ProStart offering is available for select firms only arranged prior to subscribing to Smokeball.
Have questions about the data migration process provided by our data migration team? We've gathered the most common enquiries and have answered them below.
1. Will my firm need to stop working/be locked out of our current system?
Our goal is to keep your firm running and staff billing. When we are ready to start the final LIVE migration, all staff must stop working in your current system. This will include the one buffer day while we transition your data to Smokeball. Learn more about the timeline of our migration process.
If you do not stop entering data in this period, it may cause errors and delays, or we may even have to stop the migration. We typically try to schedule these migrations after-hours, at the beginning, or end of the week to minimize any interruption to your workday.
2. How long will the migration process take?
The migration process takes anywhere from 5-8 weeks to complete. This depends on the:
- Size of your database
- Data Types being migrated
- Number of matters and transactions
- Number of documents being migrated to Smokeball
- Data integrity of your legacy system
We endeavor to complete the migration of all contacts, all open matters and their transactions and documents over two days (usually a weekend). However, it may take longer.
Closed/archived matters may also be completed during this time but are given a lower priority. Depending on volume, this can take up to a week or longer to complete.
If there is a high volume of documents on open matters, the upload of those documents may not finish by the morning of Go Live.
You should ensure you have access to all documents from your legacy system until the upload is complete. Closed/archived matters can be migrated after you start using Smokeball.
3. Should I bring over my closed matters?
We recommend you bring over any matters or documents you may need to access in the future. You should consider how much historical data should be retained (e.g. seven years).
4. Will Smokeball retain the Matter number from my old system?
Yes. You will be able to search for matters based on the existing Matter number from your old system.
5. Can my billing data be migrated?
Yes. We DO bring over the following:
- Unbilled Activities, Fees and Expenses (WIP)
- Unpaid/Partially Paid Invoices
We do NOT bring over:
- Paid invoices and transaction history
- Billed time & expense transaction history
- General ledger items
- Full Trust transaction history
6. We house our documents on our internal server. Can you bring these over?
Depending on how your documents are stored and your folder structure, we can migrate documents from your server.
We need to ensure there is an automated way to map your folders to a valid matter in your current system and Smokeball. Your migration specialist will advise once they review your data.
7. Will my documents be migrated with their metadata?
Depending on how your documents are stored, we may be able to migrate some metadata. We will investigate what is possible during the initial planning stage.
8. Will my custom matter fields be brought over in the migration?
Custom matter fields cannot be created in Smokeball. However, if your custom fields match or align with existing Smokeball fields, we can map them accordingly during the migration process. We can also solve this by mapping the field to a memo.
Note: the field must be related to the matter data in a way that can be mapped and imported. Extensive custom work is subject to additional cost for the firm.
9. Will my custom contact fields be brought over in the migration?
Custom contact fields cannot be created in Smokeball. However, if your custom fields match or align with existing Smokeball fields, we can map them accordingly during the migration process. We can also solve this by mapping the field to the Contact note section on the contacts' card.
Note: the field must be related to the client data in a way that can be mapped and imported. Extensive custom work is subject to additional cost for the firm.
9. I was told Smokeball won't migrate Trust accounts/balances?
If your firm was advised to manually enter trust balances after launch, it’s likely because the trust data or reporting format from your previous system isn’t compatible with Smokeball’s migration tools. To ensure accuracy and compliance, it’s best to enter these balances manually. Your Trainer will guide you through the process to make sure everything is set up correctly.
10. Why is the timeline set to 5-8 weeks?
The data migration project plan can be a complex process. Throughout the steps, there is a lot of clean-up work required by your firm and on our end. We want to ensure we migrate your firm's data as accurately as possible the first time round.
11. Can I use smokeball before the migration?
Yes! We recommend entering new cases in Smokeball as soon as the firm is ready. You may also play around creating matters or contacts for testing purposes however we strongly recommend not to enter any real data.
- Do not configure default folders
- Do not turn on the Quickbooks Online integration
- Do not add your Account Information in the Billing App
- You CAN configure your Matter Types
- You CAN finish the Foundations courses
Your Onboarding Specialist will help guide you through getting your account Setup & Configured and help guide you through those steps.