When you migrate accounting software in Lebanon, what moves is your chart of accounts, opening balances, customers and suppliers with their open balances, items and stock, and as much history as you need. The work is in mapping and checking, not in typing. This guide explains what moves from systems like Dolphin, Wizard or QuickBooks to MAPOS, in what order, and how to prove the numbers match.
The systems people move from
All three are established products used by many Lebanese companies. Here is what each vendor says about itself, briefly.
- Visual Dolphin and Dolphin Horizon are ERP products from Software Design Consulting Group, which lists offices in Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh on its website.
- Wizard Cloud ERP from Wizard Solutions is a cloud-based ERP that describes itself as 14 modules on one database, including accounting, inventory and payroll, on its website.
- QuickBooks is Intuit's accounting software, available as online and desktop editions, and widely used by small businesses worldwide.
Companies switch for different reasons. Common ones: they want POS, stock, CRM and accounting in one system; they need a POS that keeps selling offline; they want WhatsApp built into sales; or they simply outgrew a setup made of several tools and spreadsheets. If your current system works for you, there is no need to move. If it does not, the move is very manageable.
What moves, and what usually stays behind
| Data | Moves? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | Yes, mapped | Old accounts are mapped to the Lebanese chart in MAPOS. Arabic account names can be kept. |
| Opening trial balance | Yes | Balances on the cutover date, per account and per currency. |
| Customers and suppliers | Yes | Names, phones, addresses, tax numbers, payment terms. |
| Open receivables and payables | Yes | Ideally invoice by invoice, so you can still collect and allocate payments. |
| Items and stock | Yes | Codes, barcodes, variants (size, colour), cost, quantity per branch. |
| Price lists | Yes | Retail, wholesale and customer-specific prices. |
| Transaction history | Optional | Useful for sales analysis and customer history. Decide how many years you need. |
| Closed periods' detailed ledgers | Usually archived | Export to PDF or Excel and keep the old system read-only for audits. |
| Custom report layouts | Rebuilt | Invoices and quotations are redesigned with the MAPOS template designer. |
| User passwords | No | Users are recreated with new roles and permissions. |
Choosing the cutover date
The cutover date is the day the old system stops and MAPOS starts. Pick it carefully.
- Start of a financial year is cleanest: closing balances become opening balances and no year is split across two systems.
- Start of a VAT period is the next best: each VAT declaration comes from one system only.
- Start of a month works when you cannot wait, as long as both systems are reconciled at that date.
Avoid cutting over in your busiest season. A clothing shop should not switch the week before the holidays.
The migration, step by step
- Export from the old system. Trial balance, customer and supplier ledgers, open invoices, item list with stock and cost, price lists. Most systems export to Excel; QuickBooks, for example, exports reports to Excel.
- Clean the data. Merge duplicate customers, remove dead items, fix barcodes. This is the step people skip and regret.
- Map the accounts. Every old account points to an account in the new chart. Agree the mapping with your accountant.
- Load masters first. Accounts, customers, suppliers, items, branches, users.
- Load opening balances. Trial balance per currency, then open receivables and payables, then stock per branch.
- Load history if needed. Past invoices and payments, so customers keep their purchase history.
- Reconcile. Compare the new trial balance, receivables, payables and stock value to the old system on the cutover date.
- Train and go live. Cashiers, accountants and managers each learn their part.
- Keep the old system read-only for a period, for reference and audits.
How to check nothing was lost
- The trial balance in MAPOS equals the old one on the cutover date, account by account, currency by currency.
- Total receivables and total payables match, and a sample of individual customers and suppliers match.
- Stock quantity and value per branch match a recent count.
- Last year's sales total in the history matches the old reports, if history was moved.
- USD and LBP balances are carried in their own currency, not blended at one rate.
If a number does not match, stop and find out why before going live. A small gap on day one becomes a large mystery at year end.
Moving USD and LBP balances correctly
This is where Lebanese migrations go wrong most often. Many older setups kept everything in one currency and converted at whatever rate seemed right at the time. When you move:
- Keep each balance in its real currency. A customer who owes you in dollars should open in dollars. A supplier you owe in pounds should open in pounds.
- Do not blend at one rate. Converting every LBP balance to USD at a single rate, or the reverse, hides exchange differences that will surface later.
- Record the rates used. If the old books used a rate on a balance, keep that information so your accountant can explain the opening position.
- Check the statutory view. After loading, the Lebanese pound view at the official rate (89,500 LBP per USD since 2024) should make sense to your accountant.
Who does what during the switch
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Owner or manager | Sets the cutover date, decides how much history to keep, signs off the reconciliation. |
| Accountant | Agrees the account mapping, checks opening balances and VAT position. |
| Store or warehouse lead | Runs a stock count close to the cutover date and checks barcodes. |
| MAPOS team | Maps, loads and reconciles the data, sets up users and trains staff. |
Common migration pitfalls
- Moving dirty data. Duplicates and dead items copied across make the new system look as messy as the old one.
- No stock count. Loading stock from the old system without counting carries old errors forward.
- Open invoices as one total. A customer balance loaded as a single number cannot be matched to the invoices the customer pays later.
- Training too late. Cashiers who see the new POS on go-live day slow down the queue.
The first 30 days after go-live
- Week one: check every till's daily close against the real cash, and fix any wrong price or barcode the same day.
- Week two: compare a few customer and supplier statements with what they expect. They spot errors first.
- Week three: run a partial stock count on your best-selling items.
- Month end: close the first month fully in MAPOS and compare it with a similar month in the old system.
Real migrations on MAPOS
- A sportswear and footwear retailer with two branches moved more than 92,000 legacy records to MAPOS with receivables preserved. Both branches now run on one POS and one stock, with the online store on the same live stock.
- A Lebanese company with four activities moved to one set of books with its USD, LBP and EUR balances carried over, a cash box per activity, and guided video training.
How MAPOS handles the switch
- Data migration from old systems and Excel is part of onboarding: we map, load and reconcile with you.
- Lebanese chart of accounts with Arabic account names, 11% VAT and USD/LBP from day one. See the accounting module.
- Stock with variants and barcodes per branch in the inventory module.
- Bilingual video guides (around 40) and a client portal with live chat and a project tracker during the rollout.
- No lock-in: you can download a full backup of your database at any time.
For the project side, read our ERP implementation guide. For the currency side, see the multi-currency guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I move my data from Dolphin, Wizard or QuickBooks to MAPOS?
Yes. Data is exported from the old system, usually to Excel, then mapped and loaded into MAPOS. The usual scope is the chart of accounts, opening balances, customers, suppliers, open invoices, items and stock.
Do I lose my history when I switch?
No, if you choose to move it. Past invoices and payments can be loaded so customers keep their history, and older closed periods can be archived from the old system.
When is the best time to switch accounting software?
The start of a financial year is cleanest, then the start of a VAT period. Avoid your busiest season.
How long does a migration take?
It depends on how clean your data is, how many branches you have and how much history you move. The scope and timeline are agreed during the demo and planning call.
How much does it cost to switch to MAPOS?
MAPOS is quoted per business based on modules, branches and users, including the migration scope. Book a demo on WhatsApp (+961 71 725 270).
Ready to plan your move? Contact us or send us a message on WhatsApp with the system you use today.
