Migration Guide
Switching Turf Management Software:
A Data Migration Checklist
Switching turf management software is a change to the way your team accesses information and manages work. The data transfer matters, but so do record quality, staff access, training and the point at which the new system becomes the agreed source.
A useful migration plan separates what the team needs for the first working day from the historical material that needs to remain accessible. It also names the people who will check that the transfer is correct.
Use this checklist to prepare a supplier discussion and organise the handover. The exact scope depends on the systems, available exports and requirements of your organisation.
Contents
1.Inventory the information you currently rely on
Start with the records people actually use. They may be spread across an application, spreadsheets, shared folders, paper files and individual devices.
| Record group | Examples | Questions to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| People | Staff, managers, roles, crews | Who needs access and who authorises it? |
| Locations | Sites, greens, fields, mapped areas | Which names and boundaries are authoritative? |
| Machinery | Asset IDs, models, service history | How are events matched to each asset? |
| Work | Open jobs, recurring tasks, instructions | What must be active on the first day? |
| Stock | Products, quantities, units, suppliers | When will opening balances be verified? |
| Operational records | Inspections, applications, attachments | What relationships and evidence must remain accessible? |
| Historical records | Completed work and archived files | Import, retain in an archive or both? |
For each group, record the owner, source format, approximate volume and any access restriction. Do not move personal or sensitive information simply because it happens to be in the same export.
2.Confirm export access before committing to a transfer
Ask the current provider what can be exported, in which formats and whether attachments, links and historical records are included. Clarify any cost, access deadline or contractual condition.
A spreadsheet export may contain record rows but omit photographs or relationships between records. Opening a file successfully does not establish that it contains everything the operation needs.
Keep an unaltered source copy in an approved location. Make working copies for cleaning and transformation so you can trace changes back to the original export.
3.Clean and map the data
Standardise names, units and asset identifiers before import. Resolve duplicate people, ambiguous area names and records that reference equipment no longer in service.
Create a field-mapping table showing the source field, destination field and any conversion rule. Pay particular attention to dates, time zones, measurement units and status values. A value called “closed” in one system may mean something different in another.
Retain the original meaning. Do not silently convert an unknown value into a default that looks certain. Record exceptions and decide who is responsible for resolving them.
4.Separate operational setup from historical migration
For a first-day setup, the essentials may include current users, named locations, active machinery, open work and verified opening stock. Historical data can be a separate workstream if that is appropriate for your records requirements.
Agree what will be imported, what will remain in a searchable archive and how staff will access it. Applicable retention and privacy requirements depend on the records and organisation; confirm them with the responsible person rather than deleting history to simplify the transfer.
Historic records should not appear as newly completed work. Preserve original event dates and provenance wherever the target system supports them.
5.Test a representative sample
Before importing everything, choose records that exercise the difficult parts: a machine with several service events, a job with attachments, an archived staff member and a location with an unusual name.
Check both the visible fields and the relationships. Can the service record be found from the correct asset? Does an attachment open? Is the original date retained? Is the record visible only to the appropriate users?
Use counts as a reconciliation aid, then inspect content. Matching row counts can still hide duplicate or mislinked records.
6.Plan the changeover
Choose a cutover point and explain where new information should be entered before and after it. If the old system remains in use during preparation, account for the records created after the initial export.
State who approves the final transfer, who communicates the switch and what the team will do if access or data problems occur. A fallback should preserve a usable operational record without creating two conflicting versions of the plan.
Keep the old source available as agreed until validation and any required retention arrangements are complete. Do not cancel access purely because the first import finished.
7.Train around the actual workflow
Give managers and staff practice with the tasks they will perform: opening an assignment, finding equipment information, recording an update and escalating a problem.
Use the same area names and task language that appear in the live setup. Ask staff to demonstrate the process back. Access to a training recording is helpful, but it does not establish that the team can complete the workflow.
Migration acceptance checklist
- Export accessSource exports and attachments accounted for.
- Export accessOriginal copies retained in the approved location.
- Clean & mapField mapping, units and dates checked.
- Clean & mapDuplicates and unresolved exceptions recorded.
- Test samplePeople and access permissions validated.
- Test sampleMachinery and related records correctly linked.
- Test sampleLocations and mapped areas checked.
- Setup vs historyOpen work and recurring schedules reviewed.
- Setup vs historyOpening stock reconciled at the agreed point.
- Setup vs historyHistorical access and retention arrangements confirmed.
- ChangeoverChanges since the original export accounted for.
- TrainStaff trained on the first-day workflow.
- ChangeoverCutover owner and fallback process agreed.
- AcceptanceAcceptance recorded by the responsible person.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need to import every historical record immediately?
Not necessarily. Decide what must be operational and what must remain accessible, then agree an appropriate import and archive plan.
How long does migration take?
It depends on data quality, scope, exports, attachments and the checks required. Ask for a scoped estimate after the source material has been reviewed.
Can a migration preserve every field?
That depends on both systems. Identify unsupported fields early and agree how their information will be retained rather than assuming it transfers automatically.
Discuss the move before making it
Ground Control can discuss your existing data, desired workflow and setup requirements. Start with the buyer’s guide, then review how asset management, mapping and daily planning would fit your operation.