Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
You can switch accounting software without losing data if you export everything first, keep the old file, and check the new books against the old ones before you cancel anything. The CRA’s own guidance says a system change must not cause a loss, destruction or alteration of information. So the move is only finished when the numbers match, not when the import says “done”.
What does the CRA expect when you change systems?
The electronic record keeping circular (IC05-1) is blunt about it. The ability to access and retrieve your data has to be preserved. It also expects the new system to keep offering an export in a commonly used non-proprietary format, so you’re never stuck in one product.
The changes must not result in a loss, destruction, or alteration of information and data relevant to the determination of taxes payable, collected, or withheld.
Information Circular IC05-1, Electronic Record Keeping, canada.ca
Two more lines in that circular matter on moving day. When records are converted from one format to another, you’re responsible for making sure the converted records are reliable and readable. And you should keep documentation that records the change, including changes to software and the format of the files. A short note with the date, the old and new product, and what you exported is enough to start.
Separately, records must be kept for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to (RC188). So an invoice from a 2026 calendar year stays with you until the end of 2032. Switch tools in 2028 and that invoice still has to open in 2032.
The old vendor’s login is not a storage plan.
How do you prepare before the move?
Pick a clean cut-off, and write the date on a sticky note where you’ll see it. The end of a month is easier than the middle of one, and the end of a fiscal year or a sales tax filing period is better still. Close out the period in the old software first: reconcile the bank, post the last entries, file the sales tax return if one is due.
Then export. Take the reports your accountant would want, plus the raw lists. The table shows what to pull and what to compare afterwards.
| Export | What to check in the new system |
|---|---|
| Trial balance at the cut-off date | Every account total matches |
| Unpaid customer invoices | Same invoices, same balances |
| Unpaid supplier bills | Same bills, same due dates |
| Customer and supplier lists | Names, addresses, tax numbers |
| Sales tax report for the last period | Tax collected and tax paid agree |
| Payroll year-to-date totals | Income tax, CPP and EI for each employee |
| Attachments and receipts | Downloaded, since they may not transfer |
A test you can run with one invoice
Take one real invoice with tax on it. Say $2,500 in Ontario. The GST/HST calculator shows $325 of HST and a total of $2,825. If you bill the same job in Alberta, it’s $125 of GST and $2,625.
After the import, open that invoice in the new system. The tax, the total and the customer balance should agree with the old one to the cent. If the new software shows $2,812.50 or files the tax under another code, stop and fix the mapping before you import anything else.
Do the same for payroll if you have staff. For one person paid $2,000 every two weeks in Ontario, the payroll remittance calculator gives $555.05 per period: $398.41 held back and $156.63 from the employer. If the new tool’s first payroll run lands outside that ballpark by more than rounding, find out why before anyone gets a paycheque.
Should you run both systems for a while?
For one period, yes. Keep the old one read-only and do real work in the new one. Compare the first month’s reports side by side, then the first sales tax return.
Keep the old file much longer than that, for years, not weeks. Export it in full when you finish, store that copy where your records live, and note the date in your files. The CRA says you must keep records at your place of business or residence in Canada unless it gives written permission otherwise, and its circular asks for periodic testing of backups so they can be restored into a readable format. Try opening the export yourself before you delete anything.
A year-end check is also a good moment to see what your estimated tax looks like. The self-employed tax calculator shows $22,126.47 of income tax and CPP on $80,000 of net business income in Ontario, though it leaves out GST/HST and EI. If your new books show a wildly different profit than the old ones, something was lost on the way.
What if something doesn’t match after the switch?
Don’t patch it in the new system and carry on. Go back to the old file, which is why you kept it, and find where the difference starts. Is it one customer, one tax code, one month? Most gaps trace to a single bad mapping, and one fix clears dozens of lines.
Say Dana in Moncton finds her new accounts receivable is $40 higher than the old one. Four invoices carried a discount that the import ignored. She fixes the mapping, re-imports those four, and the totals agree. If the gap won’t close in an afternoon, that’s a good time to hand the two sets of reports to your bookkeeper or accountant, rather than guess.
Where switches go wrong
Cutting over mid-period is the usual culprit. Sales tax reports then split across two tools, and nobody can say which one is right.
Another is trusting the import log. A file can import with no errors and still map every customer to the wrong tax code. The last is cancelling too soon: once a subscription lapses, some vendors limit or remove your access, and the terms differ from product to product. Download first, then cancel.
Where the rules come from
The system change and format rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s information circular IC05-1 on electronic record keeping, read on 11 October 2026. The six year retention period and the Canadian location rule come from the CRA’s RC188 booklet and its page on where to keep your records and for how long. The tax examples are our own calculator results on 2026 data. This site hasn’t tested or compared any vendor and has no link with the CRA.
Frequently asked questions
What does the CRA say about changing systems?
Access to your data must be preserved, and the change must not result in loss, destruction or alteration of information.
How long do I keep records from the old software?
Six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to, unless the CRA permits earlier destruction.
When is the best time to switch?
After you close a period: a month end, a sales tax filing date or a fiscal year end. Mid-period cut-overs split your reports.
Should I cancel the old subscription right away?
No. Run both for a period, export a full copy, and test that you can open it first.
What should I compare after the import?
Trial balance, unpaid invoices and bills, the sales tax report and payroll totals, all at the cut-off date.
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