What is this page about: The minimum viable setup for going live with Light: the roles, org structure, bank connections, workflows, and integrations to have in place, plus how to prepare and execute a clean migration from your legacy financial system. Covers legacy system preparation, data migration steps, cutover operating rules, a parallel run plan, and the go-live checklist itself.
On this page
- Key concepts
- Before you go live in Light
- Minimum viable setup in Light
- Legacy system preparation
- Migrating your data into Light
- Operating rules during cutover
- Legacy system parallel run
- Your Light go-live checklist
- Common go-live pitfalls to avoid
- Post-go-live optimization
- Post-cutover system maintenance
- Success metrics
- Get help during go-live
- FAQ
- Next steps
- Related articles
Going live is a big milestone, and a little planning makes it a smooth one. This article sets out the minimum viable setup for going live with Light and helps you prepare for a clean transition from your legacy financial system, so Light can become your day-to-day system of record with confidence.
Key concepts
Before you start, align your team on these terms:
Cutoff Date: The last day you operate in your legacy system (end of day). This is the reference point for your Trial Balance, open items, and releases. All transactions before this date stay in the legacy system for historical reference.
Go-Live Date: The first day you operate in Light. From this date forward, Light is your system of record, and all new transactions are created and managed in Light.
Cutover offset accounts: During the cutover import, migrated AP and AR balances are offset using Contract Asset and Deferred Income accounts (a "reduce, don't reverse" approach), rather than a single suspense account. Confirm the exact posting pattern for your setup with your implementation specialist.
Before you go live in Light
A successful go-live comes down to careful planning and testing. This article helps you verify that Light is ready for production use and that your organization is prepared for the transition.
Minimum viable setup in Light
Your Light instance is ready for go-live when it includes:
User and permissions
- At least one Admin user who understands settings and can manage the system
- Users with the appropriate role for each functional area (Controller for GL, AP clerk for payables, AR clerk for receivables). Light offers 12 roles in total, including more specialized ones like Invoice approver, Purchase requester, Auditor, and Cardholder
- Approval authority configured through Workflows, with amount thresholds set per workflow condition
- Test users to verify workflows before go-live
Organization structure
- Company created with correct name, base currency, and invoice email (the one required email; receipt and contract emails are optional)
- All legal entities configured (subsidiaries, regional offices, etc.)
- Currency configuration matches your operating footprint
- Chart of accounts created with accounts for all major GL balances
Bank connectivity
- At least one primary bank account connected and verified
- Bank account mapped to correct GL account
- Transaction feed confirmed working (check the "Synced" status)
- Additional bank connections configured if you use multiple banks
Financial workflows
- Invoice creation and approval workflow configured
- Bill processing and approval workflow configured
- Expense submission and approval workflow configured
- Payment processing workflow configured
- Default GL accounts set for common transactions
Integration connectivity
- Authentication configured (Auth0, if applicable)
- Slack or Microsoft Teams connected for notifications
- Salesforce or HubSpot connected (if you use them)
- Any other critical integrations tested and verified
Additional setup
- Ledger Tax configured
- Reimbursement category → GL account mapping defined
- Document Template configured (for AR invoices)
- Assistant Instructions configured (optional)
Cards (if applicable)
- Adyen connected in Light
- Card spending limits configured
- Coordinate GL account setup and funding with your implementation specialist as part of your go-live process
Master data
- Vendors created: those present in open AP, plus those used in last year's postings
- Customers created: those present in open AR, plus those used in last year's postings
- Products/services created for any active contracts
- Open contracts uploaded so recurring sales invoices work from day one
Legacy system preparation
Before cutover, complete the following in your legacy system. These steps reduce migration issues more than anything else.
1. Reconcile subledgers to GL
- Reconcile AP subledger ↔ AP control account in the General Ledger
- Reconcile AR subledger ↔ AR control account in the General Ledger
- Reconcile fixed assets register ↔ FA / accumulated depreciation accounts (if applicable)
If differences exist, correct them in the legacy system. Don't try to patch differences in Light.
2. Clean up open items
- Apply vendor credit notes to open invoices
- Apply customer credits to open invoices
- Allocate prepayments where possible
The goal is to migrate clean, consistent data.
3. Confirm prior year close
Make sure the previous year-end close (e.g. 2024) is completed in the legacy system. This is especially important if importing only current-year journals.
4. Complete COA mapping
Every account used in the agreed historical period must be mapped to a Light account code. Missing mappings are a common cause of migration delays.
5. Prepare accruals schedule
Document all ongoing accruals to carry forward operationally:
- Deferred revenue and prepaid expenses
- Start date, end date, frequency, and remaining balance for each
Migrating your data into Light
If you're transitioning from a legacy system (NetSuite, SAP, Xero, QuickBooks, etc.), follow these steps in order. Completing them out of sequence can cause reconciliation problems.
