--- title: "Moving off a legacy platform: a checklist for broker owners" description: "A checklist for broker owners moving off a legacy platform: data migration, integrations, team buy-in and timing, without disrupting day-to-day trading." image: https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hubfs/Untitled%20-%2003%20July%202026%20at%2010.00.54-7.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/blog/moving-off-a-legacy-platform-a-checklist-for-broker-owners#main-content) ![](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled.jpeg?width=501&height=167&name=Untitled.jpeg)Homepage Get started Get started ![Person on laptop ticking off items on a checklist](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20-%2003%20July%202026%20at%2010.00.54-7.png?width=1080&height=566&name=Untitled%20-%2003%20July%202026%20at%2010.00.54-7.png) Legacy systems Software migration ERP migration # Moving off a legacy platform: a checklist for broker owners ![Guy Kilner](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e) Guy Kilner November 4, 2026 If you run an independent brokerage on a legacy platform, the decision to move rarely stalls on the new software. It stalls on the move itself. Years of quotes, customer records, supplier history and pricing sit in a system your team knows inside out, and the thought of lifting all of that across while still trading is enough to push the decision into next quarter. A checklist won't make the move effortless, but it will make it manageable. Here is what to work through before you commit, and what to ask of any vendor you're considering. 1\. Audit the data you actually have Start with an honest inventory of what lives in your current system. That usually means: \- Customer and supplier records, including contacts and terms \- Quote and sales order history \- Purchase orders, and how they link to sales orders \- Inventory records, part numbers and stock locations \- Pricing history and any cost data your sales team relies on For each one, ask two questions. Do we need this in the new system on day one? And who in the business owns it? The second question matters more than it sounds. If nobody owns the supplier list, nobody will check it when it arrives on the other side. 2\. Clean before you move, not after Moving messy data into a new system gives you messy data in a better-looking interface. Before migration starts, set aside time to: \- Merge duplicate customer and supplier records \- Archive dead quotes and accounts that haven't traded in years \- Standardise part number formats, so the same component isn't stored three different ways \- Check that open orders and live stock figures match what's physically on the shelf You don't need to clean everything. Focus on the records your team touches every week. Older history can come across as it is, as long as everyone knows which records were tidied and which weren't. 3\. Map your integrations, starting with accounting List every system your current platform talks to, and every manual export your team does because it doesn't. Start with accounting. Ask exactly how financial data will flow between the new platform and your accounting package, what happens to invoices and credit notes, and whether anything still needs keying in twice. Dashing integrates with all major accounting providers. Whichever vendor you're talking to, ask to see the connection working with your own package rather than taking it on trust. Then capture the smaller connections: email, shared drives, and any reporting spreadsheets that pull figures out of your current system. These are the ones that tend to get missed, and they cause friction in the first week. 4\. Plan training around roles, not a single session Sales, finance and operations use the same system in very different ways. A rep needs to raise a quote quickly with live stock and pricing in front of them. Finance needs to trust that orders, invoices and payments reconcile. As an owner or MD, you want a clear view of margin and pipeline. A good training plan reflects that. Ask who will deliver the training, whether it happens on-site or remotely, and how questions that come up afterwards will be handled. Dashing trains your team on-site. It also helps to pick one or two people internally to become the go-to users. They don't need to be technical. They need to be trusted by the rest of the team and willing to ask awkward questions early. 5\. Agree what go-live support looks like Go-live is when real work starts in the new system, and it's when questions surface that never came up in training. Before you sign, be clear on: \- Who your named contact is during and after go-live \- How quickly they respond during trading hours \- What happens if something stops a quote or an order going out \- How long hands-on support continues before you move to standard support At Dashing, we handle the data transfer, train your team on-site and stay with you until you're comfortable. Whoever you choose, get the vendor's answers in writing. 6\. Questions to ask any vendor Bring these to every conversation: \- Who does the data transfer work: your team, theirs, or both? \- How will they check that everything came across correctly? \- How does the platform connect to your accounting software? \- Who hosts your data, and who controls it? \- How does pricing work for a team your size, and are you tied into a long contract? \- What does day one look like for your sales team? \- Can you speak to a broker who has already made the move? The answers will tell you a lot about how a vendor approaches migration. If the answer to "how do we move our data?" is "export a CSV and we'll import it", treat that as a warning sign. Where to go next If you want the detail on how a migration runs in practice, read What a Dashing migration actually involves, week by week: [https://www.dashingdisty.com/blog/what-a-dashing-migration-actually-involves-week-by-week](https://www.dashingdisty.com/blog/what-a-dashing-migration-actually-involves-week-by-week) If you're earlier in the process and still comparing options, our buying guide covers what to look for in a broker-specific platform: [https://www.dashingdisty.com/blog/erp-for-electronic-component-brokers-a-plain-language-buying-guide](https://www.dashingdisty.com/blog/erp-for-electronic-component-brokers-a-plain-language-buying-guide) And if you'd like to walk through what a move would involve for your business, book a demo to walk through your migration: [dashingdisty.com/book-a-demo](http://dashingdisty.com/book-a-demo). Bring your questions. The more specific they are, the more useful the 30 minutes will be.   ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.dashingdisty.com%2Fblog%2Fmoving-off-a-legacy-platform-a-checklist-for-broker-owners](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fblog.dashingdisty.com%2Fblog%2Fmoving-off-a-legacy-platform-a-checklist-for-broker-owners) ## Keep reading ### [![Glowing blue speedometer dial, representing faster sales performance](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20-%2003%20July%202026%20at%2010.00.54-4%20(1).png?width=1080&height=566&name=Untitled%20-%2003%20July%202026%20at%2010.00.54-4%20(1).png) How sales teams win more deals with better access to data](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/blog/how-broker-sales-teams-win-more-deals-with-better-quoting-data) ### [![Tangled line passing through a glowing light bulb and straightening into a clear arrow](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled%20-%2007%20August%202026%20at%2011.21.02-1.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Untitled%20-%2007%20August%202026%20at%2011.21.02-1.png) ERP for electronic component brokers: a no-jargon buying guide](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/blog/erp-for-electronic-component-brokers-a-plain-language-buying-guide) [![](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Untitled.jpeg?width=501&height=167&name=Untitled.jpeg)](https://blog.dashingdisty.com/) --- Privacy Policy · Legal · © 2026. 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