Implementation & migration
How Onboarding and Migration Work
Moving to cloud accounting is mostly a data and habits problem, not a software problem. Here is what happens between the first call and the first filing, what we need from you, and where things commonly slow down.
Talk to the team
+65 6227 8752
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (SGT)
The scoping call
Everything starts with a short call to establish what you are leaving, what you are bringing, and who will use the system. From that, we scope the work and give you a quote before anything begins.
What we ask on the call
Your current accounting tool
Which desktop or cloud package holds your books today, and whether the file can be exported in full.
Bank accounts in play
How many Singapore business accounts need a feed, and which bank each one sits with.
Payroll in scope or not
Whether CPF and salary posting run through Dovaskin, or stay with an external provider.
External accountant access
If your accountant needs a login, we set the permission level during scoping rather than after go-live.
Your last filed GST period
This sets the baseline the migrated data has to agree with, and it shapes the parallel check later.
Mapping your chart of accounts
Your existing chart of accounts rarely transfers unchanged, and it should not. During setup we review your account list against what Dovaskin needs for GST and reporting, then map or consolidate where there is duplication. The mapping is documented so you can see where each old account went.
A common example: a business with several similar expense accounts that can collapse into one without losing useful detail. This step is worth doing carefully, because a messy chart is a monthly irritation forever after.
Old account
Where it lands
Reason
Four separate expense accounts
One grouped expense account with a note field for detail
Duplication without reporting value
Mixed income lines
Split by GST treatment so the return is easier to prepare
GST categories were unclear
A parked suspense account
Cleared or kept visible, with the balance explained in the mapping note
Needs a decision, not a silent merge
Importing opening balances and history
We import your opening balances as at the migration date, plus the historical transactions you need to keep. How much history depends on your situation: a business with a live audit obligation keeps more, a smaller one may keep only the current financial year.
Checked before go-live
The import is reconciled against your last filed period, so the opening position is verified rather than assumed. If a discrepancy turns up, we resolve it during implementation rather than after your first return.
That single comparison is what makes the first filing feel routine instead of risky.
Day-to-day savings
Connecting bank feeds
Bank feed setup is where the day-to-day time savings begin. We connect your Singapore business accounts to the platform, confirm the transactions are flowing, and set up the initial matching rules for recurring items.
Direct bank connections
Where your bank supports it, transactions arrive on their own and post into the reconciliation queue ready to match.
Statement import instead
Some accounts need a statement file loaded each month depending on the bank and account type. We set the routine up so it takes minutes.
Matching rules for repeat items
Rent, utilities and subscription charges get rules on day one, so the same entries are not matched by hand every month.
When a feed drops
The reconciliation queue shows the gap rather than silently missing entries, so nothing disappears between months.
We test the connection with real transactions before handing over. A feed that is never checked is worse than no feed at all, because the queue looks clean while entries are missing.
Payroll setup, if it applies
If payroll is in scope, setup covers employee records, salary structure, CPF treatment, and the posting rules that push payroll into the ledger. We run a test payroll period so you can see the resulting entries before your first live run.
Where an external provider handles payroll, we set up the recording of those entries instead. Payroll setup touches employee data, so it is handled with the same access controls as the rest of the system.
Employee records
Names, start dates, residency status and bank details, checked against your current payroll file.
Salary structure
Basic pay, allowances and any recurring deductions set as components rather than typed in each month.
CPF treatment
Contribution rates applied by residency and age band, with the employer share posted to the right account.
Posting rules
The mapping that sends a completed payroll run into the ledger without a manual journal.
Training the people who will use it
Training is aimed at the person who posts entries, not a general audience. It covers the daily workflows: raising invoices, capturing expenses, reconciling the bank, and preparing the GST return. We run it against your own data once the migration is in, so the examples are real. Directors who only need reports get a shorter session. The goal is that you can close a month without calling us, though you can call us anyway.
Raising invoices
From a quote or a repeat customer, with the GST treatment already set on the line.
Capturing expenses
Photographing a receipt and coding it, including how to correct a wrong account later.
Reconciling the bank
Working the queue down to zero, and what to do with the one entry that never matches.
Preparing the GST return
Reading the return out of the ledger, checking the categories, and knowing when to stop and ask.
The parallel check before go-live
Before you file anything from Dovaskin, we run a check against your prior period. This is the step that catches mapping errors, missed transactions, or a GST category that was set wrong during import. You see the comparison and sign off on it.
It adds a little time at the start and removes a lot of uncertainty at the first filing. Businesses migrating mid-year sometimes run one period in parallel; that is a decision we make together during scoping.
What the check compares
Opening balances against your last filed period
Checked
Historical transactions against your export
Checked
GST categories on income and expense lines
Checked
Bank feed opening position against the statement
Checked
Anything that does not agree is resolved here, while the people who know the numbers are still in the room.
What we need from you
Migration moves faster when a few things are ready. Delays usually trace back to one of these items being unavailable, so it is worth checking the list before the scoping call rather than during the import.
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Your last filed GST return and financial statements, to hand.
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Access to your current accounting file, with export rights.
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Bank statements for the period being imported, even where a feed will run later.
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One nominated point of contact on your side, ideally the person who will use the system.
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Your external accountant on the scoping call, so the opening position is agreed once rather than debated later.
How long it takes
Timelines vary with the size of the data and how quickly the inputs above arrive. We give you a schedule after scoping rather than a generic estimate, and you will know where you are at each fixed point along the way.
A shorter engagement looks like this
A single entity, one bank account and no payroll moves through onboarding in fewer steps than a group with several accounts and payroll attached. The work does not change shape, but the volume does.
A multi-entity business with payroll and several accounts needs more mapping, more reconciliation and more training time, because there are simply more people and more entries to agree.
If your first GST deadline is close, say so during the scoping call and we will plan the schedule around it rather than discovering the date later.
Questions that come up before onboarding
Can we migrate partway through a financial year?
Yes. Mid-year migration is common. We import the year to date, run the parallel check against your last filed period, and agree together whether one period runs in both systems before you file from Dovaskin.
Does our accountant keep working in the file?
Yes. We set the permission level during scoping, so your accountant sees what they need without holding the only set of keys. If they would rather review a period before you file, that fits the parallel check stage.
How much transaction history do we actually need to bring?
Enough to support your filing position and any live audit obligation. Some businesses keep several years, others keep only the current financial year. We agree the cut-off during scoping so the import has a clear boundary.
What happens if a bank feed stops working later?
The reconciliation queue shows the gap instead of quietly missing entries. You can load a statement for the affected period to close it, and we can check the connection settings with you if it keeps dropping.
Do we have to move payroll at the same time?
No. Plenty of businesses keep payroll with an external provider and only record the resulting entries in Dovaskin. If you later move payroll across, we set it up then rather than forcing both changes at once.
Who actually does the import work?
Our implementation team runs the import, the mapping and the checks. Your side supplies the files, the access and the decisions. Training is delivered to your team on your own migrated data so the examples are the ones they will actually see.
Ready to plan your migration?
Bring your last filed GST return, your current accounting file and whoever holds the books. A short scoping call is enough to tell you what the migration involves and when you can file from Dovaskin.
Speak to the team: +65 6227 8752
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (SGT)
71 Robinson Road, #14-01, Singapore 068895
Before you commit
Read what the platform covers day to day, and how support is handled after go-live. Both pages answer the questions that usually follow a scoping call.
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