Preparing charity data for a Beacon CRM migration
Prepare for a Beacon CRM migration by agreeing what information to keep, reviewing source data and testing how important records and relationships will move.
Agree what the migration needs to achieve
Start with the work your charity needs to do in the new CRM, rather than assuming every old field and record should be copied. Ask the teams who use the data what they need for fundraising, finance, services, communications and reporting, then agree which history is important to retain.
- Name the people who will approve scope and mapping decisions
- List the systems, spreadsheets and other sources that hold relevant data
- Identify the records, history and reports needed for day-to-day work
- Record retention, access and data-handling requirements for your project
Review records, fields and relationships
Look at representative exports before finalising a mapping. Check how people, organisations, donations, memberships, events and other records connect, and note fields with inconsistent formats, unclear meanings or incomplete values. A field name alone may not explain how the information is used.
- Document source fields and what each one means to staff
- Identify duplicates, inconsistent formats and missing values
- Record how linked records and important history should be represented
- Mark fields that need a clear decision before they can be mapped
Create a migration checklist with clear ownership
A useful migration plan makes decisions and responsibilities visible. Separate data corrections your charity will complete from mapping, import and testing tasks, and agree how questions or out-of-scope requests will be handled. Keep a copy of the agreed source export and record which version was used for each test.
- Agree the data owner for each source and decision
- Prioritise cleansing work according to business need and project scope
- Prepare a representative sample for an early mapping review
- Keep a decision log for field mappings, exclusions and assumptions
Test and validate before the final move
Use test imports to check whether the agreed structure produces useful records in Beacon. Ask staff who understand the source information to review sample records and compare important counts or totals against the source. Fix mapping issues and repeat checks before signing off the final migration approach.
- Check both individual records and relationships between records
- Compare agreed counts, key fields and sample transactions
- Log issues, assign owners and re-test the corrections
- Agree who approves the results and when the final export is taken
Beacon CRM questions, answered
Should a charity migrate every record from its old CRM?
Not automatically. Decide which records and history are needed for current work, reporting and the organisation’s obligations. Document exclusions and make sure the appropriate people approve the scope.
When should we cleanse data for a Beacon migration?
Review data early enough to understand the likely quality issues, then agree which corrections are necessary and who will complete them. Some decisions become clearer after field mapping and test imports.
How can we check whether migrated data is accurate?
Agree validation checks before the final import. Review representative records and relationships, compare relevant counts or totals with the source, record issues and repeat the checks after corrections.