Good to know: Light provides CSV import templates for most entities. Ask your implementation specialist for templates that match your legacy system's export format.
Step 0: Lock snapshot exports
Once month-end close is complete in the legacy system, prepare frozen data packages and hand them to the implementation team:
- Final trial balance as of the cutoff date
- Open AP aging report
- Open AR aging report
- Fixed asset register (if applicable)
- Historical GL journals for the agreed import period
Don't post further transactions in the legacy system after this point.
Step 1: Import open AP and open AR
Import all unpaid invoices and bills into Light, posting the offset to the Contract Asset / Deferred Income accounts identified with your implementation specialist (not P&L accounts). After import:
- Verify totals match between the legacy export and Light
- Resolve any exceptions
- Open invoices now appear in Light and can be collected or paid normally
Important: Don't process payments or run bank reconciliation in Light until this step is complete. Doing so before migration is finished risks incorrect open balances.
Step 2: Import opening trial balance and historical GL journals
Post the opening trial balance as of the cutoff date via:
- Manual journal entry per account, or
- CSV bulk journal entry import
After all imports in Steps 1 and 2 are complete, verify with your implementation specialist that the cutover offset accounts reconcile as expected. An unexpected balance indicates an import discrepancy that must be resolved before go-live.
Step 3: Upload fixed assets and ongoing releases
Light doesn't import a fixed asset register directly. Enter each fixed asset by creating a journal entry or bill with a Fixed Asset release template applied on the line, and Light then maintains the resulting register at Accounting → Releases (filter by Fixed asset type). Upload deferred revenue using the same release framework. Confirm that amortization logic matches your operational process.
Step 4: Validate foreign currency accounts and FX revaluation
If your entity operates in multiple currencies:
- Verify opening balances for all foreign currency accounts
- Confirm revaluation settings are configured correctly
- Run a test revaluation and confirm no unexpected FX gains or losses appear
Operating rules during cutover
Follow these rules to keep clean books through the transition period.
Transactions and journals
- Finalize all transactions in the legacy system as part of the final month-end close before cutoff
- From go-live forward, record all new transactions directly in Light
- If a correction is discovered after cutoff that relates to a legacy period: post the adjustment in the legacy system first to preserve historical accuracy, then mirror it in Light with a manual journal entry that references the legacy entry for audit purposes
Supplier and customer invoices
- Invoices dated before cutoff: create and manage in the legacy system; these are migrated to Light as part of the initial upload
- Invoices dated on or after go-live: process directly in Light (via the company's invoice email, which feeds the payables Inbox, or manual entry)
Payments and bank reconciliation
- Don't process payments or run bank reconciliation in Light until Open AP and Open AR migration (Step 1) is fully complete and verified
Legacy system parallel run
Before fully cutting over to Light, run both systems in parallel:
Parallel run timeline (typically 2-4 weeks)
- Week 1: Run processes in both systems, compare results daily
- Week 2: Investigate any reconciliation differences
- Week 3: Minor adjustments, team confidence building
- Week 4: Final verification, prepare for cutover
Processes to parallel run:
- Invoice creation and AR aging reports
- Bill processing and AP aging reports
- Expense submission and approval workflows
- Bank reconciliation
- GL posting and trial balance
Reconciliation checklist:
- ☐ Total AR in both systems matches
- ☐ Total AP in both systems matches
- ☐ GL trial balance matches
- ☐ Bank balances reconcile
- ☐ Expense totals by category match
- ☐ Approval workflows complete successfully in Light
If any variance exists, investigate and resolve before cutover. Most discrepancies come from:
- Different timing of transaction posting (normal, expected)
- Currency conversion rounding (normal for multi-currency)
- Transactions recorded in legacy system but not yet in Light (identify and recreate)
Your Light go-live checklist
1 week before go-live
- ☐ Verify all team members have Light access and have completed training
- ☐ Run final parallel reconciliation, confirming all figures match
- ☐ Complete bank account reconciliation in Light
- ☐ Test all approval workflows with real data
- ☐ Verify email notifications are routing correctly
- ☐ Confirm Slack/Teams integration is working
- ☐ Export final data from legacy system for archive
- ☐ Notify all stakeholders of go-live date and time
- ☐ Document any workarounds or known issues
- ☐ Prepare rollback plan (in case of critical issues)
Day of go-live
- ☐ Post opening GL balances if not already done
- ☐ Disable invoicing, bill entry, and payments in legacy system
- ☐ Enable full access in Light for all users
- ☐ Send team communication confirming go-live
- ☐ Post-close legacy system
- ☐ Have an Admin on standby for 2-3 hours
- ☐ Monitor for critical issues
First week post-go-live
- ☐ Daily verification of GL posting
- ☐ Review bank reconciliation for accuracy
- ☐ Monitor approval workflows for bottlenecks
- ☐ Gather team feedback and address issues
- ☐ Create internal FAQ from common questions
- ☐ Fine-tune workflows based on actual usage
Common go-live pitfalls to avoid
Trying to perfect everything before go-live
Light can evolve after go-live. Focus on core AR, AP, and bank functions first, then optimize reporting, revenue recognition, and multi-entity consolidation once you're stable.
