What should you consider when switching ERP systems?
Start with your flows instead of a feature list, decide what should come along, choose a pricing model where you know who carries the risk, keep the project short with testing and training in parallel, and decide on ongoing management before the project ends.
How do you choose an ERP system?
Start with how invoices, orders and payments move in your business today, and where it takes time. Then compare the systems on exactly those flows, on what the pricing model costs as you grow, and on who carries the risk in the implementation. How your three most important flows run in the system says more than a long list of features.
Do we need a requirements specification when switching ERP systems?
A short one, yes: the flows that must work from day one, the exceptions that take time today and what should come along from the old system. A requirements specification with hundreds of lines often takes months to write and says less than a walkthrough of how you actually work.
How do you switch to Visma Net?
With us, it starts with a free 45-minute workshop where we map your flows. Then you get a fixed price, and the project takes from four weeks to go-live. Master data is converted with Straviont Cloud Bridge, from Visma Administration, Fortnox, Spiris and custom exports, among others, and you test on your own data from week one.
How long does it take to switch ERP systems?
It depends on how much needs to be built beyond the standard. With us, it takes from four weeks to go-live, with conversion, testing and training in parallel. Integrations and custom apps are planned as a separate step.
What does it cost to switch ERP systems?
The cost has two parts: the license and the implementation. The Visma Net license starts at SEK 2,744 per month plus transaction volume, with unlimited users, and is signed with Visma. Our implementation of Visma Net Core costs SEK 75,000, or SEK 125,000 with logistics, excluding VAT and for one company, at a fixed price.
What is the difference between a fixed price and time and materials?
With time and materials, you pay for time spent, and if the project drags on you pay for the extra hours. With a fixed price, the price is set before you say yes, and if the project drags on the implementer carries the cost.
What happens to the history when you switch ERP systems?
Master data is converted and comes along into the new system, and we help with the SIE import (the Swedish standard file format for accounting data), so the history comes along. How much of the old accounting should come along, and how you access the rest for comparisons and audits, we decide together in the workshop.
When is it time to switch ERP systems?
When the system is no longer enough for how the company works. Common signs are that work moves out of the system into spreadsheets and double entry, that the multi-company report is put together by hand, that approvals do not follow the organization, and that inventory, projects and integrations are not connected to finance. Sometimes the decision comes from outside, such as when the system loses support or cannot handle the banks' new payment files. Ideally, switch before something forces you to.
When is the best time to switch ERP systems?
There is no perfect time. A year-end or period change makes reconciliation easier, but a switch mid-year also works: then we help with the SIE import, so what you have done in earlier periods comes along. Choose based on risk rather than the calendar, and switch before something forces you to, such as a server that needs replacing, a system that loses support, like Dynamics NAV 2017 on January 11, 2027, or payment files your current system cannot handle when Bankgirot's payment products are replaced by the banks' own services during 2026.
Do we need to switch everything at once?
No. You can start with finance and add integrations and custom apps once the foundation is in place.
Next steps
We never start with the system choice. We start with your flows, in a free 45-minute workshop, and the walkthrough is yours whatever you choose afterward. If you are already choosing between systems, read our comparisons: Visma Net vs Fortnox, Visma Net vs Visma Administration and Visma Net vs Business Central. Also read what Visma Net costs and how Visma Net works for groups. If you want to see what everyday work looks like in Visma Net, step by step, it is available in Swedish for Fortnox, Visma Administration and Dynamics NAV.