One of Sage 50cloud Pastel Accounting's strengths is its ability to convert company data fully, including transactions, from earlier versions. In this article, we see how to convert from earlier versions.

 Checklist before converting data

• Update all open batches
• Select File > Data Integrity > Next > Verify Data Only > Process
• Make a backup: File > Backup
• Ensure the new version of Sage 50cloud Pastel Accounting is registered
• Ensure that the Conversion module of Sage 50cloud Pastel Accounting is registered under Help...About 

NOTE: There is no need to convert data from Version12 and Version14, these data sets will have to be rebuild to open in Sage 50cloud Pastel Accounting.

Conversion process

• Select Start > All Programs > Sage Pastel > Conversion
• The following message will display, select OK to continue
• The Conversion Assistant will open, select Next
• Select the version you are converting from

• Data Location Screen: Select the company to be converted and select Add Company
  • The company you selected will display in the column below, if you wish you add another company, browse for that company and select Add Company
  • All the selected companies will display in the section Companies to be Converted
  • Select Next to proceed

You will be able to remove companies that have been incorrectly added. Ensure the company is highlighted and select ‘Remove the Selected Company’.

• The New Data Location screen displays, this will default to the Pastel installation directory. Should your companies be saved in a different location, browse to the location to ensure the data is converted to that location
• Select Next to proceed
• Select Process to complete the process 
• Should you get the message below, select No. If you select Yes, you will need to redo any changes that you have on your current forms, including adding logos
• Select OK to complete the process

Should there be any error on one or more of the companies, you will receive a report on the errors. This report will indicate on which company the error occurs.

The conversion process will continue with the companies that do not have any errors. This log file is saved in the Pastel installation directory and is called Conversionerrorlog with the date that you converted the file.

Please contact your Pastel Reseller or Paste Support for further assistance to convert the problematic companies.

• Open Sage Pastel Accounting to add your company. Refer to Article How to I add and activate companies, if needed.

• Once all the companies are added and you are about to open a company, you will receive the following message

• Select Yes to proceed to update your company

Forced Password:

You will be prompted to create a new password before you can open the company

If the company never had a password, you will be forced to create a password for the company

If the company had a password, you have the option to update the password to a strong password or to keep the password as it is by selecting or deselecting the Force Strong Passwords option

Please refer to the link below for more information as to why Sage had to enforce a password on Sage Pastel Accounting

What is (The Protection of Personal Information Act) (POPI)?

• After the conversion of companies, we need to validate the Parameters of the company
  • Select Setup > Validate Parameters
  • You will receive an error report if there is a problem with the Parameters on the company. The report will indicate what needs to be fixed
• Run the Data Integrity to ensure there is no corruption on the data
  • Select File > Data Integrity > Next > Verify Data Only > Process

Should any errors occur on the Data Integrity, run the Data Integrity on the old version you converted from.

If the Data Integrity in the old version has no errors or the errors are different please delete the newly converted data and redo the conversion.

Once the Data Integrity is completed you can proceed with processing