Insufficient user training
Users need hands-on practice before go-live. Schedule training 1-2 weeks before cutover so people remember what they learned.
Inadequate testing of approval workflows
Test with real amounts and real approvers. Test edge cases: what happens if an approver is on vacation? What if an expense exceeds all thresholds?
No backup plan
Keep the legacy system accessible (read-only) for at least 30 days post-go-live. If a critical issue emerges, you may need to reference historical data.
Poor data quality in legacy system
Spend time cleaning data before import. Bad customer names, duplicate vendors, or incorrect account codes will cause problems in Light.
Cutting over too quickly
A 2-4 week parallel run is standard. Cutting over in days is risky unless you have a very simple financial structure.
Post-go-live optimization
After go-live stabilizes (typically 2-4 weeks), optimize:
Workflow efficiency
- Review approval patterns and check whether approvals are completing quickly
- Adjust approval limits if too many escalations occur
- Consider parallel approvals for non-dependent items
Automation
- Set up recurring invoices for regular customers
- Automate bill matching and payment scheduling
- Configure recurring expense reports
Reporting and dashboards
- Create custom dashboards for executives
- Build automated reports for stakeholders
- Schedule weekly/monthly report distribution
AI configuration
- Monitor expense categorization accuracy
- Refine category definitions for better AI accuracy
- Review bank transaction reconciliation suggestions
Team capability building
- Advanced training on multi-entity consolidation
- Revenue recognition workflows
- Custom API integrations for third-party systems
Post-cutover system maintenance
Weeks 1-4 post-go-live (Stabilization)
- Admin actively monitoring
- Daily GL reconciliation
- Weekly meeting to discuss issues and learnings
- Defer non-critical enhancements
Weeks 4-12 post-go-live (Optimization)
- Move to normal monitoring cadence
- Implement efficiency improvements
- Train new team members
- Start building advanced features
Months 3+ (Sustaining)
- Move to standard operational mode
- Periodic system reviews and updates
- Continuous staff training
- Decommission legacy systems (after 90+ day archive period)
Success metrics
Track these metrics post-go-live to measure success:
| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices processed daily | All > 0 days | Day count to process new invoice |
| Bills paid on time | 95%+ | Percentage paid before due date |
| Expense approval SLA | 24-48 hours | Average time from submission to approval |
| GL reconciliation completion | Daily | Days to achieve clean GL trial balance |
| Bank reconciliation | Daily/weekly | Days to complete reconciliation |
| Approval bottlenecks | < 1 per month | Escalations blocked by missing approvals |
| System uptime | 99.5%+ | Monitor dashboard availability |
Get help during go-live
Light provides support during go-live:
- Go-live support line: Available 24/7 during your go-live week
- Slack support channel: Real-time assistance in your workspace
- Implementation specialist: Dedicated support lead for your organization
- Documentation and video: Extensive resources for your team
FAQ
What is the difference between the Cutoff Date and the Go-Live Date in Light?
The Cutoff Date is the last day you operate in your legacy system (end of day). The Go-Live Date is the first day you operate in Light, from which point Light becomes your system of record.
How long should a parallel run last before switching fully to Light?
Typically 2-4 weeks. Run both systems side by side, compare results daily, investigate differences, and confirm all reconciliation checks pass before cutover.
Can I import a fixed asset register directly into Light?
No. Light doesn't support a direct fixed asset register import. Enter each asset as a journal entry or bill with a Fixed Asset release template applied on the line; Light then builds and maintains the register automatically at Accounting → Releases.
What roles are available for financial teams in Light?
Light offers 12 roles, including Controller (for GL), AP clerk (for payables), AR clerk (for receivables), Invoice approver, Purchase requester, Auditor, and Cardholder, among others.
How are approval limits configured in Light?
Through Workflows. Amount thresholds are set per workflow condition rather than as a fixed limit tied to a specific role.
How are invoices dated on or after go-live handled?
They're processed directly in Light, either through the company's invoice email, which feeds the payables Inbox, or via manual entry.
Next steps
After a successful go-live:
- Creating and sending invoices
- Processing bills and payments
- Submitting and approving expenses
- Bank reconciliation
- Financial reporting