Odoo Migration: Switching from SAP, Sage or Excel to Odoo

By Christina Berg, Consultant at FlexCode Systems

Every ERP System Has Its Peak

Every ERP system has its peak. At some point SAP Business One becomes too expensive to operate, Sage too inflexible for new requirements, or Excel simply too error-prone for a growing business. Switching to Odoo is then the logical next step - but what does such a migration actually involve?

This article explains what to consider when migrating from SAP, Sage, or Excel to Odoo - honest, structured, and from practice.

Migration from SAP Business One

SAP Business One is built for corporations. Mid-sized companies pay disproportionately high license and maintenance costs for it.

Typical SAP Migration Reasons

License costs: €150-300 per user/month
Maintenance contracts: 20-25% of license value annually
Customizations: every change requires ABAP developer time
Complexity: simple tasks require extensive configuration

What Gets Migrated

Master data: customers, suppliers, products (via CSV/SAP export functions)
Open items: open AR and AP invoices at the cutover date
Stock levels: current inventory with valuation
Account balances: opening balance sheet at migration date
Historical data: optional, usually last 1-3 years only

What does NOT need to be migrated: all completed transactions. The old SAP system is kept for archiving purposes.

!! SAP exports are often in proprietary formats. FlexCode Systems knows the common SAP export formats and can import the data directly into Odoo.

Migration from Sage (100, 50, GS-Office)

Sage is widely used in Germany - especially in smaller companies. The most common migration reasons:

Poor multi-warehouse or multi-location support
Missing CRM integration
Outdated UI, poor mobile usability
No e-commerce connection

Sage Migration: Special Considerations

Sage offers good CSV export functions for master data and booking data. The following points are important:

DATEV chart of accounts: SKR03 or SKR04 must be mapped to the Odoo chart of accounts
Booking history: Sage allows export of the last 3-5 years
Document numbers: continuous document numbering from Sage can be continued in Odoo

✓ Sage migrations are typically completed in 6-8 weeks - significantly faster than SAP migrations.

Migration from Excel

Excel as an ERP replacement is widespread - and a serious business risk. Migration reasons are obvious:

No simultaneous multi-user capability
No access rights or audit trails
Error-proneness from manual data maintenance
No real-time overview

Excel Migration: What to Watch Out For

Excel data is often structurally heterogeneous. Typical challenges:

Inconsistent customer names (duplicates, spelling variants)
Missing mandatory fields (tax numbers, IBAN)
Inconsistent date and number formats
Missing product master data (no chart of accounts mapping)

Excel migrations often take longer than SAP migrations - not because of system complexity, but because of data quality. Plan 2-4 weeks for data cleansing.

Direct Comparison: Migration Complexity

Source System	Export Options	Data Quality	Typical Duration	Cost
SAP Business One	Good (CSV, XLSX)	High	3-5 months	€20,000-60,000
Sage 100	Good (CSV, DATEV)	Medium-high	6-10 weeks	€10,000-30,000
Sage 50 / GS-Office	Medium (CSV)	Medium	4-8 weeks	€8,000-20,000
Excel	Manual	Low-medium	4-12 weeks	€8,000-25,000
Other ERP	Variable	Variable	8-16 weeks	€15,000-50,000

Migration Level	Content
Level 1: Minimal	Master data + opening balance
Level 2: Standard	+ last 12 months of transactions
Level 3: Complete	+ 3-5 years of history

The Migration Process in Detail

FlexCode Systems conducts all migrations following a proven process:

Pre-migration audit (1 week): assess quality and completeness of source data
Data cleansing (1-3 weeks): remove duplicates, add missing fields
Develop migration scripts (1-2 weeks): automated import tools
Test migration (1 week): import data into test instance, validate
Parallel operation (2-4 weeks): old and new system run in parallel
Final migration (1 day): import cutover date data
Go-live: switch to Odoo, old system in read-only mode
Post-migration support (4 weeks): intensive accompaniment after go-live

!! Plan the migration cutover carefully: beginning of year or after a quarter close are ideal for obtaining clean opening balances.

GoBD Compliance in Migration

During every migration, the GoBD (Principles for Proper Bookkeeping) must be observed:

All migrated booking data must be archived in audit-proof form
The immutability of historical data must be guaranteed
Documents must remain findable and machine-readable

FlexCode Systems ensures all migrated data is GoBD-compliant in Odoo - and advises on archiving the legacy system.

✓ A properly executed migration to Odoo is GoBD-compliant and accepted by tax auditors.

Ready for the next step? FlexCode Systems accompanies you as a certified Odoo Silver Partner in Germany - from the first consultation to go-live on German servers.

Related Articles: Odoo Implementation in 30 Days | Odoo Cloud vs On-Premise: Hosting Decision | What is an Odoo Silver Partner?

Free Tools: ERP Readiness Check Before Migration | Calculate Post-Migration ROI