ERP change and field service integration
We are changing ERP but keeping simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo. What breaks, and how do we plan the integration?
Last updated
The field service system keeps working, but every connection into the old ERP stops at cutover: invoices, purchase orders, supplier bills, timesheets, job costs and payments coming back. Plan it as its own workstream. List every integration, map jobs, invoices, cost codes, customers and tax codes to the new ERP, test with real jobs, then reconcile both ERPs side by side for at least one month-end.
Who this is for
This page is for application managers, finance systems leads and IT leads at multi-branch field service, fire protection, HVAC and facilities organisations moving finance from Xero or MYOB groups, or an older ERP, to Business Central, NetSuite, Pronto Xi or SAP, while simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo stays in the field.
The ERP partner usually owns configuration and data migration inside the new ERP, and the field service vendor owns its own platform. The integration between them often belongs to neither, which is why it is the part that breaks at go-live.
What usually breaks at cutover
| Item | What happens | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor connector | Connectors such as AroFlo's MYOB integration are built for one ERP and do nothing for the new one | Check the field service vendor's marketplace for the new ERP, or scope a custom build early |
| Customer and site codes | The new ERP renumbers customers, so field records point at accounts that no longer exist | A code cross-reference table and one owner for each field |
| Cost codes and GL accounts | A new chart of accounts sends job costs and labour to the wrong accounts | Map every cost code and labour rate before testing starts |
| Tax codes | GST code names and rules differ, so BAS figures drift | Map every tax code, including GST-free items and NZ GST |
| Open jobs | Jobs started before cutover and invoiced after it post twice or not at all | A rule for open jobs, work in progress and part-invoiced contracts |
| Payments back | Paid status stops flowing to the field system, so credit holds go wrong | Rebuild the return flow and test it before go-live |
| Reports | Power BI and spreadsheet reports built on old ERP tables stop refreshing | List every report that reads ERP data |
Build the integration inventory first
List every flow
For each document, record direction, frequency, volume, what moves it and who fixes it when it fails.
Find the hidden ones
Include CSV imports, scheduled exports, email rules, spreadsheet macros and reports. Ask the accounts team what they key by hand today.
Decide keep, rebuild or retire
Some flows exist only to work around the old ERP and can go. Others need a new connector or a custom build on both APIs.
Agree ownership in writing
The ERP partner, the field service vendor and your team each sign off which side of each flow they own.
Data mapping decisions
| Data | Typical issue | Decision needed |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs | Job numbers and job types differ between systems | Whether the ERP holds a job record or only cost lines against a project |
| Invoices and credit notes | Progress claims and contract billing behave differently in the new ERP | Which system raises each invoice type and which numbering wins |
| Cost codes and cost centres | Branch and division structures change with the new chart of accounts | A one-to-one or many-to-one map, signed off by finance |
| Customers and sites | Duplicates and head office versus site accounts | Which system owns the customer, which owns sites and assets |
| Items and labour rates | Catalogue items exist in the field system but not the ERP | Which items are stocked in the ERP and which stay field only |
| Suppliers and purchase orders | Purchase orders raised in the field must match supplier bills in the ERP | Where three-way matching happens |
Cutover, parallel run and testing
Test with real jobs
In the new ERP's test company, run copies of real work: a service call, a project with progress claims, a maintenance contract and a multi-site customer.
Choose the cutover point
Start at the beginning of a BAS period where possible, and agree how open jobs and work in progress move.
Switch connections together
Turn the old connector off at the moment the new one goes live, so nothing posts to both ERPs.
Reconcile side by side
For at least one month-end, compare invoice counts, totals and GST from the field system against the new ERP, with the old ERP kept read-only.
Clear exceptions daily
A daily report of records that failed to post, owned by the finance systems lead, until it runs empty for a full month.
Where AI helps
Suggesting mappings
AI compares old and new customer, item and cost code lists, using names, descriptions and transaction history, and proposes matches. A person confirms each one.
Finding duplicates before migration
AI flags likely duplicate customers and sites, such as the same head office under three names, for a one-off clean-up.
Reconciliation checks
During the parallel run, AI reads the exception report and groups failures by cause, branch or tax code, so the team fixes patterns instead of single records.
Where AI is the wrong tool
Moving structured job, invoice and timesheet data is a job for rules and APIs, which are cheaper and easier to audit.
How Solve8 delivers it
Solve8 works beside your ERP partner in fixed-fee phases: discovery of the integration inventory and volumes at one branch with a measured baseline, a shadow run of the new flows on live jobs where finance sets the reconciliation bar, a build into simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo and the new ERP on your infrastructure in Australia, then support or handover. A person approves mapping changes and exceptions. Workshops run on site and builds run remotely under your access controls.
Related work
Field service to ERP integrationConnectors and limits for simPRO, Uptick and AroFlo with Pronto, Xero and MYOB.
simPRO to Pronto integrationThe realistic options and what to ask both vendors.
System integrationERP, finance, CRM and field systems connected so teams enter data once.
Multi-entity month-end closeFaster close and intercompany checks across entities.
Sources
AroFlo, MYOB integration (data sent to and received from MYOB): https://aroflo.com/features/myob-integration
simPRO Marketplace, Microsoft Business Central integration by ERP365 (data synchronised): https://marketplace.simprogroup.com/apps/microsoft-business-central
Questions
Will our simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo connector work with the new ERP?
Only if the field service vendor or a partner publishes one for that ERP. The simPRO Marketplace, for example, lists a partner-built Business Central connector from ERP365 covering customers, items, stock, sales invoices, credit notes and cash receipts. Check what each connector covers against your inventory, because purchase orders and job costs are often outside it.
Should we cut over the ERP and the field service integration on the same day?
Yes, in most cases. Running the field system against the old ERP after cutover means two sets of books for open jobs. Switch both together at the start of a period, keep the old ERP read-only, and reconcile invoice counts, totals and GST in the new ERP for at least one month-end.
How do we handle jobs that are open on the cutover date?
Agree a rule per job type before testing. Common choices are finishing invoicing for short service jobs in the old ERP, and moving long projects and maintenance contracts with their invoiced-to-date and work in progress balances. Test both paths with real jobs in the new ERP's test company.
Who owns the field service integration during an ERP project?
Name one owner, usually the application manager, and write down which side the ERP partner and the field service vendor each support. The ERP partner configures the new ERP's APIs and integration user. The field service vendor confirms what its API and connectors expose.
Who can help plan field service integration during an ERP change in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne?
Your ERP partner should handle the ERP side. For the integration inventory, mapping and parallel run across simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo, use a firm that has built integrations to both systems and will document every flow. Solve8 runs workshops on site in Australian cities and New Zealand and builds remotely.
Related
Customers email us PDF purchase orders and staff retype them into the ERP. Can AI do this reliably?How AI reads emailed PDF purchase orders, checks them against customer, item and price data, routes exceptions to a person, and writes orders to your ERP.
Field service and facilitiesJobs, assets and compliance evidence.
Every site records things differently and my BI team rebuilds reports by hand. How do we get one version of the numbers?Why branch numbers differ across simPRO, Business Central and Pronto Xi, and how to build one governed Power BI model with a filtered view for every site.
Process automationLess retyping, chasing and manual checks.
Changing ERP with field teams on simPRO, Uptick or AroFlo?
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Fixed-fee phases, agreed before we start. Stop after any phase.