How Migration Works
Migration moves accounting ownership from your old system to Rebased in stages that can be checked and proven. You complete it by talking with the Migration specialist in Intelligence and dropping in the files it asks for.
A conversation, not a form
The Migration specialist leads the work from a centred Intelligence view. It asks one clear question at a time, understands answers in your own words, explains what it has done, checks the result, and then asks what it needs next.
You provide:
- Facts — for example, when your last BAS was lodged or which financial year is final
- Files — exports and supporting reports from your old system
- Intent — what you want Rebased to take over and when
- Approval — a clear confirmation before anything consequential is applied
The specialist handles the accounting steps it can safely complete, including sorting evidence, preparing mappings, checking balances, and resolving routine issues. If something is genuinely unclear, it explains the business question and asks what you intended. You are not expected to choose technical accounting settings on its behalf.
After business setup, Intelligence opens in the centre for this guided work. You can move it beside another page or collapse it whenever you prefer; your choice is respected. An active migration remains available in Intelligence even when you visit another part of Rebased.
Start from: Settings → Accounting → Migration, or continue the active Migration conversation in Intelligence.
The journey
- Choose when Rebased takes over. Tell the specialist about your GST/BAS timing, payroll, and preferred timing. It recommends a cutover date and explains why.
- Confirm what is final. Answer questions about your old books in ordinary language, including whether year-end journals have been posted.
- Share your evidence. Drag files or a ZIP into the Intelligence composer, or use the attachment picker. You can send several files together.
- Let Rebased check the position. The specialist sorts the files, reports anything missing or duplicated, prepares mappings, and proves the opening balances.
- Resolve exceptions together. The specialist fixes routine issues where it safely can. When your business intent is needed, it asks one focused question.
- Approve the prepared migration. The specialist explains exactly what will happen. A clear confirmation in that conversation authorises that prepared action only.
- Receive the Migration Certificate. Rebased issues a Provisional or Final Migration Certificate for the opening books and keeps the supporting evidence.
- Hand to Onboarding. Intelligence tells you the opening books are live. Chart of Accounts, Linked Accounts, and Opening Balances are already populated. Getting Started continues with branding, payments, bank connect, and your first invoice.
You can ask questions or request clarification at any point. A message that does not answer the current question does not silently move the migration forward.
Safe conversational confirmations
For an important action, such as applying the opening position or reversing a migration, the specialist first shows the exact effect and asks for approval. Your “yes” applies only to that prepared action in the current conversation.
If the plan or proof changes, the approval expires, or the action has already been used, Rebased asks again. It does not treat an unrelated “yes” or an old message as permission.
Migration Certificate
What is a Migration Certificate? It is Rebased’s proof that your opening books were transferred correctly. It is not a permanent certification of the whole business, and it is not a later period-close certificate.
Rebased issues one of two official types:
| Certificate | What it means |
|---|---|
| Provisional Migration Certificate | Opening books are proven on the evidence available. You may go live in Rebased. Named items that still need finishing in the old system remain on the certificate. |
| Final Migration Certificate | The updated source reports have been reconciled, and the migration obligations are complete. |
Three dates or stages can differ:
- Cutover date — the first day Rebased owns new day-to-day transactions
- Cutover export — the final export taken immediately before that date
- Source finalisation — when year-end journals and other closing work are finished in the old system
If cutover is still ahead, early files are provisional. The specialist asks for a fresh export at cutover before the opening position is applied.
You may also start using Rebased while your accountant is still finishing the old financial year. In that case you receive a Provisional Migration Certificate and can keep working for as long as you need — including months.
When those Xero updates are done, drop the updated reports into Intelligence. The first drop is held for comparison only: it does not change your Rebased books, replace the provisional opening evidence, or treat the certificate as final. Intelligence asks at most one plain question to confirm the Xero updates are final, tells you once which files were accepted, rejected, or still missing, and compares only what changed. It asks for one approval only if a ledger adjustment is needed. If nothing changed, Rebased issues a Final Migration Certificate without posting — or pretending to post — a ledger adjustment.
Fixed asset balances on the opening books can be certified even when individual assets were not set up. The certificate says those assets still need to be added later.
Can I receive a later certificate for a closed month or quarter? Not as part of Migration. A Migration Certificate only proves the opening books. It is not period-close certification. Later period-close certificates are a separate idea and are not a current customer workflow.
Optional status and certificate inspection
You do not need a form or checklist to complete migration. Settings → Accounting → Migration is an optional, quiet, read-only place to inspect status and your Migration Certificate.
Accountants and support teams can use it when they want a closer look. The conversation remains the way to answer questions, provide files, approve actions, and continue the migration.
When the opening books are live, centred Migration no longer holds the screen. Day-to-day setup is Onboarding (Getting Started / Settings until that agent exists). The Accounting specialist watches book health after cutover — it does not finish branding, bank connect, or payroll setup.
See Lock Dates and Live Bank Feed for cutover boundaries and period protection. Quotes, Invoices, Bills, and Bank unlock once core linked accounts and item defaults are ready. Payroll-only accounts are not required for that.
Related pages
- Migration from Other Systems — Conversational migration journey and evidence
- Migration Best Practice — Cutover timing, BAS quarters, payroll
- Opening Balances — Conversion date and balances
- Setup Checklist — Broader onboarding tasks
- Settings → Migration — Optional status and certificate inspection
- Getting Started — Fresh Start vs Migration path choice
Last updated: 22 August 2026